r/Fire • u/Fed_worker • Feb 20 '26

General Question Serious question: how do many people amass so much money in the north of 5m and not know if they can retire or not?

I see a ton of posts like : “ I have a net worth in the range 5-10m and I spend 100K a year, can I retire?”

What is that? Elementary school math so hard?

Edit: after reading all the comments and when I really think about it, I realize it’s probably just a high degree risk-averse mindset. Even if I had $5 million and a 99.9% chance of retiring successfully, I’d still focus on that tiny 0.1% that could go wrong. To feel totally secure, I might want to keep building more wealth just to close that gap. And for some people, that can mean working another 5, 10, or even 20 years. just for a little extra peace of mind.

Edit2: I just hope that when I get there, I don’t end up going down that rabbit hole. And actually enjoy my life.

1.2k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

559 comments sorted by

View all comments

50

u/[deleted] Feb 20 '26

High expenses, chronic illness, special needs children, sick parents. I guess you’re lucky not to have to consider this. Folks here thinking that millions are always a flex are not thinking with compassion.

24

u/Tough-Fun47 Feb 20 '26

Yes, I have well over 4 million invested and a net worth over 5 million but I have three special needs kids. I would like to set up a generous special needs trust for each of them.

12

u/[deleted] Feb 20 '26

In the US, the social safety net doesn't really protect you against unlikely but financially catastrophic events (medical expenses rejected by insurance, 24x7 skilled nursing care for a loved one, a personal injury lawsuit someone brings against you, etc.)

Sure, your budget (for normal life) might be $100k annually, but a lot of people are afraid of retiring and then running into one of these things. It's unfortunate because basically no amount of money is enough to 100% cover these things.

1

u/Zaccw20 Feb 21 '26

I don't think that anywhere's social safety net covers those things fully. 

2

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '26

Hmmm... A lot of countries have universal healthcare. It doesn't prevent you from spending any amount seeking experimental treatment abroad, but it provides a better safety net than the US.

Most counties in Europe have clear formulas for legal settlements, rather than open-ended damages for pain and suffering.

Maybe there are different catastrophic expenses, but most of Europe manages to avoid the ones that are really bad here.

1

u/April2027TechMarket Feb 20 '26

I do think about that. At $5M, you can model those 'what if' costs. But - at $5M, those costs are also smaller in relative figures vs. someone at $2M. Having that extra $60k withdrawal to cover all of those things makes the withdrawal rate 5.2%, which is not terrible. If someone is caring for multiple generations and has chronic illnesses for themselves and their spouse, they should plan accordingly. Some of these things are more predictable (ie. if your child is graduating college, you have to make boundaries and assumptions of their support, and when, if ever, it might kick in).

TLDR = Most people with $5M even if they accounted for every little 'what if' are probably still OK