OK, so a million dollars isn’t what it used to be. But is it really not enough to give you a secure retirement? That’s the worry among a surprising number of America’s millionaires. So, at least, reports money management giant Natixis, which owns bond shop Loomis Sayles (among other firms). Natixis polled around 1,600 people who had at least $1 million in “investible assets.”
And just over a third, or 35%, said they thought “it will take a miracle to achieve a secure retirement,” the firm reports. A miracle, no less. And this, in a secular age. The average person in the survey had $2 million in investible assets. It may not be especially surprising. Everyone is subjected to a torrent of doom, gloom and financial defeatism, all of which makes things seem much harder and worse than they actually are. Meanwhile, there is widespread ignorance about how much we really need to retire. It doesn’t help that the money management industry relies on rules of thumb which, on balance, make very little sense. Like “replacement rates,” which argue that for a comfortable retirement you will need to replace a certain percentage of your preretirement income. The usual figure used is 85%. The logical result of that concept is that if you get a raise at work your retirement challenge gets harder, not easier, because now you will “need” to generate 85% of a higher …