Fact Check: Can Wyoming Retirees Live On Social Security and $100k?

A Wall Street Journal article caught our attention recently. The headline read “You Don’t Need to Be A Millionaire to Retire.” Hale Financial has enough non-millionaire retired clients that we know this to be true, but the article explained that of a group of retirees surveyed who had less than $100,000; over 70% of them said they were doing fine financially.

“Ok, what’s the catch?” There are some catches to living a retired life with less than $100,000, but after analyzing what we’ve learned working with many Wyoming retirees, we’ve found that it is possible, with certain limitations.

3 Lessons From Over 100 Financial Meetings Last Year

Earlier this year I was curious how many meetings Hale Financial held in 2023. We had a busy year and with over 700 contacts in our system, I thought it’d be fun to see some numbers.

To my surprise, Hale Financial held over 100 client and potential client meetings last year! We love these meetings, and they reveal common trends as we serve Wyoming retiree and pre-retirees across our community.

I thought I’d take a few minutes to share some observations from these meetings that will be beneficial to retirees.

Starting Social Security at Age 62--Bad Idea?

Waiting to start Social Security has a key advantage: the longer you delay, the higher your Social Security paycheck will be over time. 

But there are cases when it could make sense not to delay, contrary to popular opinion. Let’s explore this topic, and a few scenarios where it makes sense to start Social Security as early as possible–or at least not waiting until your full retirement age.

Exploring COLA Options in the Wyoming Retirement System Pension

The Wyoming Retirement System (WRS) pension is an impressive retirement plan, offering guaranteed income to thousands of Wyoming employees across hundreds of employers. 

Among its many features, a cost of living adjustment, or COLA, is available at varying amounts. This feature helps your benefit keep pace with inflation, but it reduces your payment initially. When does opting for COLA make sense, at what levels, and what is the financial impact?