Can I Retire Yet?

[Audio562]

Hi.....I'm new to this forum, and would appreciate all the advice I can get!

I'm 57, have $1.7M in net investment assets, 40% equities, 9% Gold, and the rest in CD's/MM/ Bond funds. My wife is 53, and works PT. 2 kids have graduated college, one more in school for 2 more years, but the schooling is already paid off. I'll also get a pension of about $31K/year, indexed to inflation.
We will need approx. $90K/year, including taxes, to cover our current lifestyle. SS will kick in at about $30K/year as well for my wife and I combined, but that's at least 10 years down the road.

I guess I might be overly conservative, or maybe I just believe we're on the brink of a really bad investment stretch (that would be my luck), but I somehow think this isn't enough! An investment advisor recently suggested that I keep working for at least another year or 2, but it seems unlikely that I'll be able to do that.

Any insights would be MUCH appreciated!

 

[jclarksnakes]

Yes, you can retire now. Your asset allocation probably needs some tweaking but you do have enough to retire and generate the income you need. There are people on the forum who can point you in the direction they think is right though none of us can say for certain what AA is best. Run your numbers thru the FIRECALC many times with different asset allocations to see what would work best against the historical data there. You did not mention health care and that is one big expense that many do not consider when going from being covered by an employee sponsored health insurance plan to ER.
Congratulations,
Jeff

 

[CaseInPoint]

Audio562,

I agree with jclarksnakes. You're financially all set to retire.

I ran your scenario on the Schwab retirement calculator as a reality check, assumed you might want to invest conservatively, and have a lifespan of 89 years.

Once your SS kicks in, you could actually spend more than your current projected expense of $90k pretax (adjusted for inflation). If you don't spend more, you'll probably wind up with approx. $400k (in addition to other assets), or have $400k to live on, if you live to see your 90th birthday.

Good for you. Congratulations.