Poll:Which are you/will you be? SIRE or FIRE?

[Midpack]

SIRE (secure income, retire early).

Consider yourself SIRE if more than half your retirement expenses are/will be covered by a pension (COLA or non), free or subsidized retiree health care, Social Security or other government and/or Corp benefits.

Consider yourself FIRE if more than half your retirement expenses are/will be covered by your own investment holdings, purchased health care/insurance, purchased annuities, inheritance, etc.

Please vote based on your current or planned retirement.

And there is no "better answer."

I think I am in the minority, just curious...

 

[FUEGO]

What does the "S" in SIRE stand for?

 

[SarahW]

Hmmmm. I have pension, health care and benefits...but my personal holdings would be sufficient if I didn't. I'm not sure which to choose. :tard: We need about 12 more choices in the poll.


Edit: OK, I chose "SIRE" since I do have the pension/benefits.

 

[ziggy29]

I wonder how this breaks down between people who *are* FIREd and who are *hoping* to FIRE.

I could be wrong but I suspect the majority of "wannabes" are mostly pensionless (and have pushed their FIRE dates back, at least mentally) whereas those who actually made it to the promised land are more often SIREd.

 

[FIREd]

No pension or other corporate/government goodies. Just SS (maybe) and, if we were to move back to Europe, cheaper (much cheaper) healthcare. Still, in all cases, more than half of our expenses would have to be covered by our investments and possibly a SPIA annuity which we would purchase upon retiring.

 

[Amandupsk]

People have been warning me all my life to not count on Social Security...so when planning for retirement it has never entered any calculations. When I hit 67, if I get anything at all it'll be gravy!

 

[Fireup2020]

I am suprised that not more of the board is in the SIRE category. (state & mil pensions, plus VA disability here)

TSP/Def. comp plus SS(?!) will be bonus monies...

 

[Midpack]

What does the "S" in SIRE stand for?

I don't know who originated it but the version I saw here was SIRE (secure income, retire early). My parents (ex-Mil) for example have a COLA'd pension, Social Security and Retiree Health care making them SIRE. Their personal holdings are icing on the cake...

 

[Midpack]

I am suprised that not more of the board is in the SIRE category. (state & mil pensions, plus VA disability here)

TSP/Def. comp plus SS(?!) will be bonus monies...

That's the impression I've always gotten in the past too.

 

[REWahoo]

That's the impression I've always gotten in the past too.

Give them time to respond - I think many of them are out collecting their pension checks.

 

[Kabekew]

I'm retiring in a few weeks and I wish I had a pension! All my funds are in brokerage accounts and the bank.

 

[ziggy29]

I am suprised that not more of the board is in the SIRE category. (state & mil pensions, plus VA disability here)

TSP/Def. comp plus SS(?!) will be bonus monies...

As I recall, when a poll like this was asked of the strictly retired, it was about 50/50 between those relying mostly on a pension and those who weren't.

These results, which include the wannabes who still w*rk, tell me that most people who haven't yet been able to clock out for the last time have little or no pension coming to them. In my case, I started with a Megacorp which had a pension plan but they froze it after I was there for 11 years. So I'm entitled to something, but it's going to be peanuts. If my wife sticks with her new gig long enough, she'll be eligible for a modest pension as well. But even if she stuck it out 20 years to her earliest full retirement date, more of our sustenance would come from personal savings than pension checks.

If my Megacorp didn't freeze the pension I'd be able to retire very comfortably at age 53. But they did, so I can't...

 

[Lusitan]

Zero pension here; 100% FIRE baby!

 

[Bikerdude]

My first 10 yrs have been FIRE. Now that I will collect SS I guess I will be SIRE. I don't really see the difference as my pension was part of my total compensation and can be duplicated by a SPIA by anyone caring to put up the $$$. I assume everyone is collecting SS or some other government retirement plan.

 

[ziggy29]

I don't really see the difference as my pension was part of my total compensation and can be duplicated by a SPIA by anyone caring to put up the $$$.

The difference is that someone with a DB pension knows what they are going to get and when they will get it. Someone using personal savings or an IRA/401K to buy an SPIA is at the mercy of the markets as to whether or not their chosen retirement date will be feasible. And the person with the personal savings and SPIA assumes all of the market risk instead of the pension fund (and possibly the taxpayers).

 

[Moemg]

Hmmmm. I have pension, health care and benefits...but my personal holdings would be sufficient if I didn't. I'm not sure which to choose. :tard: We need about 12 more choices in the poll.


Edit: OK, I chose "SIRE" since I do have the pension/benefits.

I'm the same as Sarah !

 

[Zathras]

I planned for retirement without any help from SS. If it is still there when we hit whatever age it kicks in at, I highly doubt it will be 50% of our retirement.
So we are all FIRE.
The age of companies offering pensions is comming to a close. I think it will naturally mean fewer people retiring in the future will be able to SIRE than people now, which is fewer than those that could SIRE 10 years ago.

 

[kyounge1956]

I voted SIRE. I figure my DB City pension will make half of a barebones retirement budget, even though it does not have a full COLA (it's guaranteed to hold 65% of original purchasing power, but the fixed 1-1/2% annual adjustment pretty much guarantees that it will shrink to that extent, because inflation is almost always higher than 1.5%). I only included 25% of what my SS report says I'm eligible for in my calculations. My savings and the other 75% of SS is to cover the other half of barebones expenses, health insurance over & above what I assume it will be, and plus money, because I don't really want to be on a barebones budget when I retire.

 

[Ronstar]

fire for us, with dw getting a small pension (about 25% of expenses)

 

[WhoDaresWins]

I chose FIRE as my state pension will comprise about 20 percent of my income with the balance coming from investments. I did not include SS benefits in my calculation.

 

[Stevewc]

I went with FIRE.
I do have a pension but with the cost of health care coming out of my pocket, I doubt the pension will cover half of expenses.
I sure hope the pension gets close to half or I'm in deep Do.
Steve

 

[Rambler]

FIRE for us. No pension waiting for me, and I never count SS in my calculations. If I am able to collect SS when the time comes, it will only be about 10% of my current expense calculations (which are pretty cushy due to wanting to travel etc). OTOH, if I begin collecting at 70, there is a chance that we won't (can't) be as active as we think we will be, so SS may end up covering a slightly larger portion of our expenses. Regardless, I am not counting on it...if it comes it will just be a bit touch of cream...

R

 

[freebird5825]

I voted SIREd.

Technically I am 65% SIRE (surv pension), 35% FIRE (my TSP annuity) right now.
Most of my current income after expenses is going into my short term portfolio to cover inflation if it explodes, and/or fund a future geographical relocation.
Less than 5 years from now, my own FERS pension (tiny) will swing that SIRE portion a bit higher. I am not counting on much SS by the time I hit 62 in 11 years. Who knows ?

 

[unclemick]

FIRE'd 1993 age 49 - dirt poor and cheap as heck. Small pension 1998, early SS 2005.

Now with 40% of income in good times covered by SIRE - I'm rich - rich I tell you.



heh heh heh - And yes for the younger crowd I'm spending the SS dollars first - as if one can tell. .

 

[W2R]

FIRE'd, no question about it with my itsy-bitsy teeny-weenie [-]yellow polkadot bikini[/-] federal pension.