Is retirement an age or an asset number for you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A number. TikTok will keep me up to date on societal trends.

It's not social trends. It is the active use of your brain. Reading and hobbies are all great but they will not replace work for keeping your brain trained and sharp. If you are 60 today and in good health -- living to 90 is not crazy. That is a long time with brain decline which does happen when work ends.

The right reading, hobbies, volunteering, crosswords and other games and gathering with friends can keep your brain from declining. It's a strange notion that you "must keep working to avoid brain drain".

Reading, hobbies and volunteering aren’t the same - you’re not accountable for your work product.

So the only way to live life and keep your brain healthy is to Hold a job and "be accountable for your work product"? If so, I guess just keep working until the day you die.

However, I will be retired, enjoying life, traveling and doing everything we desire and not having to worry about reporting back to anyone (other than letting our kids know where we are on this trip).

[Anonymous]

Here is my question if you are a married man with a Stay at home wife what is in it for her for husband to retire before 67?

I mean she finally has a taste of freedom after raising 2-4 kids. Her husband is bringing in good income. She is most likely 2-4 years younger so her medical depends on him. Her income stream is cut greatly if he retires before full retirement age of 67. She gets stuck with expensive medical bills and now she has to deal with him getting in the way and wanting breakfast and lunch.

My math the absolute earliest I can retire is 67 as wife will almost be 65 after I get my bonus for year then we can do Cobra a few months and go straight to medicare for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another consideration for us was RMDs. Our 401K balances are high and we’ll get a tax bomb if we don’t start Roth Conversions early.

who cares. My mom waited till she had to do RMDs and then did minimum she then split it up 4 ways when she died to the kids. Then kids have ten years to pull it out. Allowing it to grow even more. And the tax bracket is not bad since split four ways kids are taxes way less on RMDs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is my question if you are a married man with a Stay at home wife what is in it for her for husband to retire before 67?

I mean she finally has a taste of freedom after raising 2-4 kids. Her husband is bringing in good income. She is most likely 2-4 years younger so her medical depends on him. Her income stream is cut greatly if he retires before full retirement age of 67. She gets stuck with expensive medical bills and now she has to deal with him getting in the way and wanting breakfast and lunch.

My math the absolute earliest I can retire is 67 as wife will almost be 65 after I get my bonus for year then we can do Cobra a few months and go straight to medicare for her.

Well if you are not a needy jerk of a husband, most spouses actually enjoy spending time together.
But my spouse recently retired, in late 50s, I was SAHP and yes it's an adjustment, because other than the kids being not physically at home, I still manage anything from them (one in college, one launched) when they have questions/concerns, I still do everything I was always doing. The Perks are, if you have the funds, we are now traveling a ton and it's less stressful as we don't have to get up for work at ridiculous hours. But yeah the few years both kids were gone from the home and spouse was still working was a nice break on many levels.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is my question if you are a married man with a Stay at home wife what is in it for her for husband to retire before 67?

I mean she finally has a taste of freedom after raising 2-4 kids. Her husband is bringing in good income. She is most likely 2-4 years younger so her medical depends on him. Her income stream is cut greatly if he retires before full retirement age of 67. She gets stuck with expensive medical bills and now she has to deal with him getting in the way and wanting breakfast and lunch.

My math the absolute earliest I can retire is 67 as wife will almost be 65 after I get my bonus for year then we can do Cobra a few months and go straight to medicare for her.

Well if you are not a needy jerk of a husband, most spouses actually enjoy spending time together.
But my spouse recently retired, in late 50s, I was SAHP and yes it's an adjustment, because other than the kids being not physically at home, I still manage anything from them (one in college, one launched) when they have questions/concerns, I still do everything I was always doing. The Perks are, if you have the funds, we are now traveling a ton and it's less stressful as we don't have to get up for work at ridiculous hours. But yeah the few years both kids were gone from the home and spouse was still working was a nice break on many levels.

But your husband puts you in a bad spot if you outlive by a lot. .

My mom was a widow 25 years. Having reduced SS and 401k from husband retiring early is also hard on a SAHM wife. My MIL is 84 and her husband retired 65 and died 74. But my MIL is pushing 85 in his full SS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another consideration for us was RMDs. Our 401K balances are high and we’ll get a tax bomb if we don’t start Roth Conversions early.

who cares. My mom waited till she had to do RMDs and then did minimum she then split it up 4 ways when she died to the kids. Then kids have ten years to pull it out. Allowing it to grow even more. And the tax bracket is not bad since split four ways kids are taxes way less on RMDs.

Did your Mom’s RMDs get taxed well into the highest tax bracket (37%)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another consideration for us was RMDs. Our 401K balances are high and we’ll get a tax bomb if we don’t start Roth Conversions early.

What size will your rmds be a year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is my question if you are a married man with a Stay at home wife what is in it for her for husband to retire before 67?

I mean she finally has a taste of freedom after raising 2-4 kids. Her husband is bringing in good income. She is most likely 2-4 years younger so her medical depends on him. Her income stream is cut greatly if he retires before full retirement age of 67. She gets stuck with expensive medical bills and now she has to deal with him getting in the way and wanting breakfast and lunch.

My math the absolute earliest I can retire is 67 as wife will almost be 65 after I get my bonus for year then we can do Cobra a few months and go straight to medicare for her.

Well if you are not a needy jerk of a husband, most spouses actually enjoy spending time together.
But my spouse recently retired, in late 50s, I was SAHP and yes it's an adjustment, because other than the kids being not physically at home, I still manage anything from them (one in college, one launched) when they have questions/concerns, I still do everything I was always doing. The Perks are, if you have the funds, we are now traveling a ton and it's less stressful as we don't have to get up for work at ridiculous hours. But yeah the few years both kids were gone from the home and spouse was still working was a nice break on many levels.

But your husband puts you in a bad spot if you outlive by a lot. .

My mom was a widow 25 years. Having reduced SS and 401k from husband retiring early is also hard on a SAHM wife. My MIL is 84 and her husband retired 65 and died 74. But my MIL is pushing 85 in his full SS.

So the husband has to work until just before he dies so that the wife - who has probably already been doing nothing for 10 years since the kids left - can now enjoy another 30 years of wealthy indolence? Doesn’t sound like a great deal to me…
I am glad we both worked, both raised the kids, and both plan to retire early at the same time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another consideration for us was RMDs. Our 401K balances are high and we’ll get a tax bomb if we don’t start Roth Conversions early.

What size will your rmds be a year?

When RMDs kick in, we calculated it would be well into the top tax bracket. Makes sense for us to do conversions early and at a much lower bracket.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is my question if you are a married man with a Stay at home wife what is in it for her for husband to retire before 67?

I mean she finally has a taste of freedom after raising 2-4 kids. Her husband is bringing in good income. She is most likely 2-4 years younger so her medical depends on him. Her income stream is cut greatly if he retires before full retirement age of 67. She gets stuck with expensive medical bills and now she has to deal with him getting in the way and wanting breakfast and lunch.

My math the absolute earliest I can retire is 67 as wife will almost be 65 after I get my bonus for year then we can do Cobra a few months and go straight to medicare for her.

Well if you are not a needy jerk of a husband, most spouses actually enjoy spending time together.
But my spouse recently retired, in late 50s, I was SAHP and yes it's an adjustment, because other than the kids being not physically at home, I still manage anything from them (one in college, one launched) when they have questions/concerns, I still do everything I was always doing. The Perks are, if you have the funds, we are now traveling a ton and it's less stressful as we don't have to get up for work at ridiculous hours. But yeah the few years both kids were gone from the home and spouse was still working was a nice break on many levels.

But your husband puts you in a bad spot if you outlive by a lot. .

My mom was a widow 25 years. Having reduced SS and 401k from husband retiring early is also hard on a SAHM wife. My MIL is 84 and her husband retired 65 and died 74. But my MIL is pushing 85 in his full SS.

He's not putting me in a bad spot by "retiring early". We don't need SS, we are HNW, approaching UHNW. Wouldn't have retired early if we didn't have enough money without SS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is my question if you are a married man with a Stay at home wife what is in it for her for husband to retire before 67?

I mean she finally has a taste of freedom after raising 2-4 kids. Her husband is bringing in good income. She is most likely 2-4 years younger so her medical depends on him. Her income stream is cut greatly if he retires before full retirement age of 67. She gets stuck with expensive medical bills and now she has to deal with him getting in the way and wanting breakfast and lunch.

My math the absolute earliest I can retire is 67 as wife will almost be 65 after I get my bonus for year then we can do Cobra a few months and go straight to medicare for her.

Well if you are not a needy jerk of a husband, most spouses actually enjoy spending time together.
But my spouse recently retired, in late 50s, I was SAHP and yes it's an adjustment, because other than the kids being not physically at home, I still manage anything from them (one in college, one launched) when they have questions/concerns, I still do everything I was always doing. The Perks are, if you have the funds, we are now traveling a ton and it's less stressful as we don't have to get up for work at ridiculous hours. But yeah the few years both kids were gone from the home and spouse was still working was a nice break on many levels.

But your husband puts you in a bad spot if you outlive by a lot. .

My mom was a widow 25 years. Having reduced SS and 401k from husband retiring early is also hard on a SAHM wife. My MIL is 84 and her husband retired 65 and died 74. But my MIL is pushing 85 in his full SS.

So the husband has to work until just before he dies so that the wife - who has probably already been doing nothing for 10 years since the kids left - can now enjoy another 30 years of wealthy indolence? Doesn’t sound like a great deal to me…
I am glad we both worked, both raised the kids, and both plan to retire early at the same time.

Or you can still have a SAHP, have plenty and have spouse retire in early to mid 50s, once kids are off to college and launched. We will both still be enjoying our wealth and life. No need to work until your deathbed. If we needed $, I would go back to work. But then again, I wouldn't have stayed home if we couldn't afford it in all aspects, and that includes paying for college and retirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another consideration for us was RMDs. Our 401K balances are high and we’ll get a tax bomb if we don’t start Roth Conversions early.

What size will your rmds be a year?

When RMDs kick in, we calculated it would be well into the top tax bracket. Makes sense for us to do conversions early and at a much lower bracket.

I asked the amount because we plan on pulling out 500k a year. I think we will be in the top bracket anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A number. TikTok will keep me up to date on societal trends.

It's not social trends. It is the active use of your brain. Reading and hobbies are all great but they will not replace work for keeping your brain trained and sharp. If you are 60 today and in good health -- living to 90 is not crazy. That is a long time with brain decline which does happen when work ends.

NP — My brain will decline faster if I stay in my mind-numbing job for too many more years. 57 now. Hoping to retire by 62.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A number. TikTok will keep me up to date on societal trends.

It's not social trends. It is the active use of your brain. Reading and hobbies are all great but they will not replace work for keeping your brain trained and sharp. If you are 60 today and in good health -- living to 90 is not crazy. That is a long time with brain decline which does happen when work ends.

NP — My brain will decline faster if I stay in my mind-numbing job for too many more years. 57 now. Hoping to retire by 62.

Agreed! I simply don't understand why so many cannot adjust and have a great life and mind while not being held "accountable" to someone at work for your projects. DOesn't seem like much of a life IMO

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Healthcare is something to figure in. For most it will not be affordable before 65. Unless you build it into your number.

Helps if you have federal healthcare in retirement

They could take it away.

So I should work 10 more years on that off chance? They could take social security away too and then we'll have anarchy.