You've basically put what is an ideal scenario for people to retire on, but the reality is actually quite different, as a lot of people retiring don't have 250.000 and still manage to retire quite well. The fundamental point about retiring for most people is firstly to downgrade their existing home to something smaller or more practical and also to have access to funds if needed. As DJ has pointed out, there is the option for a lot of American retirees to retire to another country where the cost of living is a lot cheaper and therefore a person is able to maintain their standard of living. I'd also be very surprised if there aren't economically viable options within the USA to retire to as well, where the cost of living wouldn't be so high. Also half of Northern Europe seems to retire to Spain and central and southern France, and those with more money to Italy, and the adventurous ones to Turkey etc. and most of those don't have anywhere near the finances that you say are needed. Americans have a similar backyard to play with in Latin America which has a lot of American retirees.

Also your advice about relying on investments only holds true to a certain degree, as property and investments are far from productive these days and shouldn't be relied upon. A successful retiree is actually somebody that budgets and plans well, based on their economic means, as not everybody will have the luxury to retire on 250K.

Lord Larehip you just got owned.

You make it sound like you don't need to save anything--just pack up and move to Turkey if you have no money. I've already looked into retirement and before you can go anywhere or do anything after retirement you MUST have the money. Going where the cost of living is lower is fine but if you don't have the money to start with, what good is it? If you run out of money in Turkey, what do you do?

Overseas, you MUST keep enough savings on hand so that if you must return to your home country, you can do it. Anything could happen in Costa Rica or Belize or Thailand or the Philippines or Turkey--military junta, Islamic purge, earthquake, hurricane, flood.

If you can't retire in your home country because you didn't save, then you can't retire anywhere else--because you didn't save. And god help you if you then get sick. Medical costs might be cheaper but that doesn't mean they won't suck your savings away if you don't have much to start with.

Anyone who thinks I don't know what I'm talking about, should ignore me and follow your advice and see how far it takes them.

Awww. (sniffle, sniffle)

Nawwwww!! Just go live in Turkey! You'll LOVE it!!

Don't go if you're Armenian. They'll skin ya...

Yes, smokes are definitely taxed. Each 2-3 years or so the tax goes up on them to give some people no object but to give them up.

**** that ****. I'm sure if they just legalized prostitution and taxed it the revenue from politicians alone would be enough to buy NZ their own aircraft carrier. Then they could leave my smokes alone. Well, your smokes, but you get my point.

You've clearly not read what I've written. Firstly, I've stated that 250K minimum is certainly not essential, as thousands of people retire on less than this and live reasonably well. Also your logic goes from the ridiculous to the cor blimey concerning this 250K figure, in that those that don't have that amount are virtually going to be penniless and starving. Secondly, I also said that Turkey was ONLY for the adventurous and has become popular with its cheap flights from the UK and is in fashion here as a location.

Nobody's debating that money is not needed, only that 250K is not within the grasp of a lot of people and doesn't stop them retiring to a reasonable level. Also you need to take into things like pensions and things like equity release etc which here is a popular option for retirees. As for running out of money, sure that's always going to be a concern and that's where budgeting comes in anyway. Also most elderly people regardless of how much money they have tend to be frugal in their spending as well and quite often they fear what often never happens, other than the inevitable passing away of course.

Well if you've decided that you can only retire to the level that you require abroad in the first place and things go badly there, then sure it's going to be hard to return home, which is why a detailed plan and decent knowledge of the proposed location is needed.

If you're talking about somebody with virtually no savings then yes that's true, but if you're talking about people with limited savings then that in itself is the reason why they often retire to a cheaper country in the first place, so they can have the level of life that they want.

Now the medical issue doesn't affect most Europeans as it does Americans. For example Brits moving abroad of retirement age to another EU country have their bills covered anyway by the social security system here (despite the fact there are some loopholes and exceptions) and quite often the speed of treatment they get abroad is actually quicker than if they were in the UK, making a move to another EU country an attractive option for some.

Americans abroad if they've done their homework, will be in a country that offers good quality medical care at a fraction of what it would cost in the USA. There's actually a lot on this subject in certain latin American locations as an attraction for retirees.


We will when we reach your age.

Prostitution is legal here. It's been so for ~5 years. :p: