What is your "magic number" for retirement?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:My "I'd walk away without another thought" number is $10M (single, no kids, 50s).

I won't get to 10M absent some kind of windfall, but will likely retire with $3-4M TSP, $1M other, fed pension in the 150-200 range, $1M house paid off.

How are you getting a Fed pension of $150-200k? Are you dual Feds?

Never mind, saw you are single. How are you getting $150-200K pension? Doctor?

I also wonder how you are getting 150-200K pension?

Some private companies still need offer pensions.

Yeah but PP mentioned a TSP account.

Which, not that I am reading about a single TSP with $3-4M, I am realizing PP is trolling.

Can’t 2 Feds do that?

1 fed, independent agency, advanced degree, very long tenure (at top of wage scale now), max tax deferred TSP contributions nearly all in equities for the whole time. TSP now nearing 3M. If retiring at 62, the internal pension calculator puts the pension in the 150-200 range. No, I'm not going to post my statements and W2. But it's possible and I am definitely not the only person in my agency in this situation.

What is an independent agency? Also, the all equities strategy is risky for those not early in their careers. 60/40 is the norm and I wouldn’t break too much with that unless I was very comfortable with risk.

Basically, this person is at an agency that is not on the GS scale and has its own pension plan and version of TSP.

I posted earlier. Am likely at the same agency but longer tenure and greater age. My TSP is considerably larger. All equities for decades but a year ago put 15% into governments and am still questioning why I bothered. Pension is effectively a huge bond portfolio. Am near retirement and switched to including a percentage of governments for dealing with RMDs when they come.

I am also at one of those agencies and I still don’t understand how one person is getting a $150-200k pension. Or has a $3-4M TSP in their 50s.

I am 45 and am no where near that. I am at the top of the scale and will have 35 years at 62. My pension (today’s dollars) is $95K. My TSP is $1.3M with a 10% match.

Only thing I can guess is that this is Fed Reserve Board or CFPB at the top of the scale with 38-40 years?

If you are all equities, using the rule of 72 (sum doubles over ten years at 7% return), you likely will have $2.6M at 55 and $5.2M at 65. And that is without a single additional contribution. This is a good time to start directing all your contributions to your Roth instead--RMDs on a $5.2 M amount will be punishing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. You folks rich.
We have 1.5M in our retirement accounts and we're both 55. Not enough, right? House is not paid off, One kid still in college.
I'll be working until I'm 80, and DH plans to retire at 75. We hope we'll have enough money to retire on by then. Both of us work in nonprofits. No way to acquire $5 million. Ha ha.

OMG you do NOT have to work that long. See a financial planner—actually, a specific planner, Elizabeth Pennington at Atwood Financial.

You can retire by 60.

[Anonymous]

1M in 2024 money would be great
750K would be pretty good
500K minimum

I plan on retiring in the Republic of Georgia. Putin please don’t ruin my retirement plan.

[Anonymous]

I have 780k in my retirement and I am 43. Have rental properties that will be paid off in a few years and will produce $7000 per month before taxes.

Hope to have at least $3M in my retirement account by the time I am 65.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This post scares me. A lot.

how much will you have in retirement?

You don't need $5mil unless you have huge expenses and/or want to travel in luxury a lot.

Think about what your expenses might be in retirement. Then pad it with an extra 20%.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We’re mid-50s and our number is around $4M to generate income (with one modest pension & SS). This will probably take into our mid-60s to do, so we have to guess when we reach the breakpoint of enough money to support a lot of travel vs enough healthy years to actually do it.

So glad I never understood the "magic" of traveling. I'd much rather spend time in my nice house than a random village in Thailand.

Since this magical activity seems to be a significant cost in retirement for many, I also get to retire earlier. Yay, me!

I think of the world as a yard you can play in. I cannot relate to someone who is content to spend their life in one corner of the yard and not explore what else there is.

The people who do this by necessity make for the authentic, off-the-beaten-path places that you probably like to brag about visiting.

+1. I can’t relate to people who can’t imagine that there a different strokes for different folks.

[Anonymous]

Age 62 with whatever I have saved in my 401(k) and my pension plan. I want to enjoy my life while i still feel good physically and mentally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Age 62 with whatever I have saved in my 401(k) and my pension plan. I want to enjoy my life while i still feel good physically and mentally.

Same. That is my only number.

[Anonymous]

$5 million at 60 is my goal. I’ll be able to get there with my current salary and match using a 5% return.

If I have more than that, I’ll significantly slow down my work obligations, as I work in a job that allows me to work as much or as little as I want and still be employed.

[Anonymous]

$10M liquid of which 7.5M in my trust, rest IRAs.

[Anonymous]

$3M, likely to be achieved by 60 + paid off house (currently valued at $1.5M) + expected inheritance of around $750K (we consider that to just be LTC contingency and/or inheritance for our kids)

[Anonymous]

$2M at age 65 with pension. Single with one child, college paid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. You folks rich.
We have 1.5M in our retirement accounts and we're both 55. Not enough, right? House is not paid off, One kid still in college.
I'll be working until I'm 80, and DH plans to retire at 75. We hope we'll have enough money to retire on by then. Both of us work in nonprofits. No way to acquire $5 million. Ha ha.

I am a PP single woman who has worked at nonprofits my entire career. I am at 725k now (alone) in my mid 40s. I expect to get to 3.5 to 4 millon by 66. If there were two incomes, I would expect it to be double. It is possible. I started saving at 21 and maxing most years. I have two kids. No child support. Career nonprofit worker. Time works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This post scares me. A lot.

how much will you have in retirement?

You don't need $5mil unless you have huge expenses and/or want to travel in luxury a lot.

Think about what your expenses might be in retirement. Then pad it with an extra 20%.

My mom has Parkinson’s. She will need care costing 100k per year at some point. You can live a lone time with many diseases. Grandfather was chronically ill 40s and 50s. Could not work. Health disasters can blow through savings. For me, 3 million is the minimum I would be comfortable with to retire. My magic number is 4 million.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure we have a magic number unless it's really excessive. We have 2 young kids, and wouldn't want to forego having an income until they are close to college. We're mid 40s, late 30s and currently at 5.1 m NW with about 1.1m in home equity.