Thoughts on my planned retirement ?

[jimchar]

Been long time reader and have learned a lot, and now it is my time to ask
for help. Working at mega corp and major changes (ie outsourcing) have
made work miserable. Have been working at this company for 35 years
and plan to RETIRE on my 35th anniversary date this year.

So basically FIRE & Fidelity says I am ok but would just like to hear other
opinions. Thanks very much for any input/suggestions/concerns...

The facts:

Age: 57 Single
Health Insurance: I can pay ~$300 a month from retirement plan
Pension: If take now would be $44,000 a year no COLA
SS @62 : $1800 @67 : $2500 (I discounted these based on maybe not working anymore)
401k/IRA : $ 1,300,000
Taxable Accts: $700,000
Expenses: For FIRE I put in $100k as worst case scenario. I don't spend
that now, but also don't want to be picking the couch for money to do
things if I want. I expect to sell my home and move somewhere cheaper in
the next year or two which should reduce housing costs a lot.
Debt: Other then home no other debt

So any suggestions/comments? I have worked full time pretty much from
high school thru college and then a career and would love to pull the plug
and not look back. If it was you would you feel comfortable ? Thanks again

 

[travelover]

Looks good to me. You'll be pulling 3% from your stash to start with and less when you take SS. I'd do a deep dive on your actual spending - I'm guessing that you are over estimating it unless you live in a high cost of living area.

 

[NanoSour]

Congrats Jim and welcome to the active forum. Just ran your numbers through ESPlanner Basic and it kicked out annual spending of over 102K. I have 3 teenagers and spend 66K/year, so if I was single I think I could swing it. Unless of course you live in NYC or SF.

Again, welcome.

 

[moneyviking]

You look good to go

 

[MBAustin]

Welcome jimchar! Sounds like you are really ready to go. Assume that staying until your anniversary date improves your pension and/or healthcare. Personally, I'd use the time to track expenses more closely so you know where your "wiggle room" is if the markets turn against you early on, and make sure you're comfortable with your asset allocations.

And feel free to join the Class of 2017!

 

[jimchar]

thanks so far

Thanks for the comments so far... I keep pretty good info on my spending as today I am about 75k annually, some years a little more some less. That 75k includes mortgage which should be drastically reduced after sale of home. What it does not include is the premium I will have to pay for insurance from company which will be $300. I also need to account for taxes I may need to pay.

My thoughts on leaving after 35 years is just that it seems like a nice time to do it... no other logical reasons as only staying around to that time helps pension a little ($25 per month each month I stay) and I have income coming in to spend on home improvements as I get ready to sell home.

anything i maybe missing ? thanks again .. this is stressful decision for me but i do feel it is the right thing to do. I guess from reading the forum a lot of
people go through these feelings before pulling the plug

 

[Ready]

I think you are financially fine if you want to retire. But it may be that when you leave and have some time off, you may find that some part time work may keep you stimulated. You don't have to, but it's nice to have the choice.

 

[Bamaman]

I've got an idea. Go ahead and turn in your retirement letter immediately. You're fixed, especially if you're going to consider moving to a low cost of living place.

Companies that start their outsourcing of jobs hold little regards for their employees long term well being. You shouldn't owe them one more day of your life than necessary.

Go and smell the roses right away--not later.

 

[foxfirev5]

I've got an idea. Go ahead and turn in your retirement letter immediately. You're fixed, especially if you're going to consider moving to a low cost of living place.

Companies that start their outsourcing of jobs hold little regards for their employees long term well being. You shouldn't owe them one more day of your life than necessary.

Go and smell the roses right away--not later.

Absolutely a no brainer if you're ready. I hope you're not just playing with us!

 

[jimchar]

not playing

just to respond.... totally agree once megacorp did outsource it was very clear they don't care about employees (if they really ever did). So just buying a few months to get some income to pay off a kitchen re-model to help with selling the home. So not playing around... just a bit of a stressful decision

 

[mamadogmamacat]

Financially, you look fine to me. I would make a good attempt to estimate taxes on actual spending and add that in to your FIRECALC runs. Also, my mega corp retiree medical (much more expensive than yours as I had only 25 yrs in) is not guaranteed. Co could end it at any time, so you might want to also consider using an alternate cost estimate for that as well between now and medicare eligibility. Even with that, i expect you will be fine. Running these scenarios will help you reach a decision to fire, if you are anything like me, anyway, the more details the better. Congratulations on achieving FI.

 

[I was misinformed]

Been long time reader and have learned a lot, and now it is my time to ask
for help. Working at mega corp and major changes (ie outsourcing) have
made work miserable. Have been working at this company for 35 years
and plan to RETIRE on my 35th anniversary date this year.

So basically FIRE & Fidelity says I am ok but would just like to hear other
opinions. Thanks very much for any input/suggestions/concerns...

The facts:

Age: 57 Single
Health Insurance: I can pay ~$300 a month from retirement plan
Pension: If take now would be $44,000 a year no COLA
SS @62 : $1800 @67 : $2500 (I discounted these based on maybe not working anymore)
401k/IRA : $ 1,300,000
Taxable Accts: $700,000
Expenses: For FIRE I put in $100k as worst case scenario. I don't spend
that now, but also don't want to be picking the couch for money to do
things if I want. I expect to sell my home and move somewhere cheaper in
the next year or two which should reduce housing costs a lot.
Debt: Other then home no other debt

So any suggestions/comments? I have worked full time pretty much from
high school thru college and then a career and would love to pull the plug
and not look back. If it was you would you feel comfortable ? Thanks again

Congratulations on being able to RE.

In 2014 I retired at 58 y.o. with a quite similar situation to yours (although I have to wait till age 62 to start collecting my defined benefit pension and get back onto employer supported health care). So far no regrets.....

 

[kimcdougc]

Congrats on being able to FIRED. Look forward to hearing how your future retirement goes.

 

[Gumby]

Your actual spending is close to mine at $75k per year. I use a 10% gross up for taxes (although my tax deferred/after tax ratio is much higher than yours). So, I assume I'll need taxable income of about $83k to cover my spending. You could use TurboTax with assumed numbers to get a more fine tuned estimate.

 

[MRG]

Congratulations you have won the event. What next? It took me a while but life is soooo much better now. I hope you enjoy your time.