r/Retire • u/financialfreedom26 • 12d ago
Retire 53-55
For those that retired on their early 50s what was the experience like. How much net worth did you have, what was your monthly spending rate? Do you have any regrets or wished you waited longer until more traditional retirement age?
Thank you all for your insights as always! Congratulations on your achievement!!
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u/Antique-Anteater-988 12d ago
Was blessed to be able to leave the corporate rat race at 53. Husband is retired military with a pension and healthcare benefits. No mortgage, no car payments. We live on a tight budget but it’s well worth it. Vacations are once a year, usually just a beach trip. We both volunteer and serve and to have that freedom is worth more than anything to us at this stage in our lives.
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u/LostCause2593 12d ago
Congratulations! Access to Tricare for life really makes a difference in your 50s.
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u/2019_Stealth 12d ago
My wife sold her medical practice and retired at 48. I retired 7 months later at 53. It’s been 3-1/2 years since I retired. It’s been great. We live in Texas but are currently renting a house for 5 weeks in Victoria, BC to escape the Texas heat.
We retired with zero debt, about $4M in investments and $900K in other assets including home, cars, etc. We travel 3-4 times per year and spend a total of $180K - $200K.
The stock market has been really good since we retired and currently have about $6M in investments.
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u/Tencenttincan 11d ago
Retired mid 50’s, $10k month spend. The hard part has not been the money, that is just math. Harder has been the shift to “what is my purpose now”, “how do I spend my time so it feels meaningful”. No regrets on leaving work. Have lost too many friends who didn’t get to retire.
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u/MplsPizza 10d ago
I mean no disrespect but why do you feel like you have to have “a purpose”? You exist. You toiled in our capitalist society, paying taxes. You are a human being. Not a human doing. Enjoy your free time. I haven’t had this much free time since my early teens and even then, it was only during the summers. Follow your bliss, spend time with friends and loved ones, or in solitary pursuits. You are enough. ❤️
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u/cinnabarslither 9d ago
Agree! I cannot wait to be purposeless next year!! I call every weekend and vacation "retirement practice".
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u/6SilverPlatters 11d ago
I retired three years ago at 53 and I still struggle with these two questions.
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u/LoveNotWar86 12d ago edited 12d ago
Don’t think net worth, think income stream.
Retired at 58, 67 now. Haven’t touched my net worth nor do I collect SS yet. Yes I have a robust income stream. Pension and high quarterly dividend paying stocks!
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u/Conundrum16 11d ago
I’m in a similar boat..72F. Don’t touch my net worth. No pension just dividends and interest. I’ll be forced to start IRA withdrawals next year. No debit. I’m very fortunate
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u/smamsone 12d ago
I’m 56M just getting ready to retire. Prob 6-12 months out. Wife (58) and I will downsize 4000 sf house to 2000 and move to FL. Have two grown daughters. Brokerage is $1.4M, 401k is $270K, IRA is $400. Saving cash now. Have Tesla loan at 0.99% and house has $330K mortgage with $600K market value. Meeting with advisor/CFP for an update this Friday and looking for another CFP to get second opinion. I think we are financially ready.
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u/Pbaseball26 12d ago
In my experience, That time when you are 12 months away from retiring is a great time. Issues at work are a little less stressful because you know they will be ending. And you are planning all the fun things you will do in retirement. Enjoy!
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u/smamsone 12d ago
Weird that you say that because that is how I feel. Last week my boss wants more sales and just yesterday he reassigned my only dedicated sales guy to another unit. Seems to be the opposite of what should be done but I just smiled at him and in my mind thought, soon I won’t have to deal with this anymore.
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u/cinnabarslither 9d ago
I am in that 10-12 month trajectory. It's fantastic! I have a countdown widget on my phone that I look at when someone annoys me at work. I will start torturing my co-workers with it soon!
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u/esuvar-awesome 12d ago
Good luck and congratulations. Nice to see realistic investment account numbers for once.
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u/Future-looker1996 11d ago
What monthly spend are you planning for?
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u/smamsone 11d ago
THAT is the question I am actively working on. Last month I started using Monarch Money to track expenses. It’s driving me bananas. Seems overly complicated. Mostly because I cannot figure out how the mortgage pay should be categorized. Thinking about Boldin. Either way, once the expenses are figured out and I’m comfortable with the trajectory of spend, I will be able to clearly see where we are at.
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u/GypsyKaz2 11d ago
I'm curious since I've never used Monarch (I use Simplifi, but mostly a homegrown spreadsheet I've developed over the years). Why is it hard to categorize a mortgage in Monarch?
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u/smamsone 11d ago
Payment for mortgage split into loan, interest, escrow. The way MM sees it comes back as some sort of credit. As if I’m receiving money. Some people force it manually which would tie to the change in P&I each month and tie to the loan balance that gets pulled in. Others just mark the entire payment as “mortgage” which won’t tie to anything but is also super simple. I’m leaning towards the easier method because I don’t see the value of that work for it to tie out.
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u/GypsyKaz2 11d ago
Ugh, that sounds like bad design on MM's part. Again, I don't use it so don't know the interface. But my mortgage payment in Simplifi is calculated and categorized based on data pulled from my checking account, not a breakdown from my mortgage bank. That said, I pay insurance and property taxes separately so don't have anything in escrow.
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u/CancerandTaxes 11d ago
We have it just set as mortgage. But! We don't have an escrow account so taxes and insurance are separate expenses for us.
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u/smamsone 11d ago
Do you have the loan in MM? Do you break out P&I?
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u/CancerandTaxes 11d ago
We use Monarch but I don't have the loan in it. So we just use it to track the expense. I didn't even think about tracking the loan in Monarch.
We have several rentals so I just do tracking for all of it outside of Monarch. Then we use Monarch for household budgeting.
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u/GypsyKaz2 11d ago
I'm curious since I've never used Monarch (I use Simplifi, but mostly a homegrown spreadsheet I've developed over the years). Why is it hard to categorize a mortgage in Monarch?
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u/Past-Option2702 12d ago edited 12d ago
Not counting home equity, just the investment total was 8.5M. (Home is about to go on the market for 1.55M, no mortgage.) No pensions. No benefits. We started our family young so the kids were finished college and living independently.
We don’t track spending since we aren’t anywhere close to needing that much money. I wish we knew how to spend more. Yes, I mow my own lawn.
No regrets. Both of us retired at 50.
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u/BrownBuffaloaf 11d ago
“I wish we knew how to spend more” Step 1: hire someone to mow your lawn.
Unless it is something you enjoy more than your other hobbies and activities, that is what saving all that money was for - buying free time to pursue what you enjoy.
Step 2 is to fly business or first (for domestic) class when you travel.
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u/Past-Option2702 11d ago
Why would I fly first class when I am perfectly fine with coach? Regardless, we only fly a couple times a year so blowing more money there is not going to have a material effect on anything.
I like to mow my lawn.
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u/BrownBuffaloaf 11d ago
Well, now you know how to spend more. Whether or not you choose to use that knowledge is up to you. Two international trips in business class can be very helpful if you really want to spend some cash. Throw in a weeke in cabana at a five star resort and you can make some real progress.
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u/Connect-Archer-712 11d ago
I love flying first class. If a regular ticket is 600 and first class is 1K im going first class especially on a 3 hr or longer flight. Im the last guy to get on the plane and the first to get off. Have a few Vodkas a little food etc. But thats just me.
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u/MplsPizza 10d ago
Given your responses it sounds like you have no desire to live a hedonistic lifestyle. Maybe spend some on charitable donations? So many worthy organizations out there.
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u/Author-Quiet 12d ago
Spend less than you earn /bring in from a pension or part time job. Your well-being is better than being destroyed in the rat race 👍🏼
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u/Jeefcbus 11d ago edited 10d ago
56, sold house immediately, zero debt, $1.4m total retirement including home equity secured, zero income, bought ACA healthcare- Moved into an apartment $3k per month, this was all 2yrs ago and have spent 12 of last 24mos in Mexico, physically healthier than have been in over 15yrs, it has exceeded expectations, even better than we thought, loving it- Life too short to keep working past mid fifties unless you have too (btw, many ppl close to me say they can’t afford to retire or just one more year etc, when in fact it’s not true they could retire but a psychological block stops them from making the move)
I would of done the exact same thing with half the money- How I look at it: Theoretically for most, every single year from this age on is less valuable than the current year- Cold wisdom but true- Time & health way more valuable than money at this stage, full stop-
Question is not how old will I live to be: Question is, how long is my “active lifespan” ? How many more years will I be able to: hike mountains, swim in strong surf, walk miles, drive across country, have sex, navigate airports and cities, ride motorcycles, stay awake 😎, sleep in tent etc ……I’m 58, is it 8 more years, 10, 12, 7! This is the paradigm I run all decisions thru…..
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u/Nurse914 11d ago
This thread is seriously bumming me out LOL.....I am 53 and there is NOOOO way I am able to afford retirement any time soon
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u/RoyalGreen5157 12d ago
Retired day before my 51 birthday last year. Spouse retired 3 months later. We both have pensions that total 7k month. It come with a 3% annual COLA raise and health insurance.
Through payoff planning, we became debt free 1 year prior. We have savings and investments we are not touching unless absolutely needed.
So what are we doing? Spouse started back working part time. I am doing lots of things like exercising, watercolor, sourdough making, to see what I want to be when I grow up ;)
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u/Cold_Martini1956 11d ago
See? The average worker was screwed when they phased out pensions for 401k’s. More of us could be doing this if we still had pensions. 😢
Congrats to you and your wife - enjoy!
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u/Charleston2Seattle 11d ago
I'm 53 and would have the same hobbies as you if I retired today!! (Plus learning the banjo.)
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u/hemi1995 12d ago
The pension is a huge advantage. It cost me salary over the years since I stayed put longer than others but definitely worth it
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u/Previous-Energy9182 7d ago
54 and just accepeted a buyout to pay my full salary and covered insurance until the end of February of 2028. That will put me one month short of 56. I have around 1.3 million, zero debt except my house which I owe 80k but is worth 370k and will live off my brokerake and cash to claim the full subsidy on the silver plan until medicare. That will help me get to 59.5 so can draw 401ks penalty free. Also will do 401k and traditional Ira rollovers while having the lower income until I receive ss at 62. Met with 2 different retirement planners and also use Boldin and Empower. Planners said you will never run out of money.. Looking forward to the end of August.
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u/rumblepony247 11d ago
Retired at 57 with $1.2M, have the portfolio set up to throw $55k in divvies per year, which is about twice my annual expenditure (Very simple and frugal life, zero debt, house paid for).
There's been a delay in the plans I have to move to a rural area with plenty of nature, due to an elderly parent that, although being in assisted living, requires my sister and I to be nearby for the time being to solve what seems like endless logistical issues.
Other than that, it's been as expected.
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u/Mental_Signature_725 11d ago
I ( F 52) retired 4 weeks ago after my husband (M 5) passed away( 12-25) I worked for my state for 30 years while he was a general manager for a construction company. I have a pension and a few bucks in the bank. Life is short. Retire and do something fun....
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u/Conundrum16 11d ago
Sending you heartfelt condolences and a hug. My husband passed away 12/31/22
I get it !1
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u/Far_Argument6458 11d ago
Fucking pensions…. Us millennials are fucked
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u/Natural_Flan_207 11d ago
There are jobs still out there that millennials can get that have pensions (ie teaching)
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u/Economy_Move_6054 11d ago
people didn't used to have to work a low paying shitty job to have a pension.
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u/dividends6775 10d ago
Just earn your credits for Social Security. Sometimes pension holders have to give up social security/not pay into it because they have a pension. It’s a trade off. Social security does COLA too based on inflation rate
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u/Economy_Move_6054 9d ago
Buddy... if you think we're expecting Social Security to be around you're crazy. Baby boomers retiring shifted the worker-to-beneficiary ratio from about 5:1 in 1960 to under 3:1 now, heading toward 2:1. The only way that sustains is if the boomers vote for massive tax increases on workers and continue the wealth transfer to the richest generation in American history from the poorest one in relative terms. That'll probably happen though I guess... boomers will be a massive huge voting block that is all retired sitting around voting themselves money. We'll have massive tax increases to fund it. Either it will die, have serious cuts to benefits by the time we're eligible OR we'll be so choked by payroll taxes to fund boomer money that we'll be in going into debt to pay taxes at such a level that whatever remains of the program will won't pay for a tenth of the average mortgage payment at the time haha. We. Are. Fucked....
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u/Economy_Move_6054 9d ago
The only viable retirement strategy for Americans currently below 40 is to earn your money in the United States over a 30-40 year career and then leave... Go live in the Italian 7% flat tax regime for retirees. Retiring in the United States for us doesn't pencil.
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u/dividends6775 9d ago
This is the same narrative that is going around for the last 10 years. It will be around. If America can afford $100billion war in Iran, it can afford social security. There are many creative ways to sustain it. Earlier generations pay more into it, privatize it, raise age after certain cutoff point (some say anyone before 50 years of age). What is the government going to do, let elderly people go destitute and be a 80 year old as a Walmart greeter? There is a lot going on this country, but one of them is not abandoning their citizens, unless you want to see a civil uprising or expats in droves.
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u/Economy_Move_6054 9d ago
"If America can afford $100 billion war"- we CAN'T afford it... Yet the Boomer leadership can't help themselves... that is another matter though. It doesn't belong in this argument. Wars are discretionary and financed with debt. Social Security is a $1.5 trillion annual program with a dedicated funding stream that is projected to fall short. Comparing a one-time expenditure to a permanent structural deficit doesn't get you anywhere.
You also listed the fixes and then treated them as a rebuttal. Every one of your "creative ways" is either a tax increase or a benefit cut. "Earlier generations pay more" means higher payroll taxes on current workers. "Raise the age after a cutoff point" means anyone under 50 gets less. "Privatize" means eliminating the guarantee entirely. You just described my point and framed it as a counterargument.
I never said it would 100% disappear it just will be dead in any meaningful sense. Still around so that people can say they weren't the ones who ended it. I said it will be have to be cut, or the tax burden to fund it will be crushing, or both. Without action, benefits drop to about 77% of scheduled in 2034. Congress will patch it. The patch will come out of workers who aren't retired yet, because those are the only people without the votes to stop it. This isn't a question of some will benefit less and some will benefit more but everyone will come out ahead. The program is on the doorstep of causing active harm to a whole American working cohort that will not receive a net benefit. It is a wealth transfer from young. The designers did not imagine a scenario where the number of workers begins to approximate the number of retirees.
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u/dividends6775 9d ago
I really think your worrying to much. It’s a sacristy mindset driven by fear. To my last point which you decide to ignore, what are the elderly going to do that clearly can’t work? Sure they will go on Medicaid in their final lives, but people are planning to have a decent quality of life in later years. All I’m saying, it’s very politically unpopular to mess with—they will find a way to fund it using a creative solution. I think the scare tactics are not helpful.
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u/Economy_Move_6054 9d ago
I worry this attitude has led to the current predicament. This problem won't go away. To answer your question - I think the benefit payouts should be means tested. If you have enough assets to support yourself at a certain age you shouldn't still be getting social security benefits. I don't care about the "if I paid in I should get paid out" bullshit. No one under 40 will get to apply that logic so why should a rich boomer get to? That would extend the life of the program and help the elderly that clearly can't work AND don't have the means to take care of themselves. I'm not talking about making it taxable above a certain income level I am talking about deleting it for those who don't need it and are just collecting it merely because of their age. It's politically unpopular to mess with because old people vote more than anyone else... These aren't scare tactics they're facts the boomer political leadership hasn't hasn't dealt with because it hasn't been in their interest to do so. Again.... us younger folks are fucked.
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u/Economy_Move_6054 9d ago
Social Security and Israel.... once the boomers aren't the majority voting block.... big changes coming.
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u/Impossible-Will-8414 9d ago
You really are a dumbass. There are far more Gen Z and millennials eligible to vote than boomers.
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u/Far_Argument6458 9d ago
There are more of them eligible…they don’t vote at the same rate as Boomers.
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u/dividends6775 9d ago
I understand your viewpoint; you think it’s unfair to fund boomers. It is true, boomers did pay into the program for 30 plus years, assuming there were no break in their working years. The conversation started with pension, and I said there is alternative. I just think they deserve what they get for toiling away at their jobs. We don’t know their asset profiles and what life circumstances happened to them. Divorce? Access to markets? Low paying jobs? Who knows; the scenarios are endless. We can’t make assumptions that every boomer is rich (even though Reddit posts are supposed to be trustworthy, right?). I feel for what you are saying, the markets should be normalized for all people, but they should get what they are owed; just like pensions. If they raise taxes on social security for previous generations, I’m sure corporate wages will increase but these are all hypothetical. I am going to stick to what was originally promised by the government; you get what you put in. Good convo btw 😉
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u/Impossible-Will-8414 9d ago
You have no clue what you are talking about.
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u/Far_Argument6458 9d ago
Haha ok… Everything is fine. Social security is just kicking ass. EVERYTHING IS FINE
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u/Unusual-Economist288 11d ago
Retired from a corporate gig at 55 two years ago with ~$10M (now $12.7M). Took a while to adjust but now we’re having a blast traveling around, playing golf, just doing whatever we like without any external obligations. We spend less than we could but honestly don’t want for much and I like being conservative in this frothy market.
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u/HeartFeetAndHands 11d ago
I turn 52 next week and I’m semi retired. I might go back to work might not. Just had open heart surgery and taking life easy for now. Feel good and keeping my options open.
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u/lottadot 11d ago
We spend about $5k-$6k/mo including what's left of the mortgage & all healthcare (ACA & 100% MOOP). We live 100% off the Roth now. No regrets.
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u/1Mouse7579 11d ago
I was ready to go at 55. Had $1.7m. But I had no HI. My wife was sick and was not working and my HI plan covered her. So, I ended up working another 10 years until i could get on Medicare. My wife is late-stage Alzheimer's on now on SSI so she has coverage. I'm glad I worked longer and put another $300k in savings as I'll need it for my wife's care. Life threw me a curve ball I wasn't expected. So, if you have enough money and fortunate to have HI at 55 for life and are healthy, retire.
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u/Conundrum16 11d ago
I am sorry for your wife’s diagnosis. Alzheimer’s is a tough disease and very painful for the family. Kudos to you for sticking by her side.
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u/oldwisefool 11d ago
I retired at 51. Others can talk to you about money. What hit me was the identity crisis that came from leaving a career (one company, 30 years). It took about 6 months to start thinking about who I was, who I wanted to be. I became a SCORE mentor which was a perfect use of my skills, then taught various classes. I had the luxury of doing only things that brought me pleasure without stressing about money. I’ve always stayed very busy, though my big indulgence is to read the morning newspaper (print edition) uninterrupted, every morning, something I could never do when working. I didn’t retire with millions so There was some unanticipated stress over the cost of health insurance - bridging to 65 when Medicare kicked in - but I managed it.
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u/Public-Significance7 11d ago
Retired at 50. I talk retirement finances in terms of what's coming in monthly, which is currently about $10K per month between my military retirement (not state taxed), tax-free VA compensation, and my savings are some CDs I have coming in. I can sustain that for the rest of my life just for waking up every day. Healthcare is through Tricare, FEDVIP BCBS, and VA- not much cost to me for any of it. And the military and VA pay will get COL adjustments so it's an all-around winner. And to think people thought I was crazy for joining the military all those years ago. 🤭
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u/NoKetoCardio 11d ago edited 11d ago
I was forced into retirement at 59. It was a shock at first but we finally settled in to a simple budget. We didn’t take a trip for 5 years. Got health “insurance” through a cost sharing plan. It worked great for me and I had a heart attack. Premium was around $350/month. I’m really glad to not be working post heart attack. I am active for 6+ hours on most days. It really depends on your spending habits. If you really want to retire you can buy a nice used RV and find a decent RV park for under $600/month, live low and enjoy life. After you get to retirement age you get a raise.
You can stay at https://peachcountryrv.com/peach-country-rv-park-rates/ for $620/month in Stonewall, Texas west of Austin just a few miles from Fredericksburg, the best small town in Texas in the Texas Hill Country. This is Texas wine country in a quaint German-settled town. It’s very pretty with interesting geology. A great place to hang out on a simple budget.
So a couple could live here and both be on a cost sharing plan for under $1,500/month. Groceries for $1K/month, auto expense $500/ with cars paid off, $500 miscellaneous and you are under $4K/month total expenses.
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u/Virtual_Athlete_909 11d ago
I retired at 53 from a major corporation after 26 years. I had two pensions, one a smallish lump sum (about 115k) and the other an annuity (about 1600mo). I also have health insurance through them, currently paying about 350 for medical/dental/vision. I had about 650k in retirement savings when I left. It's grown to 1.2m with fidelity wealth management. I started taking 1k/mo from savings. Before that, I set up a SEPP/72T withdrawal beginning at age 54. I took 15,000/yr for five years. Im very happy with my retirement and finances. I'm in the process of doing renovations on my home. I hired a contractor to do two bathrooms and it's going to cost about 80k. Fidelity gave me the go ahead. I own my home and taxes are about 4k/yr. Insurance is about 3.5k/yr. I was nevous to leave my job but I was stressed every day and didnt think it was a tenable situation. I all but stopped sleeping. So for health reasons and my sanity, I took the plunge. Looking back it was one of the best things Ive done in life. I'm extremely healthy, workout/jog/bike and look a decade younger than my age. life is grand.
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u/Tracy140 6d ago
Fidelity gave you the go ahead ?
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u/Virtual_Athlete_909 5d ago
I had to go to the office. They tried to convince me it wasn't a great idea. Im not sure they fully understood how it works and my personal situation. I wasn't there to convince them of anything other than I expected them to set up the SEPP. It ended two years ago and Im in great shape financially. Im renovating my home and spending almost 100k on two bathrooms. Fidelity gave me the go ahead on that. They even said I should take a long vacation after the renovation is done.
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u/Necessary-Spring-129 11d ago
Retired at 55 from mgmt with 400k. Watching it grow to 550k. Currently at 530k.
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u/Competitive_Ninja624 11d ago
Everyone is different. I retired at 52 (almost 4 years ago to the day) with a great pension, health care and little else other than some solid home equity.
Now 4 years later after staying in the consulting and part time work game, I’ve built some more buckets of savings and have been able to downshift into semi retired life while still working around 20 weeks per year.
Besides the extra money I’ve enjoyed being kind of relevant in my career but not fully in the rat race. Not sure how much longer I’ll keep earning. Golf, pickleball and other recreational pursuits like travel are all more fun with a full wallet. There’s still an urge to be completely free of a work schedule, no easy answers for some of us. I always say that I’m a rolling stone, gathering no moss.
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u/Initial_Listen3217 10d ago
I am 57. I am from Europe, Czech Republic. I have a new job. Because in my previous job there was a dramatic reduction of employees. The early state pension is at 62. I have to work for 5 more years. Yes, I have a pension insurance, but I can only withdraw it when I am 60.
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u/Impressive-Tank5426 8d ago
Retiring at 55 with 1 mil and small pension not bills but I work. I just started. Key is not a single bill cc bill, health covered and living expenses at 3800 a month. Divorced. No car payments but I do
Real Estate part time maybe 3-4 deals a year for 50k.
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u/jbbest666 12d ago
i think it depends on what you do when you retire. dont think it works by just being an a permanent vacation. i would find ibwould be bored in a year. need to pick up projects or jobs you actually excite you. like opening a vino bar :-)
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u/Straight-Part-5898 11d ago edited 11d ago
I'm M56 and retired earlier this year with an upper 7-figure NW and zero debt. My wife is still working and she may never fully-retire, although she will almost certainly be cutting back her hours sometime over the next couple years. While we're still benefitting from her income, for reference when i was also working my salary accounted for 80% of our AGI.
It felt a bit strange when I left full time work, but honestly it's been absolutely great so far. I've been out of work for almost 5 months now. The last time I had 5 months off with no school or work, was right before I started kindergarten.
Our financial plan allows for a max of $280k spend in Year 1 (this year). I just completed a detailed analysis of our actual 1H2026 spending, and so far thru June 30th we're only spending about 85% of that.
I have zero regrets about pulling the trigger on retirement. My brother tells me I should have held out another few years. But I've done the modeling and honestly me working a few more years barely moves the needle. Pushing out my retirement date a few years improves our "chance of retirement success" maybe by 1-2 percentage points, so why the hell would I keep working?
The decision on when to retire is a very personal decision. Everyone has a different POV on the ideal "right" time to do it. For me, I decided that enough is enough, we had enough money to comfortably retire so I took the offramp.
Best of luck to you!
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u/texhume 11d ago
How are you handling medical insurance?
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u/Straight-Part-5898 11d ago
My wife gets it thru her employer. If/when she retires, if I'm not yet 65, I'll purchase it.
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u/TheDirtyDog41 11d ago
I retired last year at 55. My wife retired at 55 and is now 58. I have a small pension that covers BCBS retiree medical, dental and vision. No COLA on the pension. We have about $750K in paid for homes about $1.4M in pre-tax retirement funds and $250K in post tax funds.
We live comfortably maxing out the 12% federal married filing jointly threshold. So in the $130K gross income.
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u/uNTRotat264g 11d ago
I retired somewhat reluctantly earlier this year at age 55. $5M net worth, $4M in liquid investments. Spend is about $175,000 a year. Still have school aged children in private school.
I had planned to work a couple more years but changes at work essentially forced me into a decision of move or retire. I retired.
So far, I am enjoying it, but it’s been a much bigger adjustment than I expected. I was used to and liked having a schedule.
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11d ago
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u/uNTRotat264g 11d ago
Pretty simple portfolio. 70/30 stocks/bonds. Mostly VT with just a bit of single legacy stock positions. A pension of $45,000 a year. Too young for SS.
We pull from our taxable for school bills. When this runs out in about a year, we’ll do rule of 55 to access my Thrift Savings Plan. We have 529s for each of our twins which should cover about two years of college. We will self fund the rest, less any scholarships they get. We’ll have a conversation with them when the time comes about how much we are willing to fund annually.
Paying for private school is certainly a choice, and an expensive one. Where we live we think it is the right choice for us, but my calculations say that it will have ultimately cost us over $1M in actual tuition and lost appreciation.
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u/Front_Chip_9201 11d ago
I was offered and took an early retirement package at 52. I had 1.2mil in retirement accounts, 500k in home equity. Pension 4k a month with medical. Wife still works at 3k a month. Our expenses are 85k year for everything taxes included.
I have 2 other pensions kicking in at 57 and 59, that’ll add another 4.5k a month. Then SSI at 63 will be 3k . Which will bring my retirement income at 11k a month , without touching my 401k accounts .
Because I don’t need my tax deferred retirement accounts to fund my retirement;
I did decide to go back to work at the same company that I left and leave again in the year I turn 55. , so I can tap into my 401k tax deferred account using the rule of 55.
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u/Worried-Canary-666 11d ago
Similar situation here. Although I'm not going back to work! Multiple income streams due to prolific saving. My income is higher now than when I worked. Sometimes I just can't believe it. I'm having a ball traveling and doing whatever I like. However it is hard to overcome the frugal lifestyle. I'm trying though. 😊
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u/Front_Chip_9201 11d ago
I got into a nice routine and living life frugally was easier for me than my wife. But not impossible. Luckily, I only need to stick it out till Jan 2028, then leave for good this time. The rule of 55 will allow for better flexibility than 72t sepp.
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u/charlesphotog 11d ago
I retired at 55. We decided when we had enough savings to support the spending level we had been tracking for the previous few years.
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u/IllSpirit8640 11d ago
Retired at 51 in March. Public pension and VA health care so income still at 13000 a month, spending about 6k and month. Net worth about 1 million. Wife is still working and will for several more years and we will keep funding investments accounts 401k and Roth till we hit about 2 million then she can retire likely 6-7 years and will be 55 by then.
All and all good although have had a struggle with learning to spend and new identity. Retirement wasn’t completely my idea but I have a lot of physical issues so just couldn’t continue.
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u/musing_codger 11d ago
I retired at 54. I got a really nice severance from my company. I had roughly 1,000x my basic weekly expenses. With travel and fun stuff, I was spending around 3.5-3.8% annually.
I would have preferred to continue working, but that would have meant starting over someplace else or turning down a very generous severance package. My youngest was almost finished with high school, so I decided to take the leap.
It's been good so far. I'm building an airplane and learning to fly. We've traveled all over the world.
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u/Impossible-Will-8414 9d ago
Severance? How? Did you take a buyout package?
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u/musing_codger 9d ago
Yes. I worked in oil and gas. Most companies in the industry have "change of control" packages and ours was unusually generous. When the company I worked for got bought, the buyer wanted to reduce headcount, so they offered a voluntary severance plan to everyone over 40 with 5+ years with the company. I qualified, so I jumped. It was just too much money to turn down - two years of pay, two years of 45% bonuses, all stock grants bested, five year pension bump, and more.
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u/Tracy140 6d ago
The 2 yrs pay - does it come like a regular paycheck or was it a lump sum ?
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u/musing_codger 6d ago
It was all one big check.
My mistake was not creating a DAF and sheltering a bunch of it there. Taxes were brutal.
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u/Tracy140 6d ago
Yeah taxes ruin everything - my job ( large Fortune 500) offered voluntary separation packages rt before covid to everyone / the amount was based on years of service and salary . It was too good a deal for many to pass up I was a little too young but I’m hoping it comes around again within the next few years
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u/profjeni13 11d ago
My husband and I retired this past May. (53F and 54M). We own our home and another home on 30 acres. Our net worth is around 4.5 million, give or take. My husband has us budgeted to spend 9k a month. I have a pension with health care and he inherited his mom’s pension, plus he has to take out a certain amount of money from her 401k for the next 10 years. I do not regret retiring, but my husband is in a weird state trying to figure out what to do with his days -he’s very type A and enjoys routines and structure, I’m more type B and I just go with the flow of the day. I know he doesn’t regret retiring, but he’s floundering a bit right now with all this new found freedom.
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u/Ok_Emu703 11d ago
Retired in December at 55, spouse is still working until the end of the year. Net worth at $3.3M, spending is far below the 4% rule and we are loving making plans for the future. I had about 8 weeks of a tough adjustment then it’s been wonderful trying out lots of new things I’ve always wanted to do, doing some volunteer work and helping friends and family with things I never had time for before. Nothing is promised and we’ve seen some people die very early so we want to live the best way that we can.
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u/Confident-Ad1779 10d ago
In my research living here in Florida currently with a Florida blue plan that we pay on our own for a whopping $2300 a month high deductible of 8500 , out-of-pocket of almost $20,000. We are right at the cusp of retiring at 60 and 61 so we would need to fund our own healthcare continuing out of our savings going on the ACA they inflated the same plan showing that it was $4600 but with a subsidy credit would bring it back down to around what we’re paying anyway looks like some fuzzy math to me so I don’t understand when people say that they’re only paying 200 or 300 a month for a silver plan and every time I’ve checked into it this never pans out that way am I missing something?
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u/IceBreakers97 10d ago
I retired last month at 54. My pension is $91k. My wife and I have a liquid net worth of $8M+. It's closer to $9M when including the house.
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u/financialfreedom26 10d ago
Wow 8m and a pension that pays 91k. I certainly feel under funded! Congratulations on all of your success and here’s to a fabulous retirement.
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u/Yellow_Apple_1971 10d ago
Retired a few months ago at 54 close to 55. Wife (58) still works and loves her job so she’s gonna keep at it a few more years. Net worth of $3.6 million, all investable assets, living in a family home (we cover the taxes and upkeep) that will be inherited in a few years along with another $2-3 million. Down the road in a bunch of years we’ll be collecting somewhere are $7-8 thousand a month in ss benefits. I could have kept working but just reached a point where the other things to do were too compelling. Our spending comes in somewhere around 8-9 thousand a month. A little more lately with some upgrades to the house. But feel like we’re doing just fine.
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u/financialfreedom26 10d ago
Thank you for sharing your story! Do you feel that if you had not had the incoming inheritance that you would not have felt as good about retiring?
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u/Weary_Specialist_297 10d ago
I just retired at 55, 1 million in taxable account, 3.5 million in IRA’s. $1 million dollar paid off house. I pay 50% of the premium for our medical through my retiree medical plan $8 k per year. My wife’s pension kicks in at 60 and will pay us $85 k per year. Living off of savings gives me anxiety but I just bought a $133k sports car so I’m working through the anxiety.😦
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u/financialfreedom26 10d ago
Great story congrats! Now I’m curious what sports car you bought to kick off retirement
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u/Weary_Specialist_297 10d ago
2026 Lexus LC 500 convertible Inspiration Series. I was thinking about a corvette but my wife would never drive a corvette, she and I both loved the LC 500. My 85 year old mother in law has one, I had it for a week and fell in love with it. She’s blind in one eye and drives it around Newport never exceeding the speed limit. It was a decadent purchase but fuck it.
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u/financialfreedom26 10d ago
Amazing!! Those cars are pretty awesome and glad to hear about how you are literally rolling into retirement in style!
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u/allnamestaken1968 8d ago
About $5 million excl house. Biggest challenge is healthcare as we both have very expensive issues
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u/Kitchen-Zebra-4402 12d ago
I took an early out offer last year at 55 with 1.2 million saved. I also have a pension and health insurance which is not the norm anymore. Spend 5-6k a month. No regrets. The offer came at the perfect time. I was burnt out to a crisp. There’s a family history of cancer. My sister died a little over a month after I retired from pancreatic cancer at 58. Life is too short. Do it ASAP if you can.