I retired at 58, my wife at 52.

When I was in my early 20's I thought I would have the world by the tail by age 45. haha

 

LOL. I hear ya.

 

Wife retired 7 years ago at age 54.

I am 59, and have been working 3 day weeks for the last 4 years.
I might work another year or two, or maybe not..

We have been comfortably financially independent since before she retired.

 

Wife retired 7 years ago at age 54.

I am 59, and have been working 3 day weeks for the last 4 years.
I might work another year or two, or maybe not..

We have been comfortably financially independent since before she retired.

Amazing...

 

58/59.

Could have retired earlier but I was not ready.

 

58/59.

Could have retired earlier but I was not ready.

Great stuff, have to know when you ready (mentally, other)!

 

I will retire at 54.5 or 55. Somewhere in there, with a DB pension. Then I will start my second career.

Part time and flexible, less income but I want it about easiness and no stress or BS.

 

Tidy, with DB pension.
I might try and work next year at something, just don't know what yet... 1-day per week would be nice.

 

41 after 25 years military (2 years part time)

Now doing search and rescue, race track safety, ski patrol, and university research (none is paid)

Real retirement will be full time sailing from 50 ish

 

"Real retirement" age 50 ish sounds pretty darn good.

 

Retired at 57. I could have retired earlier but was not ready to hang up my spurs earlier, nor to put in the extra effort to pursue new income opportunities post retirement.

 

Sounds fair and based on what I know in this forum, you likely had a wealth of financial knowledge when you made the decision too.

 

Haha, I am the odd one here, so far.

At 56, 4 months off after roughly every 18 months work till 66.

66 - 71, 3 months half day each year.

71 till now, occasional few hours here and there. No pay but get invited to at least one of each Leafs, Raptors and Jays game in a private box.

Just like people knows there are some exceptions.....

 

Haha, I am the odd one here, so far.

No, you’re not the odd one — it’s probably me. I could of left work at 50ish, but I’m and still working years later, but only because I do what I want, when I want. “FU money” just makes that attitude more comfortable. Truth is, I’ve had this mindset since my early 20s — back when I had zero money but plenty of grit. To my wife's dismay, I was willing and ready to walk away from any job at anytime.

I grew up poor and promised myself I’d always walk my own path — I’ve seen the bottom, and honestly, it wasn’t that bad. If you believe in yourself. Down there, nobody tells you what to do or if they do you just laugh.

Best advice I ever got from senior leader when I was in my early 20's was don't let anyone ever walk over you -- even once. If they do it once, they will always do it. I've held the line ever since. I think for that reason, I continue to enjoy what I do.....

 

Planned in 2.5months at 58yo 4mo.

 

Awesome!

 

I noticed there's no option for 50 exactly.

 

Pick whatever is close or pick "Age 50 only".

 

Earliest is when a reduced (-30%) DB kicks in depending on our other investments, latest is at 60 with unreduced DB and more importantly the year my youngest should be finish all post secondary education.

We were on track for 55, but my spouse was laid off last year, and has a started a start up (no salary), so we aren't anything these days. It will really depend where my kids are at with school. Under no circumstances do we see the need to work past 60 even if we don't put a cent more towards savings.

 

Earliest is when a reduced (-30%) DB kicks in depending on our other investments, latest is at 60 with unreduced DB and more importantly the year my youngest should be finish all post secondary education.

We were on track for 55, but my spouse was laid off last year, and has a started a start up (no salary), so we aren't anything these days. It will really depend where my kids are at with school. Under no circumstances do we see the need to work past 60 even if we don't put a cent more towards savings.

Nice to have the DB - excellent.

 

I was 53, Mrs G 50. We could have retired a year earlier but I wanted to do 21 years with my last employer. I handed in my notice on the day of my 21 year anniversary .
32 years as an aerospace engineer was great but I had had enough and a few too many BS reorganization’s and WFH didn’t work for me either.
I then went and qualified as a ski instructor and scuba divemaster. I only did one season as a ski instructor (paid at $17.25/hr) in slushy then icy southern Ontario before moving to Quebec with no intention of teaching this year at least. Being a divemaster is unpaid but it’s a lot of fun

 

53 and 50 is pretty young - excellent!

I might do some seasonal work myself, we shall see in good time!

 

Self employed consultant since 1988. Have had financial freedom for several years now but have continued working part of the year. 9 months in 2024, 8 months this year. Next year who knows, maybe 7 months or perhaps full blown retirement. 66 years of age this year.

 

Just before I turned 54 by 3 months.
Took CPP at 60 and OAS at 65.
I'm 82 now and my lifelong motto continues to be....
"Take life one day at a time."

 

I'm in my 40s, still working, but have a bit of "financial freedom" and find that I'm now able to work less than I used to.

I don't like the term retirement though, because ideally I would like to keep doing work that interests me. I would like to keep working in some capacity for the rest of my life, even if it's minimal income.

But if we're talking, when would I have enough money to completely cover my lifestyle (so I don't have to work at all)... I'm hoping that happens in my 50s or 60s.

It's hard for me to make projections though, because I'm still open to having kids (but don't have any yet). If I have kids, and change my housing, it can completely change my expenses. So I don't really know what my future cost of living might be, and it's difficult to make retirement projections.

 

57.5 - 58 so about 3 years away... We can do it earlier but we like to travel and we want to save few more $. Considering we landed in Canada at 32 with $5k I think we did pretty well.

 

I don't really have a time or age, at 64 working 3 days per week my plan is to just keep going until I can't physically do it any longer.

 

Had always planned on 55 but a divorce at 52 made me work 5 extra years to cover the financial hit. Quite 4 Board memberships 3 years later.

 

Still quite young. Well done.
You still "wintering" in Mexico? PV?

 

I’m 46 now, married, and my wife is 54. We’ve got about $1.8 million invested, a paid-off million-dollar home, and both vehicles are owned outright. No pensions, no government benefits other than CPP and OAS decades from now. Maybe an inheritance someday, maybe not.

Our yearly expenses have been in the $60k to $70k range for the past few years, and that includes travel, cruises, festivals, and way too many concerts. Our daughters are 18 and 16, both working part-time and contributing to their education. The RESP is healthy. With more money, I honestly don’t know what we’d do differently. We both work full-time, we’re busy with family, and life feels good.

When I was in my twenties reading The Wealthy Barber, David Bach, and The Millionaire Next Door, I ran every compound interest calculator imaginable and figured I’d have tens of millions by 65. I absolutely loved my career back then. What I didn’t expect was that 25 years later I’d start to dislike what I helped create.

I started my career when the web was young, messy, creative, and full of play. Every new website felt like an event, and designers were rockstars experimenting with tables, Flash, and weird layouts just for fun. It wasn’t about algorithms or conversion rates, it was about expression. Now everything feels sterilized. Social media turned creativity into a popularity contest, AI pumps out endless sameness, and design systems make every site look like it came off the same assembly line. Everything has to be accessible, predictable, and perfectly formatted for little screens with big fonts, leaving little room for experimentation or personality. The magic’s been replaced with metrics. I miss when the internet felt alive, human, and fun.

In hindsight, I’m glad we saved and stayed disciplined while friends were chasing shiny cars and expensive clothes. We just quietly invested and kept our heads down. Now, while a lot of our peers are in their crunch years, we get to sit here in relative comfort, grateful that we built something steady and sane.

So overall, the math maths. $1.8 million and $70k withdrawn yearly is 3.9%SWR. If it's $60k/year it's 3.3%SWR per year. But there's also taxes which would eat into it. Overall though, I've calculated that we could withdraw nearly $100k/year starting in 2 years and easily get to 95 with lots of money in the bank and not touching the house (including CPP and OAK kicking in).

So financially, we're on the cusp of retirement. We're not retired yet but I suspect it's only because things are comfortable right now and not stressful or restrictive. My schedule is very autonomous and I never step foot in my office. My wife just started a business 3 months ago, and it's also flourishing. She's booked 70% of her time with recurring business. But it's on her schedule and her time. She's in control.

I think that finances in retirement feels more like being in control rather than limiting all forms of work. So it feels like retirement (maybe?) but it's surrounded by the responsibilities of parenting. If I "retired" today, then I'd still be a dad doing dad stuff.

 

I’m 46 now, married, and my wife is 54. We’ve got about $1.8 million invested, a paid-off million-dollar home, and both vehicles are owned outright. No pensions, no government benefits other than CPP and OAS decades from now. Maybe an inheritance someday, maybe not.

Our yearly expenses have been in the $60k to $70k range for the past few years, and that includes travel, cruises, festivals, and way too many concerts. Our daughters are 18 and 16, both working part-time and contributing to their education. The RESP is healthy. With more money, I honestly don’t know what we’d do differently. We both work full-time, we’re busy with family, and life feels good.

When I was in my twenties reading The Wealthy Barber, David Bach, and The Millionaire Next Door, I ran every compound interest calculator imaginable and figured I’d have tens of millions by 65. I absolutely loved my career back then. What I didn’t expect was that 25 years later I’d start to dislike what I helped create.

I started my career when the web was young, messy, creative, and full of play. Every new website felt like an event, and designers were rockstars experimenting with tables, Flash, and weird layouts just for fun. It wasn’t about algorithms or conversion rates, it was about expression. Now everything feels sterilized. Social media turned creativity into a popularity contest, AI pumps out endless sameness, and design systems make every site look like it came off the same assembly line. Everything has to be accessible, predictable, and perfectly formatted for little screens with big fonts, leaving little room for experimentation or personality. The magic’s been replaced with metrics. I miss when the internet felt alive, human, and fun.

In hindsight, I’m glad we saved and stayed disciplined while friends were chasing shiny cars and expensive clothes. We just quietly invested and kept our heads down. Now, while a lot of our peers are in their crunch years, we get to sit here in relative comfort, grateful that we built something steady and sane.

So overall, the math maths. $1.8 million and $70k withdrawn yearly is 3.9%SWR. If it's $60k/year it's 3.3%SWR per year. But there's also taxes which would eat into it. Overall though, I've calculated that we could withdraw nearly $100k/year starting in 2 years and easily get to 95 with lots of money in the bank and not touching the house (including CPP and OAK kicking in).

So financially, we're on the cusp of retirement. We're not retired yet but I suspect it's only because things are comfortable right now and not stressful or restrictive. My schedule is very autonomous and I never step foot in my office. My wife just started a business 3 months ago, and it's also flourishing. She's booked 70% of her time with recurring business. But it's on her schedule and her time. She's in control.

I think that finances in retirement feels more like being in control rather than limiting all forms of work. So it feels like retirement (maybe?) but it's surrounded by the responsibilities of parenting. If I "retired" today, then I'd still be a dad doing dad stuff.

Sounds like you are "set".

re: ~ $1.8M invested and no debt....geez.

That seems about right "...withdraw nearly $100k/year" in a few years and not run out of money given CPP and OAS will eventually kick-in.

How much do you need to retire on $7,000 per month? - My Own Advisor

Asset accumulation for retirement is much easier than asset decumulation. How much do you need to retire on $7,000 per month?

www.myownadvisor.ca

This couple was 51, expected to return 5.5% and with $2M invested they can spend at least $84k per year after tax with 3% higher spending every year and never run out of money.

Congrats and very well done.

 

Also, because my kids are young and impressionable and always watching, I want them to see the hard work and dedication that we put into our lives. So we're working hard to set a good example, but they will know soon enough that the hard work they observed led to the freedom we've achieved. We're just sortof playing with the optics.

 

Yes and no.

I worked for a compnay when I was 22 and it had the option for a DB or Dc. I actually choose the DC because I didnt want the golden handcuffs. Many of my friends have retired from their over the last few years. i would have retired with a full pension at with about 33 years. this is.IF I would’ve made it through. The company was notorious for a reorg almost every year and it got worse as I was leaving. They were working everyone to the bone. I know more people that left or got laid off before making it to retirement

For my current company, I didn’t want a pension, but had no choice. To be honest, I was planning to leave and go out on my own when my youngest got to school, but then there’s a big downturn in the economy. Now I feel the golden handcuffs. It’s still a small pension, but it will count as a portion on my fixed income.

Definite pros and cons depending on what kind of retirement you want. my DP pension at 55 will be only about 15% of my total income , if I wait till 60, it will be just over 20%.

I always wondered how much a DB pension funds for other people‘s retirement. If only one out of the two people in the couple has one.

 

I always wondered how much a DB pension funds for other people‘s retirement. If only one out of the two people in the couple has one.

It will vary all over the map. Corporate or civil service, years of service, service factor, contributory or not, whether indexed, annuitant and/or spousal benefits, final years of salary, etc, etc.

FWIW, my DB pension covers 20-25% of annual spend. Partly due to lower than average years of service, non-contributory so not remotely 2% service factor, no indexing, and split 50-50 with my ex.

 

I can speak for myself.

I have DB, hardly "gold plated" though...

Wife had DC.

My wife just retired.

Trending to retire 2026.

 

Isn't that interesting!?! I interviewed with a Post Secondary Education institution about 12 years ago and was offered the job. They look me out for lunch and I was told by two people about the pension. The first person was the person who worked there and she said that at 65, I would have a great pension! I also spoke with a colleague/mentor of mine who led HR for major Canadian corporations. He mirrored the same thing. Said that in 30 years I'd have a great pension and spoke to it as a huge benefit.

As much as I tried, all I heard was "golden handcuffs" and that I knew many people who slugged away OMY and hated the end of their career for being locked in. I declined the job because my current role allowed me to work from my back deck. This new opportunity would be lenient if I were to be 15 minutes late from time-to-time.

Many people would have LOVED the consistency of the income and opportunity along with an OMERS pension. I saw it as shackles and an early death sentence. The pension was a large reason I declined the role.

I didn't really understand 'golden handcuffs' until the last few years. I have always enjoyed my work. I am very glad in a way that I did get handcuffed. Like you, in my younger days, I thought I would have tens of millions at retirement. I didn't think I would really need my pension to retire, so we just continued saving. Now, as I am getting closer to retirement, It becomes another number for our planning. I treat my DB like a fixed income component, so my portfolio can be a higher growth allocation.

i started at 36, and that was late compared to many. I know a colleague who joined our organization when he was close to 50 and worked exactly to 65 to get a second pension that he needed. He had an airline pension but said it wasn't enough.

There are so many variations to DB plans. Contributory/non contributory. 1 percent payout/vs two percent payout. Full pension at X years, X years plus service, inflation adjusted. Integrated with CPP or not. 15 years or 40 years in the plan. You name it.

Mine was very basic. Non contributory, 1 percent, no inflation adjustment.

It would be a mistake to believe that everyone who has a DB pension is on retirement easy street.

My sisters, OTHA was contributory, as I recall 5-7 percent of her salary, 2 percent, inflation adjusted.

There is a huge difference between those two pensions in terms of what the employee pays and what the final pension is.

Yes, I realize there are many different pensions out there. I am just surprised at how people I know that are depending on working until 65 or longer just so they can get their full pension, yet, spouses also work (non db) and they have pretty much no investments. It does surprise me a little. I understand if there's only one income earner, or both partners are in a db, that a full pension makes sense, I just am surprised that so many don't any money outside of their pension. Yet, these are the same people that have no idea how much their pension is.

 

I am just surprised at how people I know that are depending on working until 65 or longer just so they can get their full pension, yet, spouses also work (non db) and they have pretty much no investments. It does surprise me a little. I understand if there's only one income earner, or both partners are in a db, that a full pension makes sense, I just am surprised that so many don't any money outside of their pension. Yet, these are the same people that have no idea how much their pension is.

I am more surprised to see people with no penison in their 50s who don't have a clue how much CPP and OAS will give them and they think they can retire with that...

 

Interesting thread as I've been trying to figure this out recently.
I'm turning 51 next month. My wife is 45. We have 2 young kids at 7 and 13.
I'm working in a high stress, well paid job but it could end at any time. My wife was laid off last year at her high stress, good paying job and it was probably the best thing for her health. After 12 months off she's starting to look for a job now.
Our house is paid off that's worth about $1.2M, 2 newer cars paid off, $4M invested between RRSP, TFSA etc. RESP are maxed out for the kids. No debt.

We were very careful from the time we finished university about saving all of our money. We didn't go on fancy vacations, buy nice cars (we were driving 25 year old cars until 2023 when we bought 2 new ones), restaurants as we just saved as much as we could. We don't feel like we denied ourselves of anything but would like to spend more in retirement than when we were working.

Now we are trying to figure out how much we need to retire. Having young kids makes it a bit more difficult to plan.

The one thing we did a terrible job at was budgeting our spend. We didn't pay any attention at all as to our burn rate as we both just spent on things that were required and didn't really deviate from that.

How are all of you figuring out what you need to retire? Do any of you have young kids that will still be in the house for another 10 years or, if you have kids are they all grown up and out on their own?

I feel like my job could end at any time and I'm not confident I would be able to get a job paying a similar amount. I probably don't want the stress anyhow. My wife is in the same spot. I dream about retiring but feel like it could be risky doing it with young kids in the house. Plus, I don't know what the world will be like when they are older and want to make sure they have a good nest egg to help supplement their income.

 

With a house north of $1 million and $4 million invested... are you sure that you need to work?

Those high stress jobs can kill a person. Stress kills. Please be careful. The biggest dangers to your life are smoking, being overweight, and stress.

How are all of you figuring out what you need to retire?

I think it all comes down to figuring out your cost of living, or [projected] future cost of living for the years to come. That's very individual and just depends on each person's circumstances.

With $4 million in your investments, using standard withdrawals this can generate $140,000 to $180,000 annually before taxes. The next steps would be to estimate your future taxes, see what you would be left with after taxes, and then ask yourself if it covers your [projected] cost of living.

If the 160K gross income can fully pay for your lifestyle, there's no need to work. Speaking for myself, I would live like a king on 160K gross annual income.

 

@Mr_Pacman, I am about the same age and left a very challenging, well paid but high stress job about 5 years ago. I left for a couple reasons but health and time with family were the main ones. I managed to hire and train some great individuals and terminated some others while I negotiated a great severance. I left the company in a good position. After a nice sabbatical I set up a part time consulting business and took on some contacts as clients. I found a new job that is much less stressful. I definitely don't make as much. It has taken me a number of years and a couple promotions to get back to my previous wage. I enjoyed my old job for many years but I knew if I stayed much longer I would regret it dearly. My health was suffering as was my family life. At a certain age I would either be dead, divorced or at best forced out and have a hard time finding a good job. I don't know your retirement goals or your burn rate but you likely are in great shape to make a change. Best wishes to wherever life takes you next.