Really love this forum and all the valuable advice.
Can I retire? I’ll be 55 soon and am struggling with whether to retire.
My wife will be 62 soon and will collect SS early. I plan to collect SS at 67.
Pension at age 55 = $5,800 per month. Healthcare is also paid for.
Annual 2% compounded cost of living increase.
Apparently there is inflation protection so the monthly allowance cannot drop below 75% of original amount in case inflation is far greater than 2%.
Wife’s SS = $1,300 per month.
MFJ
Total gross monthly income will be approximately $7,100. After tax = approximately $5,600
Debt = $1,113 mortgage (won’t be paid off anytime soon – still owe $240K).
Cost of living = $4,500 = groceries, utilities, property taxes, car & home insurance, maintenance, etc.
We should break even each month or come out a little ahead.
401(k) and 457 accounts:
Tax deferred = $675,000
Roth = $80,000
Asset allocation = 50% S&P500 Index / 50% short term bond fund (rebalance annually)
Taxable = $100,000 which will be used for a newer car, eventually a new roof, and maybe taxes for Roth conversions to fill in lower tax bracket.
My plan is to either not withdrawal from the 401k and 457 or at most 1% to 2% per year if unforeseen circumstances made it necessary.
For every year I continue working, my monthly pension would go up approximately $400/month based on current salary. Thus, working until age 57 would be a monthly pension of approximately $6,600, which seems significant.
Seems like it will all work out, but something seems not quite right about retiring. Maybe its just fear. It’s difficult to know when to sacrifice time for more money or when to sacrifice money for more time. I keep thinking if I work another year, we will be that much better off. But then when does it stop? I also feel like maybe there's something wrong with retiring at age 55. Or maybe I'm just used to working.
I suppose my biggest concern would be a doomsday scenario where the CalPERS pension fund can’t pay the promised amount. My second concern is whether I should keep working to save up more money for old age or to be able to pass more down to heirs. There's no right answer, but other opinions are always helpful.
Can I retire? I’ll be 55 soon and am struggling with whether to retire.
My wife will be 62 soon and will collect SS early. I plan to collect SS at 67.
Pension at age 55 = $5,800 per month. Healthcare is also paid for.
Annual 2% compounded cost of living increase.
Apparently there is inflation protection so the monthly allowance cannot drop below 75% of original amount in case inflation is far greater than 2%.
Wife’s SS = $1,300 per month.
MFJ
Total gross monthly income will be approximately $7,100. After tax = approximately $5,600
Debt = $1,113 mortgage (won’t be paid off anytime soon – still owe $240K).
Cost of living = $4,500 = groceries, utilities, property taxes, car & home insurance, maintenance, etc.
We should break even each month or come out a little ahead.
401(k) and 457 accounts:
Tax deferred = $675,000
Roth = $80,000
Asset allocation = 50% S&P500 Index / 50% short term bond fund (rebalance annually)
Taxable = $100,000 which will be used for a newer car, eventually a new roof, and maybe taxes for Roth conversions to fill in lower tax bracket.
My plan is to either not withdrawal from the 401k and 457 or at most 1% to 2% per year if unforeseen circumstances made it necessary.
For every year I continue working, my monthly pension would go up approximately $400/month based on current salary. Thus, working until age 57 would be a monthly pension of approximately $6,600, which seems significant.
Seems like it will all work out, but something seems not quite right about retiring. Maybe its just fear. It’s difficult to know when to sacrifice time for more money or when to sacrifice money for more time. I keep thinking if I work another year, we will be that much better off. But then when does it stop? I also feel like maybe there's something wrong with retiring at age 55. Or maybe I'm just used to working.
I suppose my biggest concern would be a doomsday scenario where the CalPERS pension fund can’t pay the promised amount. My second concern is whether I should keep working to save up more money for old age or to be able to pass more down to heirs. There's no right answer, but other opinions are always helpful.
Statistics: Posted by path2thecenter — Mon Jun 24, 2024 8:44 pm — Replies 3 — Views 661
