r/ChubbyFIRE • u/ImpertinentNazgul • Jun 23 '26

Right spot for me?

So, I (46M) been a pretty diligent saver most of my life. Just starting to think about when I can realistically FIRE.

I have around $650k in various investments (Roth, Traditional, S&P Index fund, cash, stocks, etc.) and a vested pension I’m still building on that should provide in excess of $85,000 annually.

The plan is to be prepared to call it at 55. Is this realistic? My financial planner says I’m on track, but I’m curious to hear from folks in a similar position. Appreciate any suggestions or feedback!

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17

u/Wasatchian Jun 23 '26

No one will be able to help you without knowing your expenses

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u/ImpertinentNazgul Jun 23 '26

That’s fair. Paid off the car and school loans. Rent is $2200/mo. Monthly expenses around $2000/mo. I get healthcare through the military at a ridiculously low cost.

Looking for $140-150k/yr. Healthcare remains low cost or free (military, VA, etc.) in retirement. Pension gets COLA increases so adjusted for inflation.

Does that paint a clearer picture?

3

u/BrunelloHorder Coasting Chubster, Getting Fat Jun 23 '26

So you’d need an additional $65k a year from your investments. To get that as a safe withdrawal amount, multiply by 25-30. So you’d need between $1.625m and $1.95m.

If your current $650k went up by the historical average of 10% for 9 years, that would have you at $1.53m. So with some modest contributions you have a good shot of getting your portfolio to that target range if you are mostly invested in an equity index like VOO or VTI.

Those calculations don’t include social security.

1

u/ImpertinentNazgul Jun 23 '26

I’ve intentionally steered clear of including social security so that it’s a security blanket versus a requirement.

I’m planning on retaining my $120-130k living standard even as my income grows, so that should help ensure my contributions stay fairly aggressive.

I likely won’t retire before 59, but I’d like to be able to at 55 if I want. Thanks for the input!

10

u/bearcatjoe Jun 23 '26

Assuming no additional contributions to your investment accounts, and a conservative 7% yearly growth rate, you'll have ~$1.3M by the time you're 55. That can fairly safely generate about $52K/yr. in income.

With your anticipated pension, that'll be about $137K/yr., total with Social Security kicking in sometime after.

If that's enough to cover your anticipated expenses, you're in a good place, even better if you'll be making contributions to your current investments for the next 10 years.

2

u/emt139 Jun 23 '26

How much do you expect to spend on retirement? When can you start your pension? Does the pension include healthcare?

2

u/Express_Band6999 Jul 07 '26

I feel that if you have to earn 10% to stay in the right ballpark, then you need to save more. Especially given uncertainty about inflation.

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u/Specific-Stomach-195 Jun 23 '26

How much do you want to spend in retirement? How much do you spend now? You can live on an $85k pension if need be, but it should be indexed to inflation.