OT: Retiring early

rurahrah000

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Pretty similar here and I'm perfectly ok with that...

My 7% had two commas in actual return. You’re kind of an expert. Did you also earn a million in the market last year?

Sorry for the flex but this guy is such a dick.

If you are getting more than $1,000,000 on 7% return then you have at least $14-15 million in investable assets which should be enough for most people to do well in retirement.

To the other point of when to collect SS, I think it makes sense to start at 62 years of age if you have enough money elsewhere to withdraw from that you are not never going to use social security for every day purposes. Essentially the SS money is just money that can be used to invest. Of course the point that the other poster was also true that if you happen to hit a down turn like 2008, etc, at age 62-65 then you would not break even by 83 years of age had you waited until 70 to start collecting. Needless to say, rate of return in the stock market is not uniform and there are good years and bad years. I would only start collecting at 62 years of age and invest the entire amount in the stock market if I was certain that I will never going to use the SS money for daily expenses. The risk for starting at a down market are low but real.

Now if you are trying to accumulate generational wealth that can last for several generations than that is a different questions. IMHO, that should be everyone's goal to collect this type of wealth is so that future generations can concentrate on pursuing a career without concern for salary.
 
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Scarletnut

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If you are getting more than $1,000,000 on 7% return then you have at least $14-15 million in investable assets which should be enough for most people to do well in retirement.

To the other point of when to collect SS, I think it makes sense to start at 62 years of age if you have enough money elsewhere to withdraw from that you are not never going to use social security for every day purposes. Essentially the SS money is just money that can be used to invest. Of course the point that the other poster was also true that if you happen to hit a down turn like 2008, etc, at age 62-65 then you would not break even by 83 years of age had you waited until 70 to start collecting. Needless to say, rate of return in the stock market is not uniform and there are good years and bad years. I would only start collecting at 62 years of age and invest the entire amount in the stock market if I was certain that I will never going to use the SS money for daily expenses. The risk for starting at a down market are low but real.

Now if you are trying to accumulate generational wealth that can last for several generations than that is a different questions. IMHO, that should be everyone's goal to collect this type of wealth is so that future generations can concentrate on pursuing a career without concern for salary.
Good post. My only concern is that last paragraph. I, of course, want to leave my kids a nice inheritance but "generational wealth" can be a two edged sword. Your point about them pursuing a career without concern for salary has a counterpoint. That being too much inheritance may backfire and reduce any incentive for a meaningful career.
 

T2Kplus20

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If you are getting more than $1,000,000 on 7% return then you have at least $14-15 million in investable assets which should be enough for most people to do well in retirement.

To the other point of when to collect SS, I think it makes sense to start at 62 years of age if you have enough money elsewhere to withdraw from that you are not never going to use social security for every day purposes. Essentially the SS money is just money that can be used to invest. Of course the point that the other poster was also true that if you happen to hit a down turn like 2008, etc, at age 62-65 then you would not break even by 83 years of age had you waited until 70 to start collecting. Needless to say, rate of return in the stock market is not uniform and there are good years and bad years. I would only start collecting at 62 years of age and invest the entire amount in the stock market if I was certain that I will never going to use the SS money for daily expenses. The risk for starting at a down market are low but real.

Now if you are trying to accumulate generational wealth that can last for several generations than that is a different questions. IMHO, that should be everyone's goal to collect this type of wealth is so that future generations can concentrate on pursuing a career without concern for salary.
Great post, agreed on both points.
@ScarletNut , generational wealth is an important goal, but it does put pressure on you as a parent to raise the next generation properly. Our daughter is in 6th grade, she has her own stock portfolio (and beat the S&P 500 last year!), but we also teach about budgeting and eventually wealth management. So, she needs to look ahead to her children.
 

yesrutgers01

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so- a person with $15 mil of investable assets and 7 figure annual returns is giving advice to just take your SS early. And there are people on this board and in real life that are going to have to figure out how to survive on their SS to pay bills until the day they die...
hmmmmmmm
Many people that will need to survive can work until 70 and then take max- a 4500 monthly payment vs a 2800 monthly payment is a huge deal to that person.
And most of these type of individuals, most likely won't be at max either.
 
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RUschool

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At my last company, I would see the million dollar charge every year for the corporate controller for his stock options, I believe they have to be cashed every 8 years. I would guess his assets had to be $30-50 millions. The controller son decided to be a lacrosse coach since he didn’t have to worry about money.
 

jmc11201

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shhhhhh- but i am thinking many experts promising 8% over a 10-20 year period- may be FOS....yes, it can and has happened but...you know what I mean- if you are getting 7% be happy as **** and enjoy it.

Could you imagine if when you were a kid just starting out- someone told you that you would be guaranteed 8% for the next 30 years- How could anyone say so? Unless your name was Madoff
I ask myself what return I need to meet my financial goals and scale my risk accordingly. If a 3% inflation adjusted return over time (5% gross return) gets me where I need to be with some margin for error, I can weight my investments accordingly.
 
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yesrutgers01

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I ask myself what return I need to meet my financial goals and scale my risk accordingly. If a 3% inflation adjusted return over time (5% gross return) gets me where I need to be with some margin for error, I can weight my investments accordingly.
what about an advisor that is promising a minimum of 8% for at least 8 years? And their name isnt Bernie.
 

JayDogSmooth

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what about an advisor that is promising a minimum of 8% for at least 8 years? And their name isnt Bernie.
I saw an interview with Shaquille O’Neal, when he first made big money, and a bunch of financial advisors were trying to gain his services

The ultimately went with the advisor that under promised, and over, delivered, rather than all the other advisors were promising crazy gains

As T2K said, it’s all about comfort level and being able to sleep comfortably at night

Being in sales, there are plenty of other companies that would pay me more money than I’m currently making

However, comfort, quality of life and the ability to spend time with my wife and daughter, supersede all of that

Meanwhile, others in the same position which used to make more money at the expense of those other things, and there’s nothing wrong with that as everybody has different goals and aspirations in life
 

CollegeSenior

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I’m waiting until 70 to collect and hope that as many healthy people as possible start collecting at 62, reduce their lifetime distributions, and do their part to keep the Social Security Trust Fund funded.
 

RUschool

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Are the posters typical of Rutgers alumni or in the top 10-20%? Or is it just the more successful financially are posting?
 

mikebal9

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My plan is to to try to wait as long as I can. Sure, the income would be nice at 62, but if I can live without it for a while, I will. Unfortunately, I don't have a kabillion dollars like 90% of this board seems to, so I will probably take it at 62 out of necessity.
 

RUinPinehurst

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TKR (and this thread) is not uncommon per the interwebs in general, in that posters may present a version of themselves that is idealized, aggrandized, and otherwise untrue. This is entertainment, folks, intermingled with some redeemable and relevant content. As always, caveat emptor....
 

jmc11201

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Are the posters typical of Rutgers alumni or in the top 10-20%? Or is it just the more successful financially are posting?
Just guessing...but if you have a college educated cohort in this thread that probably average 55 years or older and are interested in a topic like retirement, you probably have a subset of The Knight Report that likely has spent a lot of their lives with good jobs and focused on saving.

If you have a college degree and have been consistently putting money away for retirement for the last 35+ years, and have earned something close to market returns, you should have accumulated a few million by the time you are in your late 50-60s.

So my guess is that there isn't too much bluster in this thread, but it's more a reflection of the people posting in it.
 

Scarlet16e2

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Just guessing...but if you have a college educated cohort in this thread that probably average 55 years or older and are interested in a topic like retirement, you probably have a subset of The Knight Report that likely has spent a lot of their lives with good jobs and focused on saving.

If you have a college degree and have been consistently putting money away for retirement for the last 35+ years, and have earned something close to market returns, you should have accumulated a few million by the time you are in your late 50-60s.

So my guess is that there isn't too much bluster in this thread, but it's more a reflection of the people posting in it.
Everyone is different, but I think you are way overestimating that amount.
Getting the 401k to a million is a big deal for most people.
 

365Poster24Seven

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My 7% had two commas in actual return. You’re kind of an expert. Did you also earn a million in the market last year?

Sorry for the flex but this guy is such a dick.
If your posting at that rate your def not that important at his place of employment. Your not making any real $$$$ if your on this message board all day. Unless your wife’s real estate holdings are your true income.
 

RUschool

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TKR (and this thread) is not uncommon per the interwebs in general, in that posters may present a version of themselves that is idealized, aggrandized, and otherwise untrue. This is entertainment, folks, intermingled with some redeemable and relevant content. As always, caveat emptor....
I just can’t believe everyone is waiting to save $6 million before retiring especially when they mention they aren’t getting a nice inheritance from their parents. Even my parents who didn’t go to college and were immigrants saved a couple of millions. Counting the house I did get over a million from my parent but there were 5 kids.
 
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yesrutgers01

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There’s plenty of retirees living on solely social security $1,800 a month. They retired years ago when their income below $40-50k.
That is my point- for these people- you work until 70 for extra income and then take max payout.
For anyone retiring at 62 with 3+ mil in the bank- you take it early.
Pretty much common sense
 

RUBlackout

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I just can’t believe everyone is waiting to save $6 million before retiring especially when they mention they aren’t getting a nice inheritance from their parents. Even my parents who didn’t go to college and were immigrants saved a couple of millions. Counting the house I did get over a million from my parent but there were 5 kids.
I’m not expecting nor counting on any inheritance from my parents. My father in law actually lives with us due to health reasons and my father passed away recently.
My goal of $6mm was more a target goal based on what I see for living expenses and ability to
Build wealth for to pass on to my daughters hopefully. Nothing more nothing less
 

imoapie

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I’m not expecting nor counting on any inheritance from my parents. My father in law actually lives with us due to health reasons and my father passed away recently.
My goal of $6mm was more a target goal based on what I see for living expenses and ability to
Build wealth for to pass on to my daughters hopefully. Nothing more nothing less
I've had the same number in mind but this thread is making me reconsider downwards.
 

mikebal9

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NJEA has a workshop every year where they sit with people and figure out what they'd bring home in pension and benefits if they retire. Do other jobs do this?
 

phs73rc77gsm83

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NJEA has a workshop every year where they sit with people and figure out what they'd bring home in pension and benefits if they retire. Do other jobs do this?
I don’t know how many employers do that but I’d strongly encourage people to invest time and energy to maximize financial literacy. Whether you have an employer who offers this or a financial advisor, people should aim to do their own analysis. I had neither the workshops nor financial advisor. It was my personal choice to become and retain as much personal finance literacy as reasonably possible. There are a lot of tools and calculators if you don’t want to create your own spreadsheets. Not that I’d blindly follow any of them—listen to all, blindly follow none.
 

rurahrah000

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Good post. My only concern is that last paragraph. I, of course, want to leave my kids a nice inheritance but "generational wealth" can be a two edged sword. Your point about them pursuing a career without concern for salary has a counterpoint. That being too much inheritance may backfire and reduce any incentive for a meaningful career.
"Meaningful career" vs "gratifying career" are very different. I meet people all the time that hate being in the hedge fund industry for a variety of reasons but only continue to do it for the money. They would love to do other things but those careers don't necessarily pay well. For example, being a school teacher can be a very gratifying career, but doesn't pay well. We have a tremendous shortage of teachers in this country. Even in our kids private school, there is way too much turnover. That situation is much worse in other states that don't pay their teachers as much as NJ. If one of my kids or grandchildren came up to me and told me that they wanted to be a teacher, artist or musician, I don't want money to be the reason they don't pursue such career. As to what I think is your point on "spoiling children with money". That all goes back to parenting and not necessarily money in the bank. Plenty of rich parents teach their children the value of money. It is also important for parents to raise children themselves and not let nanny be the parent.
 

T2Kplus20

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"Meaningful career" vs "gratifying career" are very different. I meet people all the time that hate being in the hedge fund industry for a variety of reasons but only continue to do it for the money. They would love to do other things but those careers don't necessarily pay well. For example, being a school teacher can be a very gratifying career, but doesn't pay well. We have a tremendous shortage of teachers in this country. Even in our kids private school, there is way too much turnover. That situation is much worse in other states that don't pay their teachers as much as NJ. If one of my kids or grandchildren came up to me and told me that they wanted to be a teacher, artist or musician, I don't want money to be the reason they don't pursue such career. As to what I think is your point on "spoiling children with money". That all goes back to parenting and not necessarily money in the bank. Plenty of rich parents teach their children the value of money. It is also important for parents to raise children themselves and not let nanny be the parent.
If we as parents provide our kids some resources/inheritance, perhaps they are more likely to become teachers or whatever they believe will help society? Maybe.
 

Rhuarc

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NJEA has a workshop every year where they sit with people and figure out what they'd bring home in pension and benefits if they retire. Do other jobs do this?
The X, Y, Z's of retirement! I went this year just to pretend I was somewhat close to getting out.
 

yesrutgers01

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I’m already planning for my estate to go to a trust. Any of the ā€œcashā€ portion will be monthly and only to our son’s and their children. They will not all of a sudden get a couple million that is now part of their estate.
At a certain age- they can get a lump sum.
They will all need to continue to work but it makes life so much easier for them.
I got $5k in 1972 from my grandparents. My stepmother blew through that money well before I turned 18.
Sounds silly but in 1980 when I was 18 and renting my own apartment- that would have seemed like hitting lotto
 

Scarlet1984

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I hope @RUJON or Hobbs has reached out to you.

I have a good financial advisor. I’m like a bad gambler where winning doesn’t feel as good as losing feels bad.

The young guy who works for my advisor got my kids 30% because they just took his advice!

Also, I have a good amount in private equity (maybe 15% of liquid assets) which does better and not included in the 7%.
 

yesrutgers01

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I have a good financial advisor. I’m like a bad gambler where winning doesn’t feel as good as losing feels bad.

The young guy who works for my advisor got my kids 30% because they just took his advice!

Also, I have a good amount in private equity (maybe 15% of liquid assets) which does better and not included in the 7%.
I had a boss that was a huge gambler…he always said- losing makes him bet again and excites him. Winning is just ehhh- temporary
He said if he won most of the time he wouldn’t have ever become a degenerate gambler..,
 
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Scarlet1984

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If we as parents provide our kids some resources/inheritance, perhaps they are more likely to become teachers or whatever they believe will help society? Maybe.

It is annoying that you are capable of very enlightened posts! 😊

I have a son who is in Seminary studying to be a priest. I think the resources/gifting make that an easier career choice.
 
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yesrutgers01

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It is annoying that you are capable of very enlightened posts! 😊

I have a son who is in Seminary studying to be a priest. I think the resources/gifting make that an easier career choice.
It would be nice if that was always the case. I have 4 sons and all with make a great life choice if not burdened with the need to make huge amounts of money.
Too often, kids act more like Succession
 
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newell138

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NJEA has a workshop every year where they sit with people and figure out what they'd bring home in pension and benefits if they retire. Do other jobs do this?
My employer has a free sit down with a FA every year as part of our benefits
 
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T2Kplus20

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My employer has a free sit down with a FA every year as part of our benefits
Annual retirement planning sessions and access to FAs are common in the pharma/biotech industry, especially since comp normally includes RSUs and stock options which is a bit complicated for many.