Yeah, I have been playing with the calculators nonstop the past few weeks.Sometimes it helps to talk out your fears and thoughts, and this seems like one of those cases. I
think your COLA pension and healthcare are great -- they would help anyone. But the reality is that
they shouldn't change your plan, just give you more cushion on the journey.
Its far from a portfolio review, but I'd suggest that you look at your cash flows for an early retirement.
It doesn't seem like you have enough money that you can access easily without penalty. While there
are ways around that to tap a Roth or 401k, it points to focussing on increasing your taxable savings
account.
cheers!
If I were to have to jump ship right now, I would:
Pull bonds/cash ($20k/year) over 5 years +pension ($13k/year) +taxable ($7k/year) while building a conversion ladder to carry me to 59.5. But it is a bit too close to the wire despite being a good amount above my current expenses. Oddly enough, if I am only pulling a few grand a year from it, while it is still in the 'standard deductible' range, taking the penalty from my traditional might be just fine instead, but I would prefer not to.
If I were to pull in a few years (age 47), I would do the same as above... but might do a 72(t) SEPP +bond +pension +higher taxable instead if the math works right.
If I were to jump at age 52, I wouldn't really have to worry. A few roth conversions to make use of the lower federal tax bracket and build a ladder if need be, a little bonds, taxable until I hit the 15% LTCG wall, switching to traditional withdrawals at 60 and then roth to supplement SS age 70+
The real limiter is taxable. I was doing $12/year into it at first, raising a couple grand a year to $24k this year... If I decide to wait to 52, that should be plenty. If I want to go earlier, I will start pumping that higher.
Thanks for the input!
Statistics: Posted by honigvod — Tue Jun 11, 2024 10:00 pm — Replies 11 — Views 1407