Yet another new guy

[4EAXFM]

I just found this site a few days ago and thought I'd drop in to introduce myself. Still a long way off from retirement. The wife and I are 37 and I'm shooting for hanging it up at age 55. Five kids, with 2 just getting potty trained and 2 seniors in high school (not the same 2 kids ). I'm nowhere near the saver some of you folks are, but we've got about $300k in retirement accounts and $150k in taxable accounts. The taxable accounts will probably shrink over the next several years as we pay for college. Our middle child will be hitting college as soon as the first 2 graduate. I've got an enjoyable, decent paying job as an engineer for a major defense contractor (rhymes with knock-kneed fartin'), but I'm very much looking forward to early retirement. When I ask myself if I'd come in to work if it didn't pay anything, the answer is a resounding no. I think I'll be able to make my goal by continuing to max out my 401k and Roth IRAs for DW and myself. I figure I'll have ~$2 million in the bank by then, with an almost paid off house and maybe a pension that will pay ~25% of my ending salary, if my company doesn't get rid of it before then. We're a pretty frugal family... no debts outside of a mortgage, no cable, dish, maid, Ferrari, etc. Our kids routinely complain about being the only ones without their own cell phones. Wah.

Anyhoo, I just wanted to say 'hi'. I think my mindset is already pretty much in line with most folks here, but I'm looking forward to learning a thing or two and tweaking my game plan.

[Nords]

Welcome to the board, uhm, 4.

Originally Posted by 4EAXFM

I figure I'll have ~$2 million in the bank by then, with an almost paid off house and maybe a pension that will pay ~25% of my ending salary, if my company doesn't get rid of it before then.

Have you taken a look at your expenses in FIRECalc? Is age 55 significant for assets or for health insurance?

Originally Posted by 4EAXFM

Our kids routinely complain about being the only ones without their own cell phones. Wah.

Yours can contact ours to form a support group-- just as soon as they all move out and set up their own housekeeping...

[Jaction]

Originally Posted by 4EAXFM

I've got an enjoyable, decent paying job as an engineer for a major defense contractor (rhymes with knock-kneed fartin'), but I'm very much looking forward to early retirement.

Welcome to the board.

I worked for the same company for 37 years and now retired, but not early. I was an electronic engineer and enjoyed it except for the last 3 or 4 years when I got burned out. I hope you enjoy them for the rest of your career.

You are in much better shape than I was at your age. Except I only had 1 kid.

Larry

[4EAXFM]

Originally Posted by Nords

Welcome to the board, uhm, 4.

Uhm, thanks.

Have you taken a look at your expenses in FIRECalc? Is age 55 significant for assets or for health insurance?

I fiddled with the FIRECalc briefly, but am not sure how to properly set it up for a projection into the future. I ended up backing my SWAG of $2 milllion in 2025 into $1.175 million in today's dollars. The calc then says I can withdraw $44k/yr and make it for 35 years. That, plus my anticipated pension, ought to keep us well funded in retirement. Do I presume correctly that the $44k annual withdrawal increases with inflation each year in the calculation?

As for 55, it is at least significant for our company's pension. According to our online pension estimator, retiring 1 day prior to your magic birthday results in half the payout you would receive on your birthday. There is a health insurance benefit that kicks in at some point as well, but I don't know for sure when that happens.

And Larry, thanks for the welcome! Nice to see a fellow knock-kneed... uh... you know. I did a bit of job hopping in my day, so I'm behind on pension accrual and hope to come nowhere close to putting in 37 years. I think I'm staying put for the long haul, though I've said that at every company I've worked for. I haven't figured out how to maintain market wages without jumping ship.