Do I Need to Save More for Retirement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are both 43 and have slightly higher stats than you — same equity, 1.6 in 401k, but closer to $3 million in brokerage, fully funded 529s for both kids — and I ask this question all the time. We made some expensive choices (namely private school with 2 elementary kids) so I know I need to stick with my high paying job for a bit, but wonder when I can quit. I’d be nervous about stopping retirement or brokerage contributions entirely, but I think you can certainly afford to enjoy more of life now (vacations, less worry about day to day spending, etc) if you plan to continue working at the lower income.

To be fair, you are not in the same situation as OP though. Your NW is 3x more than OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Age 44, HHI $290k, $1.2M in 401k, $250,000 in brokerage, $500,000 equity in house with 20 years left on mortgage.

I think we could maybe ease off retirement and enjoy ourselves more rather than driving around 20 year old used cars.

How much of your $290k are you currently saving? I think replacing the 20-year-old cars is a sound choice. I think you should keep saving in the brokerage, though. What if you lose the job for an extended period?

[Anonymous]

You’re not factoring any job loss in the next ten - fifteen years. Keep saving. You’ve done well but you may not dictate when you exit the workforce or when you might burn out. We saved aggressively so that we could have a choice in our late 40s about what we do next - retire, part time, consult, etc. That was real freedom. But also - buy a new car.

[Anonymous]

Op. You are doing great! The money you made from now won’t be nearly as impactful as the compounding from your existing $1.45. Let’s assume it grows to $4 million by age 60-65. You could conservatively pull 4.7% but a more realistic amount is 6%. So maybe $240k a year. You may want to do some Roth conversions inside the 24% bracket while living off the brokerage and using the brokerage to pay for the taxes on the Roth conversions. Get it done before age 63 and IRMAA lookbacks, then stay below IRMAA thresholds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are correct, you are well ahead, unless you've set an objective to retire very early.

The benchmark is 3x HHI by 40. OP is at 3x HHI at 44. How do you figure he's "well ahead"?

[Anonymous]

That’s total current retirement for two people?

[Anonymous]

Perhaps OP is behind if they want to live in this DC area hell hole after they are done. But if not, they are in decent shape relative to the average American. I wouldn’t coast just yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are correct, you are well ahead, unless you've set an objective to retire very early.

The benchmark is 3x HHI by 40. OP is at 3x HHI at 44. How do you figure he's "well ahead"?

You are aware that OP has $1.3M+ in retirement and brokerage and is in their mid 40s right? You are aware that S&P historically doubles every 7 years?

OP is on track for $3.2M by age 60 and $5M+ by 65 if they don’t contribute a single penny after today. That doesn’t even include SS, which would probably be around $7,000-$8,000 a month for a couple if they waited until 70 to start withdrawing. How is $5M at 65, without even touching a $7k+ monthly SS distribution, not exceptional for a couple by any standard, not some weird standard that you made up that only 1% of the population can meet?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps OP is behind if they want to live in this DC area hell hole after they are done. But if not, they are in decent shape relative to the average American. I wouldn’t coast just yet.

Decent shape?!!!

The average retirement balance for 65 year olds is $250,000 according to Fidelity. OP has more than twice that NOW in mid 40s assuming OP is married.

[Anonymous]

You mean you need to invest more intelligently.

As for your expenses, there is a point of diminishing returns for old cars. If they start costing you in significant repairs, time to buy new or barely used ones. Just remember to get something known for reliability and affordable maintenance. Boring, in fact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps OP is behind if they want to live in this DC area hell hole after they are done. But if not, they are in decent shape relative to the average American. I wouldn’t coast just yet.

Decent shape?!!!

The average retirement balance for 65 year olds is $250,000 according to Fidelity. OP has more than twice that NOW in mid 40s assuming OP is married.

And that's still not good. You never want to compare yourself to the average, people. Especially with the rampant inflation and scarcity that we are about to face with this shockingly ill thought out war.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps OP is behind if they want to live in this DC area hell hole after they are done. But if not, they are in decent shape relative to the average American. I wouldn’t coast just yet.

Decent shape?!!!

The average retirement balance for 65 year olds is $250,000 according to Fidelity. OP has more than twice that NOW in mid 40s assuming OP is married.

That’s fair - but the average Americans life style both while working and in retirement isn’t all that great. Incomes in the US are low at the median and below.

There is definitely a middle ground where living a comfortable retirement while being engaged in something, remaining active, and being able to travel is an excellent goal. For that, OP is well on their way but could optimize more.

There are people in here addicted to buying dumb expensive shit and will continue doing that in retirement I guess. But they are usually doing that at the expense of their non working time during their working years.

We prefer to do a hybrid. Not buy a bunch of expensive dumb shit, have a high enough income without overworking, spend reasonably, and save relatively aggressively compared to the average because we can.

You only get so many turns here. Choose wisely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are correct, you are well ahead, unless you've set an objective to retire very early.

The benchmark is 3x HHI by 40. OP is at 3x HHI at 44. How do you figure he's "well ahead"?

You can't math, can you?

[Anonymous]

Use a retirement calculator to game out assumptions but yes you are doing well. A lot depends on expenses, desired retirement age , what if any you plan to leave or spend on adult kids etc.

How much do you save now? I would continue to save certainly up to any max but with your income and savings there’s no reason you can’t afford a decent car or travel.

Also our incomes rose in our 40s-early 50s and. As our other assets compounded we let off the brakes a bit more as well.

[Anonymous]

Sorry match not max