It's recommended to save at least 20% of your income in a 401k. You can use online calculators to estimate how much you should save based on your age and income. Saving at least 20% of your income in a 401(k) can help ensure that you have enough money to retire comfortably. By saving this much, you can take advantage of compound interest and potentially grow your retirement savings over time.

Hi! I’m excited to be here in your channel and I’m interested in learning more about investing and saving up for my retirement but am a little confused about the whole process. Any advice or tips to get me started up would be greatly appreciated.

My original retirement plan was to retire at 62, work part-time, and save money. However, high prices for everything have severely affected my plan. I'm concerned if people who went through the 2008 financial crisis had an easier time than I am having now. The stock market is worrying me as my income has decreased, and I fear I won't have enough savings for retirement since I can't contribute as much as before.

i retired at 62 im now 67 never looked back my net worth is little over 1 million dollars home is 1 million bank 154,000 in the bank income ss 2,000, union pension 1300, wife ss 1,000 our rental income from our 2 family home is 2300 a month and ebay store 600 a month

I'm 48years old living in California, I'm hoping to retire at 50 if things keep going well for me. Bought my third house last month and I can't be more proud that am i now. I'm glad I made great decision about my finances that changed me forever but now I can't seem to make any other smart investment.

More and more people might face a tough time in retirement. Low-paying jobs, inflation, and high rents make it hard to save. Now, middle-class Americans find it tough to own a home too, leaving them without a place to retire.

Retirees who struggle to meet their basic needs are the ones who could not accumulate enough money during their active years to meet their needs. Retirement choices determine a lot of things. My wife and I both spent same number of years in the civil service, she invested through a wealth manager and myself through the 401k. We both still earning after our retirement.

Like your concept of "changing the mindset" as regards building then withdrawing from your savings. I process visually and you throw a lot of numbers around. It would be easier for those like me to have a graphic when you provide numbers!

Good information! A significant difference in the U.S. is the cost of healthcare which bankrupts many retirees.

I subscribed within the first 2 minutes of your video. I like your passion for keeping track of your money, and your concise presentation.

The interest deduction in the US is virtually gone, most of us do not itemize deductions anymore on our taxes.

I built a couple small apartment buildings to supplement my income because I'm self employed. Now everything's paid off so I make 10k a month on the rentals and a couple off SS. It's more than enough.

Many seniors in the U.S. have 30 year mortgages at historically low rates which would explain why they're in no hurry to pay them off.

There is no “average median.” There’s average and there’s median. They don’t mean the same thing.

I plan to retire next year at 55. I believe that one reason people carry a mortgage is because some of us have a very low interest rate on our house. I do not worry about paying my house off early because I feel I can make more on my investments. Just my two cents.

The median net worth in The US of about $260,000 is largely driven by the Housing Market current bubble, as the median total retirement accounts in the US at the age of retirement is just $16,000. The US has the highest poverty rate out of all the 34 OECD First World Countries, with only Hungary having a higher poverty rate. BTW --- the median net worth figures you are quoting are actually for a Household in the US, and includes the total net worth of everyone combined living in a household.

One possibility of the disparity between the two countries regarding net worth may be linked to the price of one's home since it is the largest asset. While certain states like California and Hawaii have very expensive homes, many states have homes which are much less expensive. Thank you for the interesting video.

Cars, homes may be considered assets, but technically their not, they’re liabilities.

Great music Maureen first dance of the day. Thank you so much for info I’m at $252k today and you’re making me feel good about it. Thank you for keeping us informed with good info

Info presented in a positive, straight forward, simple way with humour and grace. Women in finance seem more inclined to cut to the chase, no BS. Keep it up.

I also Subscribed ! I like the Monday video release thinh not that Mondays matter in Retirement because everyday is Saturday!

Your numbers are better than what I’ve seen in America

Great point on withdrawing. For people who have been savers and investors for decades, it is quite the paradigm shift to withdraw. Instead of being a great experience it freaks you out. Also, I remember a couple of weeks before my last day, I freaked out thinking I wouldn’t be receiving anymore paychecks. People need videos like this to help them make the transition smoothly.

Your comment about the psychological impact of taking out of the retirement fund is very well made

Great video

These low net worth figures and relatively high incomes lead me to believe that this data set is probably being skewed upwards by the generous pensions received by the silent generation. It will be interesting to check back in on these statistics in ten years or so, as I expect that the median boomer/gen Xers are less likely to have income in the form of reliable pensions than the silent generation. Great video.

Last year I moved from Ontario, Canada to Florida, USA, as a retiree. I paid taxes to Canada for the first 5 months, and taxes to USA for the last 7 months. Canadian taxes included a capital gain, but my total income for those first 5 months was still less than that of the last 7 months. My tax bill for Canada was about $1900. My tax bill for USA was $0.

New subscriber. Really enjoying the format snd the content. Thanks You.

I’m a high school drop out in TX and I make $49,000. Retirement pay. And I have no debt at all. I can’t believe I’m doing better than the ave.

I think this data is per household. Not by person or single retiree.

Amid the prevailing economic crisis, a significant portion of the American population encounters challenges in securing a comfortable retirement. For many, their retirement savings fall significantly short of the required amount. In this context, a pressing question arises: should I withdraw funds from my 401k to purchase a property, or diversify my investments into stocks for a sustainable cash flow? My ultimate aim is to maintain a lifestyle that aligns with my preferences and needs post-retirement.

Now I have more knowledge about personal finance. I just subscribed to your channel. Big ups to everyone working effortlessly trying to earn a living while building wealth in this recession. I’m 45 and my husband is 51, we are both retired, no debts. We are planning on relocating to Thailand. We are currently living a frugal and financially savvy lifestyle and generating passive income even during this recessionary period. Our commitment to saving and investing in the financial market has enabled us to maintain this lifestyle and continue earning monthly passively through investment;:

I retired at 54. I did the calculations with my SS and it was not a significant increase. I have a decent 401k, so I retired. I'm single and moved to the Philippines. I set my budget for $1,500 usd, but I often spend alot less because I have no family or wife. Ive had a vasectomy so no future kids to carry into my retirement life. $1500 here is upper middle class in the Philippines.

Average and median are two different things. There is no such thing as an “average median”. 😊

I just retired in March at the age of 53 in Upstate NY. I enjoy your content very interesting info regarding median networth and income.

Interesting video. I have been retired in the US South for a couple of years and am still adjusting to the financial differences from when I was working. In my case, I elected to carry a mortgage because my interest rate is right at 3% and my retirement funds are growing at a faster rate than that. I did have the option of buying a smaller house and having no mortgage, but right now, I have a better quality house and my retirement funds are still growing faster than I am taking the money out. I have also decided that I will go back to work part-time this winter, not because I need the money, but because I get bored when the winter weather keeps me in the house, and I miss the social interactions from a workplace. Whatever I earn from this will also affect my retirement finances.

For several years, US homeowner's are not allowed to write off the mortgage interest, the IRS changed the rules and stopped this deduction. FYI

Many wealthy folks calculate their net worth on assets with a theoretical value: assets that cannot convert to their stated cash value and/or could conceivably disappear due to events beyond their control.

Saying that you can deduct your mortgage interest might give the wrong impression. I have a beach house that I am paying a mortgage on and still my best choice is the standard deduction. In any case, what you're looking at is the difference between standard deduction and itemized deduction. For a lot of retirees with not a lot of other deductions, standard deduction is still the best choice. For many others, it's not that big a difference.

I like saving - it gives me a sense of security to the point how I don't know how I'll ever be comfortable depleting savings in retirement

The percentage of people who can deduct mortgage interest from their taxes has decreased significantly as a result of tax laws a few years ago. The standard deduction has increased significantly meaning you had to have more deductions (like mortgage interest, local taxes, and contributions) to make it worthwhile to itemize deductions and there is a limit to the amount of local taxes that can be used as an itemized deduction. As a result far fewer people in the US use their mortgage interest as a tax deduction.

Plan on retirement for life. 24 years' as US military. 62 percent of base pay at age 43. was the start of retirement. followed by 19 years as State Law enforcement 58 percent of base pay for retirement. . Annual retirement is just below 80 K per year at age 74. Pick your career with the retirement package as the prime factor.

There are two sides of this equation. You focused on income, but the other side of the equation is cost. We took our U.S. retirement, which would have allowed us a very modest existence in the U.S. and relocated to Ecuador. Our expenses are roughly 1/3 what they were in the U.S. and it allows us a much higher quality of life with the same amount of income.

Are pensions considered when calculating net worth? Some have a guaranteed 10 year income.

average median? that's new to me, normally average and median are being used separately

We are retired and have a morgage intenionally. The interest is 2.39% our money can be put to work at higher rates.

With the higher standard deductions in the US, the median married retired couple probably does not deduct mortgage interest. If they have a sub 3% mortgage they will not pay off the mortgage earlier as current high-yield savings are around 4.40% and north of 5% for money market funds.

I admit that I have not waded through all the comments below (so if this has already been asked, I apologize), but just wanted to be clear if your numbers are per individual or per household?

Are these figures per individual or household? That is, did you divide the net worth (or income) of a household by 2 for a married couple?

Are those income and net worth medians for each person or for the couple? Big difference!

I am very curious about the income is it individual or household?

I agree about the change in mindset required to shift from accumulation of retirement assets to spending those assets. My parents, for example, struggled with that change until very late in their lives. I suppose that was due, in part, to their having lived through the depression. Similarly, even at age 75, I still find it very difficult to spend money from my retirement accounts. I do have a couple of quibbles with your income comparison. Since the US greatly increased the standard deduction a few years ago, most Americans no longer deduct their mortgage interest since most people do not have enough total deductions to itemize rather than take the standard deduction. US incomes are also higher relative to net worth because US Social Security is generally higher than the sum of CPP and OAS. The maximum US social security benefit is about $3,600 US in 2023 and the maximum CPP+OAS is only about $1,500 US in 2023. Consequently, all other things being equal an American needs less income from other sources to achieve a given income level than a Canadian does. Taxation does need to be considered for after tax income, but US income taxes are typically less than Canadian and taxes may be much lower for an American if they live in a state with no income tax. The differences in taxation between Canada and the US coupled with the differences in Social security/CPP+OAS make comparing incomes misleading particularly since all but the poorest Americans do have to pay for health coverage in retirement which Canadians do not. The cost differences in health coverage alone mean that an American needs a considerably higher after tax income than a Canadian does to have equivalent disposable income.

New subscriber. Enjoying your information

We have a lot of the elite rich in the US, so that means that most of us are poor. The skew is insane.

What is a median average? Shouldn't it be either one or the other?

Fascinating how much higher the median net worth is for Canadians versus the US. Canadians have socialized health care too. Would love to know the details.

Statistics Canada reports that the median total income for all Canadians, aged 65 and older, was $33,100 in the most recent data (2021). Meaning that half of the people in this age group make less than this per year. And that's before tax. This is significantly different than what you report ($61,200 after tax). Where does your data come from?

US Air Force pension, Coca-Cola pension, and social security. My wife has a huge teacher's pension, and a small social security check. Combined? In January, we will go over $100k a year, in pensions. House payment and single car payment is about $2k a month. This leaves us over $4k a month disposable, about a thousand of which takes care of all insurance and utilities. STILL leaves us with $3k in blow money.

What is "average median"? I remember studying "Mean", "Median" and "Mode".

It was made crystal clear in the video that you were presenting MEDIAN net worths, MEDIAN incomes, etc. May I therefore suggest that you remove the word AVERAGE from the title. This isn’t just nitpicking. For example, the AVERAGE net worth of a over-65-year-old led household in the U.S. as of 2019 was $1,105,000 while the MEDIAN was $260,000. “Average Median” is not at all clear.

And contrary to popular belief, my Social Security payment comes to just enough to get a big Mac without fries, and I don’t even get enough to supersize it, unless I get a pay raise as well as pay my own Medicare

Question is whether the income is from working or non-working sources.

Thanks, this was interesting information. I seem to be right there in the median. For now. My advisor wants me to live on my savings for 3 years to collect social security at 70. Im sure making that first withdrawal is going to hit me hard, as you so aptly pointed out. But im going to try to keep my nerve. Im happy my remaining mortgage has a 3.5 interest rate. I sometimes wish I didn’t have a mortgage at all, but at least I have a stable housing cost. Just wondering, and maybe you said, but are these households two incomes or one?

So much depends on total income and if you have children, medical issues or have been divorced. Many of us do not make large amounts of money and raise children. The amount we can save is much less as a result. Or in my case, I have had lifelong health issues, was divorced at midlife and have not been able to work fulltime and that has seriously impacted our retirement income. My husband was divorced at age 50 and all these issues impacted our retirement funds. My husband never made more than $40,000 even at his top earning end. As a result, we only had less than $300,000 net worth-including for the two of us (USA) our tiny, 100-year-old mortgage free home.

These broad numbers are good for ball park considerations. Where you live in the USA or Canada can make a huge difference. $60,000 a year goes a lot further in Texas or Mississippi than in New York City or San Francisco.

The average median? must be the new math at work. 😂

Retired 6 years ago. Only income is Social Security. Retiring early was the easiest decision I have ever made. Anybody who tells you they like going to work isn't telling you the truth. Please don't misunderstand, I'm not saying people don't like their work, because I know people do, but we should never lose sight of the reason we went to work in the first place. I never went to work because I wanted to, I only went to work because I had to. True it is better to like what you do for a living, but it's more important that you are making a living. That said, I made sure I didn't have to work one more day than I needed to so when I was getting close to 60 I got laser focused on being ready to walk away at age 62. Planning is the key and it's well worth you time to plan.

Another event that should be a wake up call is the huge market losses so far this year. Kinda reminds me of the Great Recession. I noticed homes in Canada are a hundred thousand or more than something similar in the US.

Is this taking Medicare + retirement savings income in consideration or is it just the later?

Average OR median income would make more sense . . . They’re different calculations.

It's just a reminder that there are people living off more or less. Hence unless you have health issues that cost you money, much of your spending will come down to your lifestyle and how comfortable you are with it.

I would offer this surrounding Net Worth: Don't consider "Things" House, car, boat, aircraft unless you definitely Will convert them to cash. You Need a residence and transportation at a minimum. As a result, they really have no price. A conservative approach is Liquid assets less debt. That gives a truer picture of what you have On Hand that establishes your Net Worth.

No debt here and about $3M in net worth in the US as a couple.

Yep, as long as you spend less than you bring home. You will not worry about money. However, friends die or move away to be close to family ( my issue) or you find yourself with a health problem. ( thankly not yet.)

Under current US tax code most people are not able to deduct their mortgage interest. Some people have not paid off their mortgage due to quite low interest rates in the last few years, due to the fact that with rising property values and high investment returns one could make more money keeping the mortgage rather than paying it off. I personally believe this is a risky strategy unless you have substantial wealth, with current economic conditions especially. In terms of the income numbers, it gets quite confusing! A lot of figures quote HOUSEHOLD income, that would be a lot of couples, but also some singles or families. Other stats use the term “retiree” The income numbers do usually include all forms of income, as far as I can tell, and decline at ages over 65. Net worth does usually appear to be a household number. As a point in the US the max SS check at age 70 is about $4200, so that is about $50k per year, and few wait that long or have the credits to get the full amount. The average SS check is only $20k per year per person

Wow. My wife and I are retiring this Jan of 23. Based on these numbers we are very blessed to have zero debt, cash reserves, investments, real estate, and a healthy state pension including social security. Our numbers are above the US median on income by a factor of 2 and our net worth is over the US median by a factor of 6. Thank you for these videos.

Average and median are two separate things

Average median income for 65 year old retiree? How are people not working earning more per year than I am working full time? Something seems backwards with our system if I'm understanding this correctly. This is also no longer possible to do for anyone born after 1980 unless a top 20% earner. It's a paycheck to paycheck world from now on.

Many of us are not paying off our homes because of advice from financial planners. A 3% loan is a great thing.

When considering the value of a home, its debt and its equity (asset) value, how would you figure in the cost of any homeowner's association (HOA) dues? Even if you've paid off the mortgage and own the home, if you live in an HOA community you still have to pay those dues every month.

Are these numbers family income?

What’s an average median?

Is this per person or house hold ?

Median USA net worth is about $270,000. Median income $47,500.

Why is net worth important if I do not plan on selling house?

Average median? is there such a thing?

Interesting, is this single or couple average income..

$61000 after tax income per individual? that's pretty high even with a lot government workers with DBs.

Does the average income include Social Security??

If we had national health care, US residents would have more money. Tina, Al's wife

I know people that would blow a fuse if they heard her call a home and car assets..

Income-retirement pays for expenses simple .

Forced retirement in 2008 financial crisis, I wish I was getting a half million. I don't but I do get $300 (US) in food stamps.

Average and median are two different things. There is no such thing as the “average median “.

I think the bigger issue between Canada and America is the cost of healthcare and how we are basically brainwashed to think that if we aren't buying something everyday, we are failing.

The best pension plan is to be mortgage and debt free. It's tax free, risk free, and allows you to live well on a lower income.

you seem like a nice person and i can tell you are a good presenter, but that 1 min and 23 second intro with that strangle music that slowly creeped into the video really has to go. Just start the video at 1:23 and it will be great :)

Before you throw up on anyone what's an RSP?

You are using household income, individual US income is about $28,000. If the husband dies first, his ss check is gone, and the wife has less to pay the fixed expenses in life, like insurance, property tax or rent, medical bills...

No pension, no debt, zero net worth,no retirement account or plan, no house, minimal savings, no children, no wife, but hey, there's still some berries in the woods that the bears missed.