female, 52, want to retire end of year

[travelnow]

Hi, I am looking to be retired next year at the age of 53. I have a pension with cola that will start at $39K plus. I have about $625K and probably a bit more by the begining of next year. My pension covers about twice my core expenses after taxes. I have been tracking every dollar of my spending this year. My core costs may go up some in retirement, but not too much. I have health care covered and my only expenses will be dental, eye care, copays, and any possible change to my health care benefit that I am unaware of currently. I don't have a mortgage. I plan to do some traveling early on before it's too late! So I will be spending more in retirement than I do now. I have lived below my means for many years. Now I hope to live within my means. I am really ready to be over the 40 hour work week and get on to some healthier activities. Do you think that I should be able to comfortably do it?

 

[Walt34]

Hi there, and welcome to the forum! It sounds like you're good to go but (ah, there's always that...) there are some detailed issues to think about:

http://www.early-retirement.org/for...re-asking-can-i-retire-69999.html#post1399715

 

[sengsational]

Welcome to the forum! Having an income stream now that's twice your burn rate sounds like you're in great shape. There are many tools where you can plug-in your specifics and get back results. I happen to like i-orp.com. You can put in COLA and non-COLA pensions, social security, before and after tax savings, and it will tell you how much you can spend, level, for the rest of your life.

 

[Ally]

Welcome! It sounds great to me.

 

[travelnow]

I have tried i-orp.com and firecalc and many other calculators, but they are calculators and I just want to hit up all angles. They show me to be able, but I know that the future can be quite different. I know my expenses are quite low, but part of that is that I don't have mortgage payments - but I do have upkeep and insurance, taxes to pay.

 

[lemming]

What are core expenses to you? What are non-core but money you spend anyway.?
What are you going to do with the excess$$ that you think you have?

Will you get SS someday?

You are in great shape if the money continues to exceed expenses(obviously-Captain Obvious)
Welcome- you will find you can usually adjust and manage within any range because retirement is the best asset that you can "own"

 

[travelnow]

My core costs are food, utilities, property taxes, gas, insurance, etc., anything that I need to live on. I have tracked my expenses this year. I have incurred dental, eye care, car repair, entertainment expenses.

I will get SS in the future - not sure when I will take yet.

I plan on traveling with excess monies, and doing some home improvement, and some healthy activities.

 

[Sunset]

Welcome,
As I see it you will have roughly a safe expenditure rate of 57K / yr. since you say spending is only 20K.
That does seem low to me.
I do wonder in your core expenses do you allocate something like $1,500 for repairs to your house per year, because while it might be nothing for years, then the roof needs replacing at 7.5K and that is like 5 yrs of allocated repair.

 

[Sunset]

...I will get SS in the future - not sure when I will take yet....

I'm sure you know that delaying SS means the payment per month increases by 8% a year, that increase is paid for life, and that is basically impossible to match compared to annuities, so its a good deal as long as you don't have a life threatening issue.

 

[travelnow]

I don't allocate for home repairs because I can take from my excess income or my savings. I had originally allocated everything to the amount my income would be, but decided to just concentrate on just core or normal costs of living without a bunch of extras. Luckily I have changed out my roof and windows, but I do have more improvements to go.

I do know that SS increases each year that I wait, that is why I haven't decided when to take. I figure if things change and I need more money I can withdraw early or wait if things are going good.

Also, I know that I am giving up money by not waiting till 55, but I have been saving to help make up any difference I would get from a larger pension.

 

[Sunset]

...Also, I know that I am giving up money by not waiting till 55, but I have been saving to help make up any difference I would get from a larger pension.

Perhaps you already know this, but Pensions have all these crazy rules like how you get more the more time you work. So it might be that your pension credits you a significantly bigger time factor if you retire in Jan 2015 vs Dec 2014.
Just something to look into in your pension rules, as even a 1% increase would be huge over 40 years.
Sort of like the marriage deduction if marry by Dec 31, but don't get it if wait 1 more day.

 

[travelnow]

No, my pension is based on my age and years of service. So it would be larger if I waited till 55 and it would also increase each year after that. That begs the question - do you want to give up your time for more money or more money for less time. I believe that each dollar you make after you have enough is nice to have, but it is of marginal utility. Of course if you have an unexpected life event, then it may have been better. It is hard to plan for every contingency.

 

[pb4uski]

....I am really ready to be over the 40 hour work week and get on to some healthier activities. Do you think that I should be able to comfortably do it?

Pack your bags!!!

 

[Terryjm51]

Sounds like everything is order. Have fun and send post cards. Lol


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[Gill]

Do you really live on $19,500?
Bruce