Goal: Retire with $3-4 million!?

Question

I would like to retire in 30 years, without sharing my income, how much do I need to put away a month, and into what type of vehicles, to retire with $3-4 million.

And finally, how much will the pay out be from that retirement fund per year after taxes? and for how long can it last?

Many many thanks! :)

Answer 1

In order to determine how much you need for retirement, there are a couple of things that you need to decide. First of all, how long do you have until retirement? You have specified that this is 30 years out. Also, what returns do you expect on your money before retirement and how much do you expect it to return while you are in retirement? Let’s assume that you will invest mainly in growth stock mutual funds that have averaged around 12% over the last 80 or so years.

You should expect to be able to live on the returns that your nest egg generates once you retire. Therefore if you expect to return 10% average per year once in retirement you should have 10 times the annual income you need in your nest egg. That way you can leave the nest egg alone and just take the returns. That way your money will never run out as long as you live and you can leave some inheritance.

You will also need to consider inflation, and taxes if this is not a tax sheltered investment. A Roth IRA would almost certainly be a good idea. You can put after tax dollars into this and then draw from it completely tax free at retirement. Since your retirement is 20 years out, you should consider investing a good portion in stock mutual funds depending on your risk tolerance.

As for how much to invest? If you invested around $1000 per month for the next 30 years at around 12% average returns, you would have about $3,600,000. If this continued to return 12% after and you drew on around 9% to leave 3% to account for inflation, you would have an income of about $330,000 per year. This would be completely tax free if invested in a Roth IRA.

So what should we invest in? Always start with your 401(k) if you get a match, this is like free money! After getting your match, if you qualify with your income, fund a Roth IRA with after tax dollars. If you fully fund your ROTH and still have not saved 10%-15% of your income, then go back to your 401(k) if you have decent investments there.

It is important to note that 401(k)s and IRAs are not investments, they are a tax treatment on investments.
I would suggest that you invest mainly in good growth stock mutual funds. They aren't nearly as risky as hand picking single stocks but give you stock market returns as opposed to the low fixed income returns. This is especially true since you have about 30 years until retirement. Go check out some online brokers (Fidelity, Vanguard etc.) or sit down with a competent broker or financial planner.

Get started today and let compounding interest be your best friend!

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

if you expect a retirement fund to provide for you then you are already sunk --- seriously ---- if you want 3 - 4 million (in 2007 dollars) then take the time to do the research and find the best investment for you --- that matches your personality and your goals --- forget (in general) advisors i know of too many people that relied upon advisors and lost the lot --- if you work it properly taxation will be minimal and legal and you may also find that it takes a lot less than 30 years --- have fun

Answer 3

Really so simple. Take every dollar you have,every year, invest in the stock market. IRA as much as possible, for tax purposes.
Never pay interest on anything that doesn't increase in value, auto included. Never rent anything. 10k per year for 30 years and you will be real close. I could do it in 20, with any luck. Discipline is the key and most people don't have that.

Answer 4

Wow!

What you are discussing is extremely difficult and would require more discipline than most people have.

One of the responders discards "financial advisers" That can be true...just like good plumbers and bad plumbers. You need to find the right one, no easy task.

What I do know is that 99.9% of the population are incapable of managing long term investments.

To say "go have fun" means "go loose your shirt"

Talk to your friends, family and get recommendations from people who have long term trust with a financial advisor.

I have huge respect for my guy, but I had 2 before him who cost me money.

Your savings need to be painless, meaning automatic salary deductions which go directly to your investments. That way, over time you get accustomed to not having that money.

Couple of tips...

1. Get married and "stay" married. 2 incomes are better than one.
If you get divorced, which 50% of people do, then kiss your retirement plans goodbye.

2. Get a job with a pension. Takes the heat off of designing your own retirement fund. Not easy to do today, as jobs with pensions are dissapearing fast.

Answer 5

You might have start slow with $100, then when you become more successful start putting more up to $1000 then your final years will be the best!! :) :) :)

Answer 6

look into growth stock mutual funds.... avoid debt and save like crazy....

Answer 7

you would need to save up about $11000 a month