Re: Paying zakat twice
Yes that is the key point. Excess is subject to zakat. However the excess is subject to everyones living conditions. Growing wealth is also subject to zakat. Retirement savings is definitely not growing wealth unless it is invested after we have cashed it after retirement. Now whether we consider it excess is a matter of interpretation and subject to many constraints and circumstances.
Personally here is how I would do it. Say I get $100000 in retirement savings. I would 2.5% zakat when I get it i.e. $2500. Then say I draw $1000 from it each month as my sustenance. After the passage of a year I would be left with $85500. I would again pay 2.5% zakat that year on it i.e. $2137. Again keep withdrawing $1000 from it for a year as sustenance and then I would be left with $71363. Again I would pay zakat on this and so on. These amounts are pretty unrealistic though but serve only as an example.
One thing that I in reality do disagree with though is the nisab amount even though I do not practice what I think. I think the nisab amount should be redefined because it is just absurd according to todays living standards.
Peace USResident
You can actually do one better on the zakat of retirement savings I think. The amount that is required for the year can be deducted up front and zakat given on the remainder.
Eg.
$100,000 calculate that x amount would be required for a year. Say that x amount comes to $1000 x 12. Therefore, $100,000 - $12,000 = $88,000 which is zakatable amount.
$2,200 would then be the zakat amount. At the end of year 1 that makes remainder is:
$100,000 - $14,200 = $85,800
Let's say that the plan for the next year is to go on travels costing $3500 in addition to the $1000 per month.
So take $85,800 - $3500 - $12,000 = $70,300 = zakatable amount
Therefore zakat = $1757.50
What I am getting at here is that zakat is not paid upfront but after a year. Does that make sense? The nisab is interesting it is quite low to redefine (i.e. to increase the limit) it would make things more difficult on the poor. The vast majority of the world are in poverty and for them the nisab is still a realistic amount. By increasing the nisab that would mean less charity will come from the West to the poorer places. I mean even after being so low the poverty still has not finished.