Want to do Retire, but can't get Math to Work

[ivanl3]

The Fidelity Retirement Planner has enough fields to handle almost anything I can do in my custom spreadsheet.

I just sent him a note with my concerns. Sent to both Prudential and Fidelity.

We'll see what they come back with....

Thanks again sharing your approach. I found it very re-assuring as it is exactly the kind of thing I think needs to be done (and have felt that way for a long time). Feels like I am trying to make these generic tools do unnatural things.

 

[bmcgonig]

Agreed -- as it relates to expenses.

There is a point (actually a need) for on-going discussion (if not here, elsewhere) on how close I am to being able to satisfy my stated ER income needs (without further discussion) with my savings, etc..

You should start another thread with the same questions but divide everything by three. Then none would argue with the 63k expenses

 

[ivanl3]

You should start another thread with the same questions but divide everything by three. Then none would argue with the 63k expenses

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I just sent him a note with my concerns. Sent to both Prudential and Fidelity.

We'll see what they come back with....

Thanks again sharing your approach. I found it very re-assuring as it is exactly the kind of thing I think needs to be done (and have felt that way for a long time). Feels like I am trying to make these generic tools do unnatural things.

The Fidelity Planner is a tool on their web site. If you are not a customer I believe they used to have a guest option so anyone could use it. You can enter your own income streams, assets and expenses and tweak it to your hearts content. I don't think it covers RMDs, though, but I use their planner as a reasonableness check for my own spreadsheet which does account for RMDs.

 

[Fedup]

I ran these tools for years before I retired. Then I ran FIRECALC. It not hard, just time consuming. If I get paid $9k, I will definitely do it.

 

[ivanl3]

The Fidelity Planner is a tool on their web site. If you are not a customer I believe they used to have a guest option so anyone could use it. You can enter your own income streams, assets and expenses and tweak it to your hearts content. I don't think it covers RMDs, though, but I use their planner as a reasonableness check for my own spreadsheet which does account for RMDs.

RMD?

 

[Meadbh]

RMD?

You may wish to review this thread.

http://www.early-retirement.org/for...slang-frequently-used-on-the-forum-34884.html

 

[daylatedollarshort]

RMD?

Required minimum distributions. I used the tax caster online tool from Turbo Tax to estimate our RMDs.

 

[FlaGator]

Agreed -- as it relates to expenses.

There is a point (actually a need) for on-going discussion (if not here, elsewhere) on how close I am to being able to satisfy my stated ER income needs (without further discussion) with my savings, etc..

This has been an interesting one to follow today....

The need for on-going discussion is yours and your wife's. When you can't clearly delineate, for yourself, what your net income streams would be, it's unrealistic to expect a bunch of anonymous but smart people to do it for you.

With that rant out of the way......

You're clearly a smart guy with a good career (obvious from the type of deferred holdings) and have done well.

The type of analysis recommended to get a handle on your income has to be done. Suggest you start simple, pencil and paper, by account - amounts, when they could start, etc. When you can clearly describe your assets and when income starts, a good tax accountant can take it from there. Dumping it on their desk without those specific details will keep you right where you are. Expect it to take some time.

Best of luck to you - you've created good choices for yourself!

 

[Bigdawg]

You may wish to review this thread.

http://www.early-retirement.org/for...slang-frequently-used-on-the-forum-34884.html

+1.

Ivan-good luck. You being on this site is a huge step in the right direction. Continue to read some of the threads on here. Lots of great knowledge from folks who have been there and done that. This community WANTS you to suceed. One thing to look into is the drawing on retirement accounts prior to 59.5. I have a cancer survivor friend and because he has had mutiple bouts with coancer he can draw his 401k pre 59.5 penalty free.

Good luck

 

[joeea]

This is exactly the kind of thing I believe needs to be done, but is a little above my paygrade and I have been unable to find a pro willing to take on the task from soup-to-nuts. I even spoke to one place that charged $9K for their financial planning services, but still would not do anything to this level of detail.

They all just want to use generic tools that don't allow for the level of customization needed in my situation. Rock meets hard-place.

You are looking in the wrong places.

Contact a fee-only fiduciary financial planner that will charge by the hour. Have your specific questions ready, and they will perform the calculations for you.

If you truly know what you want and what you don't want, this is a solvable problem. A good planner can give you your "Yes" or "No" answer.

My shallow analysis says that the answer will be "No". But even if that's the case, you can still do what you have stated you wish to do and just hope for the best. Down the line a bit you'll be able to determine if you are on track or not and can decide to either run out of money early, or adjust your expectations.

 

[mistermike40]

OMG. I can't make this question go away.

I don't know how to make it any clearer. With all due respect to everyone, at this point, we are not evaluating anything on the cost side of the equation.


That is an exercise for another day.

Ivan - just an observation, the people here trying to help you are very nice and knowledgeable... yet you seem to be a little short with them. I wish you all the best (my wife is also a cancer survivor, I know how that can be) but maybe you should be a little more polite and respectful? After all, you did come here asking for their advice

 

[nash031]

Or maybe I have enough to do neither.

That's what I am trying to determine.

My back of the napkin calcs thought your expenses included taxes. An easy way to estimate that - though maybe not the most accurate - is to look at your effective state and federal tax rates, multiply those by your desired income and add that to the $190K.

If that 190 doesn't include taxes, I don't think you're there yet, especially if you aren't sure your wife will want to continue working for eight years when you're retired.

I think your realistic options are to continue working, continue working in a different job (assuming you don't like the one you're in), or...

Edited to remove any suggestion of reducing expenses.

 

[Meadbh]

Ivan - just an observation, the people here trying to help you are very nice and knowledgeable... yet you seem to be a little short with them. I wish you all the best (my wife is also a cancer survivor, I know how that can be) but maybe you should be a little more polite and respectful? After all, you did come here asking for their advice

+1

 

[ivinsfan]

OMG. I can't make this question go away.

I don't know how to make it any clearer. With all due respect to everyone, at this point, we are not evaluating anything on the cost side of the equation.


That is an exercise for another day.

Sorry, you admitted yourself that you can't get the numbers to work.. We might be from the internet but we're not magicians

 

[ivanl3]

"No" or "I don't know" is a much better answer than "change the question".

Learned that when I was 5.

 

[USGrant1962]

You are running into some of the limitations of FIRECalc, as many of us have. Two additional tips:

1) you may have to make some simplifying assumptions like the work-to-pension trick. For example, changing a $220K spend by $5K is not going to change any result except on the margin, so in your example maybe just enter $10K reduction at 75.

2) for a small donation you can become a FIRECalc supporter which gives you access to annual spending changes. I am a supporter but have not played with that function. It looks like you enter actual spending by year. It may help you.

Regards,

 

[ERD50]

You should start another thread with the same questions but divide everything by three. Then none would argue with the 63k expenses

Well played! Hat's off to you!

Though I might humbly suggest diving by 4 or 5, there are some low spenders here who might still question that figure. But divide by 3 should catch most of the flack.

-ERD50

 

[ivinsfan]

"No" or "I don't know" is a much better answer than "change the question".

Learned that when I was 5.

No

 

[ivanl3]

I ran these tools for years before I retired. Then I ran FIRECALC. It not hard, just time consuming. If I get paid $9k, I will definitely do it.

What would you actual price be?

 

[ivanl3]

This has been an interesting one to follow today....

The need for on-going discussion is yours and your wife's. When you can't clearly delineate, for yourself, what your net income streams would be, it's unrealistic to expect a bunch of anonymous but smart people to do it for you.

With that rant out of the way......

You're clearly a smart guy with a good career (obvious from the type of deferred holdings) and have done well.

The type of analysis recommended to get a handle on your income has to be done. Suggest you start simple, pencil and paper, by account - amounts, when they could start, etc. When you can clearly describe your assets and when income starts, a good tax accountant can take it from there. Dumping it on their desk without those specific details will keep you right where you are. Expect it to take some time.

Best of luck to you - you've created good choices for yourself!

Thanks. Been working on it with multiple pros for years. None seem willing (or able) to take it to the level needed. Believe me, this was far from my first stop.

At least 500 hours invested with pros.

 

[ivanl3]

You are looking in the wrong places.

Contact a fee-only fiduciary financial planner that will charge by the hour. Have your specific questions ready, and they will perform the calculations for you.

If you truly know what you want and what you don't want, this is a solvable problem. A good planner can give you your "Yes" or "No" answer.

My shallow analysis says that the answer will be "No". But even if that's the case, you can still do what you have stated you wish to do and just hope for the best. Down the line a bit you'll be able to determine if you are on track or not and can decide to either run out of money early, or adjust your expectations.

Thank you. Any specific recommendations? I have tried multiple. All seem to like changing the question rather than answering it.

 

[ivanl3]

Ivan - just an observation, the people here trying to help you are very nice and knowledgeable... yet you seem to be a little short with them. I wish you all the best (my wife is also a cancer survivor, I know how that can be) but maybe you should be a little more polite and respectful? After all, you did come here asking for their advice

Thanks for the response.

Just don't like when people ignore the question and try to turn it into one they prefer that is easy to answer (but not helpful). I made a career on not doing that....

 

[ivanl3]

Sorry, you admitted yourself that you can't get the numbers to work.. We might be from the internet but we're not magicians

And I thought you were my fan?!?!

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

Gee , Its the summer and its evening now. Guess I can call Summer's Eve.