for those of you that have retired...

[DawgWood]

I'm getting close, very close.  One thing that I'm really struggling with mentally is tapping into retirement funds.  I've spent my whole life saving and putting this money away that under no circumstances I'd touch.  Now I'm supposed to flip the switch and start spending these untouchable funds?
I know that's probably dumb, but how did you flip the switch to ... ok, no income and I'm going to start watching my retirement savings shrink....

[trombone92_dawg]

I am not quite there yet (retirement age), but getting close, too. I have had to take over finances for my mom after my dad passed earlier this year. The IRS will give you a nudge to take your money by imposing a RMD (Required Minimum Distribution) on your retirement plan. I am not exactly sure how it is calculated, but this should help with the hesitancy to start using the money.

[Concourse E]

Those RMD's don't kick in until you are past age 70, and in practice, unless you are loaded, you really don't have to worry about the RMD because you are taking what you need to live on out of there first.  

Dawgwood, I had to help my Dad through this about 30 years ago when he retired early (he was 57 at the time).  You could take a lump sum distribution when you left your employer, but other than that you couldn't start taking distributions without penalty until 59.5.  He didn't take the separation lump sum and was supposed to live on dividends from his employer stock for two years.  He drove my mother crazy because he had the dividends set to auto reinvest and wouldn't change it because 'its a great long term investment, I want to keep buying it'.  

He seemed so stupid at the time, but I think in retrospect, it was really what he needed.  He wanted to live really economically for a couple of years just to get a feel for it, see how his investments were doing, make sure he could live on very little if he ever felt like he was starting to run out of money, and set the tone with the kids so they'd know the Bank of Dad wasn't looking to expand.  After that two years was up, he was comfortable opening up the purse strings a little and started to live a little more extravagantly.  When he died a few years ago, he had a higher net worth than he did when he retired even after adjusting for inflation.  

That's probably what I'm going to try to do as well when my time comes.  My wife and I stopped arguing about money a long time ago because I just accepted that argument or not, she was going to blow $500 a month on useless crap.  Retirement is about the only time where the budget rules drastically change without so much resistance.

[RockmartDawg]

Put it all down on paper (well, in Excel   ) and look at any incoming monies (i.e. social security, any pension, such as that) and determine how much you need or want in order to live your desired lifestyle each month. See how much you will need to tap out of your retirement account(s). 

Also, be sure that your retirement accounts are still making money, still growing, while in retirement. There are a number of options whereby you can do that, and you can do it at zero risk.

As far as the psychological aspect of just looking at the fact that you're hitting this huge milestone in life, actually starting to spend the money you've spent your working career saving, think about your perspective on that. Are you sad about it? Are you happy to reach this point? Is it stirring thoughts in your mind and you are having a problem with the reality of it all? There is always that one thought of being happy and thankful that you even reached this point in your life, and you have this matter to deal with. I know many friends and family who didn't live this long. They never reached a point of retirement, even though they were probably preparing, just the same.

[DawgWood]

Great perspectives guys. Excellent way to look at this
HOTD comes thru again!

[GriffWoody]

Save enough to live on the interest and never eat into principal is the ideal solution.  Unfortunately, too late for most around here including myself that works in the retirement plan space.

[Milldawg]

plug your numbers into this calculator......run a simulation and see what your percentage of success is....this should help you https://ficalc.app/

---

another calculator https://millennialmoney.com/calculators/...alculator/

[RockmartDawg]

Interesting and handy calculator. Thanks for sharing that. I will have to play around with that and help better get some ideas. I notice that you can download the tool as a .csv file... which is Excel. I think I'm going to do that.

[Milldawg]

Interesting and handy calculator. Thanks for sharing that. I will have to play around with that and help better get some ideas. I notice that you can download the tool as a .csv file... which is Excel. I think I'm going to do that.
[/quote]

good idea, I like looking at my dividend and interest income year over year

[RockmartDawg]

Interesting and handy calculator. Thanks for sharing that. I will have to play around with that and help better get some ideas. I notice that you can download the tool as a .csv file... which is Excel. I think I'm going to do that.
[/quote]

good idea, I like looking at my dividend and interest income year over year
[/quote]

I made a move of the brunt of my 401k (which I had 100% invested in a safe fund... guaranteed no loss but drawing very little) into an annuity through my local credit union (they actually work with other national investment companies). It increased the amount the account will grow (guaranteed) quite a lot, and with a guaranteed minimum, no loss. On top of that, they have some additional riders/investments that can give you even more growth. I'm watching that, as I have still a couple/few more years to go before I start looking into using it. Maybe I can kick the can down the road a little while longer and hold off touching it, just yet. We'll see.

[Milldawg]

Interesting and handy calculator. Thanks for sharing that. I will have to play around with that and help better get some ideas. I notice that you can download the tool as a .csv file... which is Excel. I think I'm going to do that.
[/quote]

good idea, I like looking at my dividend and interest income year over year
[/quote]

I made a move of the brunt of my 401k (which I had 100% invested in a safe fund... guaranteed no loss but drawing very little) into an annuity through my local credit union (they actually work with other national investment companies). It increased the amount the account will grow (guaranteed) quite a lot, and with a guaranteed minimum, no loss. On top of that, they have some additional riders/investments that can give you even more growth. I'm watching that, as I have still a couple/few more years to go before I start looking into using it. Maybe I can kick the can down the road a little while longer and hold off touching it, just yet. We'll see.
[/quote]
I have a HIGH risk tolerance, but Vanguard's VIG fund is almost a no brainer