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View Poll Results: Which are you/will you be? SIRE or FIRE?
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SIRE, more than 50% covered by Corp or Govt benefits
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66 |
38.37% |
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FIRE, more than 50% covered by your own personal holdings
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106 |
61.63% |
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Poll:Which are you/will you be? SIRE or FIRE?
10-09-2009, 11:08 AM
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#1
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: NC
Posts: 21,303
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Poll:Which are you/will you be? SIRE or FIRE?
SIRE (secure income, retire early).
Consider yourself SIRE if more than half your retirement expenses are/will be covered by a pension (COLA or non), free or subsidized retiree health care, Social Security or other government and/or Corp benefits.
Consider yourself FIRE if more than half your retirement expenses are/will be covered by your own investment holdings, purchased health care/insurance, purchased annuities, inheritance, etc.
Please vote based on your current or planned retirement.
And there is no "better answer."
I think I am in the minority, just curious...
__________________
No one agrees with other people's opinions; they merely agree with their own opinions -- expressed by somebody else. Sydney Tremayne
Retired Jun 2011 at age 57
Target AA: 50% equity funds / 45% bonds / 5% cash
Target WR: Approx 1.5% Approx 20% SI (secure income, SS only)
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10-09-2009, 11:20 AM
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#2
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 7,746
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What does the "S" in SIRE stand for?
__________________
Retired in 2013 at age 33. Keeping busy reading, blogging, relaxing, gaming, and enjoying the outdoors with my wife and 3 kids (8, 13, and 15).
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10-09-2009, 11:30 AM
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#3
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 619
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Hmmmm. I have pension, health care and benefits...but my personal holdings would be sufficient if I didn't. I'm not sure which to choose. :tard: We need about 12 more choices in the poll. 
Edit: OK, I chose "SIRE" since I do have the pension/benefits.
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10-09-2009, 11:37 AM
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#4
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Oregon Coast
Posts: 16,483
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I wonder how this breaks down between people who *are* FIREd and who are *hoping* to FIRE.
I could be wrong but I suspect the majority of "wannabes" are mostly pensionless (and have pushed their FIRE dates back, at least mentally) whereas those who actually made it to the promised land are more often SIREd.
__________________
"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
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10-09-2009, 11:41 AM
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#5
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 12,901
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No pension or other corporate/government goodies. Just SS (maybe) and, if we were to move back to Europe, cheaper (much cheaper) healthcare. Still, in all cases, more than half of our expenses would have to be covered by our investments and possibly a SPIA annuity which we would purchase upon retiring.
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10-09-2009, 11:47 AM
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#6
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Confused about dryer sheets
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 7
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People have been warning me all my life to not count on Social Security...so when planning for retirement it has never entered any calculations. When I hit 67, if I get anything at all it'll be gravy!
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10-09-2009, 12:13 PM
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#7
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,250
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I am suprised that not more of the board is in the SIRE category. (state & mil pensions, plus VA disability here)
TSP/Def. comp plus SS(?!) will be bonus monies...
__________________
Make no mistake, my friend, it takes more than money to make men rich. - A. P. Gouthey
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10-09-2009, 12:22 PM
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#8
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: NC
Posts: 21,303
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 Quote:
Originally Posted by FUEGO
What does the "S" in SIRE stand for?
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I don't know who originated it but the version I saw here was SIRE (secure income, retire early). My parents (ex-Mil) for example have a COLA'd pension, Social Security and Retiree Health care making them SIRE. Their personal holdings are icing on the cake...
__________________
No one agrees with other people's opinions; they merely agree with their own opinions -- expressed by somebody else. Sydney Tremayne
Retired Jun 2011 at age 57
Target AA: 50% equity funds / 45% bonds / 5% cash
Target WR: Approx 1.5% Approx 20% SI (secure income, SS only)
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10-09-2009, 12:23 PM
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#9
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: NC
Posts: 21,303
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fireup2025
I am suprised that not more of the board is in the SIRE category. (state & mil pensions, plus VA disability here)
TSP/Def. comp plus SS(?!) will be bonus monies...
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That's the impression I've always gotten in the past too.
__________________
No one agrees with other people's opinions; they merely agree with their own opinions -- expressed by somebody else. Sydney Tremayne
Retired Jun 2011 at age 57
Target AA: 50% equity funds / 45% bonds / 5% cash
Target WR: Approx 1.5% Approx 20% SI (secure income, SS only)
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10-09-2009, 12:25 PM
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#10
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Texas: No Country for Old Men
Posts: 50,021
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Midpack
That's the impression I've always gotten in the past too.
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Give them time to respond - I think many of them are out collecting their pension checks.
__________________
Numbers is hard
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10-09-2009, 12:39 PM
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#11
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 193
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I'm retiring in a few weeks and I wish I had a pension! All my funds are in brokerage accounts and the bank.
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10-09-2009, 12:50 PM
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#12
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Oregon Coast
Posts: 16,483
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fireup2025
I am suprised that not more of the board is in the SIRE category. (state & mil pensions, plus VA disability here)
TSP/Def. comp plus SS(?!) will be bonus monies...
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As I recall, when a poll like this was asked of the strictly retired, it was about 50/50 between those relying mostly on a pension and those who weren't.
These results, which include the wannabes who still w*rk, tell me that most people who haven't yet been able to clock out for the last time have little or no pension coming to them. In my case, I started with a Megacorp which had a pension plan but they froze it after I was there for 11 years. So I'm entitled to something, but it's going to be peanuts. If my wife sticks with her new gig long enough, she'll be eligible for a modest pension as well. But even if she stuck it out 20 years to her earliest full retirement date, more of our sustenance would come from personal savings than pension checks.
If my Megacorp didn't freeze the pension I'd be able to retire very comfortably at age 53. But they did, so I can't...
__________________
"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
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10-09-2009, 01:12 PM
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#13
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Boston
Posts: 620
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Zero pension here; 100% FIRE baby!
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10-09-2009, 02:08 PM
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#14
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 1,901
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My first 10 yrs have been FIRE. Now that I will collect SS I guess I will be SIRE. I don't really see the difference as my pension was part of my total compensation and can be duplicated by a SPIA by anyone caring to put up the $$$. I assume everyone is collecting SS or some other government retirement plan.
__________________
“I guess I should warn you, if I turn out to be particularly clear, you've probably misunderstood what I've said” Alan Greenspan
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10-09-2009, 02:29 PM
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#15
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Oregon Coast
Posts: 16,483
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bikerdude
I don't really see the difference as my pension was part of my total compensation and can be duplicated by a SPIA by anyone caring to put up the $$$.
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The difference is that someone with a DB pension knows what they are going to get and when they will get it. Someone using personal savings or an IRA/401K to buy an SPIA is at the mercy of the markets as to whether or not their chosen retirement date will be feasible. And the person with the personal savings and SPIA assumes all of the market risk instead of the pension fund (and possibly the taxpayers).
__________________
"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
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10-09-2009, 02:40 PM
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#16
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Gone but not forgotten
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Sarasota,fl.
Posts: 11,447
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SarahW
Hmmmm. I have pension, health care and benefits...but my personal holdings would be sufficient if I didn't. I'm not sure which to choose. :tard: We need about 12 more choices in the poll.
Edit: OK, I chose "SIRE" since I do have the pension/benefits. |
I'm the same as Sarah !
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10-09-2009, 02:59 PM
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#17
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 2,083
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I planned for retirement without any help from SS. If it is still there when we hit whatever age it kicks in at, I highly doubt it will be 50% of our retirement.
So we are all FIRE.
The age of companies offering pensions is comming to a close. I think it will naturally mean fewer people retiring in the future will be able to SIRE than people now, which is fewer than those that could SIRE 10 years ago.
__________________
"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
(Ancient Indian Proverb)"
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10-09-2009, 04:17 PM
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#18
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 2,171
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I voted SIRE. I figure my DB City pension will make half of a barebones retirement budget, even though it does not have a full COLA (it's guaranteed to hold 65% of original purchasing power, but the fixed 1-1/2% annual adjustment pretty much guarantees that it will shrink to that extent, because inflation is almost always higher than 1.5%). I only included 25% of what my SS report says I'm eligible for in my calculations. My savings and the other 75% of SS is to cover the other half of barebones expenses, health insurance over & above what I assume it will be, and plus money, because I don't really want to be on a barebones budget when I retire.
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10-09-2009, 04:23 PM
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#19
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Northern Illinois
Posts: 16,600
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fire for us, with dw getting a small pension (about 25% of expenses)
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10-09-2009, 04:25 PM
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#20
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Pittsburgh, PA suburbs
Posts: 1,796
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I chose FIRE as my state pension will comprise about 20 percent of my income with the balance coming from investments. I did not include SS benefits in my calculation.
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