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His retirement income is based on IF he continues to work until he is 67 he will earn X amount in pension and X amount in SS. He has said that he does not have very much saved in a retirement account as they have prioritized international travel and family vacations.
If he walked off the job today, 13 years prematurely, his numbers would not look very good, unless I'm missing something.
He's got one kid who has quit college to go to work, instead, because he saw how much debt he was getting himself into. Smart kid. He can go back PT and finish up at some point.
He's got a daughter who will be getting a near full ride scholarship. As long as she keeps the scholarship she'll be golden. But the key is to keep that scholarship. If she loses it then she, too, might be making some difficult choices.
The 10 year old is still in elementary school. He's got time to prepare to take AP and Dual enrollment in HS. Getting college credit in HS is a great way to save on the expense of a college education.
The Op appears to have a good job with decent benefits, including generous annual leave and health coverage. He should stick with that job.
Did you retire with life long federal health coverage, StealthRabbit?
Yeah - actually, the numbers I posted for my pension are if I stop working today but don’t start my pension payments until age 67. If I keep working for my employer until I’m 67, my pension would be substantially larger than the $90k it would be worth now as of age 67. Of course, I still need an income between now and 67.
I don’t know what my SS benefits would be at age 67 if I stop working now….but I have no intention to stop working now in any case, so that is academic.
Maybe it is me, but I think you have steps 2 & 3 in reverse order.
We did things in full reverse order: your step 3 came first, then your step 2 was next... which in turn impacted your step 1. Your step 1 is a function of "crossing the finish line", but for us, we didn't know where the finish line was until we had completed your steps 3 & 2. I hope this makes sense.
I'm in no position to give advice but I happened upon this thread and I'm going to follow it because I'd love to see what the solution ends up being for the disability/"long term care planning" piece/factor in all of this.
But that's because my personal opinion is that is the biggest risk to one's finances in retirement - not having a plan to pay for this should one actually need true long term care (for an actual 'long time'). Those who know my story know my mother had a stroke at 64 and her (bottom of the barrel) facility (a place no one wants to put a loved one) costs over $7k monthly for a shared room in 2024 dollars.
I think the long term care piece of things has been alluded to and I may have missed it but I was wondering what was the solution to ensure proper planning for that.
I will share that I just checked my employer's LTD plan and it states:
"The plan pays a monthly benefit equal to 60 percent of your basic monthly earnings*. There is no monthly maximum.
These benefits are offset by Social Security disability income, workers’ compensation, state disability programs or other sources of income*.
If you are approved for long-term disability, benefits are payable until you no longer meet plan requirements, you reach the maximum age (65 for a disability that begins before age 61) or you retire.
Health and Life Insurance Benefits during Leave:
For the first six months of an approved long-term disability, you will continue to be eligible for active medical, dental and life insurance benefits. You will be billed for this coverage at the active employee rates.
After that, health care coverage is available under the [employer] retiree health care plan, provided you pay the required contributions."
*Going to get clarification on how LTD gets offset by 'other sources of income' as I'd really like to know what that means.
OP, what does your STD and LTD employer plan look like?
How would others suggest OP plan for say a disability resulting in a need for long term care at say 60 vs. 70? Curious about posters' thoughts on this.
ETA: If no one else has said it...CONGRATS (!) OP on that pension! That is (IMO) a huge deal and a major factor in securing your future retirement. Many people could only dream of a pension at all, let alone one of your size so great job there I say.
Last edited by southkakkatlantan; 01-04-2024 at 05:13 AM..
Yeah - actually, the numbers I posted for my pension are if I stop working today but don’t start my pension payments until age 67. If I keep working for my employer until I’m 67, my pension would be substantially larger than the $90k it would be worth now as of age 67. Of course, I still need an income between now and 67.
I don’t know what my SS benefits would be at age 67 if I stop working now….but I have no intention to stop working now in any case, so that is academic.
Exactly. You've got a good plan for yourself and, realistically, you might even decide within the next 5-10 years that retiring earlier than 67 is doable. By then your older 2 kids should be solidly launched and your youngest will either soon be in college or already in college.
But right now, it makes good sense to keep working. The job you have seems to have great benefits and generous annual leave - there are far worse positions to be in.
If you have $10 million (and health insurance) you can retire at 53
That would certainly make doing so relatively easy!
I have no intention of retiring any time real soon. As somebody else in this thread mentioned, it wouldn't make much sense to do so with young kids still at home.
But as for an amount needed to retire early...there were times that I strongly considered throwing in the towel on my career and moving somewhere relatively inexpensive. I was offered a severance package in early 2023, and it was as close as I've been to saying, "I'm done." Portugal was on the list, as an example. Far lower cost of living. Instead, I took another job with my company and turned down the package. Still not sure it was the best call.....
That would certainly make doing so relatively easy!
I have no intention of retiring any time real soon. As somebody else in this thread mentioned, it wouldn't make much sense to do so with young kids still at home.
But as for an amount needed to retire early...there were times that I strongly considered throwing in the towel on my career and moving somewhere relatively inexpensive. I was offered a severance package in early 2023, and it was as close as I've been to saying, "I'm done." Portugal was on the list, as an example. Far lower cost of living. Instead, I took another job with my company and turned down the package. Still not sure it was the best call.....
Yeah, but, in 10-12 years that pension starts to look a little weak and you still have got potentially another 30 years to live.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wile E. Coyote
If you have $10 million (and health insurance) you can retire at 53
Or $500k and no Healthcare, pension or working spouse.
(I was out pre-age 49, so far, so good(~19 yrs)
There are so many affordable ways to get HC coverage now (vs 20 yrs ago).
Medical cost sharing has worked excellent for 20+ yrs for many in my extended family. (~$300/ month). Sis had her daughter go through 6 months ICU and brain surgery while on Cost sharing. Many friends have survived and paid for advanced cancer treatments via medical cost sharing. We used it for several years. + Patients without borders.
Living cheap? Get creative. Plenty of web forums to walk you through that.
International living is very easy (as noted by several on this forum who are successfully doing it)
Please don't get caught up in the C-D retirement forum mantra... "Impossible, you can't do that.!".. (because others are too chicken to try.)
Just do it
It's very possible, and done by millions. (Who have the guts or reason to try.)
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