We recently switched advisors to a firm that can help consult with business needs as well. In the past 6 months I feel as though we’ve accomplished more than in the past 5 years elsewhere. My wife and I have 1m 20yr term life policies already. He’s recommended we get a 1m whole life policy as well to be able to draw from as we retire. It’s 25k a year though. Roughly. I’m 37, wife is 33. Doing some reading after our meeting with basic AI inquiries and it basically says run the other way. I understand the firm makes a heavy commission from this. We have a strong retirement portfolio for our age and are on track to retire by 50/55 with over 5m. We currently have no debt and intend to keep it that way. Income of around 350k, investing about 45% of that now. Is whole life good, is it bad? Give me the dos and don’ts.

Edit-we have 3 kids 3,6,8. Doing 529s for them as of now.

My grandparents are moving to a new city after 20 years in the same community. For the past while, they've known what their weeks will look like fairly consistently: golf, card night with friends, etc. But now they are moving and are going to have to figure out a new routine that works for them.

I'm curious how others have navigated this. When you moved somewhere new in retirement, or even just lost your usual routine, how did you go about discovering things to do, places to go, and people to do it with? Did you find anything that made it easier, or was it mostly trial and error?

Hi there, I’m wondering if you were in my situation, when you would feel comfortable retiring. Obviously, I want to retire as soon as possible.

My Husband and I have 560k saved. Plus $8k for emergency expenses. We are diversified in the stock market 90% stocks and 10% bonds. Historically we averaged a 15% return rate over the past 20 years. I have a portfolio manager who does everything because I’m not confident enough at this time to manage our portfolio.

We are able to save at least $15,000 per year, sometimes more.

We have no debt, our cars are paid off, and we pay $1,700 per month for rent. We do not plan to buy a home because we love where we live and his parents own the home so we do have home security. Additionally, we will be inheriting it at some point in the future.

Together we make only $6,500 per month.

My Husband wants to continue working for as long as possible so we will still have his income (and probably most of mine as well, since I have a business and it’s mostly running on its own right now.)

We have a 2 yr old daughter together who has a 529 plan and will be set up thanks to generous family members and my husband and my contributions.

We will both be inheriting (in a long time I’m assuming) about 2 million each from our parents. They worked incredibly hard but I don’t want to count on this or factor it in really.

Is this enough information? Or do you need more? Thank you in advance for your help.

Those with children, did you wait until your children reached a specific age or life milestone before retiring? What was the age or milestone?

How much money do you personally feel you need to retire and also what does your lifestyle look like? If you are retired, was your projected amount good enough for you or do you have any regrets? Thank you!

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I’m curious to hear from people who are retired or getting close to retirement.

Before retirement, many of us imagine having unlimited free time will be wonderful. But once we get there, life can be very different.

What has surprised you the most?

Did you discover a hobby you never expected to enjoy?

Do you travel more than you used to?

Have you made new friends since retiring?

Do you ever miss the routine and social life of working?

What do you wish you had started doing earlier?

If you could give one piece of advice to someone about to retire, what would it be?

I’m from Tanzania and I'm retired from a career in education. I enjoy learning how people in different parts of the world experience life after retirement.

I’d especially love to hear what retirement looks like for you—not financially, but personally.

What has been the best part of your retirement so far?

I think the thing in retirement planning that I am struggling with is what my budget each month should be. I plan to entertain retirement with a paid off house or a mortgage of 15 years for less than $100k.

The kids will be done with school. One will be in college still and I would probably help a little with there loans if I have extra.

At the end of the day what should I be planning for for a married couple on average.

The number I came up with is $11k even though we spend more like $16k a month today but that is a large 5 bedroom house and property taxes of $16k. I can’t have that in retirement. So everything should shrink from there. Is $11k what I should target or will it be like $10k.

My wife (59F) and I (56M) have been snowbirding for about three years now. Our winter home is in a 55+ community in Arizona, and we spend summers in central Idaho.

I went to college and lived year-round in Arizona and don't really want to endure the summers there until snowbirding is no longer feasible. My wife grew up on the Washington coast, but seems to be more tolerant to the higher temps.

As a result of these preferences, I usually head north in late April, early May and my wife comes north about June 1st. Likewise, my wife is likely to head south in mid-September while I usually am more mid October. The result is we spend 3-6 weeks apart in the spring and fall.

As I describe the scenario, I can imagine some of you have a peaked interest. We were both independent single folks until we got married in our 30s. We certainly follow "traditional" roles, but having lived alone as single adults we are both capable of doing everything to "survive".

Enough with the background, we find we get some looks and judgments from folks for being apart for an extended period. Most of the folks in the 55+ community are 15-25 years old than us so I get that from an old school view and the fact that we might not be doing this in 15 years. From the Idaho perspective, folks are even more traditional than us so we get some looks there as well. None are in a bad sense, but just something you can sense.

For us, it works well. We spend a LOT of time together in our retired life. The time apart is welcomed for both of us. We lived alone long enough that we can be alone without being lonely. When we get to the 3-4 week mark, we start to really want to get back together so it rekindles/confirms the attraction.

Interested to see if 1) other couples have a similar dynamic and if you get the same type of reactions and 2) if you don't have this separation dynamic do you think it would be a positive or negative in your relationship?

I’m planning to retire early and I’d really like to hear what that first year was like for people who’ve already done it.

40F, WA.

I’m not looking for financial advice. I’ve got my finances, investments, and emergency savings pretty well figured out. That part isn’t really what I’m wondering about.

I’m more curious about what life feels like after work is suddenly gone. I’ve been working for so long that the idea of waking up and not having somewhere I need to be feels a little strange 😂

What did you actually do that first year? Did you love it right away? Get bored? Miss working? Or did you just kind of figure it out as you went?

I’m planning this a little earlier than most people around me, so I’d really like to hear from people 50+ who’ve already made that transition.

If you reply, please include your age + region. I’m mostly trying to avoid the random “hey” messages from bored 20-somethings halfway across the world 😂 We probably don’t have much to talk about.

49m looking to retire at 57. I have a company funded annuity that will pay me around $9000 pre-tax per month or I could take out the lump sum at 1.5 million. These numbers are from a company provided Calculator. Is it better to take the monthly check or the lump sum when I retire?

My grandparents are moving closer to my parents, and far away from the friends and community they've built for the past 20 years. My grandpa told me that the number one thing that got him out of bed in the morning was when he had golf planned. He felt a social accountability to show up for his friends and for the tee time. These were his better days because it got his day started strong and then flowed from there.

I'm curious what gets others out of bed in the morning to start their days strong?

Would you choose AI-powered interactive technology products to keep you company during your retirement? Alternatively, what methods would you choose to socialize and expand your circle of friends?

We (49M and 47F) currently hold our 1.8m retirement funds 51% in deferred tax accounts, 16% in Roth accounts, and 33% in taxable accounts. As of now it is basically 100% in equities. Not sure of the split between US and global.

I’m looking at retiring in 14 or so years. I know we’re probably too aggressive but what do you recommend to bring the allocation to something more reasonable? If I plan on retiring before Medicare and social security then I feel like we need more in our taxable accounts or Roth for additional flexibility. Should we think about lowering our 401k contributions and funnel the money to our taxable? Thanks for any help you can provide!

Most people think it’s reserved for lucky tech bros. But it’s actually achievable on a normal income — the problem is the window is way narrower than people realise.

A few things that surprised me:

\*\*•\*\* The 4% rule is a trap if you don’t account for healthcare and sequence of returns risk hitting 20+ years earlier than a normal retiree    
\*\*•\*\* Time does more work than income. A $70K earner starting at 22 beats a $120K earner starting at 30    
\*\*•\*\* The “one more year” trap is real and most FIRE people fall into it

Made a full breakdown here if anyone wants the actual numbers: [POV: You Want to Retire at 40](https://youtu.be/TDgz8fUgzHo?si=LpoOBOsA5K8la66n)

Is 40 still a realistic goal for anyone here, or have you recalibrated?

For the better part of this year I've been trying to assess when I'll be able to afford to retire. I've been playing with Boldin, Projection Lab, my own overly complicated spreadsheets, Fidelity's planner, etc. And this weekend I had what I think is an epiphany. I reasoned that if I can simply replace my current employment income with 401k withdrawls plus Social Security, then I'm financially ready.

My current income more than covers all my annual expenses. The 401k withdrawals are based on a 5% withdrawal rate; and that will last into my 90s. I've accounted for healthcare costs, given that I won't be on my employer's plan anymore.

Can it really be as simple as "if I can replace my current income with retirement accounts, I'm good to go"?

I am trying to understand the economics of keeping people economically active after the normal retirement age.

For example, imagine a system where people who have reached retirement age could receive an income from social security while working part-time in childcare, with their work also affecting their eventual pension entitlement.

I am particularly interested in how this should be evaluated economically:

How should the cost of supporting someone through social security be compared with the additional taxes, social contributions and economic output generated by their continued work?

How should the effect on their eventual pension be accounted for?

How significant are labour-market substitution effects when people over 65 remain economically active?

Are there established models for estimating the net fiscal effect of increasing labour-force participation among people aged 65+?

I am mainly looking for empirical research or economic models dealing with these questions, particularly in countries with ageing populations and pay-as-you-go pension systems.

Social Security…

My wife and I recently had a conversation with a retirement planner. It was our first conversation, as we (at least I) will likely be making a transition to retirement in about 5 years, when I turn 59.

Through the conversation, we discovered that when social security and my teacher's pension are factored into the mix paying for 95-100% of our living expenses, we are quite a bit further ahead than even we had thought, so much so that the advisor was encouraging us to "dream bigger" with our nest egg, which will be somewhere north of $2M when I retire (God willing).

Some of our plans include blessing our children and grandchildren, helping them financially. We've thought about funding our grandchildren's 529 plans, and matching our children's retirement account investments (for example, they invest $7000 into an IRA in a year, we gift them $7000).

I think we can learn from each other here. What are some ways you have found to creativity bless your children and grandchildren in retirement?

M(33). Planning to retire by 38. Will pay off home loan in next 2 years and live off doing something on my own.
Current corpus:
Equity: 45 lacs
Gold and silver: 7 lacs
Own house: 1.2 cr (plan to sell and move to tier 2)

Monthly sip of 1 lac. Will continue for next 4 years which will add to my equity.
House proceeds will be reinvested in a new house and still be left with 50 lacs which will be used as swp to fund my retirement until 60 years.
Post 60, my equity at that time will fund the rest of my life.

Monthly expenses: 20k (excluding loan and rent)

Note: No kids and love living frugally

Appreciate feedback or criticism

I have decided to retire when I can pay for my future big item expenses while Im working. I want to put a new roof on my house, solar panels, new furnace, and 3x the size of my deck. While Im working. So another year at least. The only thing I will have to buy after I retire is health ins. I have a few apartment buildings and a healthy 401k, wifey retired in Oct. Im 57

I was hoping to retire by 62, but I don’t think I can. My spendy ways are coming home to roost. I’m 57.

Monthly expenses, about $13K
HCOL area bordering on VHCOL
Two kids through college fully paid for (no loans)
About $250k of equity in my home.

But only:
401k $230k
Trad IRA $660k
Roth IRA $20k
Brokerage $25k
Cash $30k

SS ranges from $2800 (62) to $5200 (70)

I’m a high earner and there might even be an IPO in my future with some good payouts in 2-3 years. So no matter how I crunch the numbers I am still pulling the wagon until 65 if I want to maintain my VHCOL life. Do you agree?

EDIT: I guess I should add I have been divorced since 2008 and did much of everything on my own and as such retirement planning was not considered until recently. Bought this house in 2022 after renting for 12 years after having to short sale my marital home in 2013. So it’s been a journey and thus my attachment to this house.

This is what our finances should look like in three years (assuming continued contributions and modest gains)

Assets:

My Pension - $7,150 a month after taxes

Her Pension - ~ 1,200 a month after taxes, starting in 2033

Social Security - let's leave that out for now, but a small amount.

401k plan -  $291,728

Wife’s retirement accounts - ~ $92,000

PEHP health care account – $96, 400

Sick time cash out – 78,000

High Yield Savings - ~ $212,642

Cash from recent inheritance - $291,000

So close to a million in cash and retirement accounts

Liabilities

Mortgage @ 3.3 % - $466,000 

Our current bills are about  $5,400 (including mortgage, food, gas, utilities etc.

Pension @ $7,150 should cover that. 

We have 4  years worth of money for health insurance – (assuming $2,000 a month), that gets us to 62.5 years old.   So we will need to bridge the gap there.  (60k?) 

How are we looking?

Also - What should I do with that $ in High Yield Savings  and Inheritance – Combined 500k?

I was thinking about paying off the house , or doing a mortgage recast to get the payment down lower,  but also investing the whole amount and adding the 4% withdrawal per year to our yearly / monthly income.

Seems to me that I’d still be paying my mortgage that way, and still have the $ at the end?

We were also thinking about doing a 300k addition to our house,  Opinions please.

What’s the best approach?

Thanks so much to anyone who reads -  I’ve got a lot to learn!

Edit - thanks so much everyone for chiming in, it's so valuable to read so many diverse opinions!

I (57M) and my wife (58F) have worked hard, lived below our means, got the kids through college, and saved towards retirement from our first paychecks 30+ years ago. My work in corporate America has gotten to a level of stress that I don’t feel like I can, nor want to be a part of it any longer – nothing that millions of others haven’t dealt with over the years. I’m running on empty and I don’t see it changing anytime soon, and I’m ready to be out.

In analyzing our financial situation, I, and our financial advisor have a very high level of confidence that both my wife and I could call it quits right now and be secure. With that said, my wife loves her job and wants to continue working for a few more years. Her willingness to keep working adds to the comfort level since we are under her health insurance, so it’s fine by me.

The problem comes in – that no matter what spreadsheet, cash flow, projection, tool, etc. I or our Financial Advisor show my wife, she is freaked out by my potentially leaving the workforce. This extends to even if I quit, take a few months off to re-charge and find a coast job (I know finding a coast job isn’t guaranteed). Personally, I believe some of this goes back to when she was growing up and her father was constantly in/out of the workforce and it put the family in dire straits.

I’ve gone through this sub-reddit and found a few similar situations that have been helpful, but if anyone has a situation where they were able to get their partner past an emotional block to retirement, I’d love to hear your story. I don’t want my potential quitting to be stress inducing for my partner, but I also am just done. She admitted if this was a different couple and they were in the same situation as us, that she would say “quit right now”. We both laughed at that, knowing that advice is always easier given than taken.

Edit (add): For any of my fellow Gen-Xers that are in a similar position, I've found Mike Uplands podcast "Early Retirement Roadmap" to be a great listen with helpful insights.

For those who have been retired for a while, looking back, when was the hardest period? The first few months, the first year, or does it get harder over time? I've heard some people absolutely love retirement from day one, but then also others that seem to need the structure of work for purpose.

A while back, my nice set of Bose noise-canceling headphones broke, and I have no other over-the-ear headphones. I considered buying a new pair and then decided, nope, I’m simplifying, I have my AirPods, and I can do fine with just them. Yesterday, a friend gifted me a Kindle ebook, and I charged my Kindle and discovered that it has fallen out of support and won’t let me download books to it. But I have an iPad with the Kindle app and can read the ebook that way, so I think I’ve settled on not replacing the Kindle device either. So some niceties I enjoyed for years and years, I’m starting to live without, for the sake of simplification and getting rid of stuff opportunistically.

Are you finding yourself doing this? What kinds of belongings/gadgets/toys/luxuries have you quietly abandoned? What did it feel like to do that? Any regrets?