Deciding When to Retire

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Beth*
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Deciding When to Retire

Post by Beth* »

I am curious as to how retired members of this forum made the decision to retire.

I'm at the point where the stress of my job is starting to wear me down and I'm thinking seriously about retiring, but I'm stuck trying to figure out how to balance the trade-off between more money (working longer) and more quality time (retiring sooner). My husband and I are both in our late 50s, but he has a less stressful job than I do and he really likes his job, so he has no interest in retiring at this time. I make between 55 and 60 percent of our combined salaries so if I retire it will have a serious impact on our income and savings even if he continues working. If I could switch to working part-time I would, but I don't have the type of job that can be done part-time. I am a manager and I have a lot of interaction with clients who expect me to be available 24 - 7, which is one of the stresses of the job.

We can live a comfortable lifestyle if I retire now and my husband continues working for another 5 or 10 years, which he wants to do. Our house is paid off, our kids are through college, and we can pay all our basic living expenses (food, utilities, insurance, medical co-payments, etc.) easily out of my husband's take home pay, especially when I account for the fact that his take home pay will go up by approximately $1,000 a month if I am no longer working since we will be in a lower tax bracket. We currently have a little over $2 million in savings and we should not need to touch most of that money if I retire now but he keeps working, so our total savings are likely to be over $2 million when my husband finally retires even if we don't contribute much more to savings after I am no longer bringing in an income. ($1.6 million of the $2 million is in 403b/401k accounts so we will owe regular income tax on it when we withdraw it. The remainder is in Roth IRAs and taxable accounts.)

However, we have gotten used to taking a couple of nice vacations a year and regularly visiting our family members who live across the country, and we won't be able to finance those types of expenses without drawing some money from savings if I stop working. Additionally, while he would continue to contribute enough to his 403b to get his employer's match, we would no longer be maxing out two 403b's, maxing out two backdoor Roth IRAs, and saving an additional 10s of thousands of dollar each year in taxable accounts as we are doing now.

I keep thinking that if I work just another couple of years we will be in a better financial position when I retire, but that will always be true no matter how many years I work. We're currently unlikely to run out of money in our retirement unless we get really extravagant in our spending, which seems really unlikely because it is just not our style. However, if I work a couple more years we will definitely be able to afford longer and nicer vacations and one thing we both really enjoy doing, and would like to do more of after we retire, is travel.

How have other people decided when it is time to declare that you are going to retire now, or soon, rather than waiting "another couple of years"?
Last edited by Beth* on Sat Nov 15, 2014 3:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Cosmo
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by Cosmo »

The decision is based upon:

1) when you have enough.
2) When you had enough.

Cosmo
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GerryL
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by GerryL »

I started planning years ahead of time, so I was mentally very ready when I got an offer to leave a year early this year.

I had originally considered taking early retirement as soon as I became eligible at my company. Figured I would sit on my savings and earn a smaller income at a less stressful, part-time job to carry me over until FRA. But this was before the Affordable Care Act and I realized that the cost of health insurance would derail my plans, so I decided to work to or past FRA. (It's a good thing I changed those early plans, because I would have had myself psyched into semi-retirement in ... October 2008, when the chance of finding another job would have been grim.)

One little bit of advice from my years of reading about preparing mentally for retirement: It's better to retire TO something than FROM something. People who retire because they don't like their jobs are less satisfied than those who take the step because they know what they want in retirement.
The Wizard
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by The Wizard »

My former job was "interesting" much of the time and allowed me additional time off w/o pay. Not much stress but I think I raised the bar month to month on how increasingly interesting it had to be to keep me there.
Soon, the right thing was to quit...
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Beth*
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by Beth* »

GerryL wrote:People who retire because they don't like their jobs are less satisfied than those who take the step because they know what they want in retirement.
I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do in retirement:

1. Spend more time cooking, gardening, etc. I like domestic work but by the time I get home from work I am too tired to do much.
2. Spend more time with family, both the young ones (I am expecting my first grandchild) and the old ones (my parents).
3. Travel. My husband travels internationally for work a couple of times a year and I would like to be able to go with him more.
4. Exercise. Right now I am lucky if I get to the gym three times a week. I would like to go four or five times a week.
5. Volunteer. There are organizations to which I currently donate money but would like to be able to donate time as well.
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midareff
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by midareff »

I retired @ 64 having achieved my floor + a cushion. Another three years of bull run have left me more than comfortable. Had the market gone the other way I might feel very differently.

I had worked 46 years, since I was 18. My exit strategy was cast in concrete several years before I retired. In the last few years my workplace became increasingly unpleasant due to politics, salary and benefit cuts under different political leadership. Knowing I had an out date helped the psychology immeasurably. Looking back, it's not them and what they do... it's me and what's best for me and my family. I would not change anything I did.
MP1233
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by MP1233 »

For my wife and me the main financial factors have been our investment number, our pensions, and paying off our youngest sons university costs before retirement. With strong gains in the markets over the past few years, we are now 50% above our number. My wife will be 55 next year and qualify for her pension. I qualified a few years ago. Our son still has two more years before he graduates; however, my recent calculation of our retirement income shows that his university expenses will not be significant. So essentially the financial components of our decision will be satisfied by next year.

My wife has a lot of ideas on what retirement will be like for her. However, I am still searching for something that has meaning. My work has been the center of my life and I am not sure what the future will be like for me.
Ron
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by Ron »

Cosmo wrote:The decision is based upon:

1) when you have enough.
2) When you had enough.

Cosmo
+1 (Retired at age 59)...

- Ron
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Peter Foley
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by Peter Foley »

For my wife and me it was a matter of being financially secure and wanting to reduce the boredom of the routine (me) and the stress (her). I set a date about six months in advance and she followed suit. As long as your husband is okay with continuing to work for income while you do not, I'd say go for it.

In terms of setting the date, I calculated how long I would have to work into the new year to be able to max out my retirement account for that year. I created an artificially low income year so I could start Roth conversions in the 15% tax bracket.
SpaceCowboy
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by SpaceCowboy »

For me the decision to retire earlier this year was based on having accumulated enough of a pile that should be more than adequate to live comfortably without making major lifestyle changes and like you deciding the stress of dealing with clients / employees just wasn't worth it anymore. I've increased my volunteer work, have been able to spend much more time with my kids while they are in high school, but still have not increased my visits to the gym. The one lifestyle sacrifice has been eating out less at nice restaurants due to the lack of business meals. The big upside has been the reduction in business travel and time away from the family.
Professor Emeritus
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by Professor Emeritus »

I took Professor Emeritus status and semi retired to get away from writing research grants. I kept doing teaching and research and consulting and pushing DWs career. 3 years later she became disabled and was retired involuntarily. I have now fully retired from paid work to be a caretaker. Sometimes you don't get to decide
trueblueky
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by trueblueky »

I kept doing the math. In retirement, our expenses are much lower. No FICA, no saving for retirement, no commute (so only one car), no state income tax (we relocated), no mortgage (paid off vacation home is our only home now).

I thought about retiring from the day I became eligible until five years later when our youngest graduated, meaning no more tuition. That meant it wasn't a snap decision. While I don't necessarily recommend thinking about it for five years in your case, maybe think hard about it the next six months.

Start living on your new after-tax and after-savings budget. See how that feels. Look at what you could do part-time -- staying home all day while spouse continues to work wouldn't have been a good plan for us. We've found great places to volunteer (GED tutoring and VITA tax prep) that still provide flexibility in our time commitment.
basspond
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by basspond »

Beth* wrote:I keep thinking that if I work just another couple of years we will be in a better financial position when I retire, but that will always be true no matter how many years I work.
This is what I notice with most people grappling with retirement. I set a date over 30 years ago and am almost there. I will be "leaving the work force" in my mid fifties knowing that I could work longer to build a bigger nest egg. Have seen too many unfortunate things and death happen to family and friends to grind any more than I have to. Nothing in life is guaranteed, so I plan to do the things I like to do that is not motivated by making more money. Those are the things that give me the most gratification.
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Beth*
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by Beth* »

basspond wrote:
Beth* wrote:I keep thinking that if I work just another couple of years we will be in a better financial position when I retire, but that will always be true no matter how many years I work.
This is what I notice with most people grappling with retirement. I set a date over 30 years ago and am almost there. I will be "leaving the work force" in my mid fifties knowing that I could work longer to build a bigger nest egg. Have seen too many unfortunate things and death happen to family and friends to grind any more than I have to. Nothing in life is guaranteed, so I plan to do the things I like to do that is not motivated by making more money. Those are the things that give me the most gratification.
That's one of my reasons for not wanting to wait to retire. I had cancer (caught early, no spread) two years ago. This month on a routine post-cancer check-up the doctor found something suspicious. After more tests and a biopsy It turned out to be benign, but these experiences do make me worry. Do I want to continue in my job for three or four more years, coming home stressed out every night and unable to really focus on things that are important to me, with the possibility that I won't have any time to enjoy retirement?

The age I have had in my head for a long time for retiring is 60. That is three years away and I am trying to decide if I want to wait until then or leave sooner. Actually, I know I want to leave sooner. My big issue is whether (assuming I stay healthy) I will regret that decision in 10 years. Will I look back and think I should have worked a little longer and saved a little more?
jebmke
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by jebmke »

Maybe there is a middle ground. Do the vacations every other year for 2-3 years; conserve on but don't eliminate the cross country trips.

I found that when I retired I got active doing things locally and we literally stopped traveling for a couple of years (I had traveled a lot in my job so it was a break for me). Our spending really dropped sharply for a couple of years and then moved back up closer to our original budget.
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ddunca1944
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by ddunca1944 »

Cosmo wrote:The decision is based upon:

1) when you have enough.
2) When you had enough.

Cosmo
+1

I had "had enough"
Lynette
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by Lynette »

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camptalcott
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by camptalcott »

Cosmo wrote:The decision is based upon:

1) when you have enough.
2) When you had enough.

Cosmo
Nicely said.
C
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peregrine
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by peregrine »

One thing you have not mentioned is Social Security. Do you have 35 years of Social Security wages? Would working another year or two make much difference for Social Security? How much Social Security will you receive at age 70? How much would your husband receive? Could you live off that? You might want to consider the worst case scenario in which Social Security pays only 70% or so of what it promises. If you can live off Social Security payments your nest egg does not have to last as long and you might feel better about tapping it.

Another issue is health insurance. Do you get health insurance at work? Does your husband? Could you potentially get health insurance through your husband's job? If you do not have to pay the full cost of health insurance when you retire that makes it a lot easier.

Your husband currently likes his job but maybe two or three years from now things will change and he will want to leave it. If you are not working it sounds like that is not an option. In addition, things happen and your husband could also be laid off or disabled. Will you regret leaving your job if something not so nice happens with your husband's employment?
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Watty
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by Watty »

My husband and I are both in our late 50s,..
Assuming that you are both 58 this simplistic calculator shows that in 20 years there is 33% change that your husband will be dead and a 26 percent chance you will be dead. I would guess that a similar percentages of people will have developed limiting health issues within 20 years too.

https://personal.vanguard.com/us/insigh ... ement-tool

You seem to enjoy things like travel but it would be optimistic to think you will be able as you become older. Sure some people are able to travel in their 70's and beyond but if you wait ten years until you are almost 70 to retire then you might be disappointed.

With a paid off house and two million in savings(and likely social security) you could make a very nice retirement today if you decided to.
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victorb
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by victorb »

It is definitely a decision based on finances, but also health, emotional, lifestyle considerations. Use Firecalc.com to do some what if scenarios.
If you would like, I have a presentation that was given by our Credit Union Financial Planning Department. They gave me the OK to share it with people and I would be willing to email to you. Let me know if you would like it.
I am going through a similar situation and trying to figure out the optimum time to retire. It can be fun & exciting to think of the next phase of your life.
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Beth*
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by Beth* »

peregrine wrote:One thing you have not mentioned is Social Security. Do you have 35 years of Social Security wages? Would working another year or two make much difference for Social Security? How much Social Security will you receive at age 70? How much would your husband receive? Could you live off that? You might want to consider the worst case scenario in which Social Security pays only 70% or so of what it promises. If you can live off Social Security payments your nest egg does not have to last as long and you might feel better about tapping it.

Another issue is health insurance. Do you get health insurance at work? Does your husband? Could you potentially get health insurance through your husband's job? If you do not have to pay the full cost of health insurance when you retire that makes it a lot easier.

Your husband currently likes his job but maybe two or three years from now things will change and he will want to leave it. If you are not working it sounds like that is not an option. In addition, things happen and your husband could also be laid off or disabled. Will you regret leaving your job if something not so nice happens with your husband's employment?
I don't have 35 years of high social security wages because I didn't work full time until my youngest child was in first grade. However, I have been above the social security wage cut-off since 2000 and I am at the second bend in social security where any additional earnings would just increase my benefit by 15 percent of the earnings averaged over 35 years so working a couple of extra years would make only a few hundred dollars a month difference in my social security benefits. My husband's social security benefits will be higher than mine because he has a more solid work record and he has been above the social security contribution limit longer than I have. He won't claim until 70. I will either claim spousal benefits at full retirement age and then claim at 70 also, or if we need the money I will claim at full retirement age and he will claim spousal benefits. We don't have to decide that yet.

If I retire early I would go on my husband's health insurance. My husband is a tenured professor at a financially sound university so I am not worried about his job security. He also has good disability insurance and adequate life insurance. We cut back on our life insurance when we paid off the house and our youngest child graduated from college, but we are still each carrying about three to four times our gross annual salary so we are adequately covered. I don't think my husband is going to decide to retire in two or three years. He loves teaching and research and his idea of relaxation is reading an academic book in his field. He is totally supportive of the idea of my retiring early if that is what I decide I want or need to do. I have been supportive of him in the past when he turned down opportunities to make more money because he wanted to remain in academia.
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by livesoft »

I started practicing retirement about 6 or 7 years ago when I started working about half time. There is no need to stop working in order to do all the things retired folks do. When your job starts interfering with your work-life balance, then you will know it is time to shift away from work.
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sans souliers
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by sans souliers »

Cosmo said it best.
Cosmo wrote:The decision is based upon:

1) when you have enough.
2) When you had enough.

Cosmo
I had been long preparing for the time when I'd had enough.
The yearly Kabuki dance of work performance self-evaluation and goal setting became too laughable and my responses were becoming too honest to do me any good and were going to become uncomfortable for my boss to gloss over if they continued in their honesty-driven path. I saved my last review for reference -- if I ever came to regret my retirement, I could give it a read-through.
It lies in my top desk drawer, unread. My retirement time is stress-free and worth more than any pay check.
My goals are health-driven and spiritual, now. All my "24/7" customers survived my departure - I trained my replacement well.

Let us know what you decide, and keep us informed either way.
Sometimes pessimism leaves me pretty well prepared for when things don't go my way, and pleasantly surprised when they do.
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joe8d
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by joe8d »

Sometimes you don't get to decide
Yes,more often than not.
All the Best, | Joe
flyingaway
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by flyingaway »

Professor Emeritus wrote:I took Professor Emeritus status and semi retired to get away from writing research grants. I kept doing teaching and research and consulting and pushing DWs career. 3 years later she became disabled and was retired involuntarily. I have now fully retired from paid work to be a caretaker. Sometimes you don't get to decide
My understanding is that a person with "Professor Emeritus" title does not get paid.
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22twain
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by 22twain »

flyingaway wrote:My understanding is that a person with "Professor Emeritus" title does not get paid.
You don't get paid for being an emeritus professor, but I know some who continue to teach part-time as adjuncts, for $2K-$3K per course.
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dumbbunny
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by dumbbunny »

I had a consultation with a Vanguard Certified Financial Planner. I was told if I could keep my expenses under a certain limit, I could retire. So far, so good.
“It’s the curse of old men to realize that in the end we control nothing." "Homeland" episode, "Gerontion"
Professor Emeritus
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by Professor Emeritus »

22twain wrote:
flyingaway wrote:My understanding is that a person with "Professor Emeritus" title does not get paid.
You don't get paid for being an emeritus professor, but I know some who continue to teach part-time as adjuncts, for $2K-$3K per course.
It depends on the agreement you make and your field. Mine was 15K for a course and additional lectures in other courses. They also got to claim credit for my publications. I fully agree that ordinary adjuncts are routinely mistreated (I was one) but on the other hand few adjuncts have the credentials and experience of senior tenured faculty. When I first taught as an adjunct in 1975 I was paid $1500 a course, equivalent to about $6600 today.
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22twain
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by 22twain »

Professor Emeritus wrote:It depends on the agreement you make and your field.
Also on whether you're at a research university or a garden-variety 4-year college or a community college. At the college where I work, emeritus status allows you to keep your college e-mail address, but that's about it.
Meet my pet, Peeve, who loves to convert non-acronyms into acronyms: FED, ROTH, CASH, IVY, ...
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Beth*
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by Beth* »

sans souliers wrote: All my "24/7" customers survived my departure - I trained my replacement well.

Let us know what you decide, and keep us informed either way.
I have no doubt that my clients will survive without me. They'll be unhappy for a while but they will get over it. No one is indispensable, except perhaps to our families and loved ones.

I am planning to make a decision in early January. I have a lot of accumulated leave time that will get paid out when I retire. Therefore I have an incentive to retire at the beginning of the year to minimize the taxes I have to pay on the accumulated leave. However, I am due a small bonus at the end of February that I would like to get so early March is probably the ideal time for me to retire if I decide to do it this year. According to my calculations, even with the bonus and the payout of the accumulated leave time, if I were to retire in early March our income would be reduced enough this year to keep us out of the AMT.
beardsworth
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by beardsworth »

Beth, it looks to me like you have "arrived."

You've got more money set aside than most American households will ever know (and certainly more than ours, though we're not retired yet). Your husband's job is stable, he's content to remain in it, and he will not "resent" remaining in a full-time job while you don't. You can mostly live on his salary alone, further extending the time when you'll actually need to significantly tap savings. You know what you want to do with your retirement time, several of the things you want to do don't cost much at all, and you've already had a medical scare which heightened your awareness of the value of time, personal growth, and non-monetary rewards, compared to the value of money.

In contemplating our own retirement date, my wife and I are trying to get used to the fact that, although we sometimes feel "there's not enough money in the whole world to deal with everything that 'might go wrong,'" at some point you just have to do it, i.e., move on to the next phase of life because you've prepared for it as best you can without sacrificing so many other things that have begun to matter more.

I think you're there, now.

Best wishes. Or perhaps I should say "Bon voyage"? :)
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VictoriaF
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by VictoriaF »

I had decided to retire when I would first become eligible for the Federal health insurance in retirement. My decision was motivated not by displeasure with my job but by the things I wanted to do but could not do while I was working. When the date was approaching, things were happening in my career that I wanted to complete before I retire. These things, specifically completing my second M.S. degree, took over a year. When I was about to file retirement papers, my Agency has announced VSIP, a volunteer retirement offer. I applied for the VSIP, and the process has delayed my retirement by additional two months. The summary of my experience is as follows:

- I was retiring "to," not "from." I think this is a more rewarding path to retiring.
- When I reached my "date" and my "number," I was not dogmatic about implementing my previous decisions precisely.
- There was a psychological pull to work longer, to make more money, to get more financial security. I used several techniques to fight this pull, including making exciting plans that I could not possibly accomplish while working.
- Now that I am retired, I think that my timing was perfect. Objectively, it may have not been the "best" choice. But I believe, it's the best, and that's what counts.

Best wishes for making your decisions and implementing these decisions,

Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake | Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. | Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
cherijoh
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by cherijoh »

peregrine wrote:Another issue is health insurance. Do you get health insurance at work? Does your husband? Could you potentially get health insurance through your husband's job? If you do not have to pay the full cost of health insurance when you retire that makes it a lot easier.
This is the big unknown with respect to my own early retirement. I'm single and currently don't qualify for retiree health insurance - I would have to work ~5 more years at my current employer and then would only get the group plan rates but no company subsidy. However, at the rate that companies are shedding retiree health insurance I'm not all that confident that if I worked until then that the benefit would still be available! :( My major concern is if ACA gets gutted and insurance companies are again allowed to exclude individuals based on pre-existing conditions or charge them outrageous premiums. It would be very difficult to predict the 9 years of premiums until I hit 65, since I'm not in perfect health.

Otherwise, I'm confident that I could retire now - I am qualified to start drawing a reduced pension from my former megacorp employer and I have sufficient funds in a taxable account to cover me well beyond 59.5 (at which point I could access my rollover IRA).
curmudgeon
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by curmudgeon »

Given your scenario, I think it's really a matter of personal preference. It's worth running some financial evaluations, but I suspect there is no issue on that side. It's probably worth spending some time with various retirement planning software, such as firesim and the Fidelity in-depth one.

You can do some budget analysis with your current budget, making some varied timeframes for when your husband chooses to retire. Maybe try age 62, 65, 67. The idea is that you'd like to make sure that he doesn't feel forced to keep working, even if he's happy with it currently. In the near term years, if you look at your desired spending, you have a moderate cash outflow. If that is say, $20K per year, that's around 1% of the portfolio (which is what many people lose in overhead to expensive funds/managers). And half that is probably countered by what is still going into retirement accounts on your husbands side.

Then take a look at the long term budget, after you start drawing SS at age 70. Look at what your benefits would add up to, what expenses would go up/down, and see what additional cash flow you would want to be drawing from your retirement savings. If you like, you might choose to apply the "4% rule" at that age. That is, presume that you can safely draw up to 4%/year, inflation adjusted, from your retirement accounts (if you apply it at age 70, that is definitely more conservative than doing it at age 57). Your age 70 budget and the 4% rule tells you what balance you'd like to have in retirement savings at that point. If you think you'd want to be drawing $40K/year at age 70, then you still want to have $1m in retirement savings at that point, and you should be OK if you spend the other $1m between now and age 70 (or maybe more accurately, between when your husband retires and age 70).

Decumulation just doesn't feel right for lifelong savers, but at least for the short term, in your case you can look at it as just spending some of the income from your investments.
Professor Emeritus
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by Professor Emeritus »

22twain wrote:
Professor Emeritus wrote:It depends on the agreement you make and your field.
Also on whether you're at a research university or a garden-variety 4-year college or a community college. At the college where I work, emeritus status allows you to keep your college e-mail address, but that's about it.
Our shop actually values its Emeriti. You become an "elder" and they use the Emeriti whenever someone wants something reviewed by a faculty member with some experience and no axe to grind. I've been asked to do fairness reviews on procedures, judge academic honesty cases and even look at parking assignments. We automatically get full computer and library access and free parking. We have an Emeritus senator and you keep your full faculty status. For all academic purposes such as serving on PhD committees I'm still a Professor. They are routinely used for acting appointments when there is a sudden administrative vacancy. (for this of course they would be paid. )
So its a little like being a reservist in the Military
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tennisplyr
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by tennisplyr »

Three things:

1. Hate your job
2. Want to pursue other passions
3. Recognize that life is way too short

Good luck :wink:

PS, am 65 and retired 4 years ago and never looked back.
“Those who move forward with a happy spirit will find that things always work out.” -Retired 13 years 😀
jojay
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by jojay »

Hi,
I had posted a quasi-similar question a couple of months ago and our boglehead friends gave me some great advice. Briefly, this is what I netted out of all of the replies:
1. You have done a terrific job saving. Not sure what your lifestyle is like but I would worry less about it than you think you need to. You've done a great job. Reap the reward.
2. Part time option? Based on feedback I got from the post, I am speaking with my boss on Wednesday to at least discuss the option.
3. Do you have something to do? You get bored very quickly without work. You need activities to eat up your time and also make you feel productive. "Retire to" as others have posted. Sole trips to see family?
4. Other option at work? Less responsibility / expectations? Can you manage just "select" clients only?
5. Your husband has health insurance?
6. Like you, I have extensive leave time coming. Take some in January, some more in February, get the bonus and then make a decision.
7. I hate the thought of giving up hundreds of thousands in salary by leaving early. I can literally feel the pulsing in my neck though.

Go. You earned it. You won. Go.
Topic Author
Beth*
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by Beth* »

jojay wrote:Hi,
I had posted a quasi-similar question a couple of months ago and our boglehead friends gave me some great advice. Briefly, this is what I netted out of all of the replies:
1. You have done a terrific job saving. Not sure what your lifestyle is like but I would worry less about it than you think you need to. You've done a great job. Reap the reward.
2. Part time option? Based on feedback I got from the post, I am speaking with my boss on Wednesday to at least discuss the option.
3. Do you have something to do? You get bored very quickly without work. You need activities to eat up your time and also make you feel productive. "Retire to" as others have posted. Sole trips to see family?
4. Other option at work? Less responsibility / expectations? Can you manage just "select" clients only?
5. Your husband has health insurance?
6. Like you, I have extensive leave time coming. Take some in January, some more in February, get the bonus and then make a decision.
7. I hate the thought of giving up hundreds of thousands in salary by leaving early. I can literally feel the pulsing in my neck though.

Go. You earned it. You won. Go.
If I had the type of job where I could go part-time or really take the extensive leave that I have, I would not be thinking about retiring now. One of my issues is that I'm tired of vacations where I spend hours on my cell phone dealing with work crises. My employer might agree to me going part-time but I know it wouldn't really be part-time. I would always be expected to be on call. Last week I took a couple of hours off for a dentist appointment and I ended up sitting in the dentist's parking lot for an hour after my appointment on my cell phone dealing with a situation at work. I like the work I do and if I could work set hours I would not think about retiring. it's the constant stress of being always expected to be available that is wearing me out and even if they say that will change I know that it won't and the nature of the work is that it really can't.

I will let you all know what I decide. I am going to make a decision in January.

Thanks, everyone, for your input.
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midareff
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by midareff »

"If I had the type of job where I could go part-time or really take the extensive leave that I have, I would not be thinking about retiring now. One of my issues is that I'm tired of vacations where I spend hours on my cell phone dealing with work crises. My employer might agree to me going part-time but I know it wouldn't really be part-time. I would always be expected to be on call. Last week I took a couple of hours off for a dentist appointment and I ended up sitting in the dentist's parking lot for an hour after my appointment on my cell phone dealing with a situation at work. I like the work I do and if I could work set hours I would not think about retiring. it's the constant stress of being always expected to be available that is wearing me out and even if they say that will change I know that it won't and the nature of the work is that it really can't."

Beth.. perhaps you can reach an understanding with your employer about phone usage and what constitutes the need for an emergency call. Most of my vacation time in my final years was out of country and I was reachable by email only. Perhaps a vacation time agreement can be made for email only contact in case of emergency? Also in my final few a lunch buddy in a similar position with another department was called constantly during lunch... with nothing ever that could not have waited until he returned to his office. It was abuse and a lack of respect for personal space, plain and simple. Perhaps a friendly chat with supervision can make things better for both of you?
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dbCooperAir
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by dbCooperAir »

Beth* wrote: If I had the type of job where I could go part-time or really take the extensive leave that I have, I would not be thinking about retiring now. One of my issues is that I'm tired of vacations where I spend hours on my cell phone dealing with work crises. My employer might agree to me going part-time but I know it wouldn't really be part-time. I would always be expected to be on call. Last week I took a couple of hours off for a dentist appointment and I ended up sitting in the dentist's parking lot for an hour after my appointment on my cell phone dealing with a situation at work. I like the work I do and if I could work set hours I would not think about retiring. it's the constant stress of being always expected to be available that is wearing me out and even if they say that will change I know that it won't and the nature of the work is that it really can't.
Beth, I'm in somewhat of the same boat workwise. I now make it a point to shut off the cell phone, yeah the clients may not like it but to dam bad. When I'm on vacation I'm on vacation, when I'm home after work I'm home not working. Most of the time my cell phone does not leave my car, it can ring it all it wants, I can't hear it.

Call me an old fart but this whole thing that you need to be available 24/7 is for the birds.

It sounds like to me you are ready and can retire, go for it. What's the worst that can happen, you have to go back to work?
Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him. | -Dwight D. Eisenhower-
pennywise
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by pennywise »

Beth* wrote:
jojay wrote: I like the work I do and if I could work set hours I would not think about retiring. it's the constant stress of being always expected to be available that is wearing me out and even if they say that will change I know that it won't and the nature of the work is that it really can't.
Have you tried setting those limits, with the internal backstop that unless they are put into place you WILL leave? I ask because it's not an uncommon work dynamic that as long as you allow a situation to continue, such as managerial expectations of you being on call 24-7, it will. When we are at a career stage in which retirement or job switching isn't a viable option these pressures have to be accomodated.

However at this point you clearly have enough resources to walk away tomorrow. It might be that if you are clear and unambiguous in stating your terms with the alternative being you leave the firm entirely, they will suddenly become ones that will be feasible. If you state your terms clearly and they truly cannot be accomodated...you have your answer about what's possible and then the decision may be more unambiguous for you.
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Beth*
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by Beth* »

pennywise wrote:Have you tried setting those limits, with the internal backstop that unless they are put into place you WILL leave? I ask because it's not an uncommon work dynamic that as long as you allow a situation to continue, such as managerial expectations of you being on call 24-7, it will. When we are at a career stage in which retirement or job switching isn't a viable option these pressures have to be accomodated.
Yes. I actually resigned a couple of years ago over this issue and they talked me into coming back with promises that things would get better. They did get better for a little while but that stopped. I have mentioned a few times that I am tired of this and considering retirement. I have also mentioned that I would like to work part-time and that if any positions open up that are suitable for part-time I would like to be considered.

I think that if I actually turn in my retirement notice they will promise me once again that things will get better, but it will be a short-lived better and then it will get worse again. If I decide to retire this time I am going to retire and not get talked into going back.

I like my boss and this isn't his fault. We have grown rapidly (a good thing in general) and while we have hired lots of new people they need supervision and mentoring and there are lots of things they can't handle on their own. If I were younger and more ambitious I would look at this as an opportunity for growth, but at this point I know that I am going to retired within the next three or four years no matter what and I am not looking for a large raise or opportunities to take on more responsibility. Having some balance in my life is more important to me now.
dimdum
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by dimdum »

I think you are already there. Lets look at numbers.

Current saving 2.0m.

Need - If you retire, you can live comfortable on husband salary. You don't need to dip into saving.
Want - Still able to travel local and internationally, won't be possible.

Assumption - No saving going forward (or minimum).
Husband planning to retire in 10 years, 2.0m will continue to grow (no withdrawal).
Plan to draw from SS in 10 years.

Using simple math

A 50/50 portfolio should return 5-6%, assuming 5%, is about 100K per year. So in 10 years your portfolio should be 3.0m
A 4% SWR will generate 120K per year. Add SS and should be enough for a very comfortable retirement.

Scenario two:

A 50/50 portfolio should return 5-6%, assuming 5%, is about 100K per year. But you want to keep enjoying local and international travel for next 10 years.
Let's say you start withdrawing 2% (40K) to make that happen.

At end of 10 years, growth is (5-2=3% or 60K). So in 10 years your portfolio should be 2.6m
A 4% SWR will generate ~100K per year. Add SS and should be enough for a very comfortable retirement.
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Beth*
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by Beth* »

dimdum wrote:I think you are already there. Lets look at numbers.

Current saving 2.0m.

Need - If you retire, you can live comfortable on husband salary. You don't need to dip into saving.
Want - Still able to travel local and internationally, won't be possible.

Assumption - No saving going forward (or minimum).
Husband planning to retire in 10 years, 2.0m will continue to grow (no withdrawal).
Plan to draw from SS in 10 years.

Using simple math

A 50/50 portfolio should return 5-6%, assuming 5%, is about 100K per year. So in 10 years your portfolio should be 3.0m
A 4% SWR will generate 120K per year. Add SS and should be enough for a very comfortable retirement.

Scenario two:

A 50/50 portfolio should return 5-6%, assuming 5%, is about 100K per year. But you want to keep enjoying local and international travel for next 10 years.
Let's say you start withdrawing 2% (40K) to make that happen.

At end of 10 years, growth is (5-2=3% or 60K). So in 10 years your portfolio should be 2.6m
A 4% SWR will generate ~100K per year. Add SS and should be enough for a very comfortable retirement.
I think you are right. There are all sorts of "what ifs," such as "What if we go into a major depression/recession?" but we aren't planning to withdraw much money for 10 years and we can cancel travel for a few years if we want to. Right now we are at 60/40 stocks/fixed income (fixed income includes bonds and traditional TIAA) but we would plan to gradually move to 50/50 over the next 10 years. We are planning to gradually move to 50/50 over the next 10 years even if I don't retire this year.
dimdum
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by dimdum »

Run your number thru firecalc and I'm sure you will be fine. Firecalc will look for all "if and but" scenario.
Plus as you mentioned you can always cut discretionary spending like travel if need arise.

BH reminds us of being broke later in retirement, but Remember YOLO.
In your case you have your capital (2m+) and SS to guide you along a comfortable retirement.

Go ahead and start planning for next year retirement.
mnnice
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by mnnice »

You are ready. Plus you make room for someone else to move up to a job that they do need.

46 and retired. It just comes down to cash flow and mentally getting over that fact that your savings are going to go down, not up. That is what you saved money for.
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ResearchMed
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Re: Deciding When to Retire

Post by ResearchMed »

dimdum wrote:Run your number thru firecalc and I'm sure you will be fine. Firecalc will look for all "if and but" scenario.
Plus as you mentioned you can always cut discretionary spending like travel if need arise.

BH reminds us of being broke later in retirement, but Remember YOLO.
In your case you have your capital (2m+) and SS to guide you along a comfortable retirement.

Go ahead and start planning for next year retirement.
Yes, *YOLO*!

We are going through this.

I got DH a "Retiree in training" tee-shirt from the new Vanguard offerings, and he'll receive it on our holiday cruise.
This is when he'll try NOT to use the [expensive] internet link on the ship.
That will be good training, even if he can go a full day :shock:

He enjoys his work, and it something that he feels good about (both regular work and consulting), but I'm sensing more "tension" in his face. Not necessarily "bad", but certainly not "good".

He took his first cruise (FINALLY) a couple of months ago, and loved it so much (I *knew* it!!!) that we've got several more planned.
I figure he can slowly "train" to disengage. He agrees, which is important.

But it's not easy.
I've retired, and it's NOT really going too well. My entire life was involved in the stimulation of my work, the challenges, the research, the outcomes, the successes (and yes, I admit it, some recognition), and a few failures in terms of proposals not funded (and earlier, a couple of positions hoped for, but no....).
That's why I retired. Funding dried up SO much, even great proposals (*not* necessarily mine!) weren't getting funded anymore.
And my proposals were things I *cared* about, in terms of helping others (health-related, usually).
There are still a few I'd do for no pay, if the rest of the budget were to be covered somehow, in a heartbeat.
(I also had started a small business, totally unrelated, and now we are planning to sell that, so then I'll have more free attention, and DH and I will figure some projects I can get more involved in, as happened officially a few times in the past, due to some coincidences.)

So I'm dealing with the transition, and I think he'll have more trouble, so I hope he can slowly switch to part time, and some consulting. I think he'd be more miserable if he cut the cord entirely.

But we've BOTH had some serious health scares, so it's TIME to take those vacations! Time to relax more.

He just needs to get used to being truly "away", and having others know that he might NOT return calls or emails for a few days.
He was good about that on our trip to Italy last spring, too. First time ever.

It's a lot trickier than I expected, but we don't even have any heirs who need anything, so this money carefully saved...

THIS is the time to start enjoying it, making sure there is enough for any unfortunate needs, etc.

RM
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