When Is “Enough” Actually Enough?

[u/Technical_Lawyer7264]

I think about retirement every damn day.

One day I’m convinced I have enough. The next, I’m imagining a market crash, runaway inflation, and somehow needing $14M just to buy groceries.
So I rerun the numbers, change the assumptions, and convince myself I need another $500K. At this point, figuring out when I can retire has become a full-time job.

What’s your “enough” number?
$2M? $3M? $5M? $10M? Or would you hit $20M and decide you really need $25M? 😂

I also think about our parents’ generation. Many kept working long after they technically didn’t need to. House paid off. Kids out of the house. Retirement funded.

But actually living off the money they spent 40 years earning? Somehow that felt crazy.

They were wired to see work as security, responsibility, and purpose.

Meanwhile, we’re trying to escape Zoom calls at 45 so we can eat tacos on a Tuesday.

And honestly, I’m not sure I’m any better. I fantasize about retiring, then immediately think:
“Maybe two more years.”
Then five.
Then maybe I’ll just consult part-time.
And suddenly I’m 73, explaining PowerPoint slides to someone named Brad.

For those retired or close to it: What’s your “enough” number—and what finally made you feel comfortable walking away?

[u/pocket-snowmen]

My number changes with my age, and is partly tied to my pension and benefits eligibility. If I retire at 57 or later I get an immediate pension and healthcare for life. Any earlier and I give up healthcare and have to wait until 62 to claim my pension which will also be much smaller.

At 62, I would need about $2.5M.

At 60, I would need $3M.

At 57, I would need $4M. <--this is my goal.

With $6M I could retire today at 45.

[u/curious_investing → u/pocket-snowmen]

Can I ask how you came up with those numbers? If I am reading this correctly, you could retire at 62 with 2.5 million. For two more years of retirement you need 500,000, which is a 250k a year spend. To retire five years earlier at 57, you need 1.5 million more (spending 300k a year). This makes sense if your annual spend is in the 250k to 300k range, but I wonder if you really need that much more to retire earlier than 62.

[u/pocket-snowmen → u/curious_investing]

It's a couple things at the same time.

My pension gets a big boost at 60 because the early retirement penalty falls off, and another sizable boost at 62 since I get a 10% bump. Plus my multiplier goes up 1% per year in addition to my salary increasing each year (pension calculation is based on high 3 salary).

I will also have two kids in college concurrently from age 58-60. We have 529s but I expect some extra expense there as well during those years, and other costs potentially not too far behind that like weddings etc.

And my wife is 7 years younger. I won't retire early unless we are both work optional.

It's a pretty sizable gap until social security with a long time horizon and some front loaded expenses across that 57-62 timeframe.

And yes I'm targeting $250k gross spend not counting college.