Hi I'm 50 yrs old and need advice

[cyuanwang]

Do I have enough to retire? Hi, I'm Carlos and I'm 50 yrs old married with 2 kids. My wife is 43 yrs old and working in health business and brings in around 50k per yr. My job is very stressful but pays well with at least 400k. My eldest kid is starting in state university and will need annual tuition around 30k for 8 yrs (med school). My younger one is going though private school (6 yrs until university) at 20k per yr and 4 yrs of colleague at 25k per yr. To be safe I'm assuming 500k will be needed for their education.

We have a 600k house paid and 4.6M worth of assets plus 340k in 401k. The trick is if I retire 2 yrs from now we'll need to paid 20k per yr for health insurance until I'm 65. Having said that our life style is quite average, I believe without paying for education and health insurance we can live on 70-80k very comfortably.

My wife will continue working for 10 more yrs.

So what do you think? Do I have enough to retire soon if conditions force me? And what type of investment strategy should I adopt?

Thanks in advance and please ask any question you may have,

Carlos

 

[retire2020]

Hi I'm 50 yrs old and need advise

You are golden to retire now if you want! Almost 5M investible asset so 2% will fetch you 100K. But 3%WR is almost 100% safe to have your money last forever. Hard to advise you on investment given limited info in your thread.

 

[cyuanwang]

You are golden to retire now if you want! Almost 5M investible asset so 2% will fetch you 100K. But 3%WR is almost 100% safe to have your money last forever. Hard to advise you on investment given limited info in your thread.

Thanks retire2020, I've been studying a lot and I'd like to use 2 to 2,5% WR if possible and hopefully leave some money for my kids in the far future. I'm thinking of going 40/60 stock/bond sort of strategy. Should I hire a money manager of just do it my on my own?

I'm always concerned about inflation and taxes to be able to use WR of 2.5%.

 

[tdv2]

Thanks retire2020, I've been studying a lot and I'd like to use 2 to 2,5% WR if possible and hopefully leave some money for my kids in the far future. I'm thinking of going 40/60 stock/bond sort of strategy. Should I hire a money manager of just do it my on my own?

I'm always concerned about inflation and taxes to be able to use WR of 2.5%.

In my case I have avoided using a FA simply because of fees associated with the products they offer. I use mostly index funds in my portfolio. If you consider the typical fees associated with management.....usually 1% of assets or more, you will be paying a hefty amount on that $4.6MM.

 

[exnavynuke]

You can retire a few years ago it seems. Don't pay for a FA, spend a couple weekends reading up on a 3-fund portfolio over at bogleheads wiki and invest your money yourself. A 2.5% WR, imo, is ridiculously conservative and practically guarantees giving your heirs much more money than you'll initially retire with when you depart this world.

 

[MBAustin]

Welcome Carlos! If you haven't found them already, we have a helpful list of things to think about before you make the leap:

Some Important Questions to Answer

Most folks here would recommend using FIREcalc (link at bottom of each page here) and/or another retirement calculator to model your finances, and to have a good accounting of your expenses before pulling the plug. However, it does look like you're in pretty solid shape.

Also I would say that most here would be comfortable with a 40-60 AA and would DIY it with low-cost mutual funds or ETFs. There are plenty of resources to figure this out - Google "lazy portfolios" for some ideas.

 

[cyuanwang]

In my case I have avoided using a FA simply because of fees associated with the products they offer. I use mostly index funds in my portfolio. If you consider the typical fees associated with management.....usually 1% of assets or more, you will be paying a hefty amount on that $4.6MM.

I agree! Especially paying fee for FA on conservative and low yield investments doesn't make sense.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

If you retire this Friday, will your wife retire too?. If so , start planning the retirement party. you worked too long already.

 

[cyuanwang]

Welcome Carlos! If you haven't found them already, we have a helpful list of things to think about before you make the leap:

Some Important Questions to Answer

Most folks here would recommend using FIREcalc (link at bottom of each page here) and/or another retirement calculator to model your finances, and to have a good accounting of your expenses before pulling the plug. However, it does look like you're in pretty solid shape.

Also I would say that most here would be comfortable with a 40-60 AA and would DIY it with low-cost mutual funds or ETFs. There are plenty of resources to figure this out - Google "lazy portfolios" for some ideas.

Thanks MB Austin, I will look into these tools. And I agree probably 60k will be enough I'm just trying to be conservative.

 

[cyuanwang]

If you retire this Friday, will your wife retire too?. If so , start planning the retirement party. you worked too long already.

Haha, I think she will work ten more yrs and try to get her social security eligibility done. Beside she loves her work.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

Haha, I think she will work ten more yrs and try to get her social security eligibility done. Beside she loves her work.

Then Sir, you need to think will you be happy at home waiting for her to return after a days work. But financially your set. Live long ,be happy and healthy, enjoy, you earned it.

 

[cyuanwang]

Then Sir, you need to think will you be happy at home waiting for her to return after a days work. But financially your set. Live long ,be happy and healthy, enjoy, you earned it.

I believe there are plenty of things I can do besides work and I can always drive there to have lunch with her! [emoji12][emoji12][emoji12]

 

[Enuff2Eat]

Trouble with people that make a lots of money is that they do NOT want to or know how to quit. Why quit when you still can bring in another $200k+ a year? they will always face with "another year" syndrome. I think Carlos will be around the office many years to come.

I bet my lunch money that Carlos will ask "Do I have enough to retire?" again in 5 years. How many people ask this kind of question when they already have $5M? Welcome to the club Carlos and congrats on your success.

 

[evilanne]

You have more than enough. Only detail that wasn't mentioned was Healthcare...is family covered under you or your wife? Although you certainly can afford HI, if it requires changing coverage through your employers, you may need to look at the timing to make sure everyone is covered.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

I believe there are plenty of things I can do besides work and I can always drive there to have lunch with her! [emoji12][emoji12][emoji12]

Awesome your ready!

 

[cyuanwang]

You have more than enough. Only detail that wasn't mentioned was Healthcare...is family covered under you or your wife? Although you certainly can afford HI, if it requires changing coverage through your employers, you may need to look at the timing to make sure everyone is covered.

Thanks evilanne, healthcare is under me and my wife's professional usually the employer won't offer this type of benefit. That's why I mentioned that I will most likely have to pay for insurance from retirement until I'm 65 yrs old at 20k per yr. Heath care is one of my major concern after my kids college fees.

 

[cyuanwang]

Trouble with people that make a lots of money is that they do NOT want to or know how to quit. Why quit when you still can bring in another $200k+ a year? they will always face with "another year" syndrome. I think Carlos will be around the office many years to come.

I bet my lunch money that Carlos will ask "Do I have enough to retire?" again in 5 years. How many people ask this kind of question when they already have $5M? Welcome to the club Carlos and congrats on your success.

Thanks Enuff2Eat, fortunately I'm not this kind, the thing is I'm always too conservative when dealing with money, it is in my genes of immigrants that have heard too much hardship due to lack of money from my families.

 

[retire2020]

As others mentioned No to FA. Go to bogglehead wiki and read some books they suggest and you will be good to manage money on your own. In your case your FA may charge you 1% to manage and thats a whopping 50K going to him from your hard earned money....You will be funding his retirement not yours... Remember your wife works for a whole year to earn 50K where as this FA will sweet talk to you and rob you of that 50k by spending 5hrs a yr with you.

However if you still prefer FA then hire a low cost one who charges you flat fee regardless of your asset. I've one whom I pay 2500/yr who is basically for a second opinion to double check my approach and gets me access to DFA funds. If you want more details, pm me and I will give you their info.
Relax and Enjoy your life. You've earned it. I am also an immigrant so I know how you feel and your anxiety!

 

[Enuff2Eat]

Thanks Enuff2Eat, fortunately I'm not this kind, the thing is I'm always too conservative when dealing with money, it is in my genes of immigrants that have heard too much hardship due to lack of money from my families.

cyuanwang, I apology for being rude. I know many people, myself included all have "another year" syndrome". I went to a funeral over the 3 weekend ago. It was a colleague of my. Passed at 62 and retired at 61.

His last year was in and out of hospital. For some reason, we all tell ourselves ... just need a few more years.

 

[kimcdougc]

What are you waiting for? Go live your life. Congrats on being able to move forward...if you want.

 

[Rambler]

If my wife was going to work for 10 more years, I wouldn't retire, especially with those education costs still ahead. I worked until my kids' last semesters were paid. For me, this made the most sense. You have to remember, retiring "to" something is probably more important than retiring "from" something. For me, that would mean that if my DW was at work and I was retired, I wouldn't be retiring "to" something, because I'd feel pretty guilty trying to do the traveling and fun stuff that I do, without her. Thus, I wouldn't do much of anything, and I'd be bored. If there was only a year or 18 months between our retirement dates, and there was good reason for those dates not to be coincident, I would be able to find home improvement projects to fiddle with until she retired, and I'd make sure the house was clean, the laundry done, and dinner on the table when she got home. Much longer than that and it just would not have worked for me.

 

[DanP]

Trouble with people that make a lots of money is that they do NOT want to or know how to quit. Why quit when you still can bring in another $200k+ a year? they will always face with "another year" syndrome. I think Carlos will be around the office many years to come.

I bet my lunch money that Carlos will ask "Do I have enough to retire?" again in 5 years. How many people ask this kind of question when they already have $5M? Welcome to the club Carlos and congrats on your success.

Well, Carlos already had a good response to the above.

Still the quoted post above resonates in that some folks (like me) who can stress on OMY to earn even a couple of points a year relative to assets. For safety. Because many if not all of us here were born or have been through far more difficult times.

But here we are in a privileged position talking about RE, how cool is that? In my case I came back after 20 months since my first post and pulled the trigger.

I guess my point is that our background can make some more conservative than others, and we could miss out on many good years by over-stressing about finances once Firecalc is "110%"...

More specifically to Carlos: agree with the financial readiness but could not imagine the disparity with a working wife, just an opinion.

 

[cyuanwang]

cyuanwang, I apology for being rude. I know many people, myself included all have "another year" syndrome". I went to a funeral over the 3 weekend ago. It was a colleague of my. Passed at 62 and retired at 61.



His last year was in and out of hospital. For some reason, we all tell ourselves ... just need a few more years.

No need to apologize Enuff2Eat, I know your intentions are good. And I understand and agree with that we can wait too much to fully enjoy our lives.

 

[cyuanwang]

What are you waiting for? Go live your life. Congrats on being able to move forward...if you want.

Thanks kimcdougc, I'm almost there... [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

 

[2017ish]

Trouble with people that make a lots of money is that they do NOT want to or know how to quit. Why quit when you still can bring in another $200k+ a year? they will always face with "another year" syndrome. I think Carlos will be around the office many years to come.
...

True for some, but an over-generalization (as you note below)--and especially so for this forum DW and I would save at least that much from our pay for each additional year of working. In our case, not hard to walk away from at all. With each year, we get older;we have too much stuff to do that requires strenuous physical activity and we want to spend more time together....