Deciding When to Retire

[Fungo Squiggly]

Yeah, can't overestimate how important good planning is. We worked with our (fee based) planner for nearly 20-years developing our portfolio. While accumulating is important, where you accumulate your assets is equally important. Retirement / tax advantaged accounts are great, but if you have any intentions of going early, you better have plans for post-tax retirement accounts ('hero' accounts) to get you over the bridge until you can start to access that other stuff without penalty.

1000% right. At least 5 years worth in post-tax or Roth accounts so you have money to survive on while you setup a Roth-conversion ladder to free up some additional traditional retirement funds penalty-free. And ideally enough in those post-tax accounts that you can keep your income low enough to qualify for the ACA subsidies for health insurance.

 

[ScriptOhio]

Deciding when to retire is a tough decision. For those of you who have retired, what was the tipping point? Do you wish you had kept working longer or that you had retired earlier?

OK, you asked, so here's how it worked out for me. In 1971 I got good a job with the Federal Government and was in the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). Approximately 32 years later I was able to retire at the age of 55 with "full benefits". My wife was able to retire at the same time with 30 years service under the Ohio State Teachers Retirement System. Anyway, we had an opportunity to retire at a fairly young age and we took it. At no time have we ever regretted our decisions to retire. I use to run into some of the people that I worked with and they would ask "how my retirement is going?" I'd tell then "retirement isn't all that it is cracked up to be, it's so much better". I had a very good job that I liked; however, it was still "a job" and I had to come in on a regular basis per their schedule, etc.

Now we were in a good financial position, getting a pretty much a guaranteed (by the Federal Government and State of Ohio) retirement income with COLAs, no debt, owned a mortgage free house, and had a decent amount of savings. All I can say is that after 20 years of retirement it has worked out real well for us. The trick is to have something to do, so you just don't sit home bored. We both like to travel; so we have been doing that a lot. In fact, we just got back from a 29 day ocean cruise (Japan, S. Korea, Alaska, and Canada) yesterday.

I realize that everybody's situation is different. So good luck with your "when to retire" decision.

 

[sparcboxbuck]

1000% right. At least 5 years worth in post-tax or Roth accounts so you have money to survive on while you setup a Roth-conversion ladder to free up some additional traditional retirement funds penalty-free. And ideally enough in those post-tax accounts that you can keep your income low enough to qualify for the ACA subsidies for health insurance.

Exactly. Keeping the income to basically zero between now (55 yrs) and when the healthcare benefits hit is key. FWIW, my wife has been working with a guy who consults on people who are in our situation to help them find the right plans because, apparently like the rest of the healthcare and insurance industries... it's fucking stupid broken. If anyone is in the same sitch... let me know, I'll gladly share.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

Exactly. Keeping the income to basically zero between now (55 yrs) and when the healthcare benefits hit is key. FWIW, my wife has been working with a guy who consults on people who are in our situation to help them find the right plans because, apparently like the rest of the healthcare and insurance industries... it's fucking stupid broken. If anyone is in the same sitch... let me know, I'll gladly share.

It definitely is a shitshow. I'm planning on taking the leap next year at 46 and the insurance is the only part that really might fuck it up. As long as the ACA is around, I should be in pretty good shape, but if that gets scrapped.....who knows?

 

[sparcboxbuck]

It definitely is a shitshow. I'm planning on taking the leap next year at 46 and the insurance is the only part that really might fuck it up. As long as the ACA is around, I should be in pretty good shape, but if that gets scrapped.....who knows?

My hat is off if you're doing it at 46. Congrats. The ACA genie is out of the lamp. I don't know how they try to put her back in without a huge catastrophe.

 

[Best Buckeye]

I decided to retire the first time I realized I'd been working for 60 years. I was 68 in 2010. The wife wanted me to keep working. yeah, right.
I stayed on 1/2 day for about a month to get the new guy settled. and havent worked since.
Buckeye games, Fishing, pitchin Horseshoes, frosty cold ones, debauchery with the wife, active in the American Legion.
Now I'm 84 in July and down pretty much to the frosty cold ones lol.
Advice: work to 68 or till you want to. then enjoy the rest of your life because when you join the elderly there's usually a steep drop off.
And oh yeah....... DON'T GET OLD!

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

My hat is off if you're doing it at 46. Congrats. The ACA genie is out of the lamp. I don't know how they try to put her back in without a huge catastrophe.

Yeah, no kids, a fairly cheap lifestyle, and a ridiculous 15-year run in the market have definitely helped. I'd been aiming for 55 but lowered it to 50 maybe 5 years ago. But last year nearly killed me and I've decided I've had enough of all of this nonsense. My midlife existential crisis hit like a truck and my solution is to quit the entire game. If you need me, I'll be off in the woods somewhere working on my manifesto.

 

[Jagdaddy]

Yeah, no kids, a fairly cheap lifestyle, and a ridiculous 15-year run in the market have definitely helped. I'd been aiming for 55 but lowered it to 50 maybe 5 years ago. But last year nearly killed me and I've decided I've had enough of all of this nonsense.

I'm sure you know this, but if you do go that early, just make sure you're diversified enough to weather a major market correction without having to sell when the market is down because that correction will come at some point. It seems like it should have happened already or happen fairly soon given the incompetence and venality of our overlapping political and plutocratic classes. That said, it's likely been in significant part due to that venality that the system has been set up to inflate the paper value of financial assets and thereby benefit both the capital R and lower-case r rich (the latter being people like financially prudent or investment savvy doctors, lawyers, tech professionals, engineers, skilled tradespeople, successful small business owners, some government employees, etc.) to the detriment of folks who get all of their money from working so it may be that the powers that be don't allow a market crash to get too severe.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

I'm sure you know this, but if you do go that early, just make sure you're diversified enough to weather a major market correction without having to sell when the market is down because that correction will come at some point. It seems like it should have happened already or happen fairly soon given the incompetence and venality of our overlapping political and plutocratic classes. That said, it's likely been in significant part due to that venality that the system has been set up to inflate the paper value of financial assets and thereby benefit both the capital R and lower-case r rich (the latter being people like financially prudent or investment savvy doctors, lawyers, tech professionals, engineers, skilled tradespeople, successful small business owners, some government employees, etc.) to the detriment of folks who get all of their money from working so it may be that the powers that be don't allow a market crash to get too severe.

Absolutely. I'm also planning to work seasonally for 5-10 years to hedge against that, too.

 

[NJ-Buckeye]

and in light of @Jagdaddy post as well as earlier posts about financial advisors.. I can't stress enough to ensure your advisor is experienced.. and I'd say, practicing during the 2008 crush... and ideally in 2002 as well... because when the market hits the inevitable 'adjustment' newer advisors will still be focused on 'growth' ie lassoing new clients and you could be collateral damage by the distraction... experienced advisors will more likely be more focused on their accts.. they always are aware of clients ranked by their assets.. and when it hits, they will address them highest to lowest in order..

you can go to FINRA.org and look the advisors up by name and firm.. that will tell you how long they have been practicing and if there are any blemishes on their record.. next ask your advisor how many accts are they servicing... if they say anything over 150 accts be cautioned because when it hits they can probably get to 20-30 accts a day and if they have 400 accts, lots of accounts are gonna get crushed before they get a call.. some of these advisors could have 1000 accounts.. that means the last folks in that list aren't being serviced for 2 months post thus are toast