Ask HN: What is/was your parent's net worth at retirement?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19794372

by NTDF9 • 7 years ago

14 13 7 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

We keep reading about how people have a median networth of $200k at retirement (including home equity). I've always wondered how true this is. Are people really struggling that much?

PhilWright• 7 years ago

Before asking for others to post personal information, how about telling us your own parents numbers?

NTDF9• 7 years ago

They are close to retirement and at $200k. They do have a pension plan though so I'm not that worried.

potta_coffee• 7 years ago

Retirement? My parents subsist on Social Security and wages from some part time jobs.

I have about 6k in the bank so I guess I'm doing slightly better.

twunde• 7 years ago

My family should be comfortably above the 200k, but I know a number of people who are below the 200k threshold, even in the NY metro area. One of the biggest factors tends to be whether a person has had a major health issue that prevented the person from working. The medical bills + the inability to work are a double-whammy. If you were laid off and it takes 6 months plus to find a job, you're spending your savings. Outside of NY, CA, and other major metropolitan areas the median income is much lower. For example the median income in Richmond, Indiana is just under $30k. If you live paycheck to paycheck for much of your life, you probably never got the chance to save much for retirement

1) The value of $200k varies where in the US you are. Outside of California and the northeast metropolis' like NYC, Boston etc, that's a reasonable amount of money, especially in rural areas, because that money stretches farther. 2) It's very easy to spend your way through one's retirement savings if you have a healthcare issue or get laid off during a recession or have some reason why you can't work consistently. 3)

sloaken2• 7 years ago

That is one of the prime reasons people move from the North East to Florida. Classic retirement, my money goes further.

It is also why people move out of the US, cheaper to retire in other countries.

cm2012• 7 years ago

If government data says its true (which it does), its most likely true. You're not going to learn anything from hacker news anecdotes in either direction.

gaspoweredcat• 7 years ago

im not sure exactly but i think my old man was at least £50k in debt when he died if not more. my mum retired just after she paid off her mortgage so i guess shes probably worth about £75-95k

acapybara• 7 years ago

My parents are essentially zero/negative. Totally unprepared. Similarly, the wife's parents are totally unprepared, but one of them earns a pension.

Meanwhile, I'm nowhere near standard retirement age and am in the 7 figures. Not going to repeat the mistakes of the prior generations.

tudelo• 7 years ago

Do you plan on taking care of them when they can no longer work?

sloaken2• 7 years ago

Can I adopt you?

zeroego• 7 years ago

Basically zero, almost entirely unprepared. I have been referred to as my parent's "retirement plan". I fully intend to care for them as they get older. The thought of somehow having enough money to ever buy a house, pay off my student loans, pay for my own (future) children's existence, my parent's needs, and then finally my own retirement really stresses me out. We'll see how it goes.

photonios• 7 years ago

I don't know exactly, but a rough estimate would be around €800k. This is in western Europe. Around €500k of that should be home equity and the remainder tied up in various funds and investments.

mrburton• 7 years ago

My mom has low five digits in terms of retirement and her husband recently suffered from an Ischemic Stroke which left him paralyzed on his right side.

We grew up poor, and no one in my family was financially literate. There was never talk about investing money. I wish more families and the school system made people more financially literate.

All that being said, I started to work on an action plan to ensure my mom doesn't have to spend her "golden" years struggling. I much rather fight now, work hard, and hustle than watch my mom spend the latter half of her life struggling.

So what's my action plan?

a) I am taking off of work for a few months to help her sort out her money situation and calculate how much she'll need to survive. b) Investing my funds in stock in "reasonably stable" companies like Amazon. c) Working on a side project that I hope will help bring in additional money for my mom and also help others break into IT. e) I invest in my 401k + IRA to ensure I have some funds in my older age.

I'm confident that I'll figure out how to take care of my mother and also my retirement. It'll be a grind, but that's a life I'm use to living.

Ask HN: What is/was your parent's net worth at retirement?

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