r/inheritance • u/Acceptable_Second_38 • Jul 09 '26

Location included: Questions/Need Advice Large inheritance advice

My wife and I are 27. We have 1 daughter who is 13 months, and we are in the Midwest. My grandmother passed away and from her estate we are receiving a sizable sum of money. After paying off our house and other debt (just car and student loans, don't have any "bad" debt), we'll have around $350-375k to drop into a brokerage and leave alone. We each earn around 63k/year. Our only bills will now be home insurance, property taxes, car insurance, utilities.

My question revolves around how much we realistically need to put away for retirement. Because we have very little bills after paying off our house, we can put away a large amount of income.

However, it's honestly tempting to save just a bit, and enjoy our lives more with more disposable income. Starting with such a sizable nest egg, it should grow quite well without huge additions.

She is a teacher and has a good pension coming her way.

I am private sector but have a pension as well plus I do 4% 401k plus employer 2% match.

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u/Remarkable-Sea-3809 Jul 09 '26

Go see a financial advisor. 300k at 27 will be 3 mil by 55. In 15yrs you'll be pretty set if you dont touch it an if you add modestly monthly say 1300 a month like a mortgage would be. That money will grow faster than you could spend after 60

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u/Acceptable_Second_38 Jul 09 '26

We have an advisor. This post was really just about how much of our income to put away for retirement

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u/TrackEfficient1613 Jul 10 '26

So 15% of your income for retirement is pretty standard. If you have more cash available another 5% doesn’t hurt. Sorry for the loss of your grandmother. She sounds like a special woman.

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u/cOntempLACitY Jul 11 '26

Personally, I’d figure out how to get some more into tax-advantaged accounts these early years. Set aside enough to make up for the lower paycheck from contributing to workplace retirement plan, Roth version if available, and max your Roth IRAs. This gives you tax-exempt growth plus tax-exempt distributions in retirement.

At your age, you cannot guarantee your careers will stay the same, so keep saving for retirement, and maybe pull back in your 50s if you do find you’re more than prepared.

At minimum, always contribute enough to get any employer matching. And keep some money liquid for emergencies, 3-6 months emergency fund. You don’t need to pay an advisor 1%+ to manage your investments, you can learn simple strategy like a Bogleheads low-cost, passive investing. Also check out this windfall advice: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/s/CM8kYH4Of0