I want to see how good/bad off I am in being able to leave. Since this is anonymous, would you share your 401k bal and age. No snide comments, dont comment if you dont want to.
I am 55 with a current $610k bal. I saved diligently and think I might be able to retire with that get a lower stress job from here and then collect social sec at the appropriate age.
Yours?
Aside from the taxes, you had better consider the impact of market downturns. Returns have been basically nothing but up since 2009, but do you really expect that to continue in perpetuity? Of course not. If you are retired, invested in an index fund and the market drops 20% one year... oh boy. What if the next year the market is down 10% more? There goes a third of what you built up over 40 years. The sequence of returns you experience is largely out of your control and you need to consider that.
Oh yeah, inflation. The geniuses in DC have that all under control, don't they? It's not like they'll keep borrowing trillions every year and keep fueling the inflation monster, right? Oh, wait, never mind.
Moral of the story, keep saving and live conservatively but expect the worst to happen. And when you retire, downscale your lifestyle and protect your principle as much as you can because no one, and I mean no one, is looking out for you.
55 with 27 years bridged service, $1.1M 401k, $200k pension, $200k roth, 1.0 BTC. Started saving and investing in my 401k literally the first day I became eligible to contribute at 24y/o, never maxed it out - early is key.
49
$1.1 million in 401K and IRAs not including lump sum.
amazing amounts of savings. who are these guys and what jobs did they have. i guess
it pays to be a member of the stankey family
52 w 24 years or service. $1.2 mil in 401k. Maxed out how much I could contribute for a very long time. I also try to throw some after tax on there and then roll that to a Roth. Taxes on RMD can be a real ki-ler.
46 with 22 years of services in Mobility. 845k in 401k. 121k in pension but only became eligible a few years after the AT&T wireless/Cingular Merger. Once I found out it was 5% of gross wages I have been living on call. Still don’t think it’s enough considering this dumpster fire will not exist in 2 years. Thankfully my 85 acre farm will be paid off in August and I have a very successful wife.
You guys are doing great. If uncle sam doesn't rear its ugly head, life looks good.
53 years old. 29 years service. 900k in 401k (traditional) , 230k cash balance pension I will take as lump when time comes and roll to IRA. I should have more in 401k but stopped contributing at different times throughout career. House is paid off though taxes are brutal where I am.
@twc - I hear you regarding Fidelity sales pitching. However, I was using the tool on my own for a year or two (it’s free and you get access to it via NetBenefits or direct fidelity login in). I have well over $200k with fidelity and not a single contact or sales pitch.
I then connected with a fidelity advisor (no fee) to review what I modeled just to be sure I had not missed any major expenses, etc. The advisor definitely was soft pitching stuff after we got my model in shape (he mainly wanted to get his hands on the savings and IRA money we have outside of Fidelity but he also connected me with estate planning and long term care insurance SMEs which was helpful and did not involve any sales pitch). Maybe I got lucky with this advisor.
I’m not a shill for Fidelity, but net-net, I’ve been very satisfied with the tool, the expertise, and only nominal soft sales pitches which I ignored. The experience has been very positive and gave me confidence in my retirement plan and retirement horizon. But if I got slammed with sales pitches, I’d be ticked.
"I think the lump sum amount is reduced if you don't qualify for modified rule of 75. "
This is not necessarily true. It all depends upon the pension plan that you have and the SPD (summary plan description). Some pension plans have different vesting periods and are not related to the rule of 75. The best bet is to check Fidelity and run the estimation tool to see how your pension is impacted by your years of service and age.
52, 26 yrs of service. 1.2M 401k…unfortunately took out loans over the years which impacted balance. brokerage account option was the best thing that ever happened to our 401k and only reason I did ok…Apple, Nividia, Amazon, etc since 2010. Only wish I would have been more aggressive back then. 700k pension combined (tech/management), which is down 350k due to interest changes. To retire you want to replace your income with investments…on avg 40K withdrawal per 1M invested. For a good retirement you need 4M or a way to generate at least 160K outside of SS.
Probably one of the most informative threads in a while.
If you are young and reading this I hope you learn.
I have about 20 years of service but my numbers are so low, it's embarassing. I was taking a lot of loans as I had several unfortunate things happen to me. It's good to see that many of our folks were prudent and saved a lot.
Hey @apx - just an FYI - if you use any of Fidelity's planning tools and if you have $200K or more be prepared for a barrage of sales calls (they will try to sell you financial products that help with retirement planning, insurance, etc.)
Yeah, you're right about taxes. Many probably fall into the 22%, and that will go to 25% in Jan2026. (24% will go to 28%; if you're above that, what are you doing in this group?) ROTH now...hard.
Fidelity also has a great Retirement Income Planning online tool that is fairly robust (not one of this basic “do I have enough to retire” calculators). It lets you model your retirement age, financial assets and expenses during retirement. It’s garbage in / garbage out so you need to do your homework on your expected retirement expenses. It gives you a more informed indication of when you can retire comfortably.
You can do it on your own or meet with a Fidelity advisor to review.
59 with 28 years
$956K -401K
$160K -Pension
Spouse retired early with a pension and discounted health insurance.
$750K+ Primary residence /free and clear
$500K+ vacant lot in a prime coastal location zoned commercial/residential free & clear .
When I read articles,t seems like I'm in a good place, however I'm still scared $h%&-less that it's not enough and have honest concerns that the real estate market could go bust and that the GOP will ultimately succeed in cancelling out Social Security and Medicare, F-You Rick Scott
FYI
With retirement planners there was a general assumption called the 4% rule where with a $1M 401K-taking and 4% and adjusting for inflation you could pull $40K a year for 30 years-now with inflation and the severe market fluctuations this is no longer realistic-you might get 20 +/- years.
Your 401k's are full of money that has not been taxed. Chop at least 25% off of what you think you have.
And since Americans love a massive, out of control government that breaks laws, does whatever it wants, and is full of people who lie to us ceaselessly, you'd be wise to up that 25% estimate.
Um, wth is anybody downvoting people's balances? Explain yourself, wet blanket.
40 y/o, 16 yrs of service, $320k in 401k, $45k pension
In addition to everyone’s feedback
Try taking a look at this desktop based software (requires a yearly subscription).
Great for seeing how long you nest egg will last.
WEB link
http://www.torrid-tech.com/
Left at 50 with 25 years. -1M in 401k + 760k Pension lump sum.
Married I am 55 wife 62
Both 401ks $720k
No debt, house paid off
Wife pension $150k
My pension $300k
Wife on disability $15k/yr
I just retired.
Estimate Retirement income $70k/yr
37 y.o. 15 years with T.
~$105K 401K,
~$35K Pension,
~$10K HSA.
Still a lot of time and room to grow, I hope.
55, 27YOS, 900k
230k QCB
Sure is gonna su-k when Uncle Sam decides that "everyone deserves a comfortable retirement" and clips 15% off the top of our retirement accounts...and then applies Need Based to SS benefits and removes that from the equation too.
Yea equity.
If a lot of these are true, then congratulations.
53….300k….9 years service
I think the lump sum amount is reduced if you don't qualify for modified rule of 75. This was in 2016 and pension vs lump had a 6 year breakeven in favor of pension. I lived the 6 years and still pension checks are deposited. Let's hope the new uninsured provider does not go bankrupt by over paying their board.
Maybe JS will join their board. No double dipping as these positions are not full time.
53 30 yr 610k pension, 170k 401K would be more but made withdrawals and loans
"52 years, 27 years of service, $500k 401k. Everyone here has such a nice pension balance. I only see qualified cash balance in my pension $36k. Am I looking at the wrong place?"
There is a pension calculator on the Fidelity website. The cash balance you see is not what you are looking at for a lump sum or an annuity. You get free consultation with a Fidelity financial advisor. I strongly recommend you set up an appointment with one and have them walk you through the calculations.
You will see what you will get in a lump sum retirement depending on your timeline, you can alter the timeline, and you can look at annuities. Take advantage of the service man.
I retired at 50 years age in 2005 with $500k in 401. Pension would have been $24k annually, would never get a raise or my lump sum was $300k. I took the lump sum. I was an Area Mgr.
I maxed out my 401 every year & was fed up with SBC, Ed Head & direction.
Wife was a homemaker & we had $1M savings -all bills paid off.
Almost 20 yrs later, that 401 & lump sum grew to $12.3M, Savings grew from $1M to $18M.
Being white & cheated by Affirmative Action - I realized early that my job was invest & grow my money and any work I performed just made my District Level minority female boss look better. So I did my job. That was it just - a -job. My career was investing.
Best thing I ever did.
Good luck to all.
Woah. Some of you with LegT and LegS had ki-ler pensions. BellSouth wasn't near that generous.
Lots of planning strategies out there. I use a simple one... for each 5 year milestone, you should have saved X times your annual salary. Example: 50 year old with $100k salary should have saved $600k total across all accounts: 401k, IRA, Pension, HSA, & other investments.
Age X-Multiplier
30 1
35 2
40 3
45 4
50 6
55 7
60 8
67 10
Age 59 at retirement, 24 years service, had $1.1M in 401k and $785,000 in pension.
51 years old. lump summed pension and 401k balance in new IRA is $1,500,000. I don’t think it’s enough to quit working.
I think you'd be better off having a one-off meeting with a fee-only planner and getting some modeling behind this. My guess is that you'd be told you're well on your way and could possibly leave all this and get a job to cover your daily expenses in the next year or two. That $601 will grow quite nicely over the next decade if you stay off it and then you roll the pension into an IRA to add to it. I say this bc my numbers are 56/$880 and $165 pension and my planner says things look good. Of course, everyone's situation is different but the general idea is the same. Best of luck...
52 years, 27 years of service, $500k 401k. Everyone here has such a nice pension balance. I only see qualified cash balance in my pension $36k. Am I looking at the wrong place?
Wow some of you guys are doing great! I wish I to get started earlier in my career...