Real Answers for Life’s Money Challenges
I am disabled and my husband is our wage earner.
We are both near age 70.
We receive Social Security and some monthly pension payments that arent terribly large.
With his current income, we bring in about $99,000 before taxes.
Without his income, we would bring in about $65,000 a year.
We need to account for monthly living expenses as well.
Those funds are not substantial maybe around $160,000.
I am so anxious about this and need some guidance.
-P.
Dear P.,
I get that its scary when you think about your income falling by a third.
But with retirement, theres only so much control you have.
you oughta accept that your husbands retirement is inevitable, though hopefully youll have some flexibility on the timeline.
The real question is how will you survive when your annual income is reduced by $34,000 before taxes.
One thing Im curious about here is whether yourhusbandwants to retire.
If so, does he share your worries?
Youre both going to have to sacrifice to make this happen.
You know your spending better than I do.
Do you spend virtually every cent of your current $99,000 income?
If so, you dont need me to tell you what a challenge youre in for.
Still, lets put this in perspective.
About a quarter of retirees depend on their Social Security benefits for at least 90% of their incomes.
(Of course, thats not a retirement Id recommend to anyone who can avoid it.)
Unfortunately, there typically arent any great options for getting out of a car lease.
The goal here is to get your monthly expenses as low as possible.
Thats the only way youll figure out how much of a shortfall youre facing.
Once youve tried life on aretirement budget, you’re able to start planning a withdrawal strategy.
The reality is that youll face some tough choices here.
Whats even harder is that these are cuts youll have to make for life.
But you should approach this as something you gotta do.
You cant expect your husband to be able to work forever.
But theyre the exception by far.
Fortunately, you dont need these things to be happy in retirement.
Focus on what youre gaining, along with what youre giving up.
Youll be giving up money, but youre getting more time together.
At nearly 70, your husband has earned the right to retire.
Getting there is doable, but it will require you both to work together.
It sounds appealing right?
Check it out here!
Robin Hartill is a certified financial planner and a senior editor at The Penny Hoarder.
Send your tricky money questions to[email protected].
