Hi, I'm Taco. And I'm hanging on...

[Taco]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dadu007 I envy all you people who love your job (which is low stress, to boot) and have a pension coming. Me? 61 and in a high stress job that I hate...only 401K/investments and SS. I've never been in a job I "loved". Always missing the boat, joining companies only hear the staff say, "oh, you should have seen how great it was to work here back in the day". Just a life of surviving really... golden handcuffs at this point. The only upside is that my wife is 7 years younger and loves her work/job. Trying to convince her we have the $$ to let me quit and have some peaceful years NOT working before I leave this mortal coil. A this just for a little perspective, Taco. ;-)

I am certainly very fortunate - have had a good job with a good employer. And pensions are getting rarer and rarer.
I hope your job situation improves - or at least it is not too long that the golden handcuffs keep you there.

[Palmtree]

Taco, I think only you can answer this question. You are planning on a 30 year retirement but no one, (besides God) knows how many day we have left on this earth. We all trade time (spent working) for money. Time that could be spent enjoying life on our own terms. At a certain point more money does not equal more happiness. The more money vs more time is a calculated gamble for sure. Only you can decide where that tipping point is.

[Janet from FIRE Planet]

Check to see if your pension has a Cost of Living Raise (COLA) every year. A COLA makes the pension more valuable to you in future. If inflation is only 3% your pension loses 30% after 10 years without COLA. If you develop a serious illness in next 2 years, think of getting married so SO can enjoy the pension. If you marry, perhaps give your kids the house and all other assets. With pension, & other assets it is important to discuss with your SO (& kids) with marriage & without marriage, what happens if you die before SO dies or what happens if SO dies before you die.

[zippy2020]

Janet has an excellent point re not only COLA but also marriage. As my spouse was a government agency union worker, his pension has a COLA that varies. In the recent low inflation years it was an average of 1.4%. Due to the recent rise in inflation, he was notified his increase for 2022 is 4.5%.

We have been retired for 10 yrs. The COLA makes a BIG difference. The CPI does not capture the fine details of inflation, and we found that what we spend on, about 50% has easily exceeded the "official" CPI, over the years.

Also, is your pension assignable? If it is, get married (and hopefully you both want to, LOL). I pointed out to my spouse that if he didn't retire early, and passed away (he already had a stroke at 50, and was 57 when we had this particular conversation) all I received was his 403(b) money, NOT his pension.

I was in the same situation as your SO; I had much less retirement savings and three very small pensions (a few hundred each). He had to be retired, then pass away, before I would receive his pension as a spouse.

Anyway, good time to be asking questions as you have time to research these things and get all your ducks in a row! Good luck and welcome to the forums!

[Taco]

Janet and Zippy - thanks for your feedback. The pension is unfortunately non-COLA.

You make good points regarding tying the knot. There would be a number of financial advantages. The pension does have a good surviving spouse option. For just a few percentage points reduction in the pension amount, you get 50% surviving spouse. I've not verified this, but I'm guessing her SS might be higher using my income rather than hers. And, the MFJ tax bracket would be more advantageous in a number of ways. Lots to consider!

[old medic]

Hello Taco... ain't this place great...
We can relate to your story, as the Wife is in the same boat as you. Shes 53, and can jump onto her pension but with a serious reduction. She enjoys her job and plans on staying a few more years, padding her extra 401K, and getting our house done and everything paid off before joining me in retirement.

[tbis]

Strongly agree with others who say to stay. The key (from my perspective)is that you appear to LIKE your job and it is low stress. I'm in the same camp as Dadu007 - each day in my job is becoming progressively worse to the point I feel like I am being punked some days. Your case is quite the opposite and thus the only benefit I can see to leaving early is, well...more time in retirement. While folks like to point out that time>money, if I had your job situation...I'd feel like I was already retired!

If your work ever becomes like mine or Dadu007's...then bail!