Looking forward to FIRE

[Getting short]

Hello all,
I just found the FIRE calculator and this forum, exactly what I needed as I'm planning to retire in early 2008. I've just reached 55 yo and 30 years of Federal employment, the magic numbers! I'm very fortunate to receive a COLAed pension and retain my health insurance upon retirement.

I still have 2 kids to put through college, but money in 529's and other investments should cover that. I just made the final payment on my house and plan to downsize once my youngest leaves the nest. I'm not sure if I'll stay in my current "velvet rut" of a town longterm or move elswhere. But that's a question I have lots of time to figure out!

Anyway, I'm looking forward learning a lot and participating in this community.

 

[martyb]

Always happy to meet a fellow Fed...welcome! I'm not too far behind you, I'll turn 50 this January, so I'm feeling like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm assuming you're a CSRSer as well, since you're going out at 55/30. When I'm 55, I'll have just shy of 36 years and am really driving my wife crazy with all my retirement talk. I'd like to know, just out of curiosity, whether you took advantage of the TSP to any extent? Of course I know we don't get any matching money, but I'm still happy to get the tax breaks, and if the stock market gods smile on me, I should be at least able to nicely supplement my pension from my TSP portfolio. I'm also an Air Force reservist, and will have a pension from that as well that kicks in at age 60. Well, get comfy and browse around, you'll definitely get some interesting conversation in this place. There are a fairly sizeable number of "us" Feds around here, so in that regard your definitely among friends! Lot's of cool folks populate this board, which I'm sure you already know if you've been lurking. Take care.

 

[Getting short]

Hi Marty!
Yes, I've held on to CSRS. I came on PFT just before they offered FERS in about 1984 and it was hard to get good information about the differences between the systems. And at that time I was so young and far from retirement that I didn't pay it as much attention as I probably should have. I remember everyone was concerned about SS staying solvent, so I decided to stay with CSRS. The second time they offered I figured I was far enough along that I should stay with the old system. For at least the last 15-20 years I've maxed out my TSP contribution, I'm a saver and like taking it out of pretax dollars! So, it might have made sense for me to be in FERS with the matching funds, but I've never had the heart to crank the numbers. I also put the max in my Roth each year. That's why I'm sticking around for a couple of months in 2008, so that I can put a final few bucks into retirement accounts and do some flex spending early in the year. I don't think I could go a whole year without taking AL, so the retiring at the beginning of the New Year scenario doesn't appeal to me.

At 50 and on CSRS, you've got to be one of the last people to retire on the old system! Sounds like you've got things lined out pretty well, maybe by the time you retire we'll be able to pay for health insurance with pretax dollars!