Retirement Countdown 2025

 When I mean third stool, I mean, one is fortunate to have 3 different versions for access for retirement income.  Personal Retirement Accounts  Social Security Income  Pension  In my case, 3. pension. I'm lucky to be employed with the very few employers that offers pension benefits for employees. I think less than 20% of U.S. employers even offer this type of benefit. Source A pension is basically a set amount of income offered to employees upon their retirement based on a set amount the employee has contributed in during their time of employment. Employers will provide this for the rest of their lives, at times health benefits will be included. Although, the premium you pay after leaving your employer will be slightly more as they will not be paying a higher portion, that portion will fall on you.  In the late 80s if I'm not mistaken, that the advent of 401k accounts were offered to employees. It took the burden off the employer to fund an employees reti...

This is always the question, many who plan to retire are faced with. Do I have enough to retire well?  How do you begin to approach this? Do we base it on our life expectancy? Do we base it on our lifestyle after retiring? So many factors. But here's a few guidelines I think I'd like to apply.  Image Source:    https://womenwhomoney.com/calculating-your-retirement-number/ COST OF LIVING EXPENSES  WHERE YOU'LL BE LIVING  TYPES OF ACTIVITIES  I think to start a conversation with these few key items will help you decide if you have enough to retire.  COST OF LIVING EXPENSES I think this would be based on your personal circumstances. For me, I think as I retire and age in place, my expenses will become much lower. Say, less expenses when it comes not working anymore. No more real transportation costs, clothing, dry cleaning, lunch expenses, etc. Anything that has to be an expense when traveling or dealing with work, expenses will be minimal or way les...