Late start for retirement?

[MrsMcDowell]

Saw this article on msn money and thought it might be useful to someone.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...avedADime.aspx

It's about playing catch up on retirement savings.

[peanut]

Interesting. Truth be told. There isn't much we can do. Especially with one income earner bent on retiring early at full pension. No benefit to working extra years EXCEPT he gets full pay instead of the cut in pay of the pension. Can't convince him to go another five years and don't know if I want to.

Wish I could go out to work and help support us, but it's not possible with my illness. I'm working on the side business idea.

[rainbowgc]

I say there is no way it is ever to late to save for retirement. (And never enough unless you are a billionaire or something LOL)

[homesteadmamma]

I'm going to go against the flow here. If you are debt free, no mortgage you don't need as much as the experts say to retire on.

We are both retired and doing very well on what our income is. Society tells us we need so much to retire on. I tend to not agree.

[peanut]

homesteadmamma: we wonder about this too. I think a lot of the projections and suggestions are for people who want to live 'the good life' in retirement. The lifestyles are unrealistic imho.

DH and I sat down and figured out our actual needs, and really, it amounted to about $40K CAD per year max. And we could do it on $30K/year if we had to. So there's some room built in for inflation.

Still, when I think of how well off my brothers and sisters will be (I'm the "poor" one of the family), I feel a bit despondent. I just won't be able to do things with them that they want in retirement. I'm quite relieved I don't live near them because of that. It means less pressure on me to cough up for trips to wherever and for sports equipment for whatever.

[dcompton]

I agree with what you have all been saying. We all know know to live, and live happily, on much less than many would think possible. It's the same old media blitz that makes so many think they can have everything they want. We are showered with images of luxurious, extravagant living-the-high-life retirements.

We tend to envision it as playtime, forgetting that retirement is traditionally about "retiring." Quieting down, living with the wisdom we that have, theoretically at least, accumulated through the years. Sadly, many people cannot just be peacefully at home with themselves, maybe because they have been kept so busy and outward-directed that they have never had an opportunity to learn how to be. A "retired" retirement doesn't cost nearly as much.

Ok. Off my soapbox.

[forHISglory]

I agree with Homesteadmomma. We are retired and I know from personal experience that we don't need as much to live on now. I was pretty skeptical of that notion, but it's true.