Hi I am a 50 YO single male in Pittsburgh hoping to FIRE ASAP

[van-dweller]

I've been a lurker on this forum for years but figure its time to introduce myself.

Net Worth currently at $925,000. $525,000 of that is in 401/403/457 retirement plans mostly in stock mutual funds. $350,000 in brokerage accounts and other miscellaneous assets, but mostly in stock mutual funds. I have $50,000 in cash savings account from the sale of my last home.

I have a parked pension from a previous job that I was at for 23 years that will pay $5,442.10 (no COLA) a month starting in Nov 3, 2025. If I started taking payments now I would get $2,903.31 a month.

I'm currently putting the max into my work 403 plan which is matched very well at my current job, so between myself and the match I'm adding just over $3000 a month to it.

My original plan was to FIRE at 55 (in 5 years). The plan then was to live off savings until the pension kicked in at ~60.
Social Security would basically be a cost of living increase for me when I needed it - I never really counted on it being there for me, but it looks like it might still be around for a while

My new goal is to retire sooner rather than wait another 5 years.

So I just need to work out a plan where I can FIRE sooner rather than later.

I have been studying expat blogs and forums for several years, and definitely want to live abroad for several years while I'm still healthy enough to do so. Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Thailand, Ecuador, Panama, Portugal etc all look appealing to me. I've been studying spanish for some years also, but am still not very fluent. I'm very frugal and don't have expensive tastes, and have no problem living on a limited budget, which has helped me save as much as I have.

So nice to meet you.

 

[braumeister]

Sounds good to me, so welcome!
I assume you've been using FIRECalc, Fidelity, and other calculators to get a sense of how you're likely to fare. Have you actually tracked your spending in detail so you know what you spend/will spend? That may be the most important factor, but one that's often overlooked.

 

[Koolau]

Welcome! It sounds like you are well on your way. I second braumeister's recommendation to understand your spending at least as well as your assets and income potential. As you probably know, Early 50's retirement has the potential to require adequate income for 40 or more years. The other big issue is health care. Do you have that under control at least until Medicare kicks in? A non-political statement here: I believe ACA specifically and health care in general is in for some very big changes in the not-too-distant future. The crest of the Baby Boomer generation is about to break on the shore. I would put back a significant stash to cover whatever comes from that inundation. YMMV so good luck and check back often and tell us how it's going.

 

[aaronc879]

You say nothing about your expenses. After your income/assets, your expenses are the next most important thing yet no mention of them. You say you are frugal and don't have expensive tastes. If your home is paid off and you are single with no kids then you should have no problem living off your $400K in non-tax deferred savings for the next 10 years. After that you will have more money than you'll know what to do with since you'll have the big pension and (by then) probably over a million in tax deferred savings with SS following a few years later. If you can live on $40K/yr for the next 10 then you are good to go today.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I don't think he has a paid for home since he mentions putting the $ from sale of last home in bank.

 

[van-dweller]

Hi,

Ah yes, I did forget to talk about my expenses.

I'm currently renting - rent and utilities are usually under $1000 a month.

My healthcare insurance is currently covered by my employer but I will have to pay out of pocket once I stop working. I suspect that will be a BIG expense once I stop working. At first I thought ACA might help if I wasn't drawing an income and was living off savings but like Koolau says, things are likely to get shaken up. I just read Aetna was dropping out of some exchanges due to losses.

I have no debts. My car is paid off although it is 10 years old, but still in decent shape.

Thanks for the replies. I may have more specific questions later.

 

[REWahoo]

Check out this thread: http://www.early-retirement.org/for...-answer-before-asking-can-i-retire-69999.html

Pay close attention to the questions about expenses.

 

[Sunset]

Your savings sound great.

Being single you can try the foreign living idea more easily since nobody has to agree with you.
You could sign up for travel insurance for a kind of health coverage when travelling to some far country, and in some of those countries you mentioned medical coverage is low cost even out of pocket.
Plus for some you might be able to sign up for coverage.

The annoying part is every country has different rules about how long you can stay, and what qualifies you to stay for X months/year.