This week on the One Minute Retirement Tip podcast, I’m talking about the 3 things you need to get right for a happy, meaningful, and fulfilling retirement, based on a study of 20,000 retirees that followed them from 1994 to 2018. 

Today, I’m talking about the first key ingredient to happiness and fulfillment in retirement....money.

Yes, despite what you’re told, money does actually make you happier. According to the article summarizing the research findings (that I’ll link to in the show notes - https://www.fa-mag.com/news/for-happiness-in-retirement--forget-about-your-kids-and-the-fancy-car--advisors-say-64230.html) 

Money “seems to have a relatively linear effect up to about $4 million.” What does this mean? Well, the more money you have the happier you’ll be in retirement...up to a point. The monetary peak of happiness is when you have $4 million. 

After $4 million in net worth, more money does not = happier. 

Have you been told this before? Most of the research I’ve seen on money and ties to happiness deal with income. Like I’ve read research findings that indicate happiness tied to income peaks at about $75,000 a year, but newer research actually contradicts that original finding that is so often quoted as proof that more money does not equal more happiness. 

So does money buy happiness? Maybe.

If you think about it in retirement, and what $4 million in assets would do for your overall well-being, I think it begins to make more sense. 

First of all, $4 million can provide roughly $150,000 of income in retirement, perhaps more depending on how you’re invested, while still growing to provide more income down the road.

By the time you get to retirement, you’re likely to have low to no debt, so that $150,000+ a year of income is largely discretionary. 

You can easily cover the basics of food, clothing, housing, gas, and health care. Which means you can enjoy travel, gardening, and a golf club membership without worrying about penny-pinching. You can use your money for good in a way that aligns with your values - contributing to causes you care about or college for your grandkids. 

Your nest egg is large enough to protect you in an emergency. If something expensive breaks or you need a new roof, you have the assets to pay for it and move on without the insecurity of wondering how that large withdrawal will impact you years down the road. 

So if money does buy happiness for many of us up to the $4 million dollar mark, what does that mean for you and how you plan and save and invest for retirement? 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip podcast. 

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance