So I hit the big 4-0 and I'm wondering whether it's time to early retire. Married, no kids at the moment, wife does not work. I doubt I would completely retire, maybe work part time for a while or take a lower stress lower paying job, maybe work as a seasonal park ranger in a national park over the summers, or just look for the next big thing. All options are open, but I probably won't just spend the rest of my life playing golf and gardening. I would love to travel around the country in an RV for major portions of the year, maybe taking locum jobs (I'm a physician) for maybe a week or two every other month, and maybe try my hand at writing in my free time. For planning purposes I would say I could conservatively earn a supplemental income of maybe 20-30k per year working locums jobs until I am actually ready to really retire around 65. Current income is 420k, but not really enjoying my work anymore. I could take a full time job I think I would enjoy for half the salary, but then I'd be working the same hours as now and not really enjoying the freedom and excitement of trying something new.
So my assets are a 450k home with no mortgage, 450k in retirement accounts, 1.2 million in non-retirement accounts. Spending currently is about 80k per year. I've been tracking my expenses very carefully over the past several years, so I'm fairly confident in that spending amount, though if I quit my job, buying health insurance will be the major additional unknown going forward given the seemingly precarious future of Obamacare. But I think we can get our spend down to 60k by downsizing to a condo, selling second car, and spending less on food (currently $1200 per month), to give us a buffer for health insurance.
I've run firecalc, with the above numbers and it tells me I have a 50% success rate over the next 50 years with a spend of 80k, and a 90% success rate with a spend of 60k.
I'm willing to risk a lower success rate because I know that in the worst case scenario, my wife and I would make it one way or another, and we don't have kids to worry about. I have also used conservative numbers (living to 90, not including social security and a small pension i would get at 60).
Honestly, the major factor that makes me hesitant to retire right now is the health insurance issue. If I knew i could always get health insurance at a reasonable cost for the rest of my life I think I would do it.
Oh and the still open possibility of having kids. We are trying but time is running out. Obviously if we have kids all of the above will have to be reconsidered. But I would still seriously consider going part-time to be able to spend more time with family.
Thoughts? Not just about the numbers, but also about the options (taking less stressful job for same hours but half pay, working part time locums, or retiring outright and trying something else)? I think I'm still young enough that I could conceivably start a new career, open a small business, freelance writing, etc.
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So my assets are a 450k home with no mortgage, 450k in retirement accounts, 1.2 million in non-retirement accounts. Spending currently is about 80k per year. I've been tracking my expenses very carefully over the past several years, so I'm fairly confident in that spending amount, though if I quit my job, buying health insurance will be the major additional unknown going forward given the seemingly precarious future of Obamacare. But I think we can get our spend down to 60k by downsizing to a condo, selling second car, and spending less on food (currently $1200 per month), to give us a buffer for health insurance.
I've run firecalc, with the above numbers and it tells me I have a 50% success rate over the next 50 years with a spend of 80k, and a 90% success rate with a spend of 60k.
I'm willing to risk a lower success rate because I know that in the worst case scenario, my wife and I would make it one way or another, and we don't have kids to worry about. I have also used conservative numbers (living to 90, not including social security and a small pension i would get at 60).
Honestly, the major factor that makes me hesitant to retire right now is the health insurance issue. If I knew i could always get health insurance at a reasonable cost for the rest of my life I think I would do it.
Oh and the still open possibility of having kids. We are trying but time is running out. Obviously if we have kids all of the above will have to be reconsidered. But I would still seriously consider going part-time to be able to spend more time with family.
Thoughts? Not just about the numbers, but also about the options (taking less stressful job for same hours but half pay, working part time locums, or retiring outright and trying something else)? I think I'm still young enough that I could conceivably start a new career, open a small business, freelance writing, etc.
Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum