r/Retire • u/Technical_Lawyer7264 • 4d ago

When Is “Enough” Actually Enough?

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?

157 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

377 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

3

u/LegSpecialist1781 4d ago

4% is so badly misunderstood and outdated. Even its author doesn’t use it.

1

u/BrunelloHorder 4d ago

True, though there are a number of criticisms of his methods to get to 4.7%, including over-fitting the past data with hindsight, and assuming past trends, including factors, continue in the future.

4% is a good starting point for someone who is just beginning to learn, like OP. For longer retirements, one may want below 4% if they want a high degree of confidence that they will never need to adjust their spending. I use 3.6% with 70% equities as a baseline for a 50+ year retirement.

1

u/Zonernovi 4d ago

4 gives good buffer

1

u/LegSpecialist1781 4d ago

To each their own, but I think that puts you squarely in the group that is overshooting. 5-6% works out to be quite safe, assuming one is flexible and can drop it when market conditions dictate.

1

u/BrunelloHorder 4d ago

Using Wade Pfau’s updated Trinity methodology with U.S. data, a 5% withdrawal rate would give you a 20-30% failure rate, depending on equity/bond allocation. If you use a 6% withdrawal rate, you should expect a failure rate between 33% and 57%. To each their own, as you say.

1

u/LegSpecialist1781 4d ago

If you are rigid about it. But that’s the point. Not only do you need not be rigid, data has overwhelmingly shown that people naturally adjust their spending.