Her Retirement Advisor Told Her To Save Less For The Future And Enjoy Life More. Should She Listen To This Advice?
A 37-year-old woman recently turned to Reddit’s r/personalfinance for help after a workplace retirement advisor told her to stop saving so much for retirement and start enjoying her life more.
She makes $54,000 a year, has no debt, and is single with no plans for marriage or dual income. She rents, doesn’t expect to afford a home anytime soon, and maxes out her Roth IRA while also contributing 23% of her income to her 401(k). Her current retirement savings sit at $198,000, and she has an additional $30,000 in a high-yield savings account.
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Is She Saving Too Much?
She said that according to the retirement calculator, she could have up to $1.5 million by the time she retires. “Realistically, it’ll be lower,” she wrote, adding, “I’m not counting on social security.” She also shared that she hopes to travel more in retirement, ideally taking one international trip per year along with a couple of smaller domestic getaways.
Her advisor suggested she back off the heavy retirement savings and focus on “saving for a house and to have more money just to enjoy life.” But she’s hesitant.
“I'm approaching my peak earning years and I don't expect to be making much more salary in my career,” she explained. “And again with the current housing market, interest rates, housing maintenance/upkeep, etc., I won't be able to afford a house anytime soon.”
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Most commenters thought she was doing just fine. One top-voted reply asked, “Are you happy with your current standard of living? If yes, then you should not listen to him.”
Another added, “You're essentially living on ~$40K. So really, $1M in retirement is gonna get you that fairly safely. $1.5M isn’t exactly overkill.”
Several echoed that sentiment, emphasizing that she may be over-saving. One user said: “The advice I’ve been following is to save between 20-25% of your income for retirement. Certainly understand the financial advisor's point of wanting to make sure you're enjoying life now.”
Still, many pushed back on her view that she doesn't want to own a home due to rising property taxes in retirement. “You'll have increasing rent,” one commenter pointed out, while another said that rent will increase much faster than property taxes.
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