It turns out a good source for retirement income for today’s kids in Missouri may be right under their pillows.
According to a new analysis out today from Delta Dental of Missouri, if today’s 6-year-olds invest all the money they receive from the Tooth Fairy, they could be sitting on a combined total of more than $643 million by the time they reach 67, the traditional retirement age.
That could mean a whopping $10,125 per child when current 6-year-olds in Missouri hit retirement age, if they were to invest all their Tooth Fairy earnings. Delta Dental’s 2015 The Original Tooth Fairy Poll® found the Tooth Fairy visited 81 percent of homes in the United States, meaning out of the current 78,448 6-year-olds in Missouri, about 63,543 likely received gifts.
The retirement income figure is based on a 6-year-old (average age for 1st tooth loss) receiving the average Tooth Fairy gift in Missouri of $2.06 (from Delta Dental’s most recent survey of U.S. parents of 6 to 12-year-olds), with 6.5 percent in-mouth inflation (the typical increase for Tooth Fairy gifts from year to year) for each subsequent tooth, and a 9.6 percent return on investment based on historic stock market returns (S&P 500 average) per year until they turn 67.
By region, the retirement savings will vary in line with the average 2014 Tooth Fairy gift:
•Northeast: $20,477 (average 2014 Tooth Fairy gift of $4.16).
•Midwest: $13,910 (average 2014 Tooth Fairy gift of $2.83).
•South: $25,362 (average 2014 Tooth Fairy gift of $5.16).
•West: $23,004 (average 2014 Tooth Fairy gift of $4.68).
According to Delta Dental’s The Original Tooth Fairy Poll®, the national average Tooth Fairy gift reached a record high last year of $4.36, up 24.6 percent from 2013 when the average gift was $3.50.
To learn more about Delta Dental of Missouri, visit www.DeltaDentalMO.com.
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