Hi, I am 57 thinking of retiring next year.

[yakers]

Retired 14 years ago @ 57, I remember a spreadsheet where it showed that each month I worked added X$ to my pension, when I realized that the difference from the pension and working was minimum wage (or less) I knew it was time to stop.
Retired federal under old CSRS system and at 44 years in there was no gain in pension except for possible inflation, yet we had people with 50 years in. Well, it was a great place to work but retirement is better.

 

[Jimonlimon]

I'll put in my plug for "This Christmas" - forget the coffee and burrito!

Thanks. I think I have spousal buy-in. Final decision within days but since she just extended our Maui reservation for February and booked Aruba for March I think she has consented!

One selling point for now is that if I delay past May, I still want to take most of the summer off which means burning most of my accrued leave instead of cashing it out. It would take several years to break even.

 

[Taco]

I agree with Koolau on going for a VERY MERRY Christmas - sounds like you are at the point of diminishing returns with working any further. Congrats!!

 

[Henry Lili]

I pulled the plug 10 years ago this month at 47. My investible assets are close to two times what they were despite living off investments. My point is... Set a course and make adjustments along the way. I work the numbers regularly. Built a income and expense plan. Blah, blah. Early effort leads to long term success.

 

[Koolau]

I pulled the plug 10 years ago this month at 47. My investible assets are close to two times what they were despite living off investments. My point is... Set a course and make adjustments along the way. I work the numbers regularly. Built a income and expense plan. Blah, blah. Early effort leads to long term success.

That is very impressive. Thanks for the feedback on very early retirement.

 

[Jimonlimon]

Spouse is officially on board for 2023 year’s end.

We went through the numbers and found a few incorrect assumptions and outdated health insurance costs but combined they were well under 1%.

It took a few hours of building yet another spreadsheet together to convince her that matching our current take-home can be accomplished with 75% as much income even though it’s all taxable.

Withholding for Retirement, OASDI, union dues and the extra income taxes are 21% of my gross.

 

[pacergal]

Congratulations. It sounds like you are ready!

 

[Koolau]

Spouse is officially on board for 2023 year’s end.

We went through the numbers and found a few incorrect assumptions and outdated health insurance costs but combined they were well under 1%.

It took a few hours of building yet another spreadsheet together to convince her that matching our current take-home can be accomplished with 75% as much income even though it’s all taxable.

Withholding for Retirement, OASDI, union dues and the extra income taxes are 21% of my gross.

Spouse on board is the most important step in Early Retirement. Congrats on that and setting your date.

 

[brett]

Spouse on board is the most important step in Early Retirement. Congrats on that and setting your date.

Absolutely.

My spouse did not believe me when I said that was it. She did not believe me six months later either. She did not think that I could walk away and not look back. Or look forward to another position in the industry.

But I did not look back.

Best decision I made.

 

[SJhawkins]

Jimonlimon,

Thanks for the updates, like when folks comeback and tell the story.

 

[Jimonlimon]

32 work days left! It doesn’t seem real.

 

[Koolau]

32 work days left! It doesn’t seem real.

Thanks for the update. We'll be at your on-line party!

 

[Stormy Kromer]

You made a good decision. I ER'd at 50 and am now 58. I'm glad I've had these years to do things I'm interested in while physically able. At 58 I came down with a physical ailment that may limit my physical ability and my desire to do more strenuous physical activities. I'm glad I've had these years to do what I always wanted to while I was w*rking.

Financially, you're fine.

 

[Librarian]

THIS!!!

You made a good decision. I ER'd at 50 and am now 58. I'm glad I've had these years to do things I'm interested in while physically able. At 58 I came down with a physical ailment that may limit my physical ability and my desire to do more strenuous physical activities. I'm glad I've had these years to do what I always wanted to while I was w*rking.

Financially, you're fine.

DH& I retired in our late 50s, still active.
Have been traveling like crazy since then...I did a little itemize budgeting this week & thought, we need to SCALE BACK.
But I neglected to take into account some decreasing expenses/increasing income (SS) we will see over the next decade.
We both have nice pensions, so our investment are for TRAVEL.

DH reminded me--we need to travel NOW because YOU JUST DON'T KNOW when life will get in the way of that. Travel while circumstances & health allow us to do so.
If that means we are pulling a little more out now each year THAT IS FINE.
NO REGRETS.

 

[HI Bill]

Third is to travel more than one week at a time. I have "bucket list" items that have been brewing for 40 years. Some of them will do better with some youth left in my bones such as hiking 1000 mile or longer trails.

I waited from my FIRE goal of age 50 to 55 due to my wife's desire to have a house, and my desire to do more travel. Then, COVID came, and wiped out two years of potential travel. Then, my wife had a shoulder injury and some other physical things happen that have kept us from travelling through the present. We had planned to spend 3-4 months travelling and diving the world, but it hasn't worked out that way so far. I'm in the camp where I'd say if you can afford it and have no great desires that your current funding can't handle, go ahead and FIRE, and start on your bucket list!

P.S. Some of my bucket list items have been crossed off due to age. I no longer have any desire to do ice diving, for example. Carpe diem!

 

[Librarian]

This this this!

I waited from my FIRE goal of age 50 to 55 due to my wife's desire to have a house, and my desire to do more travel. Then, COVID came, and wiped out two years of potential travel. Then, my wife had a shoulder injury and some other physical things happen that have kept us from travelling through the present. We had planned to spend 3-4 months travelling and diving the world, but it hasn't worked out that way so far. I'm in the camp where I'd say if you can afford it and have no great desires that your current funding can't handle, go ahead and FIRE, and start on your bucket list!

P.S. Some of my bucket list items have been crossed off due to age. I no longer have any desire to do ice diving, for example. Carpe diem!

We just don't know how long we can do the things we want to do, so DO IT NOW!
DH retired 2 years ago & me last year.
Great pensions, no debt--we can easily pay our bills each month with plenty to spare.
We have investments--initially I was stuck on the 3% annual w/drawal rule. But DH reminded me that we do NOT need it to last until our deaths. We need it to last until we cannot travel like we are now. Plus there will be decreases in expenses (kids off health insurance in May; DH on Medicare in a few years) & increases (SS), so those are factors.
So we are traveling NOW! (and yep, we never could afford the time or $ for more than 10 days...doing a month in April. YEAH!)
NO REGRETS!!

 

[Jimonlimon]

Submitted my separation form to HR this week and the pension application today. 28 work days to go!

There are some unknowns regarding tax withholding from pension and 401k withdrawals. We did our best on the W-4P and W-4R. Will revisit and adjust as needed after the first few months.

We were planning to buy a new car with my accrued vacation cash-out but decided to wait about a year or so when hopefully we can better weigh whether to buy our first EV. Instead we will roll the vacation money into pre-tax 401k and 457b. (Car budget is around $40,000 out the door for gasoline or maybe $10,000 more for an EV. Right now very few EV's in this range)

 

[Act2]

Congratulations! Enjoy the count down!

 

[Jimonlimon]

14 work days left! It’s getting real!

A bunch of surprises since I gave notice but they will be easier to deal with retired than still working. (Possibly needing to spend time helping family in 3 states)

 

[Koolau]

14 work days left! It’s getting real!

A bunch of surprises since I gave notice but they will be easier to deal with retired than still working. (Possibly needing to spend time helping family in 3 states)

Cherish your last days at w*rk. Say goodbye to everyone. GO to the farewell that someone will throw for you. Don't tell anyone off. Just enjoy.

Sorry to hear that your new found freedom is already being threatened by family commitments. You'll get through it. Remember to guard your freedom while being a good family person. - there has to be balance. Otherwise, they'll suck you dry - just like w*rk!


Keep us posted.

 

[HI Bill]

Cherish your last days at w*rk./QUOTE]LOL, for me, it was more like surviving the last days at w*rk. I was done when COVID started, but the market's free-fall kept me at the job until March of the following year.

 

[Blue Poles]

Cherish, survive, whatever it takes, but nothing takes away that silly smile you have pasted on your face. Congratulations, Jimonlimon!

 

[brett]

Just ask someone who retired at 65 or post 65 and not in good health what they would pay for a few more years of good health in retirement.

For us, it was not about retiring at age 55/58. Once we had the numbers it was more about the age old question of how many years of good health do have left to enjoy our life to the fullest and do the things that we have always wanted to do.

I was offered a lucrative position after obtaining an attractive package from my long term employer.

I considered it for less than a minute. We were financially secure. The numbers were present and they worked for us. More money would not change anything for us.

My feeling was that I could increase our equity but I could not buy time or predict remaining time with good health. Thirteen years later...best decision I ever made.

 

[folivier]

++++ to what brett just said. I also retired at 55 and wouldn't give up anything for the things we were able to do and see. I'm 69 now and can't do nearly as much as what we did when first retired. Absolutely enjoyed our time spent traveling in the motorhome and now enjoying our mountain cabin.

 

[Jimonlimon]

I’m officially RETIRED!

Dropped off my ID badge and picked up my final check at noon.

Holy crap now what?