I would love to retire after 37 (or even 30 years) with COP with a great company pension, 401k, stocks and social security... After 20 years in the oil & gas industry I don't have much to show for besides a decent house and a beautiful family. Two 8 year old vehicles and hardly any savings. Before you say "it is your fault that you don't have savings" bear in mind that I was laid off twice from a service company in the past which caused me to use up all my savings every time. I always try to max out my 401k but that is only about $250k by now which is nowhere near the $1 million (or $2MM) they say you should have saved for retirement. I still have 10-12 more years to work but I doubt I will be anywhere close to those numbers and after only 4 years in COP I know that if I loose my job now there won't be any jobs in oil & gas for a while which means again 6-9 months of unemployment or some other job that will pay way less than what I was making.
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well, dont look at it that way. you raised a couple of kids. there went half a million right there. if the house and cars are paid off, there are assests you are not counting. granted you need to live somewhere and drive to and from it, but assets are assets, and you might be surprised how much your house will bring if you want to get out into the country or another cheaper place to live. And dont be too proud to lean on the kids in your old age, as I said, you got 500K invested in them.
Not everybody has a smooth life I have 40 years with the company. My husband lost his job the 401k was used during that difficult time. 50 dollars less in 401k was milk bread and lunch meat. Just saying. Don't be arrogant.
The ups and downs are definitely hard.
All I can say is save and live within your means. If you don't have anything to show after 20 years its hard to see how that is anyone's fault but yours. Not trying to be rude, but that is the truth.
Fair enough, most people are going to invest the majority of their 401K in lower risk, Target 20xx ETF's. But, historic S&P performance was more readily available and I think it effectively illustrates my point that you need to save early to amass a high value 401k account.
Personally I work to live. I do not work to retire. I spend as I go and I save as I go. At some point I will be old and the money will run out and I will have Alzheimer's and I will step out in front of a bus and put an end to the misery. The goal is not to be 100 the goal is to live every day to the fullest.
Most people under-perform if compared to S&P 500
I do not believe you maxed out your 401k in your early years and only have 250k today. It is absolutely critical to put away large amounts of cash, early in your career, in order to amass a sizable 401k by the time you retire. For example, based on performance of S&P 500, if you started in 1994 and put away a total of 10K (after employer contributions) that year, that 10k would now be worth approximately 40K. Another 10K in 1995 would now be worth roughly 37k. Another 10k in 1996 would be worth about 34k. Another 10k in 1997 would now be worth about 31K. Another 10K in 1998 worth about 25k. 10k in 1999 would be worth about 22K. 10k in 2001 would be worth about 18K. 10k in 2002 worth 18k. 10k in 2003 worth 20k.
I'm obviously generalizing a bit, but that's almost $250k right there based on average market performance and not including dividends. Obviously, you could be doing better, but with a few years left for it to continue to grow, that's a decent amount when coupled with a good pension and some COP stock.
Many retire on not much and live okay. My parents have lived most of their 20 years of retirement in central Texas on $4000/month and had plenty to live on. They also had no debt in retirement. My wife's grandparents have lived on social security and a little savings income for almost 40 years and lack for nothing, they have bought a brand new car every 3-4 years. My wife and I figure we could live on about 40k per year or less. There are lots of web sites on frugal living. Mr. Money Mustache is one of my favorites. Little to no debt is key.
How are utility costs at Bartlesville (heating and cooling)?
And what would you do with $2 million in retirement funds? Assuming you are 65, that would give you 20 years of income, 100K each year, that's not counting any income that you'd get from interest, capital gains, dividends, etc. Plus whatever the government gives you or money that's your house worth. I'd say that more than comfortable, you should be able to do it on 1/3 of that amount, if you move into low cost areas you can live a pretty comfortable life.
The reason the retirees remain in Bartlesville is the cost of living. Bartlesville is literally a retirement community for the oil and gas industry. A cheap house rents for $500 per month. The cost of living on the coasts is twice the cost of living of Bartlesville.
I'd follow Anonymous173473's advice and move to Florida, it's very inexpensive to live there (if compared to other regions)
And how many years of pension? And you do not need $1 million dollars to retire. Retirement is a number of factors. I too was laid off after working for COP for 5 years. . I have 20 years of pension from the last job and another 10-20 years to work. 25 years of pension is the equivalent of $500,000 401K. Other than the weather the retirees move to Florida for the cost of living.
There are so many people who are much worse than you, if we all had a million saved when we retire it'd be a paradise. Unfortunately, most of the folks are nowhere near that. For people who earn over $100,000 a year the median 401k account at retirement is ~$370,000 - you can see more numbers (median at 401k at retirement age) at: http://www.financialsamurai.com/median401k-retirement-balance-by-age-is-dangerously-low/