Belt and Suspenders Regret

[Shanky]

Did anyone give up two or three years of retirement even though they had achieved FIRE so they could have the belt & suspenders level of safety? In retrospect, was it worth giving up a significant % of your retirement to have the extra security?

(Example would be 90% FIreCalc vs 100% FireCalc and ignoring SS) That difference can be several years of work).

 

[RenoJay]

I might be doing it now with OMY syndrome, but at 44 all my friends are busy working so there's no one to play with and my j*b is a cake walk.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[RobbieB]

Yeah, I did. Didn't even sign up here until I was retired, didn't even know about planning ER to the N'th degree.

Now eating caviar and wagyu and drinkin' XO, flying first class and staying in the most expensive hotels I can find and I'm still not spending enough dough.

There are rewards for "over working" -

 

[Mulligan]

I might be doing it now with OMY syndrome, but at 44 all my friends are busy working so there's no one to play with and my j*b is a cake walk.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

I had to pick up new daytime golf friends when I retired 7 years ago at 45.... Friday it was me, 52, and a 68,85, and 87 year old. I never even knew old people existed before I retired. My 87 year old neighbor introduced me to the senior scramble day on Mondays a couple years ago.. 50 and over... He really meant 75 and over! I thought it was a nursing home jailbreak! Only 2 out of 100 are in our 50s. They are a hoot... Hope they dont die on me for a while as my reinforcements that are my age are years away still.

 

[pb4uski]

Similar theme here. I retired at 56 and quickly got involved with a bunch of retired guys who enjoy golf... at 60 now I am by far the youngest person in the group... most of the guys I play with are in their mid-to-late 60s or older.

 

[Mulligan]

Similar theme here. I retired at 56 and quickly got involved with a bunch of retired guys who enjoy golf... at 60 now I am by far the youngest person in the group... most of the guys I play with are in their mid-to-late 60s or older.

I bet you dont have to yell as loud as I do, PB, lol. Them 60's guys hearing is a lot better than the 80 year olds, I have noticed. And sometimes I dont connect on the reference points..."Back in the day" means the 1990s and 80s to me. But they may be referring to something that was in the 1940s, so sometimes I need more clarification.

 

[W2R]

Did anyone give up two or three years of retirement even though they had achieved FIRE so they could have the belt & suspenders level of safety? In retrospect, was it worth giving up a significant % of your retirement to have the extra security?

(Example would be 90% FIreCalc vs 100% FireCalc and ignoring SS) That difference can be several years of work).

I have the belt-and-suspenders level of safety in place, but I have no regret because I couldn't retire any earlier. I needed the health insurance that came with officially retiring, so I had to wait two years until I was eligible. This was before Obamacare and private health insurance rates were through the roof and spiraling upwards with no end in sight.

That extra two years padded my nest egg nicely, and also they gave me a tiny pension too. Like RobbieB, I am spending more these days because you can't take it with you.

 

[Music Lover]

Similar theme here. I retired at 56 and quickly got involved with a bunch of retired guys who enjoy golf... at 60 now I am by far the youngest person in the group... most of the guys I play with are in their mid-to-late 60s or older.

I'm 54 and my 2 main golfing buddies are 58 and 61. It seems that quite often I'm the youngest person on the course.

I never gave up any of my retirement for more money...in fact, I left a year early back in spring and won't start collecting my pension until next year when I reach the minimum allowable age to avoid penalty.

 

[old woman]

I am not sorry because I couldn't really retire until ACA since COBRA was too expensive. I considered 63.5 my earliest age but worked until almost 66. My job was easy with huge bonues and profit sharing. The markets recovered so my savings grew like crazy then my mom died when I was 65 so I inherited some. Now over a million when I had planned to need 400K. It is very freeing knowing even a huge unexpected expense isn't a problem.

 

[Sunset]

I didn't realize we could retire until friends did.
So we accidentally worked 2 extra years, but I haven't invented a time machine yet, so we take comfort in the extra cushion it gives us.

 

[DrRoy]

I have probably done so but not as a deliberate plan. I am waiting until next spring to nearly max out my available pension. I have probably been OK by Firecalc for a couple years.

 

[Alan]

I have the belt-and-suspenders level of safety in place, but I have no regret because I couldn't retire any earlier. I needed the health insurance that came with officially retiring, so I had to wait two years until I was eligible. This was before Obamacare and private health insurance rates were through the roof and spiraling upwards with no end in sight.

That extra two years padded my nest egg nicely, and also they gave me a tiny pension too. Like RobbieB, I am spending more these days because you can't take it with you.

Identical story here. I could hardly wait for those last 2 years to pass but the extra security of having healthcare was well worth it. Well into our 7th year now and have no regrets.

 

[Tadpole]

I held out until I maximized my possible benefits, had a heart attack two weeks from my retirement date, went to work the next day to finish out, and ended up with triple bypass the first year of retirement. (Husband was diagnosed with Parkinson's the year I retired and had a stroke that he fully recovered from 3 months after my surgery.)


Retire at the first opportunity folks.

 

[Taxman59]

DW inherited some $$ (nice but not earthshaking amounts) and I recalculated my FI date, and realized it had passed! (I also computed life expectancy to 99 years old, that is my suspenders to go along with the belt I always wear!)
In the 15 months since I left, we have taken 2 month long trips and taken several "Hey lets go away for a few days" trips. Also, DW broke her ankle and was laid up for 6 weeks (I would have needed to hire someone to care for her during the day) and also had some mental health issues. I wouldn't give up the time caring for her for any amount of $$.

I agree with Tadpole, go out as soon as you can, because you never know

 

[haha]

Did anyone give up two or three years of retirement even though they had achieved FIRE so they could have the belt & suspenders level of safety? In retrospect, was it worth giving up a significant % of your retirement to have the extra security?

(Example would be 90% FIreCalc vs 100% FireCalc and ignoring SS) That difference can be several years of work).

This is a way of looking at things that I have never encountered anywhere but on this board.

Can the trips and other retirement activities mentioned here be that much better than working life? I understand when some abusive boss or bosses are in one's face all the time, or when job stress is overcoming one's equanimity, but "I wish I hadn't sought more security , or "I wan't living until I retired"? These are foreign to me.

Ha

 

[Car-Guy]

Yes, I suffered from the OMY syndrome for about two years longer than planned. Once I became FI (the belt) I wanted a financial buffer (the suspenders). Once I got that I worked about two more years for even more (the rain barrel).

Pros and cons to that. That final two years of working (my life) is lost and I can't get them back but I've had a great time in the first 5 years of retirement not having to worry about spending (sometimes crazy spending). I've probably spent $xxx,xxx more on travel/hobbies/vices since retiring than I would have with just a belt and suspenders but it's been fun.

 

[H2ODude]

Not sure I fit into this dynamic. Yes, was FI well before retired at 60, but had a pension that would take a significant bump up if I waited til 60. So yes, I added suspenders to the belt by waiting. I might have kept working if it had been as rewarding as it had been up until last few years, the BS bucket just started brimming. So I just held out for the pension and bailed. Do I regret doing so? Not at all. Having LBYM for all those years we will never likely even hit 4% WR or more than 80% of what FIDO calculator says we can spend. Just returned from Spain, have cruise on Columbia R next month, and in November will likely go to Africa to assist DIL returning w second child to DS after her delivery (she'll have 2 YO as well so it's a booger to do the 30 hour trip). Frankly, that's more travel than we care to do in this short of a time span, especially the overseas flights.

In spite of the traveling and an earnest effort to spend more, we're at the limit. We've considered relocating but are reluctant based on where two kids and grandkids are or will likely be in a year or two. That, and we like our paid for house just fine.

I guess the site is populated by folks whose primary goal was to bail as early as possible with a safety factor appropriate to their psychology. That just really wasn't us, FI was always a goal and when the situation became no longer pleasant, we bailed. With suspenders, belt, and two parachutes! So, no, no regrets at having waited!

 

[Danmar]

Never really thought about retirement until after I had saved more than enough for it. Simply raised my spending in retirement to match the cash flow from the portfolio and pensions. If I had worked a couple more years, I would have just raised the spending a bit more. Don't think it would have been worth it.

 

[W2R]

Can the trips and other retirement activities mentioned here be that much better than working life?

Yes? They sure are for me. But as in everything here, YMMV and apparently it does.

How many years has it been since you worked? Maybe you are just too far removed to remember it, or maybe you really liked working. Have you thought of going back to work now? Why not try it? Some people like working and of course there is absolutely nothing wrong with that at all. F is a little bit like that and recently has taken a temporary part time "fun job" that pays little more than pocket change, but gives him a chance to interact with others, keep busy, and do something he likes doing. Maybe you could find something like that if you miss working.

 

[MooreBonds]

Yes? They sure are for me. But as in everything here, YMMV and apparently it does.

How many years has it been since you worked? Maybe you are just too far removed to remember it, or maybe you really liked working. Have you thought of going back to work now? Why not try it? Some people like working and of course there is absolutely nothing wrong with that at all. F is a little bit like that and recently has taken a temporary part time "fun job" that pays little more than pocket change, but gives him a chance to interact with others, keep busy, and do something he likes doing. Maybe you could find something like that if you miss working.

Perhaps another angle to expand on Ha's remarks: While we don't know how our portfolios will perform, OMY at an 'average' job is likely going to be far less stressful than a 3, 4, or 5 year run in retirement where you spend EVERY DAY fretting over "Oh my God - interest rates are turning negative and my 40% fixed income portion of my portfolio is producing NOTHING. I know it has risen in the past....but will this be one of the 6% of FireCALC cases that either fails, or ends 30 years with just $50,000 left?"

And given the behavior of rates, this very well may be a factor which many now have to contend with, given that many retirees have 40% (perhaps more!) of their portfolio in fixed income. When almost half of your entire portfolio produces ZERO return for several years (perhaps even negative returns), and it traditionally produces at least some positive return that you can mostly pay the bills with - that can have a very negative impact on your cash flow and total returns.

And, subsequently, your mental health. Your job you can leave at the office, but your portfolio cash flow and returns follow you around non-stop.

You can simply change jobs to find a job with a different set of miserable qualities but with a nicer boss. The only parallel would be perhaps moving to a different country with relatively higher interest rates but low inflation, and/or moving to where the dollar is relatively stronger.

 

[Mulligan]

Moorebonds, quit scaring me with that 0% fixed income talk. You are gonna make me regret not buying more 8% FIISO, since it is non callable! I dont want to see a point where I am bragging about snagging a 1.5% preferred stock, ha.

 

[Moemg]

Ha may be referring to the almost nirvana feeling some have about retirement . While working was not always pleasant there were other parts of that time in my life that were great .I do not feel that the freedom of retirement outweighs the other times in my life . It is just different.Nice but not Nirvana .

 

[growing_older]

I was FI and ready to retire early, when I was hit with an unexpected divorce. Suddenly I wasn't FI anymore. I don't know how I'll feel about the belt and suspenders thing after I'm (finally) retired, but right now in the middle of one or two more years, the added security feels pretty good.

 

[Car-Guy]

Can the trips and other retirement activities mentioned here be that much better than working life?

Absolutely. In my case anyway.

 

[UpAnchor]

OMY'd for just under 5 years and can't regret it. It was a gradual downshifting of work hours, all remote from home, nearly stress-free, as little as 5 hours a week in 2016.

I was a bit healthier physically 5 years ago but much less healthy financially. But I didn't know then what I know now about retirement planning. And now our lifestyle in retirement/sleep-at-night index will be much more to our liking.

Part of the additional padding came from the additional years of saving while postponing decumulation. But the real surprise came from three banner years of Microcorp's ESOP growth which no one saw coming and which boosted the overall PF by at least 25%.