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Retire Sooner or Wait for Pension?
08-05-2018, 04:28 PM
Hey guys, looking for some input. Apologize for the poor English in advance.
Background:
I am 32, single, have no kids, and no debt. I live in the US but am from the FYROM. I have a paid condo in the states and own my family home in Europe. Current living expenses are around 15k USD/y, take home is around 95k. My living expenses in Europe, if I were to move back, are around 6000 a year.
I do cyber security, and my job has a pension that I could retire and draw at age 53, that, as of now, is 36k USD per year. I have been offered a job with almost double the salary, but no benefits. After paying the added health insurance and everything, the take home would be around 180k.
I have been debating taking the new position, adding to my nest-egg, and retiring in the FYROM at 40
If all I planned to do with my life was work until retirement, the answer would be easy: work until 40 and chill out. Really though, I am the only one left to pass on my family name, and starting a family has been weighing heavily on my mind. The issue I am having with that, however, is I really do not want to start a family in the states.
Has anyone been in a similar situation? How did it turn out/ how is it going? I have spent many sleepless nights over the last few months wondering what to do.
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Retire Sooner or Wait for Pension?
08-05-2018, 05:31 PM
I had to google FYDOM (Macedonia). I've never been there, but 6K per year, even with a paid off house, would give you very little room for maneuver in any country. If I were you, I would aim for a bigger amount even if I was planning to retire in the cheapest country on Earth.
You didn't mention your current net worth which is understandable, but it's hard to give you specific advice without knowing at least the approximate amount/range.
The 36K per year pension starting at 53: is it already vested? If you quit today, will you still get 36K per year, ideally adjusted for inflation, 20 years from now? If so, accepting the higher paying job offer is a no brainer. Earning 2X after tax means you have to work half the time to reach financial independence.
Depending on your current savings and how much you can get from your condo in the US by either renting or selling it, you have probably already reached bare bones FI (Financial Independence) given that you plan to retire in your home country. However, unless you hate what you do for a living, it would be a waste to shut down that firehose of cash (your job) and move to your home country at this age just to find a wife.
Is taking a sabbatical an option for you? If so, maybe you can take 6 months off to give it a try. Some companies offer career breaks/sabbaticals with an option to come back to the same job. You can also try to negotiate delayed start at that new job you've been offered. If you spend a few months in your home country, you can probably find a decent girl and then decide what to do next: stay there and work remotely (I understand that working remotely from abroad may be hard or even impossible in your line of work). Move back to the city where you currently live? Perhaps move to a more conservative/family friendly area in the US and work remotely from there?
If your plan is to retire by 40, you are on the right path and will most likely achieve this even before you reach that age, especially if you get that high paying job.
You'll probably get some great advice on RVF about game, finding a good wife and starting a family, but i don't think this is the right place to get advice on investments, money management or early retirement. For that, I would recommend the MMM forum (Mr Money Mustache). Just keep in mind that it's infested with liberals and SJWs. Use it for money-related tips and avoid political discussions.
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Retire Sooner or Wait for Pension?
08-05-2018, 06:51 PM
Are you sure all the details are correct? Something does not seem right. Correct me if I am wrong, but you are stating that -
Current situation: 32 years old, take home pay $95,000. If you stay until 53 (21 more years), you get a pension $36,000 per year.
Option B: Work at a less secure job (presumably as a contractor) that gives you no benefits, but take home pay of $180,000?
If what I wrote is true, I think it is no brainer to take option B. The extra salary is $85,000 per year.
Put aside going back to your country and retiring/raising a family. Just assume you keep that job or a similar job just for 10 more years, and you live your same lifestyle:
$85,000 per year (the extra you are making in your new job) X 10 = $850,000
Using the 4 % rule, that is over $34,000 per year in income. (so basically building a nest egg at 42 that will be similar to the pension you would get at 53 year.
And cyber security is not a dying field. When you reach your financial goal, do not think of yourself as being `retired` but `financially independent.` You can: continue working in the United States in the same field, go back to Macedonia and work part-time, do whatever you want...
If your skills are good enough to get you a $180K job right now, even if your new job sucks, it should be easy for your to find something else that pays higher than your current gig even if it has a pension.
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Retire Sooner or Wait for Pension?
08-05-2018, 07:35 PM
Great comments above... I will add: 20 years is a very long timeframe in tech-related industries. Is that position going to be stable over that period? I would lean towards taking a higher salary now.
Also, have you considered trying to set up your own consultancy? I guess it depends on what your specific role is, whether it lends itself to working remotely (from home) and how good you are at networking. Could you find a business partner and strike out on your own? Spending a week per month in the US may allow you to have the best of both worlds instead of delaying family life for a decade.
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Retire Sooner or Wait for Pension?
08-05-2018, 08:23 PM
Thanks for the replies guys. To shed some more light on the subject, and to why this isn't such a no brainer to me:
I work the at type of agency that my pension is as close to a guarantee as you can get these days. Also, my salary will continue to grow and in 10 years my take home could be approximately 125 by the time I am 42 if all goes well. The guarantee is hard to walk away from with 9 years already put in. For your question, brodiaga, if I walk away now I get nothing. A break to test the waters is not an option either.
As I said in the OP, if I wanted walk and retire, the money now option is an easy choice, however, I am trying to plan for a potential family. Right now, my expenses are low. I eat food from the home and ride my bicycle to work. If I were to start a family, I could see that expense increasing 4x, which is where the pension may come into play.
Apologies if this was a bit confusing, thanks for the advice so far.
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Retire Sooner or Wait for Pension?
08-05-2018, 09:34 PM
Math has never been my strong suit.
Another poster mentioned Money Moustache, but I would also recommend Reddit Financial Independence. All they talk about is how long it's going to take you to reach early retirement. It's worth checking out, you'll have various posters running the numbers.
https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/
Big thing that I would do in your situation is to run the numbers (yourself or via an expert/professional) and see if whatever your goals are, are feasible.
While I can't comment on the math, I can comment on something you need to think about, which I'm surprised you didn't write in your original post as it was pretty big news, especially for your home country. It was just announced on June 13, 2018 so it's very recent news and should've been fresh on your mind:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/13/we-have-...spute.html
Quote:Quote:
'We have a deal,' say Greece and Macedonia over name dispute
Greece, Macedonia reach historic accord over name
Macedonia will be known as "Northern Macedonia"-PM
Deal will pave way for Macedonia's EU, NATO membership
Macedonia recently resolved a dispute over the country's name with Greece, which makes them eligible to apply for membership to the European Union.
If the country should ever decide to accept the euro and if they do join the European Union, then your calculations for cost of living per year in Northern Macedonia just got a whole lot higher. Keep that in mind, that's very important and should've been mentioned in the OP.
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08-06-2018, 08:49 PM
Unfadable,
I agree with you that starting a family in the US isn't so desirable and especially marrying an American girl, that's a disaster waiting to happen and 99% would think you were the devil because of your plan of leaving the US to live in a foreign country permanently.
How often do you get vacation time? If I were you I would travel back home ASAP and start meeting girls there and try to find one that fits well with you. If you find a good one stay in contact with her as much as possible. Visit her every time you can and start setting the stage. After a good amount of time you should know if she is right for you. Make sure her goals and time table (when to have kids, when to get married, etc.) match up or will fit with your plans.
Assuming you are a US citizen, you can do a fiance visa and bring her over. She probably won't like being in the US and miss her family back home but if you found a good one she will understand it is in the best interest of you and your future family together. Make a plan that you two will live in the US for X amount of years and afterwards return back home in a good financial situation.
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Retire Sooner or Wait for Pension?
08-07-2018, 07:22 PM
Thanks for all of the replies guys, really appreciate it. After going over this thread and talking to someone I trust, I've decided to stop stressing out so much, take the higher paying job now and stack up some more money to reevaluate things in a few years.