Personal Finance

When are you planning to retire and how much monthly income are you going to need

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  • Sep 23rd, 2019 11:36 pm
Sr. Member
Dec 27, 2005
609 posts
122 upvotes
Toronto, ON

When are you planning to retire and how much monthly income are you going to need

I'm sure its been discussed in other sub threads but couldn't find it anything recent via search

Simple questions

How Old are you ?
When do you plan to retire?
What is your income source and how much do you will have on a Monthly basis ?
do you plan to live in North America or somewhere cheaper?
198 replies
Deal Addict
User avatar
Sep 19, 2013
2779 posts
1134 upvotes
Winnipeg
Is you real name Mark Zuckerberg...just kidding lol

mid-30s
if things go as planned, late 40s, I will become financially independent and then plan to fully retire around 50 give or take a few years
Salaried single income earner. in today's dollars, need about $3K to live, but more like $4K for a comfortablish living considering there will be some discretionary spending.
North America
In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. -- Douglas Adams
Jr. Member
Oct 5, 2014
198 posts
76 upvotes
Madden, AB
late - 30s
plan to retire at around 50
probably need about $3500 in today's dollar to retire
50% North America; 50% Asia
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Apr 11, 2008
5754 posts
475 upvotes
I plan to retire on CPP + OAS = $15-20K a year at 65.

Why am I saving again?
Deal Addict
Dec 4, 2016
2011 posts
1030 upvotes
I plan to have the OPTION of retiring at 55 with 2k/month of RRSP withdraw plus 1k/month of TFSA withdraw. I'm in my mid-30s. That's for a couple.

All these in today's dollars. So 240k RRSP plus 120k TFSA, and fully paid off primary residence. Survive for 10 years before CPP/OAS/GIS kicks in, plus whatever other government programs. Of course, I plan to retire in Canada.

Ideally, I love my job at that time so much that I retire at 70, 2 years after I stopped drawing a salary, and three months after my desk is taken away and assigned to someone else.
Deal Addict
Feb 26, 2017
2902 posts
4581 upvotes
Late 30s currently. I'm thinking I'd like to have the option to retire in my late 40s. I'll need about 6-7k per month from my RRSP, TFSA and unregistered accounts.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Dec 24, 2007
1811 posts
2410 upvotes
BC
What I learned when I planned for my retirement.

#1 Don't listen to the financial institutions that throw out "advice" that you need to sufficient savings to replace 70 -80% of your income level to maintain your standard of living. You see that figure promoted everywhere amounting to fear mongering. It used to be 70% of your income and now I see many promoting 80%. The bank and mutual fund companies earn huge management fees from clients buying their funds and offering not much in return. That 80% figure might be valid in the US where their social safety net is so pitiful. In Canada, we have OAS and CPP if you contributed all your life plus we have "free" health care. So the government will provide enough to cover your basic needs when you retire, so you only then need savings to cover your discretionary spending which is recreation, entertainment, travel, eating out, etc. The average amount received in 2016 for retirees was OAS $7,000 and CPP was $7,700.

#2 Your lifestyle will dictate how much you need to spend. BMO did a study in 2015 on retiree spending and they came up with $2400 a month for a single person. Housing and Food make $1100 of the amount. Living expenses (bills, transportation) make up $600. That means $700 a month was spent on discretionary spending.

#3 If there are two of you sharing housing and living expenses then the cost per person is even lower plus you receive two OAS and CPP amounts.

#4 For most middle class seniors, it a well-kept secret that we really don't need senior discounts offered by many retailers but since they can't discriminate we take advantage of it, like Shopper Drug Mart's senior day discounts once a month, and save even more.

#5 Since the OAS and CPP doesn't kick in until 65, when you retire will depend on having sufficient funds to cover the years until you reach 65.

So don't sweat it too much, save enough to enjoy your retirement plans. Great article here from MoneySense magazine on what the reality is for most seniors (not talking the lower income ones) Retirement: A number you’ll love. Don't listen to the bank hype about the sky falling for seniors when they retire because most aren't.
Deal Addict
Jan 15, 2009
1081 posts
456 upvotes
Just north.
I'm late 30's, not sure when I'll retire, but if I hit a million dollar in liquid asset I will cut back on my hours.

If I use a 4% withdrawal rate, with a million dollar it would mean $40,000 a year in today's dollar. However my plan is to continue working PT, just to cover my expenses and let the money compound for longer.

Where will I spend my time? Probably only spending the summer here in Canada to avoid the suffocating heat and humidity in Asia.
Sr. Member
Mar 6, 2010
895 posts
382 upvotes
Brampton
when - ASAP.
WHEN - When I have 1 Million CAD bcoz it looks like this is the magic number to earn at least $2k/month in interest and dividends
Am I correct?
Banned
User avatar
Nov 28, 2016
22791 posts
3321 upvotes
Out west
No idea on both. Ill wait until this stage of my life ends before worrying about the next.

I have been saving money since I was 18 for retirement, and have a work pension to. But the answer to the original question is, dont know.

But better news than a friend of mind a few years younger that went in to start retirement planning and was told, you can never retire, unless you put away $2000 a month starting today.
Deal Guru
Dec 11, 2008
13064 posts
3756 upvotes
How Old are you ? - we are both 35 yrs old
When do you plan to retire? - hopefully 56
What is your income source and how much do you will have on a Monthly basis ? - Defined Benefit Pension, CPP and OAS with be extra, investment income. No idea how much it will be but my pension should be about $4500 net a month. Our expenditure per month should be around $4500 as well so any extras will allow us to splurge more than what we spend now.
do you plan to live in North America or somewhere cheaper? - Stay right here in Toronto to live but travel abroad more often than we do now
Deal Fanatic
Nov 24, 2013
6479 posts
3344 upvotes
Kingston, ON
Freedom 55 (or sooner).

I'm working towards 55 being the worst case as that's when the mortgage will be paid off if we keep current payments, when my wife can retire with an immediate unreduced DB pension, and we're already in our 'forever home' so we won't be hitting the reset button on housing in the meantime.

22 years to go (hopefully).
Deal Addict
Nov 8, 2017
1556 posts
894 upvotes
50
Plan to retire around 60, 2500-3000 monthly

I kind retired backwards though.
18-35 I didn't really work and just sold weed and shit, traveled around and pretty much did what ever I wanted
Sr. Member
Oct 17, 2007
517 posts
141 upvotes
Mississauga
Realistically, retirement date is around 58-59... will hopefully have enough saved for ~$4500/monthly
Deal Fanatic
Feb 1, 2006
9645 posts
911 upvotes
Muskoka
We're 42, currently on sabbatical-type thing, travelling full time. We'll do some part time work when we finish travels, then fully retire around 47-48 if we want to. We'll live on $45k in today's dollars, with a paid off house. Income source from 48-60 will be investment withdrawals, then 60+ will be pensions.

We will live in a LCOL area of Ontario, or maybe Nova Scotia, haven't decided yet, and currently homeless. GTA/GVA too expensive for early retirees, and we don't like big cities anyways.
Deal Addict
Oct 23, 2017
2965 posts
2632 upvotes
GTA West
luking wrote: when - ASAP.
WHEN - When I have 1 Million CAD bcoz it looks like this is the magic number to earn at least $2k/month in interest and dividends
Am I correct?
The rule of thumb many planners use is that you can withdraw 4% annually without depleting your assets in the long term.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Sep 19, 2013
2779 posts
1134 upvotes
Winnipeg
Dealmaker1945 wrote: The rule of thumb many planners use is that you can withdraw 4% annually without depleting your assets in the long term.
I think the 4% rule is meant for 30 yrs post-retirement. Meaning, in its simplest form with crude assumptions, the assets deplete fully in 30 years.
In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. -- Douglas Adams
Banned
User avatar
Nov 28, 2016
22791 posts
3321 upvotes
Out west
Dealmaker1945 wrote: The rule of thumb many planners use is that you can withdraw 4% annually without depleting your assets in the long term.
How long term, so you can leave a bunch of money for someone else when you die.
Deal Addict
Oct 23, 2017
2965 posts
2632 upvotes
GTA West
WikkiWikki wrote: How long term, so you can leave a bunch of money for someone else when you die.
There is no rule of thumb to answer that question. And I don't know what a "bunch of money" means to you! And of course, there is a wide range of possible outcomes in any investment plan since no one can predict the future course of markets.

With my own projection of invested assets remaining at age 90, based on a 4.7% withdrawal rate, and based on 100 simulations where market variations are randomly attributed by asset class (based on historical variations), the best case shows almost no loss of capital at all, while the worst case is that capital is reduced by 45% at age 90 (about 20 years out for me). So there is a wide range of possible outcomes.

You would need to do such simulations for your own portfolio, using assumptions that reflect your own investment asset mix and withdrawal rate.
Deal Addict
Oct 23, 2017
2965 posts
2632 upvotes
GTA West
amitdi wrote: I think the 4% rule is meant for 30 yrs post-retirement. Meaning, in its simplest form with crude assumptions, the assets deplete fully in 30 years.
Something like that, but I think the odds of total depletion at 30 years would be very small, i.e. a worse case scenario. Assuming a diversified portfolio.

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