I'm not yet FIRE, but look to be at 46 yo. My plan was not the 80/20 mix, but a state government job which allows early retirement after 25 yrs of service(with a penalty). However, this year, the legislature (GA) passed a law allowing anyone with 25 yrs to buy in 3 years, allowing me to retire with 29+ years credit (1+ yr in unused sick leave), thereby overcoming almost all of the ER penalty. Based on my calculations, the amount needed to buy in 3 years will in essence be a 10% inflation adjusted annuity over the rest of my life. A no-brainer as some would say. The resulting pension (w/medical insurance) will supply more than my current spending level. Hence, the rest of my nest egg is pure emergencies/fun money. My nest egg was acquired by paying off my mortgage ASAP (took 5 years) and saving/investing all the extra monthly income after that. Still invest/save over 50% of my yearly gross income. Now I'm, in my view, overweighted in equities (70%). I'd like to move to a 50/50 split. However, my losses since Mar 2000 are just 9% of my total portfolio, so have not been drilled as much as many by the stock market slide.
I'm a high school chemistry teacher - the front end pay may not be the best, but the back-end (pension) sure is nice. Should mention however, that I must contribute to this pension fund every year (4.5% of salary), along with SS.
I'm a high school chemistry teacher - the front end pay may not be the best, but the back-end (pension) sure is nice. Should mention however, that I must contribute to this pension fund every year (4.5% of salary), along with SS.