Thank you all so much for all the support and great ideas on my last post!
One of the comments made me realize I haven't talked much about retirement savings.
We have a couple different accounts for retirement. As I am a teacher, I have a pension, so about 10% of my gross pay is automatically taken out of my paycheck monthly. I also have a 403b which I contribute an additional $900 a month towards. (We are looking to bump that up soon... just as soon as I print and fill out the paperwork.) The Husband has a 401k with a 3% match. He is currently maxing out his contributions. And in addition to the match, his company dumps 6% profit sharing in on the first paycheck of every year. He has been with the company over 10 years and is fully vested.
All told we are socking away about 23% of our gross income annually. Pretty good numbers but we are in our early (almost mid) 40s and feel like we are behind the 8 ball in planning for our retirement. We don't have any other retirement accounts at this time. We are working to max out my retirement next. We are probably about 3 years away from me being totally maxed out too.
Our retirement accounts currently stand at about $500,000 altogether. Much of that is due to the current market we are in. It is going like gang busters, though I'm not sure how long that can/will be sustained. But we are in it for the long haul. Retirement is a marathon, not a sprint.
My goal is to retire at 55, or at least stop working. We are hoping I won't have to draw from my retirement right away and will be able to wait a couple of years. With my retirement, age at drawing funds is the biggest factor in how much money you receive each month. The plan is for The Husband to work until he is 65; one, because he makes more money and two because insurance is EXPENSIVE!
These are all just plans at this point. But you know the saying, "if you want to see God laugh, tell him your plans", so we are just doing our best to be prepared for whatever the future holds.
September 10th, 2021 at 05:35 pm 1631295340
September 10th, 2021 at 06:56 pm 1631300160
September 11th, 2021 at 11:20 am 1631359211
September 12th, 2021 at 03:03 pm 1631459023
September 12th, 2021 at 06:03 pm 1631469834
I am a retired teacher. I live in Illinois. One thing that our pension system offers is health insurance for the teacher at a reduced rate.
Before I retired -- dh is older than I am, we sat down and did some figuring on what we thought our income would be if I retired at 55, then tried to live on that amount for six months to see if it was feasible. I took my pension at 55 and so far, have not had to take anything out of retirement accounts.
It was helpful that we had our paid off before DH retired. We continue to put money in separate accounts for emergency, vacation, Christmas Club, etc. Since I've retired, we've had to replace our driveway, our water heater, and stove, and all were paid for in cash. So, keep on saving!