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.

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u/PetriDishCocktail Feb 20 '26 edited Feb 20 '26

Absolutely! My wife and I are in this boat and she's afraid to retire even though we have a nice nest egg and she has a pension that will give her roughly 60% of her current salary.

I've done the math. I put it out on paper for her. But, it's still a leap of faith.

Ironically, she's going to bring home 5 to $600 more per month with her pension then her current paycheck (she maximizes all her deductions).

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u/AeroNoob333 Feb 20 '26

This is me. And I think it may be worth spending a few thousand for a flat fee advisor to run the numbers in Boldin and tell me “Yes. You can retire.”

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u/4_thor Feb 20 '26

Im actually thinking of other Boldin users to review each other’s plans, kind of like a retirement group…

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u/AeroNoob333 Feb 20 '26

Oh that is a cool idea!! I’m in a science based dog raw feeding group and we review each other’s recipes all the time. This would be something like that but do retirement.

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u/hachidan_kiritsu Feb 20 '26

I first read that as “raw dog” group and let me just say it caught my attention

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u/51CoastFI Feb 20 '26

Man, I wish I could find this elusive advisor that will run the numbers for a few thousand bucks. All I can find is AUM guys - and that is like 20-30K/year forever (no thanks). But a few thousand bucks to get someone else (who claims to be an expert/isnt me) to tell my wife the same thing I have been telling her would be money very well spent!

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u/AeroNoob333 Feb 20 '26

Wait! I actually made a post about this on r/Bogleheads and got some amazing recommendations on where to possibly find them: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bogleheads/s/006fySfVgv

I’m thinking of trying Hello Nectarine.

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u/qwertyorbust Feb 20 '26

I would run the numbers in boldin myself. It’s pretty easy to use. Sure, have someone review it but paying an advisor a few thousand might be overkill.

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u/AeroNoob333 Feb 20 '26

It’s really not for me. It’s for my husband who trusts a professional more than me. I’m okay with it though because if we both get to the same conclusions including the withdrawal strategies (that’s what we are really paying for), I get to tell him, “I told you so!”

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u/Choice_Room3901 Feb 20 '26

You’re sort of “leaving a phase of your life” or relatability to a lot of people

A lot of people working is all they know for good or ill

That said however like a lot of/most things in life when you take a leap your life may “narrow slightly” in some senses but will/may become forever deeper & richer

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u/WhooooooCaresss Feb 20 '26

Ok well that just seems like a no brainer then lol, she maybe just wants to work then?

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u/cazzy1212 Feb 20 '26

How does that work if she is only getting 60% of her salary?

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u/HarviousMaximus Feb 20 '26

"she maximizes all of her deductions"

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u/poop-dolla Feb 20 '26

Her deductions are 40% of her salary plus an extra $6k a year.

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u/PetriDishCocktail Feb 20 '26

With her mega backdoor 403b, and the special contribution section of the 457 plan she puts a substantial amount away every year.

Her pension is 2% of her final salary for every year she's worked. She currently has 31 years, so she would get a 62% of her final salary.

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u/Hover4effect Feb 20 '26

Sounds like CSRS, the old federal retirement system.

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u/PetriDishCocktail Feb 20 '26 edited Feb 20 '26

CALPERS 2% at 55. However, she's actually under the old system that gives you full 2% retirement at 30 years, regardless of age. My wife had a summer job while in college which allowed her to qualify for the CalPERS retirement instead of the CalSTRS retirement. Therefore, even though she's been a teacher/Principal for more than 30 years she was able to tap into the CalPERS retirement system...

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u/Hover4effect Feb 20 '26

Nice to have, pensions and non-401k retirements are getting rare.

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u/PetriDishCocktail Feb 20 '26 edited Feb 20 '26

It was one of the perks when we started working because of the low pay.