Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Need Advice - Where to put $$$ in ER?
Old 04-24-2006, 06:35 AM   #1
Dryer sheet aficionado
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 47
Need Advice - Where to put $$$ in ER?

Gonna pull the plug at the end of the year and need advice on 2 things... should I change current very conservative investments and would anyone else pull the plug in this situation?

I am 57, married (wife is 56), kids on their own, own condo in northeast and home in FL free and clear. Plan to work part time for a few more years. 50% of these earnings will go into Roth and after tax savings account which are pretty much depleted. No CC debt. Frugal lifestyle and would like to keep snowbirding as long as we can. Condo & house currently account for ~26% of expenses even though we don't have a mortgage. Plan on selling the condo at age 70.

Will have $750k in 401k at the end of the year if everything goes as planned. Have 75% in stable value fund at 6% and 25% in company stocks and mutual Funds which have so far earned ~10% this year. Will need to pull 4% ($30k)starting next year to fund expenses. Have aerospace pension and company pays $7,500 toward healthcare each year, which is my biggest worry due to the ~15.5% increase last year.

I know there probably isn't enough to go on here but I'd like to start the ball rolling to see if I'm making a big mistake.
snowbird is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Re: Need Advice - Where to put $$$ in ER?
Old 04-24-2006, 09:16 AM   #2
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,375
Re: Need Advice - Where to put $$$ in ER?

Hi, snowbird. You omitted a few facts, without which it is hard to advise: annual expenses and annual pension income--and when do you start collecting it. Also, will your wife have right of survivorship? Will your company pay $7500/year toward your health insurance forever, to age 65, or ? Will your wife inherit that (or half that)?

Since you plan to pull 4% ($30k) from your tax-deferred account even though you'll be working part-time, I assume you aren't collecting your pension immediately upon retirement. Good idea to pad the Roths and taxable savings by working part-time. You probably noticed that supporting two homes in retirement can be a financial challenge. You might find that it's cheaper to rent in one of the locations--I know several people who do that.

Have you tried plugging your numbers into FIRECalc on this web site?

__________________
You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find you get what you need.
astromeria is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Need Advice - Where to put $$$ in ER?
Old 04-24-2006, 09:26 AM   #3
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,375
Re: Need Advice - Where to put $$$ in ER?

oops, clicked Post instead of Preview. About your investments...75% in a stable value fund while collecting a pension is an awful lot of fixed income, but you're the one who has to sleep at night in this scenario*

When you say "company stocks," do you mean stock in your own company or in a variety of companies? I would diversify out of company stock sooner rather than later, and hold no more than 5 or maybe 10% (if extremely bullish on company prospects) of my portfolio in company stock. I personally would hold 10-50% of equities in foreign companies (I currently have 20% of my total port, including fixed income, in foreign stock--another 5% more if you count the foreign portion of real assets--REITs and commodies. I have 25% plus another 5% in real assets in US stock.)
__________________
You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find you get what you need.
astromeria is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
update on parents and need $ advice on several issues WM FIRE and Money 17 06-27-2007 06:55 PM
New member - advice welcome Fireup2020 Hi, I am... 9 02-06-2007 10:23 AM
I need some advice on the best way to stick my pole... Andre1969 Other topics 10 03-23-2006 01:31 PM
Need Some advice otako Young Dreamers 12 07-17-2004 05:32 AM
Young retiree seeks your investment advice JohnBlake FIRE and Money 8 05-01-2004 03:18 AM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:39 AM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.