When is it safe to retire?

[Tadpole]

Another may be to take up skydiving and start smoking and drinking very heavily in order to reduce the chance of outliving your money...

My plan exactly and, if I do outlive my money, I am going to confess to an unsolved Federal crime and spend my last days behind bars with 3 meals/day, free medical and a cot.

 

[unclemick]

Hmmm - the left handed version of Bernstein's 80%:

I had this fairly detailed plan to retire early August 2006 at 63. I was canned/layed off Jan 1993 at 49.

Early in the stretch my mind shifted from unemployed to ER. Mastering the quasi formal science of 'cheap bastard' also springs to mind. And I semi seriously came up with a new plan and adjusted it in the stretch.

heh heh heh - handgrenade wise if you are close(from playing with calculators) the rest is sort of a belly button thing. BTW - I spent 19 yrs near Mt Saint Helens plus Y camp, several Boy Scouts and picknicking with family - left the State in Christmas 69. . Plan hard but stay loose. .

 

[Spanky]

You are correct that my pension is my biggest retirement asset. The pension system is AFAIK operated by the City, and I don't know what happens if it goes bust, whether it is covered by PBCG or not. That's one reason I wanted to leave SS out of the equation. I want to be pretty conservative in my assumptions but I thought it safe to assume that at least one out of the two (pension & SS) will perform as advertised, and plan to have enough to get by with just one of my main income sources.

Many cities are facing difficulties to pay for pensions. It's hoped that your city has sufficient funds for its pension and has the ability, if needed, to raise property taxes without any major opposition from property owners. Good luck.

 

[W2R]

My plan exactly and, if I do outlive my money, I am going to confess to an unsolved Federal crime and spend my last days behind bars with 3 meals/day, free medical and a cot.

Oh, now THERE's an ambition. I think I'd rather show up at a Mission or homeless shelter than do that.

 

[Spanky]

Another may be to take up skydiving and start smoking and drinking very heavily in order to reduce the chance of outliving your money...

That's funny.
Here is another one: become a monk and live a peaceful life.