2028 Target Date

[Patience]

Didn't see a group post for people aiming for 2028 retirement dates, so thought I'd start one.

It's a bit of a stretch, maybe a long shot, but aiming for very early retirement or barista-fire sometime in 2028. I will be 47/48 years old with the intention of retiring to be a SAHD for the last of the school age kids. 2 kids will be in college, 2 in highschool.

Health has been a concern and I've started taking it very seriously. 20 Years of 60-80 hour work weeks took its toll. Schedule is currently reduced to 30-40 hours/wk and hoping to reduce that further if and when possible (freelancer)

Assets currently at $1.6mil
Max out 401ks and make steady contributions to brokerage and 529s.
No debt except the house.
Fully paid off RE Assets produce roughly $20,000 annually after expenses. Great commercial tenants. If they go vacant, I plan to liquidate even though they are low maintenance.

Aiming for $3mil by my exit date.
DW plans to continue working until 55, hopefully bringing the total closer to $4-5mil before full household retirement.

We pay full price for health care/insurance out of pocket already. It's part of our (very large) budget.

I saw on the 2024 thread people updating and following each other. Thought maybe it might be fun to track this next 4 year journey, God willing, and having others in similar timelines chime in.

Cheers!

 

[Koolau]

2028 is a worthy goal. $3 to $5 million seems more than reasonable. Have you run FIRECalc yet?

 

[tulak]

Here’s a 2028 thread I started a couple of years ago:

Thread 'Class of 2028'
Class of 2028

I’m still planning on 2028, which is when I can access 401k using rule of 55. But OMY might catch up with me.

Otherwise, only three years to go. Let’s hope they’re good!

 

[Patience]

2028 is a worthy goal. $3 to $5 million seems more than reasonable. Have you run FIRECalc yet?

I struggle with firecalc. Not sure the data is getting entered correctly. Is it easier on the computer?

FiCalc, richbrokedead and networthify all give me 100% depending on inputs. Assumes I maintain current spending
and savings for the next 4 years and
that spending will decrease 20% when I retire (fica and discretionaries)

 

[Patience]

Here’s a 2028 thread I started a couple of years ago:

Thread 'Class of 2028'
Class of 2028

I’m still planning on 2028, which is when I can access 401k using rule of 55. But OMY might catch up with me.

Otherwise, only three years to go. Let’s hope they’re good!

That's great! I will pop over to that thread and give it a bump. My goal is closer to mid or end of year 2028, so more like 4 years. Feels like forever ha
Omy is very real. May apply to me as well, but health and family will decide. All the kids and college, buying houses, getting married may be incentive to work part time. Just don't know if I can do it much longer.

Class of 2028. I like that.

 

[Koolau]

I struggle with firecalc. Not sure the data is getting entered correctly. Is it easier on the computer?

FiCalc, richbrokedead and networthify all give me 100% depending on inputs. Assumes I maintain current spending
and savings for the next 4 years and
that spending will decrease 20% when I retire (fica and discretionaries)

I can't help with the data entry. FIRECalc has been around long enough that any math bugs, etc., should have been purged by now.

The main thing is the accuracy of the inputs. IOW you need to have a pretty good handle on your future spending and income which may not always be easy to know.

That's why it may be important to play around with FIRECalc (or other calculators.) You might try changing inputs until your outcome is a "failure." Maybe you'll say "my plan fails if FIRECalc drops below 100% (or 95%.) Once you find the failure point of your plan, then you have some parameters to stay within for, say, spending level or asset allocation, etc. Good luck.

 

[Patience]

I can't help with the data entry. FIRECalc has been around long enough that any math bugs, etc., should have been purged by now.

The main thing is the accuracy of the inputs. IOW you need to have a pretty good handle on your future spending and income which may not always be easy to know.

That's why it may be important to play around with FIRECalc (or other calculators.) You might try changing inputs until your outcome is a "failure." Maybe you'll say "my plan fails if FIRECalc drops below 100% (or 95%.) Once you find the failure point of your plan, then you have some parameters to stay within for, say, spending level or asset allocation, etc. Good luck.

Not a math bug, definitely user error

 

[Koolau]

Not a math bug, definitely user error

Ah, I see.

Just "be careful."




(Sorry 'bout that.)

 

[NeilDH]

My only question would be would you have assets to pull from before age 59.5 without incurring penalties. Sounds like your RE assets might cover that, as well as DW.

 

[donk711]

Glad to see this! I've been stalking the 2024 thread but my goal is mid-2028 (at age 58). Sitting on $2M and expecting to get to the target $3M by then.

 

[Patience]

My only question would be would you have assets to pull from before age 59.5 without incurring penalties. Sounds like your RE assets might cover that, as well as DW.

We've thought about pausing 401k contributions to maximize brokerage contributions, but the current tax bracket is brutal. DWs income can cover everything but the mortgage. We can liquidate one of the RE properties to pay off the mortgage or let them continue to pay the monthly payment.
Hoping the brokerage appreciates enough to bridge the gap from her early retirement ages 55-59.5

 

[Patience]

Glad to see this! I've been stalking the 2024 thread but my goal is mid-2028 (at age 58). Sitting on $2M and expecting to get to the target $3M by then.

Tulak had also started a thread earlier that I hadn't seen. Linked above if you want to check in there as well.

 

[NgineER]

We've thought about pausing 401k contributions to maximize brokerage contributions, but the current tax bracket is brutal. DWs income can cover everything but the mortgage. We can liquidate one of the RE properties to pay off the mortgage or let them continue to pay the monthly payment.
Hoping the brokerage appreciates enough to bridge the gap from her early retirement ages 55-59.5

It is not a bad idea to start tapping your tax deferred accounts prior to 59.5 to further reduce the RMD burden later in life.
This is easily done through 72t or Roth ladders, the latter requires more planning and five years from opening the account before the funds can be withdrawn.