# Relying on pension to retire early?



## Addy (Mar 12, 2010)

My husband (currently 40 yrs old) can retire in 2027 with a (todays $, defined benefits) minimum $2600/m pension. It most likely will go up but that is the minimum. I too have a small pension which I can start at age 50 (I am currently 43) for $430/m until age 60, then $250/m thereafter. I have a small second pension which will give me about $200/m after age 55. Both my pensions are defined contribution.

We have about 100K in stocks, of which approximately 75% is RRSP's and 25% TFSA's - mostly canadian dividend, plus 50K in a HISA, and a house with a today value around $330K (105K mortgage).

We are hoping to retire in 2027, my husband will be 54, I will be 57, at which point I'm sure our house (value currently around $330K) will be paid off in full.

Today if our house were paid off, and our daughter was not at home, we could very comfortably live off $2K/month.

Our major problem is we're lost what we want to do when we retire, other than we want to travel. We could buy a cheap house in Ontario and live there during the summer, then travel in the winter months to warm climates, either in a travel trailer of some sort, or renting condo's or even buying a cheap condo in central or south america. The problem with that is we have no bloody clue where we want to travel, let alone buy a cheap condo.

Our second problem is, I'm fairly certain we can live comfortably off the pensions we have, maybe I'm wrong - how can I get a better idea without really having a clue what we will do (or want to do) when we retire?


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## Jon_Snow (May 20, 2009)

I would question why retire early at all if you can't envision what you would do in your early retirement.

My own burning desire to quit full time employment is that my job prevents me from doing all sorts of things that truly make me happy and enrich my soul (peruse the "Hobby" thread to see what makes me tick). I can already picture in my mind every detail of my life after I stop working...

I would suggest that early retirement isn't for everyone - even for those who can financially pull it off.


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

^ I would agree with John has said. In my opinion it would be very helpful to travel a little to your preferred destination(s) before retirement to see if you like that lifestyle. You could also consider P/T to transition to retirement to see if you're ready and it suits you. 

You must be very frugal indeed for a couple to live comfortably and maintain a home on 2K/mth (not incl mortgage).


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## steve41 (Apr 18, 2009)

It is pretty hard to answer your question without knowing your salaries between now and when you retire. If you are grossing $150K, that's one thing, if it is only $40K, well........


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

I would put together a realistic budget and see the minimum you can live on. Certain expenses will naturally go away. If this exercise proves you can LBYM then you can retire as soon as you find something to do and someplace to do it in. Definitely look at going to a place that has activities and people that attract you.

(Many people retire to the US south, for example Arkansas and Missouri, only to discover that they don't like living there.)


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

This is a self-knowledge problem, not a money problem. :02.47-tranquillity: The only way you are going to be able to answer this is to get into the enquiry of "what do I want to do with the rest of my life?" Not just for teenagers! :encouragement:


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## Addy (Mar 12, 2010)

hah so true, I love the comparison to being a teen and wondering what the heck to do with your life... now I'm in my 40's wondering what the heck to do with our future retirement.

Since we plan to travel, I think we will have to focus on that for now and see how things fall into place. Jon has a point, retirement isn't mandatory, and depending on my husbands career when he is 54 he may decide to stick with it longer (he's in the Canadian Forces, so if they offer us an overseas posting or something fun then well, hopefully he will stick with it a bit longer!).

Thanks everyone, great information for us to contemplate.


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