[USER]

Edited to add: The decision whether to accept this enhanced retirement is coming up.

Although I have been preparing for a situation like this for 30 years, I feel like I’m going through the 7 stages of grief.

Appreciate all your feedback for me to feel at ease with whatever decision I end up making.

My employer announced major layoffs and offered a voluntary enhanced retirement plan, which I qualify for.

I am 53 yo. My wife is 51, and we have a 15yo daughter.
The severance pay is substantial (18 mo).

Together, with my FA, we’ve run the numbers. With all of our needs (and many of our wants) considered, the anlaysis gives a 83% – 88% confidence score from the Monte Carlo runs (they target 85%), using only our taxable and retirement accounts.

We have 3 rentals, the model accounts for rental income but not selling the rentals.

I am confident financially it will work.

Question I have is psychologically…

how does one live through the spending phase, and watching the accounts go down (vs. 30 years of watching them go up)?

Any advice or ways to look at it?

[Trevis]

I may be fooling myself but these numbers in a spreadsheet only have one job, to buy my freedom.

They are not precious keepsakes that I intend to hold until death.

They are going to pay for my joy.

And I won’t miss them.

[Scott]

Just a word of encouragement. I retired 10 yrs ago. I’ve been withdrawing a flat5%.

My net worth today is almost double of what it was when I retired.

So do not assume you will be grieving the loss of growth.

The growth still happens… now go celebrate the awesome new journey you are about to begin!

[Karl]

If it truly bothers you after a while (can’t sleep at night) you can always re-enter the workforce.

[Debbi]

You will go through stages of grief. I recommend planning a vacation and while you’re there think about how you want to spend your time and what activities you want to do (art, gardening, volunteering, music, etc).

Make sure you’re getting out to connect with people most days.

Creating a routine/schedule is helpful.

It might be: cook breakfast, do a chore, make lunch, read, exercise, dinner, family time.

You can keep setting goals as you might have for work, they will just be personal ones.

The reduced stress is good for your health but it is a big transition.

[John]

Yeah, none of us are getting out of here alive. The more you can accept that, the easier your drawdowns and calculations will be.

[Mark]

I’m struggling with the idea as well, I want to keep working to avoid going into my ‘savings’ ‘but on paper I can with no trouble…

[Debbi]

I recommend setting a budget and tracking to make sure you’re living within it.

You might also get a part time job to provide supplemental income.

It’s easy to spend money when you’re not working.

[Pam]

Does this change your outlook for college aid? The timing might work out to also wind up with more aid depending on your overall asset and income situation.

[Mike]

Well you do know that someday before this offer was made that the accounts were going to go down anyways There is a thing called pivot that we will all live through and in this case your in good shape so enough life Good Luck

[Neeraj]

The accounts may still go up if you have a 4% withdrawal rate and assuming 7% growth. Just not at the same pace

[Pam]

An 18 month severance is incredible. You’ll be able to spend more time with your daughter while she is still home with you.

But yes I would be grieving too if I wasn’t expecting it.

It’s understandable, but hopefully this turns into a gift in the end! Good luck!

[Lisa]

You’ve got 20 yrs you could work…but yeah, turning from a saver to a spender is gonna be challenging.

I’ve heard that there’s financial counseling that helps with the transition

[Jonathan]

It takes some getting used to. I made the transition from save to spend in about 10 months.

[Edna]

Take the retirement. Breathe
Take some time to decompress and you’ll find a passion project or nonprofit job to continue working at your own pace.

That will help with the spend down.

And like many have mentioned/ your funds will grow!

Spend time with your daughter- having 4 of my own, teenagers needs their parents even more.

[Seth]

The thing that will help your survivability numbers is a flex spending strategy.

If your basic needs are say 50% of your draw, and the other 50% covers your wants, you can ratchet down discretionary spending during corrections or bear markets.

This will result in a substantial increase in the survivability rate.

Also, is MS fixing the interest rates at todays rates in year 1?

They should be instead of randomizing that data.

Lastly, is MS building their management fees into your cashflows?

[Warwick]

Think of it as an investment in your daughter. She will soon leave home so enjoy the time u have left with her.

Life is very short in some regards

[Mandy]

Daily journaling can help and acknowledging it’s OK to grieve the change of identity.

Also, if you haven’t already, start making a bucket list with large and small enjoyable activities.

Start with some of the smaller ones and test it out with regards to how you feel afterwards.

Be sure to come back and update us.

Also watch the blue zones Netflix documentary.

[Stefanie]

Enrolling in The Savvy Investor (TSI) is a clever decision to enhance your financial abilities.

You will receive crucial tips and techniques that can greatly enhance your financial acumen.

Personally, this community has been instrumental in molding my prosperous portfolio.

[Author]

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