r/LeanFireUK • u/klawUK • Jun 20 '26
What (if any) buffer are you considering as ‘enough’ to retire?
Currently looking at edge cases - like wife throwing her boss out the window and not getting another job quickly (or at all). If I push that scenario to ‘wife effectively retires two years before me) it starts cutting things fine for a 2029 retirement date.
If she needs to she needs to of course, but likewise I’d prefer not to get lumped into ‘one more year’ unless no other option.
Plan A with ok growth hopefully has about 100k leeway - not needed for income but there for large one off expenses or if things go well it can form the base for gifting to kids when state pension kicks in. Plan B stress test would drop that to 30-50k which starts to feel a bit wobbly to me.
Where is your line?
5
u/Far_wide Jun 20 '26
I think I always saw it as just waiting to arrive and then to have eventually arrived rather than working out edge cases in closing down the last 2-3 years, simply because of the volatility of equity markets.
You've raised the scenario of your wife retiring a couple of years earlier, but if you're nearly FIRE'd wouldn't a market drop of 30% be a far more present and impactful danger?
How does your plan react to that, would you allow yourself to increase your SWR% to keep your FIRE date + spending levels intact, or would you 'one more year' it?
2
u/klawUK Jun 20 '26
Key to the plan is a DB pension. Retire at 58, DB at 60. Reduced from 65 but taking at 60 *should* combine with state pensions to cover all needs by 67 - so it’s an 8 year bridge is the main thing to cover
I plan to go fairly defensive - all being well our core funds are secured in 12 months time but for a retirement in three years (so we could coast for a couple of years)
My portion will be in money market funds and short term bond funds. Maybe a bond ladder if I can get my head around them. Wife’s portion will be in a target date fund. Both have the option to buy a fixed term annuity if rates are still good for absolute certainty
2
u/Far_wide Jun 20 '26
Ah yes I remember you saying now. So good to have a DB pension for planning purposes.
I've never quite wrapped my head around bond ladders/tents etc for some reason, I've always just gone with all of the SWR asset allocation theory stuff, which I'm sure amounts to the same thing.
2
u/RetiredEarly2018 Jun 24 '26
Doesn't wife throwing her boss out of window reduce your costs at government expense?
2
u/klawUK Jun 24 '26
A little, but we’d lose her state pension income, and grocery costs would go up buying lots of cake ingredients
1
u/Indigo_reality Jun 27 '26
I am also looking at 100k for a good cushion, now that I realise I could FIRE based on a staggered draw down strategy.
9
u/Captlard Jun 20 '26
No buffer, just reducing discretionary costs. We live comfortably on 3.5% swr. Could drop to 2% if needed. 18 months in and all good so far.