Facing Retirement Without Children?
And why retirees should spend 5% annually
Do you have any grandkids? 10 years ago, of those who are 50 years of age or older, 60% had at least one grandchild. Now, the 50 plus crowd, less than 50% of them have a grandkid, and that percentage is falling. If you have no grandkids, are you facing questions about the value of your life?
Are you angry at your children for not producing grandchildren for you? Well, forget about not having grandkids for the moment. What if you have no kids? A third of people 50 plus live alone and don't have children. Or they have kids but are estranged from them and can't depend on them or any other family members for help.
If this describes you, your elder care and estate planning just got more complicated. Most people count on their kids to help them with elder care in their older years. But if you don't have any kids, if you get hurt or fall sick, who can you rely on? 90% of Americans who are over the age of 65 live in their own home. And 77% of them say they want to continue living in their own home. They want to age there.
First, since no one is going to care for you for free, only children are crazy enough to do that, you're going to need to pay people to provide your care. So, you either need to have a lot of money, because long-term care costs $10,000 a month, or you're going to need to have long-term care insurance.
Fidelity does an annual study, they call it the Retiree Healthcare Cost Estimate, and they said this year that the average 65 year old is going to spend $160,000 on healthcare in retirement. And that doesn't count the costs of long-term care.
You're going to need to name someone you trust to give you a durable financial power of attorney. That is someone who will be able to make financial decisions for you. If you can't make them yourself, do you have a trustworthy friend or neighbor? You're also going to need to pick someone as your healthcare power of attorney, somebody you authorize to make medical decisions for you. Some people choose their doctor or attorney or financial advisor. You might also consider hiring a social worker or a bill paying service for that function.
And then there's your stuff. Who gets your stuff when you die? With no kids or grandkids to inherit, well, who then? Your siblings might be just about as old as you, and anything you give to them is just gonna go to their kids. Is that what you want? You might consider giving all of these nieces and nephews some money right now, instead of after you die. And think about charities and causes that you want to support.
Got a dog? Who's going to get it? You need to find someone for your pets as well. And the biggest decision? Naming your executor. You're also going to need to make sure that you state in your will how you want your funeral or burial or cremation to be handled. You don't want to leave this to your executor to decide.
And speaking of giving your money away, if you're a retiree, I bet you have a lot of it. Baby boomers are 20% of the population, but we have 52% of the money, a total of $76 trillion. What are you going to do with your share of that? Can't take it with you. If you're not spending 5% of your wealth every year, you're going to die richer than you are today, and that doesn't even count the inheritance that you may be getting.
I'd suggest that you start right now giving the money away, and this is a relatively new notion. You know, traditionally people got their inheritances when their elders died, you know, mom and dad died leaving you your share of the inheritance.
That kind of made sense a hundred years ago when life expectancy was in the forties or fifties, because you were in your teens or twenties. Made sense to get your inheritance at such a young age when you needed the money, but these days parents may well live into their nineties. By the time you get your inheritance, you'll be in your seventies. As will your kids. If you die at age a hundred, they'll be in their seventies or eighties.
Do you really think them getting an inheritance at that age is going to really do them much good? Compared to when they're much younger, trying to build a business, buy a house, raise children, pay for college. You might want to consider distributing your money or at least some of it to your heirs right now.
Not only do they need the money more today than they will in 30 years, You'll get an awful lot of fun watching them spend the money. Don't believe me? Just pose a question to them. Ask them very simply, If I gave you $100,000, what would you do with it? If you like the answer, give it to them. And if you don't like the answer, don't.
So let me ask you this, What's holding you back from making big gifts to children and other heirs right now? I'll tell you what's holding you back. You're worried about longevity risk. You're afraid you might need the money in your elder years. Look, if you lived age 100, a third of your life is going to be spent in retirement and you know that old people spend more on medical care than young people, not to mention the cost of long-term care This is why 70%of Americans say they are not confident they're going to have enough money in retirement. I'm not going to disagree with you. Yes, you are going to live a long time. And yes, you are going to spend a lot of money on health care. But this is why I'm telling you to spend 5% of your wealth per year.
And you're not even doing that. I'm not saying spend 10% or 20% of your money every year. Just a measly low. 5%. And if you're not spending 5% on your lifestyle, if you're only spending 2% or 3%, that means you've got another 1% or 2% or 3% that you can give away without placing yourself at any significant financial risk.
This is your opportunity to improve the lives of the people around you. And in the process, you'll improve your life too.
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I'll see you tomorrow.
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Links from today’s show:
12/9 Webinar - What the Election Results Mean for Crypto: https://dacfp.com/events/what-the-election-results-mean-for-crypto
12/10 Webinar - The Retirement Revolution: ETF Solutions for Modern Retirement Planning: https://www.thetayf.com/pages/the-retirement-revolution-etf-solutions-for-modern-retirement-planning
11/13 Webinar Replay - An Innovative Way to Generate Income in a World of Declining Rates: https://www.thetayf.com/pages/november-13-2024-an-innovative-way-to-generate-income
10/9 Webinar Replay - Crypto for RIAs: Yield, Staking, Lending and Custody. What’s beyond the ETFs? https://dacfp.com/events/crypto-for-rias-yield-staking-lending-and-custody-whats-beyond-the-etfs/
Certified in Blockchain and Digital Assets including Crypto Taxation Course/Webinar: https://dacfp.com/certification/
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