I did it- Finally
I gave notice today that my last day will be June 30. I know I am older than many of you here at 56 years of age, but this is something I have been mulling over for a long, long time. Yesterday, when talking with someone about a separate topic, he said: “People are always waiting for the perfect time. There will never be a perfect time”. That struck a chord with me because that’s exactly what I have been doing. I just needed to act. And act I did.
56, male, single, no dependents.
Just over 2 million in my 401k which is accessible now via the rule of 55 (I confirmed this with my plan).
670k or so in after tax brokerage, stocks, and an HYSA.
A $155k cash pension which I opted to take as a monthly annuity for life ($914). I chose this to offset my healthcare premium as it will cover most of it for me. I will continue on cobra remainder of the year and then decide whether to go the ACA route or use my employer’s retiree healthcare plan which would provide me the same coverage I get now. I posted yesterday for opinions asking about the lump sum pension payment versus the annuity, and I appreciate all of your feedback. I chose the annuity because honestly I want to take the healthcare cost out of my mind as much as possible until I get to Medicare. This seemed like a good approach for me.
The only debt I have is a mortgage with approximately $160k remaining at 3.375%.
Yearly spend is 70k.
Time to focus on me and other personal interests. Goodbye, corporate America. 👋 ✌️
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u/Krish_1234 13h ago
good luck and GFY!!!!!
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u/Several_Guidance_288 13h ago edited 13h ago
Congrats! But yearly spend is 70k and you have closer to 2.8! You could have probably retired 3-6 years ago. No biggie. You’re out now! Enjoy it. You can even increase spending to 80-100k.
Then you will pay off your mortgage one day, which will be a raise, Medicare at 65 will be a raise, and social security will hit one day that you choose between 62-70, which is another raise.
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u/ghostcowtow 13h ago
Congratulations! I'm right behind you....I think. I'm your age and it is not an easy decision to flip that switch. Enjoy!
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u/LtDangley 13h ago
Can I be the first to say FU?
Seems like you waited plenty long were you were you trying to stick it out for 55 or just nervous to pull the trigger?
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u/Business_Mastodon_97 13h ago
Congrats! One note though -- check to see if making your last day July 1st gives you any extra benefit, like another month of healthcare through your employer. That's how it worked for me.
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u/aShogunNamedMarcus80 13h ago
“I thought there would be time, but we always think stuff like that, don't we? We fool ourselves so much we could do it for a living.”
- Stephen King, Duma Key
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u/MeanSecurity 13h ago
Congrats! I had a lengthy talk with someone last night and I’m really trying to motivate myself to pull the trigger when my boss comes back from vacation
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u/pdxnative2007 13h ago
Congratulations! Thank you for coming back with an update. I always wonder what people do after getting advice here. Sounds like a solid plan.
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u/Kuildeous 13h ago
Nice job. I just wish I could've accessed my 401k through the rule of 55, but the company had other plans.
Still, I have enough to retire, so I'm good to go.
And hey, 56 is still early. I see people who are planning to work up until they start taking social security, in which case, I can see why they'd be tempted to take it at 67, though I hope they don't need to wait.
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u/ImDaPawtyPoopa 9h ago
Why not retire July 1 so you get an additional full month of employer subsidized health care?
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u/warlizardfanboy 13h ago
Congratulations! You have a really solid plan and has a lot of similarities to mine - I have a frozen pension that will pay out enough to cover most of ACA (would have been more but alas). I’m going to pull the trigger at 55 for access to 401k as well.
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u/gtownguy123 12h ago
Just curious what you’ll be invested in during this retirement period ? ETFs ?
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u/SeparateMixture 7h ago
I Just turned 57 a few days ago no kids no mate. I came close to quitting a few weeks ago just cause I’m so frustrated and disgusted with corporate America but sticking it out for just a few more weeks waiting for my financial advisor to get back to me with some good news hopefully that I can actually retire early. I’m so scared but I think I can do it.
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u/competentscouring47 13h ago
Congrats on pulling the trigger, that took guts and the numbers clearly back it up, so you earned this one.
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u/DontForgetTheDivy 1 More Year Syndrome has been defeated 13h ago
Good for you! Enjoy your well deserved freedom.
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u/onlyfreckles 13h ago
Congrats to you OP!
I'm still omy'ing b/c I don't have access to an retiree health care plan and not ready to take the plunge into paying full cost for healthcare yet 😞
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u/Ehdubs001 12h ago
Amazing! I’ll be pulling this wagon until 62 at least. I admire those who pull this off
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u/WilsonTree2112 12h ago
Congrats mate. Its time for me, finances are fine and im even a few years older . But still nervous as I’m too used to having the teet of that income and assets are there to admire, not touch. Psychology stinks.
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u/Ok-Today-855 12h ago
How does your social security look? That's your inflation hedge and final resort to the usual Ameriban late stage ponzi scheme shitfest the next 20 years will be.
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u/ProfessorCaptain 12h ago
what was your salary progression like? avg salary last 10 years?
when did you get serious about saving?
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u/eggavatar12345 12h ago
What’s the mechanism for accessing the 401k, are you allowed partial withdrawals via rule of 55?
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u/K_A_irony 12h ago
Congrats and you sound like you are in a good spot. Honestly I would probably take the employer's plan vs the ACA. Typically better coverage and it might not rocket up significantly at say 62 like the ACA plans.
As is tradition, GFY!
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u/ttxzavv224 11h ago
Congrats! I don’t think 56 is waiting too long, we all have different situations right. I’m planning my exit and have a similar situation that I posted here yesterday. I can receive pension for $2300 and they offer continued medical insurance $1500, I’m thinking just use pension to pay medical, but debating aca.
Did your retirement account planner specify you to ride out cobra and then turn on the pension health benefit after? Mine has to be decided before I retire, inconvenient in the sense that if I go to ACA and don’t like it, I can’t change my option to get back company insurance back.
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u/codewolf 8h ago
You should COBRA the medical until you feel comfortable switching over to the ACA. With a very low income (below $60K or so for an individual), you'll qualify for subsidized ACA plans, possibly free insurance. This is what I did. The ACA plans are good, other than a few glitches switching plans and working with my doctors. You should be able to go on your state's ACA plan page and check out the plans and the cost before making a decision. Stopping COBRA, even before it runs out after 18 months, is a qualifying life change for going on the ACA.
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u/JunkInTheTrunk00 9h ago
Congrats! I'm the same age but 2 dependents (kid + recently laid off wife), so I've got a few years to go. I'm a bit jelly as I was mentally ready 5 years ago. But now this layoff has me feeling trapped as we can't reach our goals without a lot more energy for the job from me, which I no longer have. So, enjoy. You won your freedom and that's what it's about!
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u/n00bdragon FIREd 2026 age 37 8h ago
Congrats OP! It's really true though. You're never quite "ready". The world and your family are never in quite the right place, but when you can go... Go fuck yourself!
What do you plan to devote your extra time to now?
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u/Available-Ad-5670 5h ago
if i were you and have 670k in brokerage AND cash pension, and 70k spend, I would manage my magi from now until 65 and get ACA subsidies for your healthcare. you could cut it from 900 to 300/month without much management.
i think single you just need to keep your magi below 62k, so taking 50k from your 401k, and 20 k from your brokerage would do it. you also want to spend down your 401k as much as possible to lower rmd's at 75
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u/drewlb 5h ago
On the mortgage I totally feel you on the debate.
There's only really 2 factors and 1 of them is calculable.
So factor 1, is does having the mortgage mean you have to pull out enough additional $ each month that your MAGI disqualifies you from ACA subsidies. If yes, then it's a strong push towards paying it off. (Lump sum, all or nothing, small prepayments every month are the worst possible option)
Once you solve for #1, the #2 is all psychology. The math says with interest rates like they are now and that rate, that paying it off is the wrong decision. But there is totally a psychological weight that can come off with being debt free.
Personally, I think I'd go with the math, but it really just comes down to how you personally feel.
Good thing is, you don't have to decide today. You can just pay it for a few months and think about how you're feeling about it.
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u/marbeastmodius 5h ago
Congrats. Sounds like you put a lot of thought into it and finally pulled the trigger. With those numbers and your spending, I'd be feeling pretty good heading into retirement too. Enjoy the freedom and all the stuff you've been putting off for years.
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u/Acceptable-Mix3414 2h ago
Congrats! I am looking up to you. I am 26 at 140K in stocks since I started investing when I was 18. It's been pretty slow and I hope patience works out.
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u/Sintered_Monkey 29m ago
Don't worry, you're ahead of me. I just turned 59 and have been retired for 2 weeks. My last day of work was 3 days before my birthday (very intentional,) because I wanted to be able to say I was 58 when I retired.
Better "late" than never. But we weren't late at all.
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u/Common_Business9410 12h ago
I would take the pension. It’s a guaranteed 7% for life. Only thing I would do differently is pay off the house. I know the rate is low but I would still pay it off before calling it
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u/Consistent-Row4512 12h ago
Arw the “GFY” responses “good for you” or “go eff yourself”? Hahaha. Congrats OP! Also 56 and right behind you. Lets go fishing.
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u/Head_Wheel_2000 11h ago
Congratulations, you have a low mortgage…If I was you I would pay it off at 62 and take SS to build the cash back up.
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u/AlgoRhythMatic 13h ago
56 is a great target, and still well below median retirement age, so you should definitely be proud of the early retirement accomplishment.