re: The Average Retirement Savings By Age

quote:

---

But, conditions change on the ground all the time and one has to adapt or die. It is the defining feature of humanity.

---

This is mostly what I was getting at. I understand there my be circumstances where it is impossible, but I'm assuming for the majority of people, they could in any number of ways to alleviate something truly catastrophic.

quote:

---

Basically most people save nothing

---

What this really means is those of us that have been intentional with our retirement savings are going to be targets for everyone else.

quote:

---

He's selling low with no opportunity to buy back lower and then sell when it goes back up.

---

I'm retired, but my investing philosophy allows me to buy back lower. For example, at the end of Q1 this year I bought six figures of TQQQ for $43.XX. It closed at $63.54 today. Not bad for a month of just waiting.

quote:

---

there are folks out there for whom that retirement savings (401k, Roth, etc.) is the main engine of their retirement income

---

All of my retirement funds are in an IRA.

quote:

---

They're planning on taking 4 to 5%, every year, rain or shine.

---

I take 6.5% as a floor.

quote:

---

They're not going to have a bucket of cash to buy back in after selling.

---

Again, it depends on how you invest. You are assuming someone who is retired is investing in a specific way that precludes this.

quote:

---

Not everyone has that luxury.

---

It takes discipline and planning. That's it, but you're right that many do not have discipline nor do they plan.

quote:

---

You must not be saving

---

Just the opposite, which is why I honestly believe the lottery comparison. Watching those savings multiply over the last few years has been eye opening, and it’s a streak people will only experience once or twice in their working lives.

Getting that run four years after graduation vs four years before retirement result in massively different outcomes regardless of the individuals’ discipline or sacrifice.

quote:

---

You seem to have mis-interpreted the meaning of the data

---

I understand exactly what the data is. But these threads always go the same way.. a bunch of highly educated, successful people talking about how they are above the average or median. As if that means anything when those numbers are so terrible.

Forced early retirements are going to bite the next generation more than lack of savings. I read this article about people forced to retire earlier than planned the other day and this trend will be far more disruptive than the traditional concerns about trying to calculate when you’ll have enough to retire.

quote:

---

Factors beyond an individual's control were responsible for 76% of early retirements in 2025, according to EBRI. They included health problems and disabilities, and company changes such as downsizing, closure or reorganization. More than half, 56%, of full-time workers in their early 50s get pushed out of their jobs due to circumstances like a layoff before they're ready to retire

---

quote:

---

both retired at age 65, the cat born in 1943 ate a ration of poo poo because he got clobbered in 2008 - his first year of retirement set him up for long-term disaster. The guy born in 1948 did/is doing just fine.

---

Shouldn’t the ‘43 guy have rebalanced before retiring to preserve capital? If you retire and are all in on equity, I’m not sure you were ready to retire.

quote:

---

The boomers actually stole our prosperity though. It’s pretty easy to see.

---

It may be easy to see, but is it true?

Priorities change, and young folks today believe that everyone needs a newer model car, needs to eat in restaurants 4 or 5x per week, needs expensive vacations, and a house that looks like what their 50+ year old parents live in. They aren't willing to give up any of the other things in order to buy that dream home.

I got the below from a John Stossel podcast that I wrote down and sent to my daughter, who does all of the things I mention in the article, pretty much, and complains that she can't buy a house. She's in her mid-20's and earns 6 figures. Needless to say, she is not getting the sympathy from her old man that she expected. Hey, I was in my early 30's when I bought my first home over 30 years ago. I worked a second job for two years in order to save money up.

• Home ownership rates are higher now than in the past, despite higher home prices. Census data show more Americans own their homes today than ever before

• Today’s homes are bigger and come with more amenities — twice as likely to have central air, dishwashers, and garbage disposals — and young people are willing to pay for them. The problem is that first time home owners don’t want to start with a starter home. They want what their parents live in, even though their parent have already upgraded 2 or 3 times. The average new build home 50 years ago was 1300ish sf. Today, it’s closer to 2300 sf. And it has a lot of bells and whistles that people didn’t have back in the days.

• Young people can afford more now: Americans spend a smaller share of their income on food, clothing, and housing than in previous decades, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data

• Lifestyle improvements: Going out for dinner is now the norm, and travel is far cheaper — adjusted for inflation, a cross-country flight cost $1,000 in the past versus about $300 today. When I was young, we almost never went out to eat, and when we did, we didn’t go someplace that served “gourmet” food. We generally went to what served diner quality food.

• Economic conditions are better: Unemployment is 4.3% today, nearly half what it was when I was young. Gen Z’s average household income is about 50% higher than Baby Boomers’. Interest rates are generally lower, too.

• College affordability is a myth: While college was cheaper in the past, most people didn’t go — roughly half the labor force didn’t even finish high school back when I was young. There is more funding available and not everyone needs to go to an expensive private school

• Cars are different: Yes, families could own a car in the past, but today’s cars are safer, more comfortable, and last longer. Many young people trade in their cars sooner and spend more money on maintaining a new car when they don’t have to.

quote:

---

The boomers actually stole our prosperity though. It’s pretty easy to see.

---

Read WSJ Did Millenials or Boomers Have It Harder? We Went Searching for the Answer. Apr 11, 2026.

Paywall I suspect so no link. Good article.

I am neither generation. Summary is they are about the same when factoring in some unique negative experiences that each generation experienced that basically offset one another (eg, double digit interest rates of late 70s and early 80s for boomers) during their prime working years).

However, without a doubt Millenials have had much higher education costs to contend with, that is an albatross for Millenials’ early career, unlike Boomers).

Income - Investments = Expenses
(Investments in cash generating assets compounding cash cures many things, inflation in particular).

(1+k)^n your cash > (1+k)^n inflation

Do it! Do it! And do it again! And your prosperity will await you.

Chit works!