What is your magic retirement number in US$ dollars?

[Targeting40]

Just curious how much others feel they need to live their desired lifestyle.

 

[Peaceful_Warrior]

I want $3M so I can live off the interest and hopefully never look back.

 

[unclemick]

213k in 1993 dollars.

Oh wait! - I already did that - with a temp job - an SO with her own 401k - sold and ate the duplex - small non cola pension in 1998(age 55).

In hindsight about 350k dollars(ballpark) turned out to be the magic number - although I was planning on 1.3 mil in 2006 at age 63 plus a 17k/yr pension plus SS.

heh heh heh heh heh heh

 

[rockyj]

Seems this poll suffers from a similar valuation problem as the net worth polls.
How should you count pension value if you have one? Or Soc Sec?

For the record, my vote includes a combination of investment accounts and a "25 x anticipated income at time of pulling the plug" valuation for a COLA'd pension. Did not include anything for anticipated SS, though that also is a factor.

Edited to add: no home equity in my vote either.

 

[macdaddy]

$2 million plus $500k extra for every kid I have

 

[crazy connie]

I only want $1 more than I have.

Once I get that another $1 is wanted.

So, I do not get a latte every day.

 

[old woman]

I would love to have millions but I voted under 500K. I assumed it meant in invested $ not equity or anything.
I have about 375K now and if I can work until SS kicks in I should be able to sell the house and move to cheaper location and be mortgage free. With a roommate and not much spending I could live 40 years on 500K. I will collect about 8K from a roommate and 12K from SS and might be able to live on that so all my savings can go for extras. Other than medical insurance living doesn't have to be expensive to be nice.

 

[Texas Proud]

Bad question IMO...

How much do I "NEED".... I don't need as much as I WANT...

I still have about 5 or 6 years to get to what I WANT, but from all calculations I have what I need... I just want to be in a better financial picture before I take the jump..

 

[tryan]

weelll substitute "you need" with "your goal" .... it's a valid question. Everybody as a NUMBER.

Mine was 2m ... with the house but without the pension and ss.

 

[BUM]

Big Picture:

Planning is great. LBYM, save, invest wisely. All these things help you get along the path.

The unexpected will happen and plans will change.

ER is a state of mind, not a number. When you get to exit, take it!

 

[tryan]

bum, well said!

The "exit" for me was a severence package ... without it I'ld probably STILL be plugging away ... adding to the wad. :

 

[Jeb-NY]

Things were going fine at work when I passed our goal, so I worked a couple more years. Final number was sonewhat more + fully paid for house and no debt, when I walked out 15 months ago. Portfolio has grown since then even with several big purchases, so I guess I have a enough.

Jeb

 

[Rustic23]

Seems this poll suffers from a similar valuation problem as the net worth polls.
How should you count pension value if you have one? Or Soc Sec?

I took my pension and social security and devided by .04. I figure that will give me what I would have to have in the stock market at 4%. I then added a pension that is not inflation hedged and devided that by .07. I figure I could get that over the long term not inflation adjusted. Then added cash.

After all that I come up with what I have, not necessarly what I need, which is different from what we might Want. At anyrate it is north of $1,000,000 and is enough for our current lifestyle.

 

[FinanceDude]

The number I set 11 years ago was $2M, and it remains that...........

Of course, I was planning on a 6% SWR back then.............

Now, I think a 3.5% SWR will be infinitely doable.............

 

[justin]

A little under $1.5 million. This is invested, income generating assets.

Paid off house isn't included in this total. But it will reduce my expenses when the mortgage is gone.

 

[GMueller]

For me "the number" was a slippery thing to try to grasp. I originally set a goal of reaching $1M, if for no other reason that seemed like a nice round number. Once I reached that milestone, it just didn't feel right. So, I kept on working. I plan to retire at the beginning of 2008 with about $1.4M. Don't asked me to explain why I settled on $1.4M, it just "feels" like the right size nestegg for me . . . so, I'm going to go with it. I rely on my gut more and more these days. I don't know whether that is a sign of "wisdom" or a sign of being too lazy to do the math. Anyway, on top of the $1.4 I'll have a cola'd pension of about $19k/year plus social security, so I figure the numbers ought to work out okay.

 

[justin]

When adjusted for inflation to my target FIRE year, my number jumps ~$400,000 to $1.75 million (inflation adjusted). That's really the number that I'll end up shooting for in my long term planning.

 

[Texas Proud]

When adjusted for inflation to my target FIRE year, my number jumps ~$400,000 to $1.75 million (inflation adjusted). That's really the number that I'll end up shooting for in my long term planning.

DANG.... I had picked out $1 million when I was 17... so if I had to adjust for inflation... it would be $3.6 mill... and I am NOT sticking around to get there... I might be DEAD before I get there!!!

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

my feeling is that if $1mm doesn't buy your way out of indentured servitude then life simply isn't worth the bother.

i'm still very impressed with that 4% number. just now i added up cash, some house equity i intend to add to cash in 5 years, 15 x non cola'd pension, 25 x ss & at 4% i wind up with almost the same figure firecalc says i have to spend, which is all more than i need. plus i'll still either have a paid for house or a boat to live on t'boot. i'm a happy camper.

 

[martyb]

Including 2 COLA'd pensions plus 2 401k's between DW & myself, but NOT including SS, the number looks like approx. $1.75 mil. My SS will be pretty small, around $300 per month (will take at 62) and DW's only about $600 in today's money. I never count them, theyr'e gravy if they are still here.

 

[jimhcom]

I am figuring 2 million in five years when I retire. That will give me 300/400 to purchace a reirement home out of state and 1.6m to invest. More would be better, but at this point time is becoming an issue. You only have so many good years. Inflation worries me though, the figures the Goverment spouts are pure fiction. Housing has trippled in the past 4/5 years along with fuel. Food , Utillities, and Taxes are are also increasing at a rapid rate.

 

[playaman]

Including cash for a house which I plan to purchase, $3 million would permit me to retire at an income level fairly close to what I've had working for the past few years. More than I need to retire but within striking distance by my magic date of 08-01-08.

.

 

[hogtied]

I voted 1.25 million, that is savings plus non-cola'd pension. Add mine and DW's SSI and we're narly at about 1.8 million.

 

[SecondCor521]

My number is:

$227,125 (my annual living expenses of $9,085 discounted at 4%)
grossed up for taxes
plus the payoff on my house mortgage
plus the NPV of the unfunded liability of my kids' predicted college expenses
plus the NPV of my remaining child support payments
plus $$$ to raise my kids to high school graduation
minus the NPV of my Social Security.

which is way too difficult for me to even figure out what that is, so I didn't vote ;-). I do know that I'm not there now and won't be there for at least probably another 10 years, so I just keep chugging away and occasionally working on my spreadsheet to make sure it's built right. Right now it's predicting another 17 years I think, but there are some things that I am pretty sure will happen that I would prefer not to count on happening that will likely move that date earlier.

2Cor521

 

[justin]

$227,125 (my annual living expenses of $9,085 discounted at 4%)

Did you forget a zero on there? That must be one of the smallest targets for FIRE portfolio I've seen! Does $9085/yr include all your predicted expenses during ER (like health ins. and car replacements)? Are you going to live abroad in Mexico/Thailand (fairly easily doable for a single guy)?

If you're staying put in the US, do you plan on saving a little extra to allow for budget overruns or future desires/hobbies/wants you may not know you have now?