300k+/year salaries and 2M pensions. No wonder jobs are moving to India.
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Secrets to retiring wealthy:
- Avoid divorce - that stripper isn't worth it, neither is the AMP, eventually the sh-t catches up with you. Buy your wife flowers once in awhile and appreciate her, thats worth a couple of mil.
- Take care of your sh-t (cars, furniture, home) and make it last - drive your car like its yours, maintain it, keep it until at least 100-150k miles, don't buy American, Italian, French, Volkswagon or Nissan. Learn how to do most of your own maintenance and smaller repairs, I derive a lot of satisfaction in this.
- Send your kids to the school they deserve - even better, local junior or community college for freshman and sophomore years are great transitions and tests. you don't need to fork out $100K straightaway. Make them work and earn some of it. Also much easier to get into "preferred" schools in second and third year.
- Always be ready for the shoe to drop. I spent thirty years preparing for a layoff (living well within my means) and working my a-s off to avoid being first. Amazing how the $$ accumulate when you are saving 20-50% of your income.
- Never own a boat or pool, use someone elses or rent them.
I retired SG29 in 2021 with about $3.3M in Lump Sum and overall about $9.5M net worth, now up to $11.5M and steadily marching.
I’m one of the lucky ones who retired with more than 10 M$ net worth. Sure I did my part saving until it hurt, but I readily acknowledge that a big part of my success has been the luck of the market for both stocks and real estate. Add in the good fortune to have worked for Exxon when the opportunities and pay were better.
What I don’t get is the azz wipes who post on this site with nothing more than a self congratulatory message of I did it so you can to. No, the opportunities are not the same for young people today. Yes, they should save and invest all they can. But nobody here should feel bad when they are already doing all the right things just because some older ahole got even luckier.
Research tech with 33 years has 3.3 mil in 401k with a XOM stock, S & P 500, and Extended Markets portfolio. Lost 47k last quarter. 18% contribution for almost 30 years. Never panicked and sold or traded anything, just rode the wave into retirement. Almost 800K lump sum pension. My philosophy is to retire if you can withstand a 40 to 50% drop in your portfolio. Has happened to me several times
35 M net worth. Ten years since retirement, dual income EM employees with wife at CL 28 and me at CL 29. Made good investments in Amazon/Apple in 2002, investments in facebook and google when they IPO, investments in Microsoft in 2013 and invidia in 2017 and palantir in 2023. Plenty of losers along the way also. Net worth has doubled since retirement.
Still have over 100k share in EM, only recently started selling my EM shares (never ever sold s share below 100 price. I have more shares than all outside directors and up until 2017 had more shares than Jack Williams.
ANY mid level professional that reaches CL 28 can easily get to 10 million if they save and invest and manage their spending (no BMWs). I know field people with over 10 million...they lived simple lives in Baytown or New Orleans or Lafayette, drive an old truck, still have an old boat. Wife never worked and put 3 kids thru Ivy league schools.
Now every time EM raises the dividend 5%...I get a 25000 tax free raise because many of my shares are in a Roth. My taxable shares are taxes at 18.8%.
@gb+1jkf75035
There is nothing magic in the so called “boomer /gen x” investment period. The 2008 crash was painful.
Simply invest as much as you can, as early as you can. Ignore the downturns ( dollar cost averaging), and the 401k will take care of itself. As far as CL goes , I’ve seen some techs doing very well for themselves following the long term strategy above.
@a6 if you’re high CL and have many years with the company, sure that attainable. I suspect the majority of employees won’t make it to that point, either due to capping of potential, dropping in salary curves due to low ranking favoritism and ageism, or just not making it to retirement (15 and 55) because they leave due to all the bs. It’s not hard to calculate necessary salary with a certain number of years service to hit $2M.
Mr and Mrs $11.3 M net worth are so spot on - what a testament to a combo of solid and steady with a strong family foundation and always a dash of good fortune. Such is the life lottery - awesome to see people overcome odds from poorer families and set up wealth for their future kids families. Divorce destroyed my potential net worth but always grateful for what I continue to build. Who you marry is the most improtant career decision you’ll ever make. I tell my kids this and to be careful with their choices of life partners!!
I did, and I like it 🤑, therefore, you can deal with it.
Cl 25 lump sum after discounted is about 700k. Retire with 18 years service. 401k will be 1.4 million. The discount rate su-ks up about 40 percent. I don't need millions to retire just enough to not have to work anymore and stay home. I can do hobbies eat out a bit and go on a few vacations. Not a glamorous life but a comfortable life. Don't be too unrealistic with what retirement will be. I just don't like dealing with the constant bs at exxon or any other place to work. I know some single men that live off of 3000.00 usd per month. It is possible you just have to live within a budget and humble.
Wealth is easier to create if you control your spending and calibrate your lifestyle to align with long term savings goals.
Its up to you.
Thanks for the advice boomers and Xers. I really am happy for you. Explain to me again how driving my unreliable old car a little longer is going to overcome this:
Vanguard’s 2025 updated 10-year annualized return projections:
U.S. bonds: 4.3% - 5.3%
U.S. equities: 2.8% - 4.8%
Why can’t these older generations admit that they just got lucky with their 11% investment returns and low housing prices?
The numbers you are seeing above 2 million are for people who retired at lower interest rates. It’s right around 2 million at today’s interest rates for a midranked CL29 with 35 years.
For those who are going to top out in the lower CLs, don’t lose heart. I’ve seen plenty of examples of technicians who achieve a 3 to 4 million net worth by retirement. Don’t say it can’t be done because the guy working next to you is probably doing it.
Pension lump sum about $2.2M, 401k $3.6M. If you’re young, strongly suggest you defer the fancy cars and extravagant vacations and pile into the 401k until it hurts. Your 55+ year old self will thank you one day.
How TF yall getting 2MM pensions. I run the Calc from a CL25 salary and end up around 1MM lump sum.
401k was $2.2M
Pension Lump Sum was $2.4M
Outside brokerage was $1M
Real estate of primary home and three rental properties all paid for and worth $2.5M 34 years work and already done at 59.
So $8.1M in diversified tangible assets ( cash, real estate, stock and bond funds)
Also deferring Social Security until age 70 so PV of these payments calculated to age as about $500k … now also in play is that plus spouse has same $500k PV of social security, and also has 401k and pension current value of $2.2M.
So spouse and I have about $11.3M in tangible net worth for just being hardworking engineer for 30+ years and hardworking spouse for 30+years while raising two children that graduated with no college debt and now are both on their own doing well. Just work hard never say no to opportunities and don’t feel you are entitled anything and admit when you sc--w up versus trying to hide your mistakes. Not too hard to be a multimillionaire in America… btw spouse and I came from dirt poor families and were on our own out of the house at age 18’with no outside or other financial support. If you want to figure out how to get started on a similar journey. Join the military and learn how to say yes sir and no sir and show up 5 min earlier all the time.
What about CL26?
Yes, current lump sum is $2M at CL 29 salary and 35 years service. Less, of course, if you have fewer years service. Equivalent monthly pension option is 12k$/month.
Is a 2M lump sum realistic with current interest rates?
Typical is between 3 and 4 in savings plan plus 2 pension. Any of us could make retirement work based only on the pension, but most people find it on their best interest to wait for at least 3 + 2.