44 and ready to retire

[pb4uski]

Whatever one's thoughts or opinions are on Obamacare and cost, I would not be planning a long early retirement period based on subsidies. I can see subsidies for millionaires going the way of the dodo bird. Politicians would have little trouble garnering public support for nixing subsidies for millionaires.

Unless there was a very short period between one's retirement and going on Medicare, I would not feel comfortable without planning for the full cost of a ACA plan without subsidies in my retirement plan. I would also plan for the cost to rise at a higher rate than standard inflation. But perhaps I am more conservative that others.

FWIW, I think you're right and wrong. You're right that there would be widespread support for nixing subsidies for millionaires. Where you're wrong is where you see subsidies for millionaires going the way of the dodo bird. For one, there are relatively few such situations nationwide so it's not a big issue. Second, administering it would be difficult, as would measurement issues.... at the end of the day the hassle of adminstering it would exceed the benefit of avoiding paying those subsidies.

And for the record, I don't receive ACA subsidies and never had, but I have no issue with those who do.

 

[StuckinCT]

Good afternoon,

I realize everyone is different, but is there a general rule of thumb that can assist me on letting me know if I am financially able to retire?

I little about me... I'm 44 years old, I've done well (financially) over the last 20 years; divorced; one child (college, etc. is taken care of); healthy. I have about $2.1 MM in stocks, cash, etc. Own my own home and car and am debt free. I don't need much to live on (maybe $75k a year) and my only real luxury in life is my ski habit (although I live in the southeast). I also stand to inherit quite a bit probably 15 to 20 years from now... but I would like that to go to my son.

I hope it isn't inappropriate to give that kind of detail, but I thought it was necessary... I'm looking for some encouragement that I can stop working and start enjoying life more.

Thank you in advance!

How old are your kids? It seems like you care about them a lot and they can affect health insurance costs. If you file single you may be on the cusp of getting an ACA subsidy, which may disappear if the ACA is repealed. So net of taxes and healthcare you could be at $50k spend. If that works, then I would say move to Colorado, get a season pass and get a job as a "lifty" or at a cannabis shop or something to be social.

I am 48, my kids are 10, 9, and 7 and don't like skiing We just sold our VT ski place. My uncle has an 8 BR condo in west Alta Village with basically a spa in the basement so I am jealous that my window for skiing the pow may close before my kids wake up- if ever. Love skiing out there though- bacon, eggs, fresh tracks, repeat.

 

[wasatchskiier]

Such great help (and encouragement) here... Thank you!

From a child rearing standpoint, I won't be able to move out west for another few years... but GreenEggs, I hear you loud and clear!

I'm very sensible with my spending ($75k is on the high side of what I need right now) and wouldn't mind at all working side jobs to keep from dipping into my nest egg.

Doing something like retiring early for a new life is so counter-cultural that it really takes some encouragement... especially for someone as "by the book" as I tend to be. That said... I'm also miserable in this daily grind so jumping to a new life is getting harder and harder to resist.

And I ran the Fire Calculator and this is what I got:

Here is how your portfolio would have fared in each of the 119 cycles. The lowest and highest portfolio balance at the end of your retirement was $45,378 to $12,741,914, with an average at the end of $4,656,944. (Note: this is looking at all the possible periods; values are in terms of the dollars as of the beginning of the retirement period for each cycle.)

For our purposes, failure means the portfolio was depleted before the end of the 30 years. FIRECalc found that 0 cycles failed, for a success rate of 100.0%.


Thank you all, again, for your input!

 

[Bir48die]

Where you claim that Obamacare caused the cost of insurance to rise sharply, you are dead wrong. It depends a lot on where you lived. I was payng $629/month for two in 2013 for HDHI. A similar bronze plan in 2014, the first year of Obamacare, was $682/month for two. The 8.4% increase from 2013 to 2014 was in line with annual premium increases... the premium increase from 2012 to 2013 was 13%.



You can get a good idea of what the cost of health insurance would be in your zip code by visiting healthsherpa.com

Yeah. General statements but HI does balloon as you age. Agree that at your age some supplemental income would be good. Excellent job on saving but things change and markets change so be flexible. Sometimes just taking a big block of time off then doing something else can change your perspective. Agree that understanding spending is key.

 

[Sunset]

OP - as others have said, without an exact record of expenses for a couple of years, it's pretty difficult to know if you can retire now.

If these funds are in 401K/IRA then chop 10% off the top.

Here is one last important consideration, you have 2.1 M now, after the market has risen for 10 years !! That is why your savings look so good.
In 2 years after it has dropped 30%, things might not look so rosy..

 

[GreenEggs]

From a child rearing standpoint, I won't be able to move out west for another few years... but GreenEggs, I hear you loud and clear!

I'm very sensible with my spending ($75k is on the high side of what I need right now) and wouldn't mind at all working side jobs to keep from dipping into my nest egg.

Doing something like retiring early for a new life is so counter-cultural that it really takes some encouragement... especially for someone as "by the book" as I tend to be. That said... I'm also miserable in this daily grind so jumping to a new life is getting harder and harder to resist.

How about staying near your kids & find some fun things to do there. The SE has a lot of outdoor activities you can get into. It would be great if you can find some that your kids like too. We have lakes and mountains here, so there's a lot to enjoy even without snow.

Maybe find a part-time or temp jobs that you find enjoyable. There's a labor shortage, so it should be easy to find a wide variety of things to do. That keeps a little money coming in, keeps you in a social setting, maybe make some active friends too.

You seem to have enough to leave your stressful job, so why stay if you're hating it? You deserve to be happy.

 

[badatmath]

ACA is why my employer dropped retiree health after 65. Because it eliminated the lifetime caps on expenses! And they have pretty well eliminated it pre-65 for people younger than me.