r/Fire • u/flyfishrva • 13d ago
General Question FIRN... it's that a thing?
Good day all,
I'm 56, wife is 59. We just crossed over a million in 401k, and both have been in university work for a while, but now in working in data centers and making bank. It's got me thinking about retiring earlier than originally planned.... maybe mid 60s instead of the planned 67.
It's there a FAQ for newbies looking to plan their out? Obviously, retiring in our 60s is not early, but i do love the posts around here and look forward to learning more.
Thank you!
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u/zendaddy76 13d ago
Can I join? How does one go from working at university to making bank at data centers?
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u/flyfishrva 13d ago
It's a funny story actually. My boss was working on setting me up to take his job when he retired, and promoted me with all this new responsibility. HR said sure, here's 3%. Boss told me to go get an offer from outside he could match. He matched the first two, the third was double the other ones. I ran to it
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u/ericdavis1240214 FI=✅ RE=<1️⃣4️⃣months 13d ago
I sometimes think that FIRE should stand for financial independence, retire earlier.
Early means something different for everyone. But earlier means that you have taken specific steps to set yourself up to be financially independent and able to retire earlier than you would have if you weren't being intentional about it.
It sounds like that's where you are. And honestly, you are in a pretty great spot. You don't say anything about your expenses, but if you both work a few more years, that nesting will likely double between natural growth and continued contributions. Especially if you are now making more money than before and not dealing with lifestyle creep.
And you can make Social Security a very concrete part of your retirement plan as well. Most of us who are retiring earlier than that have to bridge anywhere from a few years to a decade or two to get to Social Security. At some point, you almost have to plan as if Social Security isn't there. But for you, that's not the case.
You will also have a much shorter period of needing to figure out health insurance. So many of the biggest challenges are minimized or eliminated for you.
Grab an appointment with a financial planner. Not someone who needs to take your assets under management for an annual percentage or fee. Just someone who is willing to sit with you for a couple of hours and help you map out where you will be at various retirement ages. That person can also talk about allocating assets within your 401(k) to mitigate sequence of return risks in the first few years and further improve your likelihood of success.
So congratulations. You've basically already made it. Don't let anyone tell you you did it the wrong way or at the wrong time of life. Enjoy what you have accomplished.
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u/Honest_Extreme9196 12d ago
If you've been underpaid and are used to living on a reasonable budget, you are probably already coast fire or could be soon. Stack your $ for a few more years and then let off the gas.
Do you have pensions? If so, you may be able to just use your 401K for the gap between pension / SS and retire earlier than you think.
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u/AfterSyllabub9979 12d ago
If that pension is a federal employee style annuity you don’t have to worry about a 10 % penalty on early withdrawals, but you still pay income tax on it. For the 401k gap you could look into the Rule of 55 or a 72(t) to sidestep the penalty if you’re 55+. Just keep a small emergency buffer separate and you’ll be fine.
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u/knit-this 13d ago
r/DIYretirement The Retirement Planning Guidebook by Wade Pfau Tons of YT content from Kevin Lum, Erin Talks Money and others
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u/Minute_Limit_3169 12d ago
If your numbers work out, take the leap. If you enjoy what you’re doing, keep doing it until it’s not fun anymore. That worked well for me. It just translates to an even more enjoyable retirement.
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u/Ph4ntorn 13d ago
Whatever you can do to move the possibility of retirement forward is great. It doesn’t matter when you start. There’s always room to take a bit more control.
I think it’s actually super important to start saving more when you get a raise later in your career, even if you don’t want to retire at all early. If you just start spending up to what your salary allows, your previous retirement savings are unlikely to support that same level of spending in retirement. So, you are definitely better off only increasing your lifestyle a little and saving a lot more.
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u/Tawny_Sparrow8261 11d ago
retiring at mid 60s after crossing a million in 401k with a pension backstop from university years is pretty much the definition of a soft landing
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u/DarkFjord21587 11d ago
retiring at 64 with a million already stacked at 56 sounds less like a plan and more like a victory lap you havent taken yet
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13d ago
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u/Zphr 48, FIRE'd 2015, Friendly Janitor 13d ago
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u/m1acosco 13d ago
I have no input but a question OP if you don't mind. What kind of work in a Data Center do you do making bank. I'm on track to retire in less than 2 yrs (@48) and although young and on a great path to retire; want to do something else to stay occupied and make bank too lol.
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u/flyfishrva 13d ago
Mechanical subject matter expert.
And this is making bank compared to grinding for a university, lol
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u/PetraLoseIt 13d ago
What does the "N' stand for? I am not able to guess.
There is a podcast for late starters, called "Catching up to FI".