kavm
Dryer sheet wannabe
OldShooter - Thank you! This is a very interesting point that we need to explore a bit. Gates Foundation is on the list, should we move due to where it is located. But good to see the broader list for us to consider.
.... If it happens, we'd need just need to travel back and forth for about 6 months while my wife finishes her semester and academic year commitment. The semester breaks, spring break, teaching 2 days / week give her some flexibility and should allow us to spend a good part of the week together.
With that nice of a nestegg and no heirs, I think you're crazy not to retire as soon as possible.
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With over $250k of annual retirement income available to you the world is your oyster.
You never know how long your health will hold out. If you have anything you want to do (travel, hobbies, fitness, etc.)...now is the best time. Deteriorating health will eventually inhibit your ability to do some things. People get sick, cancer, memory loss, etc. It's varied, and unpredictable.
What dollar amount qualifies to be "absolutely compelling" ?
Thank you for the comments! The feedback on this thread has been very useful. I and my wife read it together last night and discussed it. Will do so further as we go forward.
It does clarify some important things - and we need to digest them. As someone pointed out - we are ready to retire financially but not in other ways.
On the offer - I am committed to listening to it. That's all. Will only take it up if both I and my wife find it compelling. And, no - we would not love each other any less if we jointly decide to that I should pursue it. If it happens, we'd need just need to travel back and forth for about 6 months while my wife finishes her semester and academic year commitment. The semester breaks, spring break, teaching 2 days / week give her some flexibility and should allow us to spend a good part of the week together.
Oh, that is not even close to being a broad list. I'm sure there are thousands of organizations who would kill to get volunteers with your credentials and assets.OldShooter - Thank you! This is a very interesting point that we need to explore a bit. Gates Foundation is on the list, should we move due to where it is located. But good to see the broader list for us to consider.
I think the lack of RE for the OP has to do with one word his post above: Satisfaction. Some folks get immense satisfaction out of their j$bs. While I may not be one of them, my mom was.Retire. Don't bother working another day. You are financially independent, and the extra social stigma you get while continuing to work does not out weigh the limited time you have alive. Retire now.
OldShooter: Thank you! I will definitely discuss this idea with my wife. Teaching English isn't likely to satisfy us much (and it is not a native language for either of us), but there might be other things.
HNL Bill: Thank you for highlighting this point. I do indeed find satisfaction in my work. It is satisfying for me to positively impact people's work life as well as my clients' bottom line. Sounds trite, but it is true. Don't get me wrong - there is perspiration involved in finding new clients, but once that's out of the way I actually like solving their problems and get both respect and remuneration for it. I learn new things about their businesses and industry, make new friends. If the client happens to be in a different country, one learns things about that a tourist simply can not and gets to know people on a personal level. I have worked in Japan, Belgium, Germany, UK, Turkey, South Africa and have friends to show for in most of these countries - on more than professional level. And, when I do not have clients - I have time to relax, exercise and so on. I will give it up sooner or later, but a big burden it is not.
spouse has worked on social security exempt jobs - so will only receive the spousal benefit
Too bad you can’t quit 5 years ago and buy your time back.
This is my first post to introduce myself on this forum, share the outline of our situation and begin to learn from and interact with this community.
Facts:
- 59+; wife 58+
- I am working but in transition - waiting to find out about a position
- Spouse is a professor in a public university
- While no financial or tax background, I am financially fairly literate and capable of mathematical reasoning / research to analyze the decisions
- No children - leaving legacy to heirs not a significant consideration
- Approximately 4M in tax deferred retirement savings; approximately 2.5M in post-tax savings; condo paid for; no debt; max contributions to Social Security - so the benefit should be close to max for one of us; spouse has worked on social security exempt jobs - so will only receive the spousal benefit
- Overall, happy with our professional lives, so retiring early is not a goal. Neither is working very late in life.
Plans:
- Next 6-8 years - A bit unclear. The job situation I am waiting to materialize is in a different and expensive city (though in an income tax free state) - and will force us to live apart and maintain two residences for some time until resolved. But, it will compensate generously for the trouble, should it happen. Until that is resolved one-way or the other, it is hard to be clear about how we are spending the next 6-8 years.
- Retirement plans (beyond 6-8 years) are a bit unformed. Our ideas/options - to be examined a bit closer to retirement, include:
- Retire in place - We love where we live and our condo. There are retired folks living in the building and it is suitable for independent living in an older age.
- Retire to California - Seems like as one gets old, the weather becomes important. So, we have a tentative interest in living in coastal California. The main concern there is taxes, and housing cost.
- Retire to Germany - My wife is a dual citizen and is native of Germany. We like a lot of aspects of that. So, there is some thought of retiring there. That said, it is not the plan right now.
The key questions relating to the retirement that interest us are:
- Financial decision making, particularly optimizing the conversion/distribution from the tax-deferred plans, which are a very significant part of our portfolio. I saw some on-going threads on this topic that were discussing exactly this topic.
- Late life financial and care management plans for those without family members: As shared above, we have no children. And, since both of us are immigrants - we also do not have relatives that are nearby; foreign relatives are not familiar with the US financial system to be much help. So, the late retirement stage where one may lose some faculties and/or partner - the management of care and financial assets for us would need be third party, with little supervision. So, strategies for managing that are of interest - though we are still some distance away from this.
Hope to learn from the collective wisdom of this community and, where possible, contribute.