Rambler
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2007
- Messages
- 2,488
Ready_yesterday, you are not. Gonna put it point blank. You are not gonna make it to the end with 500k plus SS at 62. Nor with 850k. You mention all the things you can give up...please know that it will be harder than you imagine. The people who can make it with those amounts do not have the lifestyle you have had, nor the 900k home you have had. Since this is California, I would not expect prop 13 to protect you forever, and heathcare costs alone, incl insurance, should be expected to eat up 150k plus or minus between the ages of 56-65.
Now, let me ask a few questions: 1) who is the CEO/president/chairman?
2) if that is you, do you determine the salary of the other partners?
3) do you have regular Board meetings?
4) if the CEO is you, why haven't you already hired someone to train up to take your place? Do you require all other shareholders' approval to hire?
5) if you are not the CEO, why not? I would suggest demanding that role, since you are the main player in the company. You have a lot of leverage here in my opinion. You can demand the role, since it appears no one else can do it.
6) I believe you mentioned the other shareholders were taking 100k salaries for 1-2 hours per day. Is that really salary? Or is that profit distribution? I think it would be appropriate to separate salary and profit distribution from each other if you have not done that, because it sounds like you are doing an awful lot of the work for just a little more than what the others are taking for their meager inputs.
I believe that you can do better for yourself by shaping up the business and prepping it for the future than by focusing on retirement. By doing so, you would be able to sell the business and retire, or not sell the business, contribute an hour or two per day, and semi-retire. Here's what I would do:
1) demand the CEO role if you don't already have it. Get appropriate decision making authority along with it.
2) convert to a c-corp.
3) clearly separate dividend distribution from salaries for shareholder input.
4) document everything
5) hire and train someone to replace yourself and begin the preparations to step back
6) in two years, you then have some options: promote your successor to non-shareholding president, and step back yourself, either to simply board member , or chairman, contribute a little of your time to the company to collect a salary, plus dividends. OR, sell the entire company.
Without doing some of this prep work, you will stay in a limbo of sorts, and again in my view, will not be able to really retire comfortably with the kind of savings you say you will have. You will also put the livelihoods of the 10-12 employees you have in jeopardy, as without you the company will likely go belly up. As you are an s-corp, you will also likely have some personal liabilities associated with a "belly-up" situation as well (check with your lawyer), that would further jeopardize your intended retirement.
The source of my suggestions are my own experience, having acquired more than 15 companies for my megacorp over the years, and turning away hundreds (who like yours, needed succession plans and structure to really make them work) followed by 13 years as divisional CEO of said megacorp.
In a nutshell, if you shape up the business, the avenue to retirement will be more likely to open up for you. You will need more Botox in the meantime.
Good luck
R
Now, let me ask a few questions: 1) who is the CEO/president/chairman?
2) if that is you, do you determine the salary of the other partners?
3) do you have regular Board meetings?
4) if the CEO is you, why haven't you already hired someone to train up to take your place? Do you require all other shareholders' approval to hire?
5) if you are not the CEO, why not? I would suggest demanding that role, since you are the main player in the company. You have a lot of leverage here in my opinion. You can demand the role, since it appears no one else can do it.
6) I believe you mentioned the other shareholders were taking 100k salaries for 1-2 hours per day. Is that really salary? Or is that profit distribution? I think it would be appropriate to separate salary and profit distribution from each other if you have not done that, because it sounds like you are doing an awful lot of the work for just a little more than what the others are taking for their meager inputs.
I believe that you can do better for yourself by shaping up the business and prepping it for the future than by focusing on retirement. By doing so, you would be able to sell the business and retire, or not sell the business, contribute an hour or two per day, and semi-retire. Here's what I would do:
1) demand the CEO role if you don't already have it. Get appropriate decision making authority along with it.
2) convert to a c-corp.
3) clearly separate dividend distribution from salaries for shareholder input.
4) document everything
5) hire and train someone to replace yourself and begin the preparations to step back
6) in two years, you then have some options: promote your successor to non-shareholding president, and step back yourself, either to simply board member , or chairman, contribute a little of your time to the company to collect a salary, plus dividends. OR, sell the entire company.
Without doing some of this prep work, you will stay in a limbo of sorts, and again in my view, will not be able to really retire comfortably with the kind of savings you say you will have. You will also put the livelihoods of the 10-12 employees you have in jeopardy, as without you the company will likely go belly up. As you are an s-corp, you will also likely have some personal liabilities associated with a "belly-up" situation as well (check with your lawyer), that would further jeopardize your intended retirement.
The source of my suggestions are my own experience, having acquired more than 15 companies for my megacorp over the years, and turning away hundreds (who like yours, needed succession plans and structure to really make them work) followed by 13 years as divisional CEO of said megacorp.
In a nutshell, if you shape up the business, the avenue to retirement will be more likely to open up for you. You will need more Botox in the meantime.
Good luck
R