Yawn! Welcome to Monday, money nerds, and welcome to the latest edition of Apex Money. Today, let’s talk about retirement.
A visual guide of global attitudes toward retirement. [Visual Capitalist] — “Today’s infographic from Raconteur visualizes attitudes towards retirement around the world, comparing expectations and actualities for retirement income. Does reality meet their expectations?”
Don’t tell the Internet Retirement Police but consistently across the world, about half of all people plan to work for money during retirement. Gasp! The horror!
The top five reasons to exceed 25 years of expenses before retiring. [Physician on Fire] — “A couple of studies in the 1990s showed us that a historically safe withdrawal rate for people wanting their money to last at least 30 years was not the 6% or 8% that many financial planners were quoting, but actually only 4% to have an excellent chance of your portfolio surviving some of the worst periods of investment returns in modern history. Is [this] enough for you? There are more than a few reasons you might want to exceed that number, as I did, before you leave your career behind.”
Why don’t rich people just stop working? [New York Times] — “The only thing we know in this casino-like economy — a casino that may, in fact, soon be shuttered — is that for those at the top, too much is never enough. Many normal, non-billionaire people wonder: why is that? Studies over the years have indicated that the rich, unlike the leisured gentry of old, tend to work longer hours and spend less time socializing.” [This has been linked everywhere but it’s intertesting. So, we’re linking it too.]
Half of retirees are afraid to use savings. [Center for Retirement Research] — “A 2018 study in the Journal of Personal Finance surveyed retirees to get a sense of the psychology behind their caution. However, the main takeaway is that this reluctance to spend is pervasive. Half of the survey respondents agreed with this statement: ‘The thought of my retirement portfolio balance going down over time brings me discomfort, even if the decline in value is a result of me spending money on my retirement goals.'”
Our last link of the day has nothing to do with money and everything to do with Taylor Swift. My favorite artist recently performed a “Tiny Desk concert” for National Public Radio. Of course, I have to share it!
Did you know that comedian Steve Carell is also a Taylor Swift fan? True story.