Is this enough?

[Gumby]

Yes, actually that is Illinois' current problem. There is no legal mechanism for them to do what they have to do, which will also require an amendment to the pension language in the state constitution. Hopefully the OP is not in Illinois however. Call it bankruptcy or call it something else, the fact is that some states and some cities owe more money than they will ever be able to pay from their tax bases. So ... their creditors, almost certainly including pensioners, will suffer.

I know that there have been some small California cities that have gone through this although I don't know the details.

Cities, towns and counties can be "debtors" under Chapter 9. Only states cannot be "debtors" at all.

 

[timeforgolf]

My personal experience with "financial" people is that they are not often qualified to provide this kind of advice. And while your situation might be doable, I personally wouldn't be comfortable, even assuming the pension is secure. This isn't a criticism but your track record of spending vs. saving as well as helping your kids is also the best predictor of future spending, and raises a red flag for me. While the pension is very nice, I believe the reserve needs to be increased significantly.

I see you mentioned relocating in the next few years and would note that selling a home and relocating to another area often has lots of hidden expenses. My suggestion would be to keep working a few more years and try and bump up the reserve while hopefully increasing the pension. Good luck.

 

[NoEZmoney]

Teachers Windfall Elimination Program = less Social Security if any

The financial guy we spoke with (just an introductory visit) said because we are both teachers we are in good shape due to our excellent retirement plan where we live.

So if you have a Teacher's Retirement / Pension Plan -- won't you be subject to Windfall Elimination Provision? Or did you go an Optional Retirement Plan route and pay Soc Sec taxes on your paychecks? Reason I ask is I had attended a pre-retirement seminar at the university I work and a lot of teachers, staff members etc, were shocked to discover they're Social Security benefits are going to greatly reduced due to WEP or getting nothing at all.

FYI - https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf

 

[rothlev]

So if you have a Teacher's Retirement / Pension Plan -- won't you be subject to Windfall Elimination Provision? Or did you go an Optional Retirement Plan route and pay Soc Sec taxes on your paychecks? Reason I ask is I had attended a pre-retirement seminar at the university I work and a lot of teachers, staff members etc, were shocked to discover they're Social Security benefits are going to greatly reduced due to WEP or getting nothing at all.

FYI - https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf

60% of teachers do pay into social security, and thus get full social security and their pension. 40% do not. It depends on the state, and the district. Illinois teachers do not pay in social security, In Georgia, some do some don't. Problem is not all teachers were well educated as to their system. Some teachers who have a mixed work history, ( some years of social security, enough to qualify, say 10 years ) and a pension for work not covered under social security do get hit hard with the WEP.

The OP did reference getting social security.

 

[Surewhitey]

I have read many articles suggesting that you should include in your yearly budget 1% of your home's value to account for maintenance and repairs. The controller on our furnace crapped out early this year and it was a several hundred dollar fix. The dishwasher is also acting up and we'll have the repair guy out later this week. I'm sure that will be another several hundred dollars..

You also need to budget for car maintenance and repair. Just this year, I got a nail through the sidewall on one of my Subaru's tires. Can't be repaired and must be replaced. Since it's AWD, that means replacing all 4 tires. There's a quick $800. Then, a few weeks back, some guy sideswiped the young wife out on the highway. Unless we can get the deductible back from his insurance, we're out $1000 to fix that. We don't drive all that much, and our cars are almost brand new, so I don't know if we need to have a sinking fund for replacement, but it is something to keep in mind.

Do you have any pets? One of our cats developed Hodgkins-like lymphoma early this year. Between the diagnostic testing, surgery and chemotherapy regimen, we're out over $7000. I hope it's not repeated, but it was nice to be in the position where we could just say to the vet "fix her up".

I also don't see anything for personal expenses (haircuts, clothing, drycleaning, hobbies, etc.), nor for gifts or charitable contributions.


Bottom line - really knowing current and expected spending is the key to any retirement plan. That includes accounting for things that are not planned or desired but reasonably should be expected to occur occasionally.

Dang, Gumby. You're a sad country song!

 

[Surewhitey]

We live comfortably on $50k in Dallas. I wouldn't know what to do with $40k more...