Class of 2017

[TallTim]

Have been furiously running numbers in FIRECALC and other calculators plus my own model ... and I think DW and I are in for class of 2017. I will be 50 then and our kids will both be off to college, so I'm thinking we are on track for that based on all of the numbers. Currently at about $3.5 in NW heavily in equities and no debt - so almost there ...

If Corp employer has a massive run in the market, is sold, or if we have a couple more years like '13 in the markets (my cash inv return > my salary+bonus) we may be out sooner.

Would possibly be looking at '15 or '16 -- but we have high costs of living (SoCal is great, but housing and taxes are HIGH!).

Well, last week corp employer agreed to sell itself at a healthy premium ... and pending a closing in late 2014 or early 2015, plus some post-closing obligations I will have to newco, I expect to be a member of the class of 2016, latest.

 

[Indigo Mule]

Congatulations on skipping a grade!

 

[Indigo Mule]

My Days-at-Work countdown (actual work days, excluding holidays and vacation ) just ticked over to 700. A little over three calendar years. It's getting closer, day by day.

 

[Jgot]

I am counting down to 6.7.2017


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[Lucantes]

Target date for ER is the 1st of October 2017 for both my wife and I. We will both be 50 (May and Feb. 2017 respectively) and are currently on track to meet our FIRE goals established many years ago when we started working overseas (12 and 17 years ago for the same company). I count the money, she counts the days and months!

Have pushed up our date just slightly to the 1st of August 2017, still on track to meet our FIRE goals. Saving about 70-80% of our income now and it is all good!

 

[KrissK]

It's hard to predict, but sign me up for late 2017. Would love to transition to part-time employment before then.

Wishing you all the best.

 

[catman2020]

Sign me up for the class of 2017!

I'm figuring on September, so I'm counting the months to FIRE - 35.

By then DW and I should have settled into a comfortable/sustainable spending level.

I have a couple of healthy inflows I'm expecting/working on that should put us over the top (plus would need a reasonably good stock market - somewhere close to historical average).

Goal is to be at 3.5% SWR plus a cash buffer to cover two years of spending, so I don't have to dip into equities if we have a sharp/prolonged market pull back in early years of retirement.

I'll be 57 y/o at that time.

That is the goal - good to have a place to post it - makes it more 'real.'

 

[dand76]

Hi all,
I said to myself, Self, if you're smart you'll wait until 2017 when you're 59 1/2 to retire. The other side of me, which is infected by w*rk related IDCS (I Don't Care Syndrome), says to bail out in 2016, you'll survive. The older I get the less smart I seem to be so who knows what will happen.

 

[chief04010]

Hi all,
I said to myself, Self, if you're smart you'll wait until 2017 when you're 59 1/2 to retire. The other side of me, which is infected by w*rk related IDCS (I Don't Care Syndrome), says to bail out in 2016, you'll survive. The older I get the less smart I seem to be so who knows what will happen.

This almost sounds like I posted it, had to check to make sure I wasn't sleep typing.

Although, I'm still planning on retiring at 59 1/2 at the end of 2017.

 

[Lucantes]

I am looking to be in the neighborhood of a 3% to 3.25% withdraw rate, including all expenses and estimated taxes, starting in 2017/18.

 

[2017ish]

BUMP

We also plan/hope to be in this class m/l. Still a large band for us, between July '17 and Aug '18, at 57 & 56 or 58 & 57. (DW in four doc group and will want a replacement on the ground before leaving.)

Thought it would be earlier, but safer SWR margins, desire to increase discretionary spending in retirement, and my many years as SAHD took their toll.

 

[jollystomper]

Class of 2017, here I come

Although I am FI now and from multiple different inputs could retire now, I'm going to target 2017 as my latest retirement date. Our youngest child graduates from college at that point, and I think that makes a nice definitive point to retire.

I have little job stress. Most of my job is more like a hobby, and my "stress" now comes more from trying to do too many interesting things. I am surprised at how FI makes things much more relaxing for me. The most uncontrollable part is travel, but DW has started to come along on some of my business trips, and that makes them MUCH more fun. In addition, I no longer have a need to strive for promotions and raises - focusing more on helping others get to those promotions and raises is a good feeling. Of course, I don't tell others this, and "commiserate" with them regarding lack of or, or small, raises and promotions - but it feels good inside not having to care about that aspect of the job anymore.

Of course, Megacorp with the stroke of a pen can decide to get rid of me (which wouldn't necessarily be bad due to the severance). But they have cut so much to the bone that it is causing many issues, and have started to make things more flexible for those of us still around - e.g. telecommuting being totally our decision, tracking vacations/holiday/sick time on the "honor system", etc. So my plan is to spend the next 2.5 years being a solid but unstressed contributor, and continuing to build our finances (but also loosening the purse strings a bit). And if things change and I decide to, or and forced to, leave earlier - well, being FI now makes that a non-issue.

 

[Gazingus]

This almost sounds like I posted it, had to check to make sure I wasn't sleep typing.

Although, I'm still planning on retiring at 59 1/2 at the end of 2017.

What's the signifigance of age 59 1/2 other than the IRS penalties on withdrawals from tax-deferred accounts? If you are 55 or over and retired, there are no tax penalties, anyway. Right?

Oh, and, I'm definitely firing in Q1 2017!

 

[MRG]

What's the signifigance of age 59 1/2 other than the IRS penalties on withdrawals from tax-deferred accounts? If you are 55 or over and retired, there are no tax penalties, anyway. Right?

Oh, and, I'm definitely firing in Q1 2017!

55 and over withdrawls and terminated from service from 401ks?
You owe tax and may not owe 10% penalty. Depends on your plan and the ability to take withdrawals. Check around here, there's too many posters that report the 401k allows for 55 and terminated from service, but no good way to withdraw your assets. Then your into 72t.

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[dand76]

What's the signifigance of age 59 1/2 other than the IRS penalties on withdrawals from tax-deferred accounts? If you are 55 or over and retired, there are no tax penalties, anyway. Right?

Oh, and, I'm definitely firing in Q1 2017!

Significance of 59 1/2 for me is exactly that, 10% early withdrawal penalties. During all my saving years it never occurred to me that I might be able to retire early so all of my retirement funds are in IRAs. Lack of planning on my part but probably would have OMY'd it to 2017 anyway.

 

[fishvt]

Hello from Vermont. Looking to join class of 2017. Early Retirement Defined Benefit pension options kick in at 55. Like some of the posters, counting down the days, hoping no job eliminations, or worse. My wife and I are on the same page, but she may work a bit longer. I think we can pull this off. My job is not horrible, but the stress keeps me up at night and it's like Game of Thrones at work, with everyone jockeying for power. Not my bag at this point. I have just started in this forum, so I'll post financial stuff later to get opinions from folks on strategy and pitfalls.

 

[fishvt]

I love this ! I am going to do the same thing and see where I fall on the clock.

 

[chief04010]

What's the signifigance of age 59 1/2 other than the IRS penalties on withdrawals from tax-deferred accounts? If you are 55 or over and retired, there are no tax penalties, anyway. Right?

Oh, and, I'm definitely firing in Q1 2017!

For me the 59 1/2 is just how old I'll be in 12/2017 but it also makes it so my Roth portion of my 401(k) is available to me upon retirement, without penalty.

 

[OrcasIslandBound]

We're aiming for April of 2017. I'll be 59 1/2 in August of 2017, but we want at least 1/2 year in Washington state because of no state income tax. We're going to try to live off of $62k year but that is 10k less than we spend now with teen son in junior college. One house DW wants to keep in CA and one in WA, so we'll have to really tighten the belts. I can hardly wait. The house in WA is on Orcas island.

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[fishvt]

Does anyone know if there is a thread explaining the impact of ER on SS benefits? Should we work part time and continue to contribute? We plan on waiting until 70 to collect, but I expect there is a strategy around contributions that makes sense. Also, the SS site assumes you contribute until 65 in their estimates, so how do I get a more realistic estimates of our benefits?

 

[REWahoo]

Does anyone know if there is a thread explaining the impact of ER on SS benefits?

http://www.early-retirement.org/for...-work-early-affect-social-security-65613.html
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f30/ss-reduction-impact-from-er-66576.html
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/social-security-benefit-for-early-retirees-53150.html

Also, the SS site assumes you contribute until 65 in their estimates, so how do I get a more realistic estimates of our benefits?

Use the online SS benefits calculator, manually input your earnings history, input zero for future (after ER) earnings.

 

[OrcasIslandBound]

I have used two different ways to estimate SS from inside the ss.gov website. One allows you to create the SS statement that used to be mailed to all of us. The other is the ss "estimator". This site always requires me to fumble around to find it, but is worth the trouble. Once there, I put in 1$ for future wages and select different ages to retire 63,65, 70, etc. By doing this, I get estimates of ss combined with ER that allow me to choose when I will start collecting ss even while not earning money beforehand.

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[Choices]

Put us in. I pulled the plug a few years ago but the "meal ticket" is still working. We are FI but the old accumulation habits are hard to break. I probably remind DH once a week that we can get out at any time. My crystal ball tells me to expect a pull back in the market in 2016 so that makes 2017 look even better.
End of the year 2017 is when our planets should be in alignment.

 

[2017ish]

....

We also plan/hope to be in this class m/l. Still a large band for us, between July '17 and Aug '18, at 57 & 56 or 58 & 57. (DW in four doc group and will want a replacement on the ground before leaving.)

Thought it would be earlier, but safer SWR margins, desire to increase discretionary spending in retirement, and my many years as SAHD took their toll.

DW gave formal written notice this past month that she will be out in 2017 once replacement is on board for baton hand off. Yippee!

_____________
furtively crossing fingers and knocking on wood....

 

[doneat54]

Happy to join this class. Although my date is 1 Feb 2017, usable holidays and accrued vacation in January that year will allow me to have my last day at work almost a week prior, which will be a couple days before my 55th birthday. We hired a for-fee planner last November, made a bunch of risk shedding investment moves and my wife is now 100% on board as well. She will work about 3-4 years past that date.

I have to say that a lot of friends are astonished when I tell them that I will retire early. I get "how can you do that?", or "I wish I could do that!" a lot. I just tell them that this has been a goal of mine for decades and it is not something that I decided to do a few years ago. It is decades of living WELL below our means and saving hard. Last 4 or so years, we put away 33% of our income into various investments/long term savings. I am thankful to be married to a woman how makes a strong salary as well.

Best of luck to all fellow "classmates" in meeting your goals as well!!!!