10 years married and she just told me she has a pension LOL

[DFDubb]

Long time lurker, first post. This forum has been a huge resource.

Wife and I are 38/39 and have always saved and planned to retire early. I work more in the financial sector and have always taken care of portfolio planning (we do have about 150k with a FA, but that is likely coming to an end soon). Her being completely clueless about our strategy and how retiring early will work has made me nervous for years. We finally agreed that we would spend a little time each weekend to bring her up to speed in case something ever happened to me. As such, I asked her to send me anything/everything that has to do with retirement from her Mega Corp and low and behold she has a freaking pension, and a good one at that. When I emailed her in all caps asking WTF her response was "oh I thought you knew." Pulling the plug will be SO much easier now, there will be no hesitation. I totally thought we would be self funding our entire retirement.

Combined yearly income: 220k base, 50-100k bonuses, increases ~10% yrly
Combined 401k: 750k
FA account: 150k
Taxable accounts: 150k
Cash: 60k
Debt: 260k mortgage @ 4% on house easily worth 350k
We did just buy 2 new cars to replace our 10-15 year olds w/ 200+k miles. We will keep them until retirement.
20ish grand in student loans, but they're at 1.75% so I just pay the min.
We're putting 4k-5k into our taxable accounts monthly at this time
No kids now or in future

I was afraid that we might have started a little late. We've both always maxed 401k, but I ended up leaving work to go back to school again and we didn't put a lot away living on 1 salary. I all of the sudden feel a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I will probably rebalance some things now to be a little more conservative. 10 more years max shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Ed B]

Welcome to the forum neighbor and congratulations on the found money!

 

[googily]

Congrats to you!

One of my best memories in my 20 years at Megacorp was when I got to break the news to my boss of 5 years that we get both the 401k and a pension. He absolutely refused to believe me until I showed him the documents.

(Pension is now frozen, but still)

 

[PatrickA5]

We've been married 38 years and I just asked my wife....dang it!

 

[hilltide]

Awesome. That sure helps the planning.

 

[akidagain2018]

I have a cousin, who had a pension plan of quite a substantial amount, that he had no idea he had until they sent him a letter. He'd been out of that company, a hugely well known east coast hospital, for over ten years. He didn't know he had a pension coming. He had me to some math to decide between the 10 year certain or life annuity, or something like that. I couldn't believe it, with all the planning I do and have done, that he had no idea. And he was already retired or retiring, and he had no idea this windfall was coming. Yet now he still works in a part time gig. I can't figure what he spends all the money on.

 

[Out of Steam]

One of my best memories in my 20 years at Megacorp was when I got to break the news to my boss of 5 years that we get both the 401k and a pension.

I've also had the experience of explaining to a co-worker, who had been there 7 or 8 years, that he was eligible for a pension in addition to the 401k.

 

[Onward]

Honey I shrunk the withdrawal rate

 

[gerntz]

I all of the sudden feel a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I will probably rebalance some things now to be a little more conservative. 10 more years max shouldn't be a problem.

Good news on the pension.

Curious about you're getting more conservative. Assuming you trust the pension will be there, to me it's like having bought an annuity for guaranteed cash flow such that it's now safer to build assets, i.e., put a greater % in equities.

 

[athena53]

I have a cousin, who had a pension plan of quite a substantial amount, that he had no idea he had until they sent him a letter. He'd been out of that company, a hugely well known east coast hospital, for over ten years. He didn't know he had a pension coming.

I think that's legally required now; I got a letter from a government entity (I believe it was the Feds) telling me I might be entitled to benefits from two previous employers. One was a lump-sum deal I'd collected long ago (but many years after leaving the company) and the other was a pension from a company I left in 1985. I'd stayed in contact with that company, knowing I was vested.

My two pensions are about $900 each per month- even though they're non-COLA and had no health insurance attached, I'm happy to have them.

 

[DFDubb]

Curious about you're getting more conservative. Assuming you trust the pension will be there, to me it's like having bought an annuity for guaranteed cash flow such that it's now safer to build assets, i.e., put a greater % in equities.

You're correct and I came to the same realization after the shock wore off and I was able to think more clearly. The pension will most certainly be there as this is from one of the biggest and most stable companies in US history.

After reading through it all carefully last night, she hired in exactly 3 months before they ended the program for new hires. Millennials get the shaft once again.

 

[Huston55]

Long time lurker, first post. This forum has been a huge resource.

Wife and I are 38/39 and have always saved and planned to retire early. I work more in the financial sector and have always taken care of portfolio planning (we do have about 150k with a FA, but that is likely coming to an end soon). Her being completely clueless about our strategy and how retiring early will work has made me nervous for years. We finally agreed that we would spend a little time each weekend to bring her up to speed in case something ever happened to me. As such, I asked her to send me anything/everything that has to do with retirement from her Mega Corp and low and behold she has a freaking pension, and a good one at that. When I emailed her in all caps asking WTF her response was "oh I thought you knew." Pulling the plug will be SO much easier now, there will be no hesitation. I totally thought we would be self funding our entire retirement.

[snip]

I was afraid that we might have started a little late. We've both always maxed 401k, but I ended up leaving work to go back to school again and we didn't put a lot away living on 1 salary. I all of the sudden feel a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I will probably rebalance some things now to be a little more conservative. 10 more years max shouldn't be a problem.

Hey, the ‘trial husband evaluation period’ (typically 10yrs) is complete...you passed!

She’s going to keep you.

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

Congrats on the pension, just make sure it is there when the time comes to pull the plug. Pensions nowadays are being fazed out. I am not saying it won't be there, it very well could, just make sure it is there when you both walk away from your jobs.

 

[GravitySucks]

Good problem to have!

 

[kgtest]

and low and behold she has a freaking pension, and a good one at that.

I remember when I married my wife. She said to me,

'my mom doesn't want to manage my investments anymore, so now I need to learn. '

I was like, wait, you have investments?

Needless to say she had more than me, and she still doesn't manage them...I do, lol.

I like that Honey i shrunk the withdrawal rate! Her's was more like honey I have a massive Roth IRA.

 

[pb4uski]

....The pension will most certainly be there as this is from one of the biggest and most stable companies in US history. ......

General Motors? TWA? You get my drift.

 

[DFDubb]

General Motors? TWA? You get my drift.

Enron, GE, the list goes on. This company will be just fine.

 

[anethum]

OP, is your wife already vested? I had worked for a very stable (and still very profitable) megacorp for about 10 years when I came to work one morning and found a corporate memo stating that the pension plan and retiree health insurance was ending immediately. Those of us who were not vested received a fairly paltry lump sum (which I rolled over to an IRA).

 

[DFDubb]

OP, is your wife already vested? I had worked for a very stable (and still very profitable) megacorp for about 10 years when I came to work one morning and found a corporate memo stating that the pension plan and retiree health insurance was ending immediately. Those of us who were not vested received a fairly paltry lump sum (which I rolled over to an IRA).

Yes she’s vested thankfully. I’ve gone over it with a fine tooth comb. It will not be 100% as it comes to a final end in 2019, but she will have 18 of the required 20 years in at that point. She was vested after 5. It won’t be the full 100%, but very close and I just consider it gravy as it is/was unexpected. At least to me lol.

 

[Jerry1]

When I emailed her in all caps asking WTF

So I was talking to my wife and grandson heard me say W-T-F.

He asked - What's Fantastic?

I said - What?

He said - WTF - Well That's Fantastic