Questions for retiree’s from a young guy

[Beer-man]

The more I read journals of retirees and research withdrawal strategies the more my mindset and strategies change. There are a few questions I have for retirees that have either retired early or at a traditional age.
1. What has your annual spend been? What did you forecast it being?
2. Any of you downshift to reduced hours prior to RE? Anyone go back to work in some capacity?
3. Anyone RE with kids still in the house? How has that worked out?
4. What is your projected SS payout or current payout? Or how close is your projected or real SS to your actual spending?

4 is a question for my curiosity. My wife has 10yrs of high earnings and I’m at 12yrs of almost max SS earnings and we spend 45k.

33yrs old, 3 small kids, wife is a stay at home mom. 60hr work weeks, able to be FI in a few years but will probably just downshift a little bit.
Thanks for any input.

 

[joeea]

2. Any of you downshift to reduced hours prior to RE? Anyone go back to work in some capacity?

I retired at 60.
At 61 I went back to help out my former company by consulting for 2 days/16 hours per week.

I didn't need the money, but it was fun. I enjoyed it a lot more than the last few years of full time work. I was able to do only the "fun" stuff and completely avoid all the "administrivia" stuff that comes with middle management. And no overtime!

I did that for a year. I'd probably do it again if the same situation came around, but I'm not looking for work.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I retired at 58. For the past 6 years I have been teaching one college class online. We spend 60k/year and a additional 10k on travel. We enjoy eating out, going to festivals, etc.

 

[Walt34]

I retired at age 52 (law enforcement). Stayed retired for about 4 years, then stumbled into a an armed security job that paid almost as much as I was earning before retirement. That is very unusual in security jobs, but they wanted that prior experience and reliability and were willing to pay for it. The job was very low stress, the commute was 3.4 miles in a low traffic area and the hours agreed with me. But I kept in mind that the minute things went south I didn't need to be working and would quit.

That gig lasted about five years and then things went south (change in job requirements resulting in an about 40% pay cut). Out of ~65 people at the site, 19 quit. The others, although many were also retired, had so much debt that they had no choice but to keep working.

 

[SteveR]

I retired first at age 50.

Took another job with a company that made stuff I was interested in learning more about...they paid to move me 1500 miles from my retirement home.



Worked 5 years with them; did my own thing for the most part and had very little of the Corporate BS issues with the other job.



Retired at age 55. Bought an RV. Moved to a warmer climate.


Wife wanted to "play" with a small dress shop. We bought one on the cheap and she "we", ran if for almost 3 years until in became "work". We sold it for a small profit and retired again.



Our current living expenses are about 30% higher than I had originally planned for when I retired the second time. The major reason is the downturn in the economy created an issue with the sale and purchase of the three houses we owned over the past 15 years. The current house is under mortgage and that is the major reason for the higher expenses. The good news is that my investments have more than made up for the higher expenses.



We project we can maintain our rather loose budget for another 40 years. We are both 66 now and will like die with a lot left on the table. Our budget is also higher now to account for more travel now than in the future when we will be less likely to be able to do that much. We knew this up front and planned it into our budgets. We are also helping our 4 grandchildren with college costs and how one of the four done so far.



Once I retired from the Corporate BS world I had intended on doing some consulting but my wife and a surgical accident that left her disabled so her need for daily care stopped my consulting plans. In retrospect, I really wanted out of the whole job thing and all the crap that went with it so consulting would have only continued that so it was really fine I never went that way.


Good luck in your decision.

 

[Conundrum]

$45k annual spend with 3 kiddos. Impressive. Good job

No down shift for me 100mph to zero. I may get a seasonal side gig revolving around my hobbies. Pro price on more toys.

 

[W2R]

1. What has your annual spend been? What did you forecast it being?
2. Any of you downshift to reduced hours prior to RE? Anyone go back to work in some capacity?
3. Anyone RE with kids still in the house? How has that worked out?
4. What is your projected SS payout or current payout? Or how close is your projected or real SS to your actual spending?

1. Last year was typical. Here it is, complete with categories:
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/2017-spending-summary-and-analysis-90023.html

2. No reduced hours before retiring, and have worked zero hours since I retired nine years ago.

3. My kid is 40 years old, grown, gone, and married. I retired at 61.

4. My SS payments have been less than half of my actual spending. I also have a tiny pension, and my investment portfolio pays the rest.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We spend more now than working because we have more time and are not so tired. We go out more and definitely vacation more.

 

[candrew]

DW & I are coming up on 2 years retired (November).

I retired at 59, DW at 61.

Our annual spend so far is what we anticipated - about 50% of our gross pre-retirement. Retired debt-free so that freed up more discretionary income which we have been spending on travel. We each have modest pensions and make up the difference with tIRA withdrawals.

Neither of us downshifted work-wise prior to retirement. DW did pick up some substitute teaching assignments with the local school district - mostly as favors to former teaching colleagues.

Once we start collecting what SS says we should (DW at FRA - me at 70.5), both combined will almost equal our current spend - not adjusted for inflation.

 

[scrabbler1]

The more I read journals of retirees and research withdrawal strategies the more my mindset and strategies change. There are a few questions I have for retirees that have either retired early or at a traditional age.
1. What has your annual spend been? What did you forecast it being?
2. Any of you downshift to reduced hours prior to RE? Anyone go back to work in some capacity?
3. Anyone RE with kids still in the house? How has that worked out?
4. What is your projected SS payout or current payout? Or how close is your projected or real SS to your actual spending?

4 is a question for my curiosity. My wife has 10yrs of high earnings and I’m at 12yrs of almost max SS earnings and we spend 45k.

33yrs old, 3 small kids, wife is a stay at home mom. 60hr work weeks, able to be FI in a few years but will probably just downshift a little bit.
Thanks for any input.

(1) Annual spending has risen the last few years to about $24k. Ten years ago, it was around $22k. Health issues since 2015 are the main cause. One-person household.
(2) I worked part-time for 7 years prior to my retirement nearly 10 years ago at age 45, following 16 years of working full-time.
(3) I am single and childfree.
(4) I retired at age 45 using only my taxable account. I am still at least 7 years away from applying for SS, more like 1 years if I wait for FRA. With only 23 years of meaningful earnings, my projected SS benefit is not very big.

My ER plan is to get me from age 45 to age ~60 intact, when the first of my "reinforcements" arrives. They are unfettered access to my rollover IRA, SS, and my frozen company pension. I am 10 years into that 15-year plan and in fine shape, despite some health issues which arose 3 years ago.

 

[HFWR]

...

First Martha, now SteveR! Can CFB be far behind?

 

[SecondCor521]

1. At the moment the run rate appears to be about $41K per year based on the last six months, but that is because I've been deliberately trying to spend more. Otherwise, it would be down around $24K per year. I forecast about $31K per year, but that's a really inexact science.

2. No and no, unless you count travel hacking (I don't).

3. Yes. I RE'd 2.5 years ago with a 21 year old, 16 year old, and 14 year old in the house. It worked really well the first year or so while the younger two still needed to be driven around. Now they're all pretty much autonomous creatures who just need the occasional money or piece of advice. I am glad I'm around a lot so when the opportunity arises I'm there for them.

4. I plan to take SS at 70 in about 20 years. The NPV of my SS benefits from 70 to 83 after subtracting a 50% haircut is about 16% of my stash.

Good luck!

 

[kitesurfer2]

1. What has your annual spend been? What did you forecast it being?

4. What is your projected SS payout or current payout? Or how close is your projected or real SS to your actual spending?

my monthly spend is $2k give or take some months. My monthly income after taxes is $4185. I have no debt other than a $500 car payment. My TSP account continues to grow ($500k) but I will need to take RMD's in 5 years. I keep $10k in checking to cover my auto pay credit card. I irregularly transfer extra from checking to my USAA retail stock account (50k).


my SS $1477. with everything owned and no car payment, SS would not cover my basic needs.

I am on my 3rd year of retirement at 65.

 

[Amethyst]

This is exactly what I did, too. Only at 57 vs 60.Don't need the extra money to survive, but it has come in handy. Wouldn't have gone back to work if it was going to involve performance appraisals, office politics etc. Those are the life-sappers.

I retired at 60.
At 61 I went back to help out my former company by consulting for 2 days/16 hours per week.

I didn't need the money, but it was fun. I enjoyed it a lot more than the last few years of full time work. I was able to do only the "fun" stuff and completely avoid all the "administrivia" stuff that comes with middle management. And no overtime!

I did that for.

 

[Beer-man]

Thank you all for the replies, lots of food for thought.

 

[donheff]

I retired 14 years ago at 56 and DW followed 5 years later also at 56. Our situation is somewhat different than yours because I have a COLAd pension that started immediately and covers a significant portion of our essential expenses. But we do live large and planned on withdrawing an amount about equal to my pension from our portfolio. Our actual withdrawals have been about 2/3 of the planned amount. We are doing everything we fell like doing and our portfolio has grown so we are doing well. DW's SS starts next year (I don't get SS) and will more than cover the additional taxes we anticipate when her RMDs kick in.

They key to getting things right is a careful analysis of your spending needs. I tracked everything for a couple of years and then developed a spending expectations plan that included continuing everything we had been doing. less some trivial work expenses, and less some significant retirement deduction and savings deductions. I added in substantial placeholders for taxes and for long term factors that did not appear in my analysis (car purchases, roofs, etc) and placeholders for health care and travel. In most regards our actual spend has followed the plan except that health care costs have been lower (so far) and travel has been a lot lower that the huge amount I forecast just in case.

 

[Bankgirl0157]

I am a retired banker of 38 years (5 of those years as a financial advisor). Married with 3 grown children with our oldest being 34, married with one child. My husband (5 years younger) and I had a strategy we created about 15 years before I retired.


1. What has your annual spend been? ANSWER: We are debt-adverse for obvious reasons. I've seen lots of financial irresponsibility in my career and you learn from other's mistakes. Our annual expenses were at their highest when all the kids were in college. Since our youngest graduated and is financially independent from us, we have cut our expenses by more than half.
What did you forecast it being? ANSWER: Half of what it was at its highest. We've beaten that.
2. Any of you downshift to reduced hours prior to RE? Anyone go back to work in some capacity? ANSWER: NO! I worked more hours and had my highest wage earning the last two years before retirement so I could retire at 60. Good strategy! As for work, I am doing some consulting, but pretty much, want to remain work-free so I volunteer to keep my head in the game.
3. Anyone RE with kids still in the house? ANSWER: NO How has that worked out?
4. What is your projected SS payout or current payout? Or how close is your projected or real SS to your actual spending? ANSWER: SS payout is low and must be supplemented by 401-K. It will be hard for you to put a lot away while the kids are small, but I would suggest a min of 10% into retirement plan and do a super hard ramp up when the kids get to HS. Wife should be back to work by then so it will really help!

Stay focused is our best advice. You may not have the biggest house or drive the best car, but retiring early is the BEST!!

 

[Rianne]

The more I read journals of retirees and research withdrawal strategies the more my mindset and strategies change. There are a few questions I have for retirees that have either retired early or at a traditional age.
1. What has your annual spend been? What did you forecast it being?
2. Any of you downshift to reduced hours prior to RE? Anyone go back to work in some capacity?
3. Anyone RE with kids still in the house? How has that worked out?
4. What is your projected SS payout or current payout? Or how close is your projected or real SS to your actual spending?

4 is a question for my curiosity. My wife has 10yrs of high earnings and I’m at 12yrs of almost max SS earnings and we spend 45k.

33yrs old, 3 small kids, wife is a stay at home mom. 60hr work weeks, able to be FI in a few years but will probably just downshift a little bit.
Thanks for any input.

I would add a #5
5. What does it feel like to have 500 lb. of stress lifted off your shoulders?

 

[Surewhitey]

We did a test drive for a few years living in Mexico. We've been back to w*rk for a few years now and I'm getting the bug again @ 47. DW, not so much. She just got back in to a full time gig & making good change & almost free HI.
Waiting for the next big downturn and getting laid off as the company will likely not be able to survive. In Cozumel @ the moment planting seeds in DW's head...

Following expenses for many years now and we can survive on $3500 / MO (half that in Mexico). Really knowing that is my biggest advice.

SS will be $1600-2200 depending on what happens to it in the future or when we take it.

We currently could do it at $1.2mm and paid for home & no debt. Saving 70+% of take home currently. Just waiting for the right time for DW...

DD is married and lives 1 street over, married +1 DGD. We like most of our life with the exception of the full time work. I will start working on reducing mine to 4 days and see if it works.

 

[Independent]

Our spending after retirement was very close to our spending before retirement, with the predictable changes - health insurance and travel.

I worked on two projects (totaled about 500 hours) for my former employer after I retired. I'm glad I had the opportunity, but I did not plan for it when I retired.

SS was exactly as I had expected, based on the calculations available at SSA.gov

Ratio of SS to prior income is what it is. I knew that if we deferred SS to 70 we would have a benefit equal to all our "regular" spending. We would only need assets for unusual fun or unusual medical (ie long term care).

 

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

1. What has your annual spend been?

Around $18,000 a year.

My pension income is around $19k and we have been able to save and invest even on pension.

... 2. Any of you downshift to reduced hours prior to RE? Anyone go back to work in some capacity?

The US Navy forced me out. I was not allowed to stay on in any capacity.

... 3. Anyone RE with kids still in the house? How has that worked out?

Our children were still living at home, in highschool.

It worked out okay.

... 4. What is your projected SS payout or current payout?

I have been on pension for 17 years.
I have another few years to go before I am eligible for SS.

 

[DrRoy]

1. What has your annual spend been? What did you forecast it being?
2. Any of you downshift to reduced hours prior to RE? Anyone go back to work in some capacity?
3. Anyone RE with kids still in the house? How has that worked out?
4. What is your projected SS payout or current payout? Or how close is your projected or real SS to your actual spending?

1. 1st year was a little higher than pre-RE. This year is a little higher yet, and planning to raise again next year (all the way to 2% WR).
2. No and No.
3. No
4. It will be the max, but we are too young. I'll let you know when I am 70. Actually, I have not included SS in my planning.

 

[iloveyoga]

No kids in the house here, our kids are 40ish. That had a lot to do with FI for us.

I do work from home about 9-10 hours a week, to help pay for our health insurance.

I would say our spending is not that much different than when we both worked, except of course no job expenses.

 

[Dawg52]

1. What has your annual spend been? What did you forecast it being?
2. Any of you downshift to reduced hours prior to RE? Anyone go back to work in some capacity?
3. Anyone RE with kids still in the house? How has that worked out?
4. What is your projected SS payout or current payout? Or how close is your projected or real SS to your actual spending?

1. Spending 15-20% higher than originally projected but offset by some inheritance. Wouldn't have pumped up the spending w/o that money.
2. Didn't downshift prior to retirement and didn't go back to work.
3. N/A. I'm single.
4. SS takes care of almost half of spending.

 

[Bir48die]

1) Spending is a little higher than when I was working because I was saving close to 50% of my salary. We're a bit higher at $115k per year of which about $20k is travel. My healthcare is by far #1 expense. No debt.

2) Did six months part time with full benefits. Just had lost my zeal for the business.

3) No kids at home. Four from 31-37. Five grandchildren. Doesn't mean we haven subsidize them over the years in one way or another.

4) SS for DW is $17/yr. Took at 62. I'm looking at either FRA of $33k or much more at 70 if I can last that long. Wife has pension of $30k.