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iQuestions Faculty, Ron Blue 
 
 
Question: 
 
How much is enough for retirement? 
 
Answer: 
 
You know, the answer to the question, “How much is enough for 
retirement?” is a critical question, and when I approach retirement, I 
need to know, probably the biggest issue is, “Well, how long am I 
going to live?” 
 
The reality is that there are increasing life expectancies, and my life 
expectancy goes up with the older that I get—so, somebody that is 60 
has a life expectancy maybe of 20 years, to age 80, whereas, someone 
who’s age 80 may have a life expectancy of another 15 years, or, age 
95. In other words, my life expectancy goes up as I live longer. 
 
So, how do I plan for that? And how much is enough for retirement? 
 
What I’ve found is that there’s probably three great variables that are 
going to drive how much is enough, in terms of my retirement. The 
first thing that is the biggest driver is, “What’s my lifestyle?”—in other 
words, “How much am I spending every year, just to life?” 
 
Now that I begin to add such things as increased medical cost, 
perhaps, the older that I get, but what is it going to cost me per year 
to live? Because if I know how much it’s going to cost me per year, 
then I can figure out mathematically how much is enough, in terms of 
my earning assets.  
 
 
 
But that’s an indeterminate amount. The second big category is, 
“What’s my income?” 
 
Do I have Social Security income? Do I have other sources of income 
— retirement plans, for example, from my employer, or my own 
retirement plans? 
 
I need bring into account my lifestyle, first of all; the income that I’m 
going to be generating from various sources; and then the third, if I 
can reach retirement with no debt, then what I have done is removed 
one big financial requirement that most people face every year. 
 
So, I don’t know the answer specifically or exactly in your case — nor 
do you, nor does anyone else — of how much is enough for 
retirement, but I can calculate how long I can live with the assets and 
the income that I have. And it’s a function of, basically, my lifestyle 
and my debt. 
 
I would encourage you to use some type of professional to help you 
think through how much either you’re going to need for retirement, or 
how much you already have, and do you have enough for retirement. 
 
And I would encourage you to make those calculations as early in your 
life as what you can, so that you can begin planning early for that 
retirement that is going to come.  
 
 
 
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