My Dad’s Exciting Journey to Retirement at 60: Seeking Investment Tips

It’s never too late to start planning for your retirement. A Redditor recently posted in the FIRE Reddit community that his father recently set up a retirement account. The father earns $23/hr and puts 12% of his paychecks into a vested account. The father also puts $100/mo into Robinhood, which goes toward investments of his choice.

The Redditor asked the FIRE community some of the best places to invest that money to get a better ROI. The original poster also asked for advice about how people pull off retirement if they got started at an older age.

Save At Least 20% Of Your Paycheck

One of the top comments came from a Redditor who suggested that the 60-year-old father saves at least 20% of his paycheck. It’s important to save as much as you can in general, but it’s even more important for a 60-year-old who is just getting started with retirement savings. 

The commenter also suggested that the father works as long as physically possible. This approach allows the father to work into his later years, so he doesn’t have to get as much mileage out of his money to avoid outliving the funds.

The father will have to work for 10 years just to qualify for Social Security. It won’t be much since he is building his work experience at 60, but it is better than nothing.

Prepare To Pay For The Father’s Expenses

“Prepare to support your dad if you ever expect him to stop working. There’s no high guaranteed ROI investment,” one of the commenters stated.

Some people feel like they have no shot at retirement if they have zero savings when they turn 50. While it’s possible for anyone to retire if they are willing to work harder than everyone else, it gets harder if you start later. The father can retire eventually if he saves more money and continues to grow his career, but the son should expect to cover his finances at some point.

Luckily, the son is already prepared for this. He said that he is working toward getting a 6-figure job and pursuing more opportunities. It’s good to prepare for this scenario, but it’s also possible that the father can support himself if he is prudent with his finances.

Contribute To a Roth IRA

One commenter suggested that the father put his monthly brokerage deposit into a Roth IRA instead. This simple strategy will ensure that the father doesn’t pay any taxes on dividends or capital gains. It will also inspire him to save more money since the maximum Roth IRA contribution is $8,000 per year.

The father currently puts $100/mo into her brokerage account, and maxing the Roth IRA would require roughly $670/mo. The father can fill in the gaps by saving more money, picking up a side hustle, working longer hours, or looking for a higher-paying job. Striving to max out a Roth IRA plan can set the stage for more financial success.

It’s also great that the father is already using Robinhood. You can get a 1% match on all Roth IRA contributions with a Robinhood IRA. If the father is willing to use Robinhood Gold, he can get a 3% match on his IRA contributions. That’s free money and will move him closer to his retirement goals. 

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