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DML OpEd:

HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU NEED TO RETIRE

Retirement Can Be a Financial Nightmare Most Americans Can’t Escape

Allow me to start this by personalizing it a little: This August, my wife, Mary, and I turn 56. Her recent disability and my role as her caregiver have pushed us to retire from the daily grind — though I will keep writing my DML REPORT newsletter and scale back to one weekly podcast on TeamDML from five. Reason being, I can’t stop doing those two jobs because I love doing them, and frankly, the extra income helps.

Preparing for retirement is brutal. 
Retirement planning should be a lesson they teach in high school and college — but they don’t. So, here I am learning all about it for the first time at 55 — way too late in life. Understanding all the tax rules and getting through the paperwork is brutal. The Social Security website sucks — glitches galore — and who knows if the money will even be there to take considering our government can’t find its butt with both hands.

And then there is the emotional impact of disconnecting from professional relevancy. I’m TRYING to mentally hand over DML CBD and the DML NEWS APP to our very capable sons without being a helicopter parent — but it’s really hard. That said, the toughest part of the retirement process is calculating the money.

Do we have enough? 
How much money can we spend each month? Do we invest our IRAs in aggressive, moderate or super safe plans? What happens if crap hits the fan, like if the markets crash — or a horrible illness hits — and so on. These questions keep me up at night, and nobody has a great set of answers to offer.

The retirement process is hell, and I’ve only just started — I imagine it only gets worse. The stress of retirement appears to be more stressful than going to work. And I will admit that meeting with our financial advisor has been the toughest part. Retirement planning is a gut-punch… the uncertainties are relentless.

More from DC
I wish President Trump would prioritize the importance of lowering the cost of living over Ukraine, Russia, and tariffs. I realize he has a ton on his plate, but he needs to prioritize the people who put him in office. The grey-hair crowd is his biggest pool of supporters - he needs to put his creativity towards helping Americans who are 55 and up — we deserve a system that doesn’t leave us in the dark.

I feel like nobody gives a damn about us folks over 55. 
It’s not just DC — even the TV networks prioritize the 25-54 crowd when touting their “ratings.” Seriously? Are they kidding! It’s the 55 and up crowd that tunes in most — we built their empires. Then we’ve got realtors peddling “55 and up” communities like they’re nursing homes for the half-dead. It’s a slap in the face. I’d run circles around any 25-year-old, and I know 75-year-olds who’d do the same. We’re not some frail demographic; we’re the backbone of this country, and it’s time society stopped treating us like yesterday’s news.

Golden Years?
Retirement should mean peace after a lifetime of work, but for most Americans, it’s a brutal financial trap. To live comfortably—paying bills, keeping your home, taking a vacation or two—you need serious savings.

The numbers: Experts set a steep bar for a decent retirement, assuming U.S. life expectancy of about 80. Fidelity Investments advises 10 times your annual salary by age 67, or $1 million to $1.5 million for someone earning $100,000-$150,000 yearly. This covers essentials, home ownership, and modest travel. Northwestern Mutual’s 2025 Planning & Progress Study estimates $1.26 million on average. Elaine King, a certified financial planner, pushes the 25x rule: save 25 times your annual expenses—$60,000 yearly means $1.5 million. Fall short, and you’re flirting with poverty.

It’s very sobering: The Federal Reserve’s 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances shows median savings of $185,000 for ages 55-64, a fraction of $1.26 million. Vanguard’s 2024 “How America Saves” reports an average of $134,128, with 64% of workers feeling behind; 25% have nothing saved. Only 10% of retirees aged 62-70 are financially secure, per retirement expert Teresa Ghilarducci. Most lean on Social Security—$1,976 monthly in 2025—covering just 40% of pre-retirement income.

Why the shortfall? 
Systemic barriers hit hard. Debt cripples—30% of older adults owe $10,000+ on credit cards. Low wages and no 401(k) access sting; 56 million workers lack employer plans (Pew, 2024). Healthcare costs average $6,500 out-of-pocket annually.

Excuses:
—> “I didn’t earn enough” (59% of women)
—> “I started too late” (70% of retirees regret delays)
—> “Life got in the way” (family, emergencies).

To cope, 20% of those over 65 keep working. Others slash expenses, skip vacations, or downsize homes. Some, dubbed “Silver Squatters,” rely on family for rent or cash.

—> The biggest reason for failure is not saving early.

Compound interest is unforgiving; starting in your late 40s and 50s, like I did, can be a losing game for many people. Success comes from discipline—saving 10-15% of income from your 20s, often with employer matches is the golden ticket, says many experts.

Struggling retirees try harder than they should have to. 
Instead of sitting back and sipping wine and overlooking the tranquil pond, there are way too many retired people working part-time to add income. Others are renting rooms in their homes to strangers via Airbnb to bring in cash. This is NOT how the golden years are supposed to be. NOTE: I do understand that some seniors will work p/t to keep busy, and that’s fine — but to do it so you can feed yourself is not how the white picket fence painting is supposed to look.

If I were president, I’d tackle the root causes head-on. 
First, healthcare and medicine costs are obscene. Prescription drugs and out-of-pocket expenses are bankrupting retirees. Trump must do more about this. If I was the president, instead of meeting with Putin and Zelenskyy, I’d be meeting with the healthcare insurers and drug companies on a daily basis. We need to cap drug prices, expand Medicare coverage to really cover ALL the costs, and we need to break Big Pharma’s “illness pays” business model. Cancer for example, is a very lucrative business. I’d emphasize incentives for Big Pharma to invest in preventative business models instead of treatment models.

Second, property taxes are a scam for seniors with paid-off homes and no kids in public schools. Schools consume 60% of property tax revenue on average. If your house is yours and your kids are grown, you shouldn’t pay a dime to fund schools. Eliminate those costs from property taxes entirely for retirees.

Third, we’re hemorrhaging billions on illegal immigration—$150 billion annually. Redirect that money to retirees for monthly stipends to cover bills and healthcare, prioritizing Americans who’ve paid into the system.

Fourth, slash income taxes for workers to boost their take-home pay, but require 2% of every salary to fund guaranteed government bonds paid out at retirement. These bonds earn interest for each worker, but at 0.25% below what the government makes lending the money. Workers build a secure nest egg, and the government earns a modest profit on the spread. It’s a no-brainer: workers save without thinking, and the system pays for itself.

My final play 
Yes, I am soon retiring from the day to day — not sure exactly when, but the announcement is coming. Yes, I will be keeping on with TeamDML, and I will be writing the DML REPORT and DML Health newsletters as I have been — just less often. But, once I retire, I’ll be launching a newsletter e-school — my daughter will spearhead the effort, and I will provide the guidance and lessons. The e-school will be an inexpensive service for retirees. It’ll be a no-BS guide to earning extra income online, using senior-friendly newsletter tools to monetize your skills , passions, and knowledge. I will share more over the summer, and you will not only love it but you will come to understand why I always urge you to visit our sponsors like the one above. (In advance, I thank you for scrolling back up and visiting their website; it helps a lot and you will learn a ton.)  

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