Thoughts about retiring at 55

You make starting a small business sound easy. I would have done that 15 years ago instead of dealing with this bull shit industry. I mean, yes starting a business isn’t complicated, the idea of type of business is. Who the hell wants to be a real estate agent or life insurance agent. May as well be a loser pharma Rep.

 

Our Chinese masters will not allow individually owned small businesses. Everything will be run at the state level. Do not question this or you may find yourself in a re-education camp!

 

fascinating thread. it's not what you make it's what you spend

 

don't retire! You’ll probably be forced out eventually - why give them the satisfaction?

Here’s what you do: don’t let the assholes into your “kitchen”. You have enough assets rn to retire comfortably, so why the stress?

focus on your health and happiness first. Workout, take care of yourself and bank your paychecks. Based on your assets, you obviously know what you’re doing. Look at other more challenging job opportunities- you can afford to take a risk.

401k, Roth’s (probably don’t qualify), traditional, HSA - max them out and tax defer everything possible. It may make sense to pay off the mortgage- maybe not.

most importantly, if your ABL asks for something, be the first to get it done. Be positive, always. Volunteer to do anything to help the region. And whatever you do, don’t tell anyone your net worth!

I’m 51, left NVS about 10 years ago, pull in > 200k a year and have a net worth >2 mil -I know of what I speak.

You did great! You shouldn’t have a care in the world! Fuck NVS!

 

Aaaaahhh, the rewards of one of the easiest jobs on God's green earth. I WISH I could have worked as a rep - easy work, short hours, high pay, but nope, I've had to do actual work my whole life and won't be able to retire unless some rich widow wants to buy my affection.

 

keep working and ride out the gravy train... don't let the BS of the job get you down... have fun doing other stuff.. as for retiring ,, that's a small sum really, check the cost of an individual health insure plan- ouch... free car, gas , insurance now..still paying for house- ouch..even when paid for factor in 1-2% in house repair yearly expenses, plus taxes plus insure,, plus whatever else falls apart as house ages...start your own business! google that, 50%-90% fail within 5 years...(you willing to take that bet you'll be on the winning side of your great new business less money spent going into it...not to mention...as a business owner you really have to work- which most reps haven't done in long time)... good luck..

 

This is an excellent post. So inspiring!

 

You'll get bored being fully retired at 55. 3.6M isn't enough for two people to retire with at 55 anyway. If you have a side business that is generating decent income and you enjoy doing whatever that business does then retire, maybe. If I were you I would be making lists and asking a lot of questions before I left. Best wishes!

 

Thats plenty of money. Even if you go through $150,000 a year until you hit 65, you will still have $2 million. At that point, social security and Medicare will allow you to go through much less than that, and that’s if you both don’t find part time work. Unless you suddenly become a big spender, no way you run out of dough. Enjoy your retirement and congrats.

 

I am assuming that a big chunk of that 3.6M is in the market. The market is at an all time high. What happens if the market drops by 5-10% over the next 10 years? How about if the market drops 15-20%? If you pull all of your money out of the market now how much will you pay in taxes and what will you have left?

You could argue that roughly 5% of all trading days for the US stock market has seen a new all time high since 1928 and that this trend will continue. What if it doesn't?

 

Don’t assume he’s mostly equities. If he’s smart he’s well diversified. If Mr. 3.6 million is actually 55 rn, he should have a large percentage of assets in bonds, MM funds, REITs, high dividend paying blue chip stocks, utilities - even precious metals. Retiring is actually an advantage on taxes which you don’t pay until withdrawal for 401ks and Trad IRAs at a lower income/tax bracket.

Yes, a correction of 15-20% would hurt but still leave him with just under 3 million.

He should look into an annuity, LTC insurance, and have a living will and trust to protect assets and future income.

He’s totally fine! Fuck NVS!!

 

Well written.

 

OP here. yes well diversified. 60% stocks 40% bonds

thank you for all the kind words. God bless and Happy Thanksgiving

 

these are the kinds of things that cafe pharma needs. I'm in a similar position, after planning well. Don't discount bonds as when the market drops they will save your life and values will go up and they pay dividends.

 

Never listen to schmucks like this...Unless you live in California or maybe New York...You have way more than enough to live comfortably the rest of your life. DO NOT be like most and die with millions in the bank! LIVE your life because it is amazing how fast an illness can take you out. I've seen it many times in my life. I have about half of what you've been able to acquire and am a few years younger than you and hope to do the same as you very soon.

 

I retired at the age of 45. Had more than enough investments and a side hustle. My side hustle amounts to double my rep salary but it took 15 years to get there and over a $1 million dollar initial investment.t This is my advice. Did you go to college and inspire to be a rep? I didn't. It fell into my lap and was great in the late 1990's with the entertaining and nice trips for meetings. I made a difference. I could see my results. Things changed as you know. When I left I did not like the job. My peers did not like the job. I saved and invested and they spent. My life being away from pharma is great. I can't believe I stayed in that long. I always felt there was something missing in my 9-5 life. Most people can't retire in their 40's or early 50's but if you are close or can make sacrifices just do it. You are spinning your wheels being a rep and at the end of the day is it really fulfilling? What pushed me to finally leave was the unethical behavior and I felt it was toxic. Some people are ok with this type of work environment but I had an issue with it.

 

If Trump gets voted out and Warren or Sanders becomes President. Watch your 401k hit rock bottom. I am selling everything off before election day to take the large profit. I made under Trump. Don't turn this into I hate Trump save it for Facebook.

 

you should do that. sell all your stocks and pay those huge taxes those investments have gained (under Trump, and actually longer under Obama). You will have to go back to work again because you will paying so much. You're the kind of idiot I enjoy reading about. Most likely it will be Trump or Biden anyway not Sanders or Warren. so funny

 

Hmmm. You seem to be the idiot.

You do realize you can sell your high-flying equities and buy other less risky assets without paying capital gains, right? You pay the taxes when you take the distribution out of your 401k, ideally when you hit retirement. So your comment is moronic. Sorry.

BTW, Biden is toast and his brain is scrambled. He is drawing fewer than 100 people at his rallies in Iowa.

Merry Christmas!

 

Smart move.