Is a pension really FI?

[Irishgirlyc58]

^^^ Interesting, but I think that option is pretty rare.

Maybe. But I belong to the largest retirement system in the US.
So, it’s an option for a lot of people.

 

[retire202052]

https://www.financialsamurai.com/how-do-i-calculate-the-value-of-my-pension/

Very good article on how to put a value on a pension and NW.

https://www.sapling.com/12011834/factor-pension-net-worth

Another good article on how and why a pension should be added to your NW.

https://www.illinoispolicy.org/the-1-illinois-pension-millionaires/

Good article on the Illinois pension Millionaires and the problems it could cause on the state budget.

 

[pb4uski]

...https://www.sapling.com/12011834/factor-pension-net-worth

Another good article on how and why a pension should be added to your NW. ...

Makes me wonder what his credentials are or is it is just the opinion of some author on the internet... the webpage doesn't even provide anything on his background and a google search is empty too.

 

[MarieIG]

Is it income or net worth?
My pension will provide us about $32.5K/yr... Income correct.
And if one of us lives at least 30 years.. worth nearly $1M, but leaves nothing for our estate purpose. (We can, and want to, place some of this income in places to leave, cash, investments and such.)
Now I can take a payout of $118K instead of the pension. so is that the actual net worth of the account? Aint worth crap for a FI retirement account is it.
We have no control over the money or investments, and when we're gone, whatever is left stays.... That's not independent.
Now the DW has about the same pension and $ figures, retiring in 5 years. If we cashed out everything across the board instead of taking the pensions, we might have $500K for investing to retire on.
Defiantly not the best financial choice.

In my opinion it is income - however, a pension can go a long way to cementing FI, and has a great deal of value to the beneficiaries.

You can do a 100 percent joint & survivor for DW; and when she retires she can do a 100 percent joint and survivor for you, which results in a larger secure income for the survivor.

We dot no calculate DH's pension (100% joint and survivor) or our SS into our NW - but certainly they are/ and will be integral components to our retirement.

BTW, we will probably trigger one or two (joint and survivor) annuities in our future. When they are triggered, our NW on paper will go down, but our income stream will increase.

 

[CaptTom]

https://www.illinoispolicy.org/the-1-illinois-pension-millionaires/

Good article on the Illinois pension Millionaires and the problems it could cause on the state budget.

That article was heavy on spin.

By my math, if they retire before 60 and live for another 30 years, that "millionaire" gets a $33.3K per year pension. Not a very extravagant lifestyle if you ask me.

If managed properly, a $1M investment at 4% WR yields $40K per year. And the $1M is still there when the person dies.

But... If the politicians promised those pensions, say, in exchange for lower wages or benefits and compromised working conditions, and didn't fund them, that's on the politicians and the folks who elected them, not the state workers who accepted that deal.

Maybe I'm biased in favor of retires and pensioners, but it seems disingenuous to make them out to be villains, or even just overpaid.

 

[MichaelB]

Thanks for an interesting discussion