How big was your nest egg when you FIRE'd?

[Shabby]

I am getting super close to pulling the trigger. I was just wondering what your nest egg's were when you retired, not counting home equity? I am thinking it will be about $1.5M with a paid off house.

 

[Meadbh]

>$1.5 million.

 

[kimcdougc]

<1.5 million

 

[Danmar]

>>$1.5 million. Why do you ask?

 

[Bestwifeever]

Big enough.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

>1.5m

 

[bradaz2488]

36x my yeary expenses. I have more now then when I retried 4 years ago that's to mr market.

 

[2017ish]

approximately 9-10 times our highest Gross Income year--and 48-50 times our baseline comfortable-enough spending (not that we plan to limit ourselves to the baseline).

(edited for: "not including home equity")

 

[euro]

50x yearly spend.
The size of the nest egg means nothing without knowledge of spending

 

[rodi]

This question misses some key points.... Like do you have other income sources?

Ours was close to your number... but we also have rental income, DH's SS, and since retirement I've started two (very) small pensions... We only pull 1/2 of our spending from the nest egg.

Plus - how much you "need" for retirement is HIGHLY dependent on how much you spend... We have lots of folks here with smallish nest eggs - but smallish spending... and lots of people here who live pretty large - and have pretty large nest eggs. And don't forget those folks who live quite comfortably on pensions and/or rental income and don't touch their nest egg.

 

[rodi]

Oh - and I should add.... Congratulations on getting close to pulling the trigger, Shabby. Good job.

 

[ABQ2015]

<1.5M without pension
>1.5M considering value of pension

 

[RetireAge50]

Excellent, congratulations! We are about to retire with about the same but also have pensions.

I think spending is a calculated result not an input so focusing on your nest egg is a good approach.

 

[dunkelblau]

Relax, based on these numbers from last year--
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/whats-the-size-of-your-portfolio-81845-4.html
you'd be really close to the median.

 

[Fedup]

Bigger than $1.5 million but smaller than $1.5 billion. A lot smaller than $1.5 billion.

 

[Cobra9777]

We retired when our "nest egg" (including NPV of pensions and FMV of rental properties) was 30X our projected annual spend. Any SS will be a bonus, if the system survives to our FRA.

 

[CardsFan]

At retirement 17 months ago: 36x projected annual spending (actual spending has been lower).

Thanks to the market, we are now: 41x projected spending.

No pensions. Plan SS at FRA (4 years from now), when the portfolio will likely be about 100x annual withdrawal needs.

I think we need to spend more

 

[stepford]

Initially about 35x predicted annual spending. Ended up being more like 55x annual spending in the first year of ER and in the 2nd year when I've gotten way into cycling and hiking (which have minimal recurring costs) it's heading for something ridiculous like 100x.

While the nest egg has grown by about 10% since ER this big jump is almost entirely because retirement is costing much less than I'd predicted. I really should have retired sooner.

 

[evilanne]

<1.5M without pension
>1.5M considering value of pension

How do you determine the value of your pension?

 

[Sojourner]

I think mine was about 48x my annual expenditures at the time. Right now it's about 56x thanks to the recent bull market.

As others have said, the absolute dollar value of your nest egg is irrelevant without knowing your annual spending level.

 

[Shabby]

>>Why do you ask?

I am super conservative and can keep working indefinitely if I wanted and saving more money. But, I balance that with wanting to enjoy my life and other passions. While everyones situation is different and nest egg is just one component, I was sorta curious if most people were more or less than this. Obviously pensions, location, lifestyle, make a big difference, I was just sorta wondering. Last thing I want to do is die at my desk still saving because it's never enough.

(I apologize for saying an actual dollar amount. If forgot that isn't cool on here)

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

1.1 million on the date i retired October 19th 2008. its gone crazy since then. if it crashed and was worth 50 bucks i would be crying but my pension is more than we spend so the excess goes into our 80/20 mix. of the 80 its been 50 % small cap, 35 % sp500, 15 % international. Some how me and the bride decided this was our mix , so good or bad thats what we run with. im not smart enough to recalculate a new mix and asset allocation. We agonized over this for about a year before i retired. read articles ,listened to seminars etc. i want to add that my health care is 7 bucks a month, with a max 4000 a year out of pocket. so my health care imaginary budget is 350 a month, i knew all this before i ran out the door. i see some people talk about how many times their annual spending, mine is 72.72 times yearly expenditures. If i live to collect social security , and its the promised amount ill stop cutting food coupons. On second thought no i wont old habits die hard.

 

[foxfirev5]

I am super conservative and can keep working indefinitely if I wanted and saving more money. But, I balance that with wanting to enjoy my life and other passions. While everyones situation is different and nest egg is just one component, I was sorta curious if most people were more or less than this. Obviously pensions, location, lifestyle, make a big difference, I was just sorta wondering. Last thing I want to do is die at my desk still saving because it's never enough.

(I apologize for saying an actual dollar amount. If forgot that isn't cool on here)

While I prefer to not give my specifics your 1.5 number appears pretty solid, if your expenses are in line. Simple math leads me to 50k per year for 30 years. Even if it's invested in a CD ladder you should be able to put a dent in the ravages of inflation, if that shows up. Add in SS and see if that exceeds any expenses.

 

[gerntz]

About 5-10% more than 5 years ago with 30x+ spend & w/o taking SS yet.

 

[euro]

(I apologize for saying an actual dollar amount. If forgot that isn't cool on here)

Shabby- no need to apologize. It's not that it is uncool to talk about a number but the point is that it's a meaningless number unless it is somehow related to the expected expenses. If your nest egg is 800k but you only expect to need 20k per year then you are ready to retire (40x). However if your nest egg is 800k and you expect to need 200k per year, then you are in trouble.
This is why most of us chose to respond with a ratio of nest egg to expenses. So, if you have 35x, that means your money will last for 35 years (assuming investment return is equal to inflation, and you won't have any other income such as social security).