55 and done.

Any advice for giving the Boss man notice tomorrow?

25 year employee (technology, self-taught than GI Bill), retiring 12/2, have a solid financial plan. I've seen layoffs, business carnage through the cycles and lots of sh**. Been working since I was 16 and never not had a job or even a down time between them. Survived it all, have never missed a day of work, never taken a single sick day, took a 2-week vacation, once (wish now I had, but those 720 max hours of sick time used and 1 week vacations, but I've been dedicated to the task).

Company offers zero retirement (6% 401k match), and no incentive to give a longer notice, though has been a good employer for this time, so decided to give them some lead time beyond the 2-week notice, also the headaches of yearly and other long-term planning keep coming up as work to-do's and it's hard to do anymore knowing I already have more than two feet out the door...

No animosity, no regrets, just good-bye.

Feel more for him and my co-workers, won't miss the work.

I've been documenting all tasks and work items, especially yearly one-offs that may fall through the cracks.

Get it done first thing in the meeting...

"I'm excited to give you as much notice as I can that 12/2 will be my last day here". I've been working to document all tasks and look forward to transitioning this and developing an exit plan with you over the remaining weeks. I will officially submit the two week notice with an end date of 12/2 when that time frame approaches with Human Resources".

I have a schedule 4 day vacation in Nov, so I guess what's the worst that can happen...

1. At will employee so they walk me out on the spot (not likely), I'm ready if that happens.

2. cancel my vacation (company does not pay out vacation as there is no vacation policy so you don't even accrue it, so made sure he had known and accepted those days prior). I will be less than motivated to help if they do that.

3. Micro-manage me (after 25 years, i can put up with it), again motivation killer and I might forget documenting those yearly audit and one-off tasks I've done for decades.

4. I expect them to try and counter / balk, but once they see it's a done deal for me, all they can do is accept that I want to help them over the next 6 weeks and then disappear.

Good luck to anyone else trying to do this (retire !), it feels good to have set the meeting, any advice, right now?, I've got the quick details ready to go, my head down, and looking forward to beer tomorrow !

Hello, everyone. I have set a target date to retire from one job in about ten months. I’m really looking forward to it. I have a long list of classes and projects and a side business that I want to do. I’m lucky I still gave my husband and our dogs. Money, neither of us is great at but we’ll be okay.

Anyone have warnings about surprises in mental or emotional state as a newly retired person? How was your last year at work? Peaceful? Something else?

Thanks.

I have 4 years till retirement. Does it go by fast?

For people who are on social security or want to know the safety net.

Short history lesson, in 1983 Social Security was only months from a shortfall before Congress patched it. The new legislation ensured people already retired kept their full checks. Payroll taxes increased from 6.7% to 7.65%. The age for full retirement benefits slowly rose from 65 to 67, and retirees with higher incomes began paying income tax on part of their Social Security earnings.

In 2032, Social Security is projected to run short again, which would cut checks by about 22%. As in 1983, Congress will almost surely wait until late in the fourth quarter to patch it again. 

Since 2032 will be a presidential election year, the timing will hardly be worse for any legislators to advocate social security cuts.

Voting to reduce payments will be political suicide. By then, baby boomers will be ages 68 to 86, and together with Gen X (52 to 67) right behind them, they are projected to account for roughly 55% of actual voters, with the power to make and break individual elections. 

We can expect a repeat of 1983. Those already (or soon to be) collecting benefits will not see a reduction in their checks. A bipartisan compromise will likely raise the cap on taxed wages, phase in a full retirement age above 67, raise the FICA tax rate, and introduce whatever other creative fixes Congress comes up with… until the next funding crisis, that is. And of course every legislator will claim they voted to save the day for Social Security recipients.

Just my own opinion of course…

My wife is younger and will keep working. Unless the stock market tanks we should be in good shape. I have hobbies I will definitely spend hours doing every day. The children will be with us for another decade. I plan to be a house husband and look forward to doing all the chores we currently outsource for a fee.

I'm already fine with putting work behind me and won't be moving into consultancy.

Anyone got advice to share, either for the next 21 months or thereafter?

Hi all - new to Reddit and the group. My wife and I are both 64 and retirement looms. We’re interested in bus and/or group travel companies. I’ve seen posts on OAT and Road Scholars with favorable reviews. We are also looking at a Midwest-based company (we’re in iowa) called “excite experiences” based out of Omaha, I think. Word of mouth in our area is positive overall about the company.

Does anyone have experience with “Excite Experiences”? We are thinking of starting small to get a feel for the company and accommodations and if positive, expanding from there.

Thank you for your input. Interesting community - glad I found it!

Title sums it up. If so, how do you calculate it?

What do you you think about FedEx retirement pensions traditional

I have the option to fully retire at 65 or I can choose a semi retirement at 45, while only working three days a week. I’m 34 now what would be your personal preference?

EDIT: sorry I should’ve clarified I will be able to fully retire at 65 but my pension won’t be as much.

Ha anyone moved away from their adult kids after they retired? Most people move to be closer to their kids and grandkids after they retired. I am looking for feedback from people who have experienced moving further away or just have insight concerning making a change like that. Some background info: Husband is about 6 years away from retirement and we have two adult kids, one is married and lives in another state across the country (US) -no grandkids yet- and the other lives about half an hour away and is single. Our family is close and our kids love us and will support our decision. We live in the south and I am sick of the heat. I want to move to an area of the country that has more moderate seasons, and we are looking at selling our home to downsize into something with little maintenance and lower cost with no or low property tax. The general plan is to make a move that will help us stretch the retirement funds for as long as possible. However, I worry that moving away from our son (who lives closest to us) would be a big mistake? Because he is single and works from home he doesn’t have a big social group or support system, so I hate the idea that he may be even more alone than he already is if we moved away. Additionally, if we moved away to a different state, we would be too far away from either kid if we need help as we age. Would love to hear your thoughts and any experiences others have had when moving further away from their kids. Thanks all!

As a peek into retired life, just take a sample of highlights from the last two weeks and share. What stood out for you? What’s typical? What’s important to you and brings you joy to do? What are the little things that you find satisfying?

For me:
* Came back from a week in Glacier National Park in Montana (see pic)
* Tutored a 16 year old girl on thermodynamics in chemistry, and we got to talking about everything from Halloween costumes, to the three laws of robotics, to the meaning of the word “chud”.
* Volunteered for an hour at the SPCA, giving the kittens some good lovin’ and socializing.
* Went to a downtown music hall and saw the Indigo Girls (still at it!) from the balcony.
* Visited a hospice patient and her husband, and lo and behold, she was awake and a little responsive and gave me a warm smile, even though she doesn’t know who I am.
* Finished a Terry Pratchett book from the library.
* Now that the weather has turned to the cooler, went for a nice hike for a few miles on a nearby nature trail, the creek and waterfall flowing well.
* After a fast-food dinner at Whataburger, we walked a little bit to a new food truck we hadn’t tried, and shared a funnel cake.
* Patched a place in the garage where the popcorn ceiling had fallen, but it wasn’t due to moisture, thank heavens.

We’ve lived all over the west in our careers. Native Arizonans. Now currently residing in Tucson, Az., retired.

We’ve also lived in Florida, Texas, California and Colorado. In Colorado we lived one year in Denver and 6 years in Pueblo West and I commuted to south COS.

As retirees we travel in our RV during the summer, in cooler locals. But now we’re considering leaving Tucson and moving back to Colorado. Either Colorado Springs or Loveland/Fort Collins. Our home in Tucson is very small,
1100 sq feet. We
Live next to the “loop” which gives us miles of biking and walking trails.

We owe very little and at 4% interest our home and yard are perfect for our needs. However, someday we won’t be able to take our rv out and we will be stuck in 100 plus temps for 4-6 months a year. Nothing sounds worse to me. We are very active with hiking, biking and general outdoor activities.

I’m not interested in politics though I am liberal and prefer a liberal state. I want a home that has four seasons and a lot of sun. I want to walk several miles a day, every day and have access to hiking trails. I love visiting other little towns and attending festivals. We don’t eat out much because of husband’s dietary needs so a foodie scene is nice but not necessary. We’re not social but would love some like minded neighbors.

I need a Costco and a Trader Joe’s. They provide 75% of my shopping needs and are a necessity. Preferably close. Here in Tucson a Costco is 5 minutes away and two traders around 15 minutes.

To me Colorado Springs seems perfect but I hear sooo many negatives on Reddit and I’m questioning my choice. We’re not moving for a few years so we have time to ponder….am I crazy? Should we stay in Tucson and roast but feel economically safe? Or venture to Colorado and find our last stop?

I would like to retire within the next 2 years or sooner. Just looking for some insight from others.

Here's some background and info. I'm 55 married with a 10 year old child. I've got 1.1 million in a 401k and roth 401k and approximately 10k in various brokerage accounts and an HSA.

My company pension is approximately 24k a year. I plan to start collecting social security at 62 which is also about 24k a year. My wife (41 yrs old) will continue to work for another 15 years and I can jump on her health insurance ($300 a month) until Medicare kicks in.

I plan to use the rule of 55 and pull 4-5% from my 401k. My only debt is my mortgage which is under 40k left on it. I also have about 100k from my employer to use to pay medical premiums but with the way it's worded I can't use it to pay my wife's monthly premium but I can use it for Medicare.

My question is. Is it feasible to retire within the next 2 years and not run out of money.

How should I move my 401k money out to mitigate and lessen the taxes id have to pay when withdrawing. Id like to leave some money for my child so that when he gets older he has a jump start on financial freedom.

EDIT. I forgot to add my monthly spending. I spend about $4000 a month.

EDIT 2. Thanks for all the responses. We live in a low COL area and didn't spend money on frivolous things. Our biggest expenses are the 3 week long vacations we take a year. We carry no debt other than the mortgage. I want to retire from my current employer to use the rule of 55. Both of my parents died before reaching retirement age and didn't get to enjoy their life like I think they should have. I'm not opposed to getting a part time job to fill in my time, but it will be something I want to do and enjoy. I will be there primarily parent and take on even more, if not all, the daily household duties. I understand that she will probably get resentful that I'm at home and she's working still and we will have to figure something out when, not if, that happens. We have had many conversations about this and she's still actually the one who wants to stay working for that long. I've told her to retire when the child graduates.

I like all the different perspectives you all give and appreciate the feedback. People have been or are in my same situation and seeing what they did gives me something to help the thought process about what to do or not do.

When did you either fire or renegotiate rates with your financial planner?

We have had the same financial planner for 25 years. 1% AUM which is pretty common from what I have seen. She has done great for us during the accrual phase but now as we approach the distribution phase I want to make sure we are maximizing the portfolio.

For those that fired their planners, how do you manage? For those that renegotiated, how did you go about that and what did you agree on?

My retirement plan is based upon my three legged stool consisting of a) Social Security, b) An Annuity of about $700K, and an investment portfolio of about 1.3 Million, with the majority in my IRÁ or 401K. Between these three, I need 150K per year in retirement, of which $50k will need to come from the IRÁ, which is coming within the next 18 months. I use an advisor who has about 35% of my balance in bonds.

My thinking is to take $200k and hold in Money Market cash accounts as my emergency funds in case of a big drop. To offset the low growth of the MM, I’m thinking I should convert the remaining bond funds into Dividend or Index funds. Sound or crazy?

Let me know what you think.

Does anybody know tours or companies that focus on travelers that have mobility issues. Wife uses a walker and scooter and regular tours do jot seem to fit .

Any suggestions appreciated

I am 29 and from what we have and what we save we will realistically have 5.5-6 million in today’s dollars by the time we are 50. This would yield 250-300k per year.

First off I know this sounds like a wild thing to say, but I feel like if I had a 250-300k income with no house payment and no kids obligations it would be a lot of money and I’d have to force myself to spend money.

Realistically I think It would be cool to say we are going on a nice 1-2 week vacation every two months. Is that within the realm of possibility?

I know this is completely irrational because everyone I have spoken to except one, has told me I should’ve retired a couple of years ago.

I turned 61 last September. I have a high paying job where I like the people but not the stress. I am divorced and live with my two sons aged 27 and 20. The latter is still in college and will be for 2-3 more years.

I separated from my ex in 2010 and left the house with less than 10k in the bank and about 300k in my 401ks. For the next 4 yrs I was giving my ex 2/3 of my take home pay to take care of my sons. This was done without a divorce agreement so none was deductible for me it was all after tax. I also started a 529 for my youngest.

In 2014 I started a new job and the divorce was finalized and financially I started to breathe again. 10 year term for alimony at 45k a year plus another 13-14k in CS. I was slowly able to get back on my feet.

In 2018 I took control of my former employer 401ks and made some very fortunate investments. Fast forward to today and I have significant IRA balances.

But I can’t shake the feeling that I can let go and just retire. I bought a home for my sons and I to live in in 2024 so I still have a mortgage to pay and a car loan that will be paid off next year.

I’ve run scenarios in Boldin, talked to a financial advisor and my planned lifestyle is 99% assured. So why can’t I just pull the plug and go?

I’ve spent my entire adult life in a demanding career working on average 50-60 hour weeks. Sometimes over 100 hrs (tho not recently). I am just worried I won’t know what to do with myself.

I’m in good shape having just used GLP-1s to get my health back in line.

Oh and I may someday inherit a significant sum from my mom.

Does anyone else or did anyone else have this dilemma? How did you convince yourself it would be ok?

I used the the open source social security calculator to see what was the best option for my wife and I to take our social security. We are 66 and 65 respectively. It came back with me waiting until 70 and my wife taking it now! I then entered my own calculation, which it allows you to do for comparison. I said we would both take it at our FRA. I was surprised that the present value difference was only 3.1% and $28k over our entire lifetimes. I then started to look at the yearly cash flows and because you get so much front loaded at our FRAs the difference to age 84 is only $13k.

Does anyone ever look at just having the cash flow upfront on an annual basis rather than just maximizing the entire amount. Especially for those who have a robust plan that are not relying on SS to fund their later years?

I’m soon to be 67 and continue to work. I have two kids who are in school and I carry medical insurance for them along with an HSA that I’m maxing out. My wife already collects SS, and is on Medicare.

I need to go off of the HSA 6 months prior to starting to collect SS and 67 is my Full Retirement Age. I will probably work another 18 months minimum. While I like the HSA, I have some big Medical Bills coming that will likely wipe out my Tax Free balance.

My question, would I be better off cancelling the HSA, and in 6 months start collecting SS and sign up for Medicare versus maintaining the status quo. The down side is that I’ll need to buy a Covered California policy for each of my kids; however, I suspect this will be less than what my high deductible is now.

I think I know the answer but I’m interested in any thoughts or feedback.

TL;DR - looking for fee only CFP to guide with allocation of investments as we depart Merrill AUM and become self directed

Background:
- 56M, wife 58, TX, currently with Merrill Lynch @ 1.25% AUM
- already decided I’m leaving, probably moving to Fidelity as self directed
- about $2M in investable assets, currently 100% in 350+ individual stocks with ML; another $270k in company 401k (2 funds) that will stay put until I retire at 58 (spring 2028)

We have a fee only CFP currently building out a detailed retirement plan (when to take SS, Medicare gap, guardrails, how much we can withdraw at what time, from where, etc.). So far, very pleased with them. However, this CFP only provides the investment guidance under a AUM model on a tiered structure of 1% + .08% , etc. Not doing that.

I’ve received suggestions of networks online like Garret, XY, CFP website, etc. to search for someone. However, this seems like a crap shoot. No idea who they are, I’d just be throwing darts. Also, I’m leery of calling some big gigantic firm with dozens CFPs. And I do not want to use one of these new fangled outfits where I can call up any CFP available (concern: I don’t want to get conflicting information every time I call).

So I’m trying to figure out who. I also strongly suspect that after a handful of visits with said newly found fee only CFP that I’ll get the hang of it and can manage it entirely on my own as I get better at using ClaudeAi. FYI - I’ve been pounding on ClaudeAi to build my own retirement plan (about 40% done) and will compare what I get from my hired CFP to check if ClaudeAi was close.

How did you find a fee only CFP that will help with the investment side of your retirement plan that where you do the trades that you are happy with?