Indian in US; hoping to retire in US+India

[lionfire]

Indian here, naturalized US citizen. 43 yrs old. DW is 40. Been here pretty much my entire adult life. HCOL. Tech. NW is $1.25M. 80% in 401k/RothIRA, 20% in company stock. Home worth about $1M. Have 65% equity, accelerating principal payment to payoff in ~8 yrs. (roughly by my 50th birthday). Maxing out 401K/IRA (~50K/yr) investments every year.

Hoping to retire by 55 yrs old. So about 11 yrs from now. Both kids should be out of college by then. Hoping to have ~$2M in retirement accounts by then.

At 55, our plan is to retire with 6 months in India and 6 months in the US (to assist kids). May travel a bit on the way between the 2 countries, but depends on health and funds availability. This seems like a popular "plan" for most indians I have spoken with, of same age. I wonder how practical this is...

Planning to withdraw 3% pa (of $2M) - so ~60K/yr. $5k/month. Which is at current exchange rates, about INR3,50,000. At today's rates, I expect INR 1,00,000 to be enough to live comfortably in my city of choice in India (not a tier1 city but good facilities and i have fam/friends there). With expected inflation, let's say INR 1,50,000 - so about $2K/mo. The rest ($3K/mo) for US expenses. Hoping to withdraw SS after 62 to pad this.

I do expect some inheritance (properties) in India, which may generate some income (rental). Or I might liquidate and invest it in the US markets.

Wonder how realistic the plan is. Love to hear from any others in the same boat. Thanks!

[targatom2019]

you should easy double your current investment in 11 years not counting new contribution.

[Dd852]

Whether being between two places is realistic is purely a function of your personalities! I’ve tried to do that a couple of times (between Hong Kong and the UK, between the UK and the us) and “failed” both times because both DW and I, it turns out, like to have a primary home where we feel grounded. So we never spent as much time in the other place as we thought we would and it finally never was financially worth while to have two “move in ready” places. We still travel a lot but always like to come “home” finally so trying to split our lives between two places simply didn’t work. Some people do it well, though, and have worked out the rhythm that works for them and the way of making it less stressful (full closets in both places, kitchens with beloved gadgets in both).

[bearkeley]

Very realistic given cost of living in India. Since you are 12 years out, it’s important to also have a plan should you decide to stay in the US full time. My mom had planned to split her time at retirement, and now at 73 and alone, she is thinking traveling long distance is getting harder and staying in the US where her kids and grandkids are...unfortunately, the only way she can do this is to live with my sister in CA or with us int the east coast. We also planned to do the same when we were in our 40s but now in our 50s and 4 years into retirement, we realize we prefer to live long term in the US but continue to heavily travel and live in various countries by renting long term.

[MichaelB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lionfire Indian here, naturalized US citizen. 43 yrs old. DW is 40. Been here pretty much my entire adult life. HCOL. Tech. NW is $1.25M. 80% in 401k/RothIRA, 20% in company stock. Home worth about $1M. Have 65% equity, accelerating principal payment to payoff in ~8 yrs. (roughly by my 50th birthday). Maxing out 401K/IRA (~50K/yr) investments every year. Hoping to retire by 55 yrs old. So about 11 yrs from now. Both kids should be out of college by then. Hoping to have ~$2M in retirement accounts by then. At 55, our plan is to retire with 6 months in India and 6 months in the US (to assist kids). May travel a bit on the way between the 2 countries, but depends on health and funds availability. This seems like a popular "plan" for most indians I have spoken with, of same age. I wonder how practical this is... Planning to withdraw 3% pa (of $2M) - so ~60K/yr. $5k/month. Which is at current exchange rates, about INR3,50,000. At today's rates, I expect INR 1,00,000 to be enough to live comfortably in my city of choice in India (not a tier1 city but good facilities and i have fam/friends there). With expected inflation, let's say INR 1,50,000 - so about $2K/mo. The rest ($3K/mo) for US expenses. Hoping to withdraw SS after 62 to pad this. I do expect some inheritance (properties) in India, which may generate some income (rental). Or I might liquidate and invest it in the US markets. Wonder how realistic the plan is. Love to hear from any others in the same boat. Thanks!

This is an achievable lifestyle and can be very enjoyable. As Dd852 points out, it isn’t for everyone. We did it (until we couldn’t) and know others that live this 2 country lifestyle. It may cost more than you anticipate. Maintaining a second home from a distance is costly, the travel spending builds up, and it’s not easy maintaining a social circle when you’re not around all the time.

One thing you can do is to start setting up the location in India before you leave your job. Just to get a better sense of the cost and effort needed.