Early Retirement Offer from employer

[Mr Nice]

Originally Posted By: HemiHawk
What kind of Govt/state/GIANT corporation jobs is everyone working here?? I thought most "pensions" or company funded retirements went out the door? Are these legacy plans?

I have a decent company 401k (4% matching with 5% extra a year) but that's it. What this also means is that I cannot just retire whenever I want, or i'll be hit with massive penalties when the time comes (still many years as I'm not even 30 yet).


At my job I have 2 pensions (company and voluntary pension), a 401K and company stock purchase plan. Basically 4 retirement plans that are maxed out from my employer. Luckily I've been there 30 years and have a few more to go.

I know they had sent out early retirement offers to a few people on our team, I did not get one cause I'm in my early 50's.

 

[ArrestMeRedZ]

Originally Posted By: Doog
I won't retire until 70-75. I'll wait until age 70 to take SSA since the payment is $1200 more per month for waiting 4 years. Then I'll keep working because I own a business and the rewards for my family are worth it. I will take more time off and visit kids etc. But working an additional 5 years could be worth > $1MM extra in my nest egg.

Besides...why be on a fixed income if you don't have to?


A minor correction on Social Security. If you were at full retirement age of 66 today, and collected, your SS would be $2639 a month maximum. If you worked at or above the maximum annual pay for another 4 years, and delayed taking SS, your payment would be $3576 a month for a maximum increase of $937 a month. If you are making less than $118.5k a year for a while, the amounts and increase would be less.

 

[Patman]

My wife and I plan on retiring in 6 years, at that time we'll both be only 52 years old. We can do this because she's a teacher and will receive a very nice pension at that age (she's been with the same school board over 20 years) and we'll have a very large sum of money from the sale of our new house, which will be built in 2018, housing prices here in Oakville have skyrocketed, our current home has gone up in value by $200k this year alone and our new home will easily be worth about $500k more than we paid for it by the time we move in as well. We plan on downsizing to a much more affordable area further away from Toronto (we have our eye on some nice communities near Niagara on the Lake) We'll also be renting in Florida for the winter, to escape the cold for good. The interest from the large nest egg we'll have, combined with her pension, means we'll actually make more money in retirement than we currently do working. And that's without even touching our RRSPs yet (we'll let them continue to grow until we're 65, at which point we'll also collect the Canada Pension Plan too) I can't possibly imagine working until 65, it seems crazy to me. IMO, life is too short to waste at work

 

[Mr Nice]

Originally Posted By: bmwjohn
what I have observed is that when mass or multiple retirements occur fleets of flies / salesmen selling stocks / annuities / stock accounts flow to get the loot.


Stay away from financial advisors and manage your hard earned retirement dollars.
Lots of elderly people loose their life savings to shady financial advisors.

 

[xxch4osxx]

Originally Posted By: Patman
My wife and I plan on retiring in 6 years, at that time we'll both be only 52 years old. We can do this because she's a teacher and will receive a very nice pension at that age (she's been with the same school board over 20 years) and we'll have a very large sum of money from the sale of our new house, which will be built in 2018, housing prices here in Oakville have skyrocketed, our current home has gone up in value by $200k this year alone and our new home will easily be worth about $500k more than we paid for it by the time we move in as well. We plan on downsizing to a much more affordable area further away from Toronto (we have our eye on some nice communities near Niagara on the Lake) We'll also be renting in Florida for the winter, to escape the cold for good. The interest from the large nest egg we'll have, combined with her pension, means we'll actually make more money in retirement than we currently do working. And that's without even touching our RRSPs yet (we'll let them continue to grow until we're 65, at which point we'll also collect the Canada Pension Plan too) I can't possibly imagine working until 65, it seems crazy to me. IMO, life is too short to waste at work

That's all great for you, but how long can that overvaluing continue? The price of a modest size house is beyond the reach of the average working family these days.

 

[surfstar]

Originally Posted By: Doog
I won't retire until 70-75. I'll wait until age 70 to take SSA since the payment is $1200 more per month for waiting 4 years. Then I'll keep working because I own a business and the rewards for my family are worth it. I will take more time off and visit kids etc. But working an additional 5 years could be worth > $1MM extra in my nest egg.

Besides...why be on a fixed income if you don't have to?


Maybe b/c the average life expectancy is 79 for US males?
Why work until you die?



Patman, you got it right

Its possible we could retire at 50/52, the way we're saving, but a kid would push that back to 55/57, I imagine.
Any kids for you guys? Those seem to be a limiting factor, unless you're making a lot more $$, it seems.

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: Patman
My wife and I plan on retiring in 6 years, at that time we'll both be only 52 years old. We can do this because she's a teacher and will receive a very nice pension at that age (she's been with the same school board over 20 years) and we'll have a very large sum of money from the sale of our new house, which will be built in 2018, housing prices here in Oakville have skyrocketed, our current home has gone up in value by $200k this year alone and our new home will easily be worth about $500k more than we paid for it by the time we move in as well. We plan on downsizing to a much more affordable area further away from Toronto (we have our eye on some nice communities near Niagara on the Lake) We'll also be renting in Florida for the winter, to escape the cold for good. The interest from the large nest egg we'll have, combined with her pension, means we'll actually make more money in retirement than we currently do working. And that's without even touching our RRSPs yet (we'll let them continue to grow until we're 65, at which point we'll also collect the Canada Pension Plan too) I can't possibly imagine working until 65, it seems crazy to me. IMO, life is too short to waste at work

Smart moves- although since our retirements my wife and I have both returned to work- at jobs that have no relationship to our formal training. Our new jobs are fun and give us a little extra money for discretionary spending.

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted By: xxch4osxx
That's all great for you, but how long can that overvaluing continue? The price of a modest size house is beyond the reach of the average working family these days.


True, however Oakville attracts the higher income families, and a lot of wealthy foreign buyers have been buying in our neighborhood lately, and the supply of homes available to them is very low, so they snap up any home for sale within 24 hours. Many of the neighbors we've met lately are new to Canada, coming over from India, Egypt, China, etc, and are re-establishing their families here. At some point I know it's going to cool off a little bit, but this area does seem to be sheltered from the rest of the country. Desirable neighborhoods will always have potential buyers. The housing prices here definitely aren't for the new buyers, as I consider our home a "starter home" as it's a 2100 sq foot townhouse, however it's now valued at well over $900k. Detached homes in my neighborhood with double car garages that are around 3000 sq ft are going for about $1.5 to $1.8 million, and there are a lot of larger ones going for $2 to $2.5 million. Definitely not for new buyers! One of the reasons this particular neighborhood is desirable is because most homes were built around 2008 to 2009 so they are still fairly new, but they have bigger lots than the homes being built right now.

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted By: surfstar




Patman, you got it right

Its possible we could retire at 50/52, the way we're saving, but a kid would push that back to 55/57, I imagine.
Any kids for you guys? Those seem to be a limiting factor, unless you're making a lot more $$, it seems.


We do have kids, I have a 14 year old son from my first marriage (who lives with his mom) and my wife has a 14 year old son and 11 year old girl (who live with their dad half the time) The reason why we are targeting 2022 as our retirement time is because that's when her daughter will go to university and move out of the house. Financially we are very lucky that their dad makes very good money so he had already set up an education fund for them when they were born, and that fund now has grown to the point where it will easily pay for both of their university educations.

I don't make huge $$$ but I do ok, but my wife is a teacher and up here in Canada they get paid very well (she makes almost 6 figures now)

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted By: MCompact


Smart moves- although since our retirements my wife and I have both returned to work- at jobs that have no relationship to our formal training. Our new jobs are fun and give us a little extra money for discretionary spending.


We have discussed the possibility that my wife might do a little bit of supply teaching after she retires, that would give us a little bit of extra money too. I could also continue to do my job (Photoshop retoucher) on a part time basis as well, it's very flexible that way. But for the most part we just want to relax and enjoy everything life has to offer, and not spend wasted time stuck in rush hour traffic...

 

[SteveSRT8]

Some smart folks here. Thinking way out front is the key.

After raising 3 kids to glorious outcomes I have been semi retired for many years, working 3 or 4 days a week as it suits my schedule. I imagine I will wind it down some more but I really enjoy meeting and interacting with my clients. I predict one day soon I will simply be the guy who fixes the trucks!

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: Patman

We have discussed the possibility that my wife might do a little bit of supply teaching after she retires, that would give us a little bit of extra money too. I could also continue to do my job (Photoshop retoucher) on a part time basis as well, it's very flexible that way. But for the most part we just want to relax and enjoy everything life has to offer, and not spend wasted time stuck in rush hour traffic...


I agree, if I had to deal with traffic and didn't love my job I wouldn't do it- but in both cases our new jobs involve things we actually enjoy and traffic/commuting isn't an issue.

 

[Mr Nice]

Some retire and get bored playing golf or fishing.

I know a cop that retired after 29 years with a crazy pension. He soon found another job to stay 'busy' and not mill around.

Hobbies that you enjoy at 25-30 years old... you might not enjoy at 55.

 

[Shannow]

S.O.P. Down here in my district is to stay at work doing your separate things extremely intensely, retire, and get divorced.

The only ones who stay together are the malingerers who cruise through their careers doing anything BUT work.

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Some retire and get bored playing golf or fishing.

I know a cop that retired after 29 years with a crazy pension. He soon found another job to stay 'busy' and not mill around.

Hobbies that you enjoy at 25-30 years old... you might not enjoy at 55.


I guess it depends; in 1988 I was a track geek- and thirty years later I still am. The only difference is that I can now afford nicer(and faster) cars...

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: MCompact
Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Some retire and get bored playing golf or fishing.

I know a cop that retired after 29 years with a crazy pension. He soon found another job to stay 'busy' and not mill around.

Hobbies that you enjoy at 25-30 years old... you might not enjoy at 55.


I guess it depends; in 1988 I was a track geek- and thirty years later I still am. The only difference is that I can now afford nicer(and faster) cars...


Still wearing out tires quickly here at 60, won't slow down unless forced to...

 

[firemachine69]

Originally Posted By: Patman
Originally Posted By: xxch4osxx
That's all great for you, but how long can that overvaluing continue? The price of a modest size house is beyond the reach of the average working family these days.


True, however Oakville attracts the higher income families, and a lot of wealthy foreign buyers have been buying in our neighborhood lately, and the supply of homes available to them is very low, so they snap up any home for sale within 24 hours. Many of the neighbors we've met lately are new to Canada, coming over from India, Egypt, China, etc, and are re-establishing their families here. At some point I know it's going to cool off a little bit, but this area does seem to be sheltered from the rest of the country. Desirable neighborhoods will always have potential buyers. The housing prices here definitely aren't for the new buyers, as I consider our home a "starter home" as it's a 2100 sq foot townhouse, however it's now valued at well over $900k. Detached homes in my neighborhood with double car garages that are around 3000 sq ft are going for about $1.5 to $1.8 million, and there are a lot of larger ones going for $2 to $2.5 million. Definitely not for new buyers! One of the reasons this particular neighborhood is desirable is because most homes were built around 2008 to 2009 so they are still fairly new, but they have bigger lots than the homes being built right now.




Oakville is a solid case of what the CMHC said the economy was running on nothing but housing right now.

Hopefully we can keep attracting those wealthy immigrants to keep the show going before I cash out on my rental!

 

[Whitewolf]

If you are offered early retirement it is best to consider taking it. If an employer, or manager, has decided that for whatever reason you are no longer needed/wanted they can always construct another way of separation that may be less financially beneficial to you.