Recently retired early in CA

[equakesfan]

I retired in April of 2024 (wife still working) at 53. I have about $5.3m in investable assets, $1.7m investment property, ~$100k cash, ~$400k fixed income, ~$3M equities.
My expenses are about $156k/year. Found this site looking for someplace to read about others experiences and have someplace to discuss ideas. I plan on lurking mostly but I’ll post when I think my contribution is valuable.

 

[Lewis Clark]

Welcome!

 

[rodi]

Welcome from another Californian

 

[MarieIG]

Welcome to the forum equakesfan!

 

[pacergal]

Welcome to the forum, look forward to hearing more from you. Every member can contribute some valuable information, this is a place to learn and a very friendly one at that.

 

[Dtail]

Welcome to the forum.
Are you a fan of earthquakes?

 

[EastWest Gal]

Welcome to the ER forum. Former 5th generation Californian here. Still go back frequently.

 

[CaliKid]

I am envious of your low expenses. Keep that up and you'll be good!

 

[equakesfan]

Welcome to the forum.
Are you a fan of earthquakes?

San Jose Earthquakes and all earthquakes that don’t cause damage

 

[equakesfan]

I am envious of your low expenses. Keep that up and you'll be good!

I feel the expenses are too high. I started with an estimate of $120k. It’s my actual expenses over the last year but it includes 25k in deferred maintenance and 7 months of work expenses

 

[38Chevy454]

Welcome to the forum. Having a good idea on budget is definitely needed, in order to plan withdrawals and investment planning. I assume with your wife working that your health ins is covered? That can be a big expense depending on your insurance options. Lot of great knowledge on here, don't be afraid to ask specific questions.

 

[QG67PK00]

I retired in April of 2024 (wife still working) at 53. I have about $5.3m in investable assets, $1.7m investment property, ~$100k cash, ~$400k fixed income, ~$3M equities.
My expenses are about $156k/year. Found this site looking for someplace to read about others experiences and have someplace to discuss ideas. I plan on lurking mostly but I’ll post when I think my contribution is valuable.

I retired early 2022 at an age of 55. Please check my first post for details.

 

[BlessedLife224]

Welcome from a fellow Californian. Congrats on taking the calculated leap of faith! I’m unfortunately one of those in a OMY rut.

 

[Cassius King]

Congrats and welcome aboard. You'll love it here! Very friendly and intelligent group.

 

[equakesfan]

Welcome to the forum. Having a good idea on budget is definitely needed, in order to plan withdrawals and investment planning. I assume with your wife working that your health ins is covered? That can be a big expense depending on your insurance options. Lot of great knowledge on here, don't be afraid to ask specific questions.

She works part time so we’re on a covered CA plan for this year. That probably will change next year if we do a 72t

 

[Koolau]

Welcome to the Forum. Come join the conversation. We have wide-ranging interests as well as expertise in many areas. Hope you will contribute often.

 

[Diogenes]

I retired in April of 2024 (wife still working) at 53. I have about $5.3m in investable assets, $1.7m investment property, ~$100k cash, ~$400k fixed income, ~$3M equities.
My expenses are about $156k/year. Found this site looking for someplace to read about others experiences and have someplace to discuss ideas. I plan on lurking mostly but I’ll post when I think my contribution is valuable.

The challenge with retiring early in California is the taxes - income and property. If you buy a house, locking-in your housing costs, you're incurring high property taxes. They're capped under Prop-13, but at current market conditions, that cap is already at a high level. If you have decent dividend-income from your taxable portfolio, you'll crash out of the ACA subsidy threshold, not to mention pay 10% (or more) income tax on the dividends, to CA. And if your investments are mostly in tax-deferred accounts, you'll be fine until reaching RMD age, whereupon, one has to brace oneself for the tax torpedo.

It's expensive to be affluent in California!

 

[SecretlyFI]

If you have decent dividend-income from your taxable portfolio, you'll crash out of the ACA subsidy threshold, not to mention pay 10% (or more) income tax on the dividends, to CA.

Wow. I didn’t realize California state income tax was so high. 10%+ is steep!

 

[Diogenes]

Wow. I didn’t realize California state income tax was so high. 10%+ is steep!

It's highly "progressive" and punitive towards the unmarried. But it excludes Social Security and possibly other pensions. So, for a 65+ married couple with pension income, the taxes are moderate - maybe even below average. For a younger single retire with a large taxable portfolio - say a Silicon Valley tech-bro who cashed out $50M and put it all into the S&P 500 - the taxes are really really going to bite.

 

[almost there]

7th gen here. Prop 13 is a big deal. Most spend way less in Ret, All you will be asking is why did I wait so long?

 

[catii]

Lived in California twice, & there won't be a third time! Being eaten alive by progressives' taxes don't appeal to me.

 

[GoodWishes]

Welcome to retirement and the forum, equakesfan!

The last time DH and I went to an Earthquakes game at PayPal Park was a couple years ago. It was frustrating because they played so poorly. Nowadays we mostly watch English Premier League.

 

[FedRetired50]

Welcome. Enjoy your you-time!

 

[Dash man]

I feel the expenses are too high. I started with an estimate of $120k. It’s my actual expenses over the last year but it includes 25k in deferred maintenance and 7 months of work expenses

I’m a former Californian having escaped 37 years ago. I retired with $3M in 2013 and $180k/yr in expenses. We now have significantly more thanks to good investments.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Me too, fifth generation born and raised, left at age 39 when work burnout and the problems with the schools reached a breaking point. We have thrived here in PA, just like Dash man.