Nearly half of American households age 55 and older don’t have a retirement savings plan (such as an IRA or a 401(k) plan). And 29% don’t have a defined benefit plan (e.g., an employer-sponsored plan that could provide a monthly payment for life).¹

To start planning for the retirement you want or will be able to afford, you’ll need an idea of your current costs, what they’ll be in the future, and how much income to expect from your investments. From there you can adjust as needed.

Five steps that could help you get started

Let’s break down your likely costs by category to get a better idea of what it might cost to maintain your lifestyle in retirement. For simplicity, the estimates below assume the cost for one person in one household with one income.

Step 1. Current costs

Home

• Mortgage or rent payments if you don’t own your home.
• Utilities, streaming, cable & internet, association fees, maintenance, insurance, taxes, and other home costs.

Total estimated cost: $1,000 to $5,000 per month.

Other necessities

• Food, clothing and health care costs.
• Transportation costs, gasoline, maintenance, repairs and car insurance.
• Insurance costs, including life, health, dental and long-term care insurance.

Total estimated cost: $1,000 to $2,000 per month.

Lifestyle & hobbies

• Travel, dining out, entertainment and sporting events.
• Health club memberships, golfing, fishing and other hobbies.

Total estimated cost: $500 to $1,500 per month.

Children & grandchildren

• Education expenses, including tuition or helping pay off student debt.
• Gifts to help support their living expenses.

Total estimated cost: $0 to $1,000 a month.

Charitable giving

• Donations to your favorite causes.
• Regular financial support to your place of worship.

Total estimated cost: $0 to $1,500 a month.

Step 2. Future costs

Health care

• Health care costs could potentially increase in retirement based on your current health and fitness.
• Medicare is free once you reach 65, although you’ll need to pay for prescription coverage.
• Supplemental policy may be needed to cover costs that Medicare does not.²

Total estimated costs: $100 to $200 a month or more.

Extended care

• Long-term care insurance policy. Extended care costs beyond what is covered by Medicare and supplemental policies will come out of your pocket—unless you have a separate LTC insurance policy that covers them.
• Assisted living costs are normally not covered by traditional insurance policies. They could average about $4,500 a month.³
• Other expenses such as groceries, clothing, insurance, charities, entertainment, children and grandchildren.

Total estimated cost: $5,600 to $6,700 per month.

Legacy funds

Would you like to leave some money for your heirs and your favorite charities? The extent of your generosity will depend largely on the size of the nest egg you build up during your working years and how wisely you manage it throughout your retirement.

Step 3. Adding it up

The table below shows a summary of the hypothetical costs covered above:

Based on this hypothetical summary, from the time you retire, you could potentially need $2,500 to $11,000 per month in the early stages and $5,600 to $6,700 later.

Let’s conservatively say you will spend $5,400 a month ($67,200 a year) during your retirement—based on today’s prices.

Step 4. Add in inflation

The average annual rate of inflation over the past century has been just over 3%.⁴ While the rate is currently higher, at a rate of 3%, your costs would double every 20 years.

This means that you may need:

Remember, this is a hypothetical example and does not represent the actual inflation rate you may experience during that period. It’s purely for illustrative purposes.

Step 5. Consider income from your investments

Let’s say you have enough Social Security to cover half your $67,200 annual costs. If you have a lifetime stream of income from a pension, annuity or similar source, that could reduce your dependence on investment only income.

While it is impossible to predict a future return on your investments, here’s a range of outcomes to consider:

• A $1 million investment earning (before taxes):
  • 2% per year would return $20,000.
  • 3% would yield $30,000.
  • 4% would yield $40,000.
  • 5% would yield $50,000.

However, unless the money is coming from a tax-exempt account, your actual income would be less after taxes.

• A portfolio with a yield of 4% to 5% on a $1 million account would typically provide a before-tax income in the range of $40,000 to $50,000.
  Combined with your Social Security income ($33,600 in this example), you would hypothetically have enough to cover your current expenses and income taxes and add to your principal to help make up for the effects of inflation.

If, over the course of your retirement, you manage to live off your annual investment yield without tapping into your principal, your legacy would take care of itself. The balance left in your investment account (along with any other assets) could ultimately make up the legacy you leave behind for your heirs and favorite causes.

The time to act is now

While your own situation will likely vary, there are ways to cut your expenses and focus more on your retirement savings. Using these steps as a starting point, you could potentially produce enough income keep your retirement lifestyle where you want it to be.

Learn more about retirement investment opportunities at Thrivent Mutual Funds