What's your "number"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Currently 45, a fed, making $160K a year and saving about 10% of my salary in the Federal retiree system.

My goal is to retire at at 60. At that point, I expect to have college paid for and done for two kids, and have about $1 million in home equity. That will allow us plenty of options to stay in place, sell and move to smaller condo and buy vacation home, or sell and just put the equity into savings.

I will have earned a federal pension - which I will be able to collect at 60 - of about $75,000 per year.

Based on current retirement savings - about $400,000 - plus saving 10% more per year - I expect to have about $1.7 million saved. Figure using about 4% of that annually gives me an annual income from savings of about $70,000

Add in Social Security for me and DW and that gets us right to about $170,000 a year.

It's not the $10-25 million that other posters are talking about, but I think we can retire well and be happy with what I describe above.

PP, can you please explain how federal pensions work? Are they still being offered for new employees? How long does it take to earn one? How is it determined how much it will pay out and for how long? Thanks.

Quick summary:

You must work at least five years in federal service to qualify.

The value of the pension = 1.1% of your average highest three-year salary X your years of service

You can begin collecting at age 62, and there is a cost of living adjustment

Details here: https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/fers-information/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Currently 45, a fed, making $160K a year and saving about 10% of my salary in the Federal retiree system.

My goal is to retire at at 60. At that point, I expect to have college paid for and done for two kids, and have about $1 million in home equity. That will allow us plenty of options to stay in place, sell and move to smaller condo and buy vacation home, or sell and just put the equity into savings.

I will have earned a federal pension - which I will be able to collect at 60 - of about $75,000 per year.

Based on current retirement savings - about $400,000 - plus saving 10% more per year - I expect to have about $1.7 million saved. Figure using about 4% of that annually gives me an annual income from savings of about $70,000

Add in Social Security for me and DW and that gets us right to about $170,000 a year.

It's not the $10-25 million that other posters are talking about, but I think we can retire well and be happy with what I describe above.

PP, can you please explain how federal pensions work? Are they still being offered for new employees? How long does it take to earn one? How is it determined how much it will pay out and for how long? Thanks.

Quick summary:

You must work at least five years in federal service to qualify.

The value of the pension = 1.1% of your average highest three-year salary X your years of service

You can begin collecting at age 62, and there is a cost of living adjustment

Details here: https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/fers-information/

So if your average high salary is 150k and you work for 20 years for the govt your pension is only 33000? 150k x 1.1% x 20?

[Anonymous]

$200M.

[Anonymous]

I must have low standards....for me, 1.5-2 Mil....I will move to a lower cost of living area.

[Anonymous]

Our number is 3-4M (not including our house, which will be paid off by the time we retire). We're on track for 3. With a little more effort, I think we can get to 4.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Currently 45, a fed, making $160K a year and saving about 10% of my salary in the Federal retiree system.

My goal is to retire at at 60. At that point, I expect to have college paid for and done for two kids, and have about $1 million in home equity. That will allow us plenty of options to stay in place, sell and move to smaller condo and buy vacation home, or sell and just put the equity into savings.

I will have earned a federal pension - which I will be able to collect at 60 - of about $75,000 per year.

Based on current retirement savings - about $400,000 - plus saving 10% more per year - I expect to have about $1.7 million saved. Figure using about 4% of that annually gives me an annual income from savings of about $70,000

Add in Social Security for me and DW and that gets us right to about $170,000 a year.

It's not the $10-25 million that other posters are talking about, but I think we can retire well and be happy with what I describe above.

PP, can you please explain how federal pensions work? Are they still being offered for new employees? How long does it take to earn one? How is it determined how much it will pay out and for how long? Thanks.

Quick summary:

You must work at least five years in federal service to qualify.

The value of the pension = 1.1% of your average highest three-year salary X your years of service

You can begin collecting at age 62, and there is a cost of living adjustment

Details here: https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/fers-information/

So if your average high salary is 150k and you work for 20 years for the govt your pension is only 33000? 150k x 1.1% x 20?

Correct. The pension is set so if you work for the government for 30 years you would collect about a third of your salary at age 62, and then it would adjust upward with inflation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:last summer I figured $4M. Now it seems more like $10M. That is to pay 2 college tuitions and have $200K/yr to live on (which sounds like a lot, but so did $100K 15 years ago)

Are you talking 200K/year in cash to live on? That's 16K+/month in cash with no mortgage/car payments/student loans/college. Seems like a lot to me.

Tax takes half

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:last summer I figured $4M. Now it seems more like $10M. That is to pay 2 college tuitions and have $200K/yr to live on (which sounds like a lot, but so did $100K 15 years ago)

Are you talking 200K/year in cash to live on? That's 16K+/month in cash with no mortgage/car payments/student loans/college. Seems like a lot to me.

Tax takes half

What would you spend the money on? Why so much? I'm trying to figure out if I'm missing something. I'm assuming mortgage is paid off as well as college. What will your monthly expenses be?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:last summer I figured $4M. Now it seems more like $10M. That is to pay 2 college tuitions and have $200K/yr to live on (which sounds like a lot, but so did $100K 15 years ago)

Are you talking 200K/year in cash to live on? That's 16K+/month in cash with no mortgage/car payments/student loans/college. Seems like a lot to me.

Tax takes half

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Currently 45, a fed, making $160K a year and saving about 10% of my salary in the Federal retiree system.

My goal is to retire at at 60. At that point, I expect to have college paid for and done for two kids, and have about $1 million in home equity. That will allow us plenty of options to stay in place, sell and move to smaller condo and buy vacation home, or sell and just put the equity into savings.

I will have earned a federal pension - which I will be able to collect at 60 - of about $75,000 per year.

Based on current retirement savings - about $400,000 - plus saving 10% more per year - I expect to have about $1.7 million saved. Figure using about 4% of that annually gives me an annual income from savings of about $70,000

Add in Social Security for me and DW and that gets us right to about $170,000 a year.

It's not the $10-25 million that other posters are talking about, but I think we can retire well and be happy with what I describe above.

PP, can you please explain how federal pensions work? Are they still being offered for new employees? How long does it take to earn one? How is it determined how much it will pay out and for how long? Thanks.

Quick summary:

You must work at least five years in federal service to qualify.

The value of the pension = 1.1% of your average highest three-year salary X your years of service

You can begin collecting at age 62, and there is a cost of living adjustment

Details here: https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/fers-information/

So if your average high salary is 150k and you work for 20 years for the govt your pension is only 33000? 150k x 1.1% x 20?

Correct. The pension is set so if you work for the government for 30 years you would collect about a third of your salary at age 62, and then it would adjust upward with inflation.

Confused about this. My spouse is a federal employee and contributes to the TSP program. Our understanding is that is the only pension he will be eligible, what we have saved ourselves. From the link you provided , it mentions a Basic Benefit or Service plan. What the heck is that? Spouse works for Department of Veteran's affairs, if it matters.

[Anonymous]

We though $5M would do it and semi-retired. But 2008 wasn't the best year to do that, and we didn't factor in aging parents who are now needing help. So DH is back to work for a while, and $7M is the new number. (This is with private schools, vacation home, travel, eating out. We could certainly do it with less if we downscaled, but DH doesn't want to.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Currently 45, a fed, making $160K a year and saving about 10% of my salary in the Federal retiree system.

My goal is to retire at at 60. At that point, I expect to have college paid for and done for two kids, and have about $1 million in home equity. That will allow us plenty of options to stay in place, sell and move to smaller condo and buy vacation home, or sell and just put the equity into savings.

I will have earned a federal pension - which I will be able to collect at 60 - of about $75,000 per year.

Based on current retirement savings - about $400,000 - plus saving 10% more per year - I expect to have about $1.7 million saved. Figure using about 4% of that annually gives me an annual income from savings of about $70,000

Add in Social Security for me and DW and that gets us right to about $170,000 a year.

It's not the $10-25 million that other posters are talking about, but I think we can retire well and be happy with what I describe above.

PP, can you please explain how federal pensions work? Are they still being offered for new employees? How long does it take to earn one? How is it determined how much it will pay out and for how long? Thanks.

Quick summary:

You must work at least five years in federal service to qualify.

The value of the pension = 1.1% of your average highest three-year salary X your years of service

You can begin collecting at age 62, and there is a cost of living adjustment

Details here: https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/fers-information/

So if your average high salary is 150k and you work for 20 years for the govt your pension is only 33000? 150k x 1.1% x 20?

Correct. The pension is set so if you work for the government for 30 years you would collect about a third of your salary at age 62, and then it would adjust upward with inflation.

Confused about this. My spouse is a federal employee and contributes to the TSP program. Our understanding is that is the only pension he will be eligible, what we have saved ourselves. From the link you provided , it mentions a Basic Benefit or Service plan. What the heck is that? Spouse works for Department of Veteran's affairs, if it matters.

When was he hired? Doesn't he have funds taken out of his paycheck for this? Check his leave and earnings statement. Look for "Retire, FERS with a code "k" on his leave slip under Deductions. That would be the 1.1% times years. -- it works out to about 1/3 of whatever you make now. It's taxed as income, remember. Your TSP adds to that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Currently 45, a fed, making $160K a year and saving about 10% of my salary in the Federal retiree system.

My goal is to retire at at 60. At that point, I expect to have college paid for and done for two kids, and have about $1 million in home equity. That will allow us plenty of options to stay in place, sell and move to smaller condo and buy vacation home, or sell and just put the equity into savings.

I will have earned a federal pension - which I will be able to collect at 60 - of about $75,000 per year.

Based on current retirement savings - about $400,000 - plus saving 10% more per year - I expect to have about $1.7 million saved. Figure using about 4% of that annually gives me an annual income from savings of about $70,000

Add in Social Security for me and DW and that gets us right to about $170,000 a year.

It's not the $10-25 million that other posters are talking about, but I think we can retire well and be happy with what I describe above.

PP, can you please explain how federal pensions work? Are they still being offered for new employees? How long does it take to earn one? How is it determined how much it will pay out and for how long? Thanks.

Quick summary:

You must work at least five years in federal service to qualify.

The value of the pension = 1.1% of your average highest three-year salary X your years of service

You can begin collecting at age 62, and there is a cost of living adjustment
Details here: https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/fers-information/

Incorrect about age 62 -- it's actually in a table according to when you were born. For me, the age is 56. There is also a small supplemental social security payment between that age and 62, about half of whatever your SS will be in the future. It makes up for the difference between the CSRS and FERS systems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We though $5M would do it and semi-retired. But 2008 wasn't the best year to do that, and we didn't factor in aging parents who are now needing help. So DH is back to work for a while, and $7M is the new number. (This is with private schools, vacation home, travel, eating out. We could certainly do it with less if we downscaled, but DH doesn't want to.)

You are wise to return to work while you can. We are helping to support elderly parents, unemployed siblings, and two minor children orphaned by a sudden death of one sibling. Life happens and seems to become more expensive as you approach your 50's. Of course, you can ignore your extended family's needs and concentrate on your own immediate family's wants and needs. Or you can work longer, like you and we are, and sleep well at night.

[Anonymous]

Thanks to the individual who posted the information about the FERS pension. I am the previous poster with a spouse who works for the feds. I never realized until yesterday that he would have a small guaranteed pension! He never mentioned it because, in our case, it will be a small amount. But still it's something and this definitely helps with our retirement planning. (We're more in the category with posters planning for 1-2 million, not the 5-10 million group)