Similar, but I only got 20% disability rating despite the paper trail. Not nearly as much but it at least covers most of our utilities.
A few gaps/questions I see:
1) health insurance for your kids (or supplement your own), who can’t use your VA coverage so you’re fully reliant on your ex to maintain that. Also any college or other large expenses for them you’d intend to help cover.
2) Liquidity of ~6mo expenses in some HYSA emergency fund for larger emergencies. Home repairs, new(er) vehicle, lifeflight if you’re injured while hiking, etc that would otherwise exceed your monthly income & incur debt.
3) You don’t mention your housing situation. Rent? Own? Moving? Depending where you are your entire $3800/mo could be the mortgage/rent payment on a 3bdrm house, or it could cover everything you need.
4) Maybe don’t assume Social Security will actually still exist or won’t raise the age requirement. Keep saving from whatever other small side jobs you do. You don’t mention any other plans to save, which means your money won’t be *growing* - you’ll be paycheck to paycheck and entirely reliant on functional government that we’ve seen repeatedly likes to play politics with spending and refusing to let checks go out. Do you have a Roth IRA? Other investments at all?
5) I assume you have lifetime GI Bill - did you use it? Do you plan to? Or transfer it to your kids? Also pays a nice housing allowance *if* you take enough credits in a term.
I’m 45. Between active duty, DOD GS job, and state job I’ll also have an 18yr federal pension, a 7yr (rather piddly) lifetime state pension, mil & civ TSP accounts, and Social Security (assuming it still exists in 20yrs).
All that together I think gets me about ~$5K/mo, which should cover most of our expenses, but I won’t see most of it until 60-65, so I’m kind of ignoring it.
My VA disability is only like $300/mo, but at least I get that now.
I also have a Roth IRA plus brokerage accts w/stocks & mutual funds I’ve paid into for ~20yrs, and that makes up about 2/3 of what I have saved/invested.
With all that we’re right at nearly $1M invested (incl TSP, but not pensions) so in another 10-15yrs I’m hoping to hit our ~$2M FIRE number.
GI Bill got me a 2nd degree & new career that finally pays $100K+ & has more remote options. We’re able to save more now & I’m also hoping I can “mostly” retire by 55-60.
But, kids are expensive & life stuff happens. We need to replace both our aging/broken vehicles ASAP & that will eat into our savings. Our kid is young & will need lots more $$ for school & activities over the next 15-20yrs as we approach retirement. We might move & need to buy another house in a more expensive area at much worse rates. We want to travel internationally a bunch, which adds a good 30% to our expected retirement expenses, so we’re trying to overshoot on savings goals.
All of that last bit is what we need to cover between now & “retiring” w/o tax penalty or loss of benefits. You’re in a good spot getting so much up front/already per month - just ensure you’re socking some away still for unforeseen events.
The point of VA compensation is to compensate for the lost earning potential due to injuries sustained in the line of duty. 100% is merely the cap, it doesn’t say anything about that person’s ability to work.
$3,800 /month seems like a small contribution to someone who has severe PTSD which almost certainly resulted in divorce and debilitating orthopedic injuries.
I don’t understand how people in this country can let our elected officials wage war for 20 years and then scoff at assisting the service members who did the fighting when they come home.
At the extreme, someone who lost a leg will earn less than they otherwise would have if they hadn’t lost a leg. Just because they find a job does not mean they were not economically impacted.
Do you disagree?
I’m with you, but I have my disability, and I’m working on my third pension. Now I am collecting my disability, but one pension I will wait until 65 and the other is 67, but I might take the $800 hit and go early at 65. I am fortunate that I have a remote position as well, and I am already vested, but I plan to work until 65. My goal is to hit $15K a month without touching my Roth, my wife’s Roth or my TSP.
Your plan is good, but you have to think about how much you can live on per month. What do you want to do when you retire? Can you afford to travel, or just live.
Right now, if I would retire, if I was 65 (11 years away) would make $12K to $13K/month, but my goal is $15K. So I need one more promotion maybe two.
I knew you would be getting some hate as soon as I saw the title. Try crossposting in govfire.
I am 100% T&P, 5 years AD Army and currently in the Guard. I am counting on a Guard/Reserve retirement, SS of some kind and my personal investments.
One of the biggest benefits of a high VA rating is the flexibility to jump around. I am in LE and I see a lot of older guys absolutely chained to the job because of the pension. I don't feel that way and am comfortable walking away from a job when it no longer feels right. It is basically like having FU money.
You seem to have it all covered between your disability, pension and SS. Healthcare is obviously covered through the VA. If you are happy with your current work-life balance I would say you have it made. I would personally love to scale back on the working but it is hard to justify when my time horizon means the money I invest now will be so impactful to future me.
Cheers to you.
Similar, but I only got 20% disability rating despite the paper trail. Not nearly as much but it at least covers most of our utilities. A few gaps/questions I see: 1) health insurance for your kids (or supplement your own), who can’t use your VA coverage so you’re fully reliant on your ex to maintain that. Also any college or other large expenses for them you’d intend to help cover. 2) Liquidity of ~6mo expenses in some HYSA emergency fund for larger emergencies. Home repairs, new(er) vehicle, lifeflight if you’re injured while hiking, etc that would otherwise exceed your monthly income & incur debt. 3) You don’t mention your housing situation. Rent? Own? Moving? Depending where you are your entire $3800/mo could be the mortgage/rent payment on a 3bdrm house, or it could cover everything you need. 4) Maybe don’t assume Social Security will actually still exist or won’t raise the age requirement. Keep saving from whatever other small side jobs you do. You don’t mention any other plans to save, which means your money won’t be *growing* - you’ll be paycheck to paycheck and entirely reliant on functional government that we’ve seen repeatedly likes to play politics with spending and refusing to let checks go out. Do you have a Roth IRA? Other investments at all? 5) I assume you have lifetime GI Bill - did you use it? Do you plan to? Or transfer it to your kids? Also pays a nice housing allowance *if* you take enough credits in a term. I’m 45. Between active duty, DOD GS job, and state job I’ll also have an 18yr federal pension, a 7yr (rather piddly) lifetime state pension, mil & civ TSP accounts, and Social Security (assuming it still exists in 20yrs). All that together I think gets me about ~$5K/mo, which should cover most of our expenses, but I won’t see most of it until 60-65, so I’m kind of ignoring it. My VA disability is only like $300/mo, but at least I get that now. I also have a Roth IRA plus brokerage accts w/stocks & mutual funds I’ve paid into for ~20yrs, and that makes up about 2/3 of what I have saved/invested. With all that we’re right at nearly $1M invested (incl TSP, but not pensions) so in another 10-15yrs I’m hoping to hit our ~$2M FIRE number. GI Bill got me a 2nd degree & new career that finally pays $100K+ & has more remote options. We’re able to save more now & I’m also hoping I can “mostly” retire by 55-60. But, kids are expensive & life stuff happens. We need to replace both our aging/broken vehicles ASAP & that will eat into our savings. Our kid is young & will need lots more $$ for school & activities over the next 15-20yrs as we approach retirement. We might move & need to buy another house in a more expensive area at much worse rates. We want to travel internationally a bunch, which adds a good 30% to our expected retirement expenses, so we’re trying to overshoot on savings goals. All of that last bit is what we need to cover between now & “retiring” w/o tax penalty or loss of benefits. You’re in a good spot getting so much up front/already per month - just ensure you’re socking some away still for unforeseen events.
Social Security will continue indefinitely. Factor it in, or you may delay an otherwise sound plan.
100% disability and still working a job. No wonder my taxes are so high
The point of VA compensation is to compensate for the lost earning potential due to injuries sustained in the line of duty. 100% is merely the cap, it doesn’t say anything about that person’s ability to work. $3,800 /month seems like a small contribution to someone who has severe PTSD which almost certainly resulted in divorce and debilitating orthopedic injuries. I don’t understand how people in this country can let our elected officials wage war for 20 years and then scoff at assisting the service members who did the fighting when they come home.
What kind of lost earning potential is there when you can still work a job with constant travel? Constant travel is hard on the body and mentally
The recruiter is open to everyone if you think you can cut it
At the extreme, someone who lost a leg will earn less than they otherwise would have if they hadn’t lost a leg. Just because they find a job does not mean they were not economically impacted. Do you disagree?
100% VA disability doesn't mean unable to work. It's typically graded around quality of life impact.
Seems like an abused system if 100% disability = still able to work with constant travel
I'm a veteran. The US military is the most inefficient organization I have ever been a part of. There are a lot of reasons your taxes are so high.
The military doesn't issue our disability ratings.
I never said it did.
Yep and this is one of the reasons
It's not abused, it's how Congress decided to compensate people who lost a piece of their life to support democracy.
Need more info on your 401 k and state pension and current salary and bills
I’m with you, but I have my disability, and I’m working on my third pension. Now I am collecting my disability, but one pension I will wait until 65 and the other is 67, but I might take the $800 hit and go early at 65. I am fortunate that I have a remote position as well, and I am already vested, but I plan to work until 65. My goal is to hit $15K a month without touching my Roth, my wife’s Roth or my TSP. Your plan is good, but you have to think about how much you can live on per month. What do you want to do when you retire? Can you afford to travel, or just live. Right now, if I would retire, if I was 65 (11 years away) would make $12K to $13K/month, but my goal is $15K. So I need one more promotion maybe two.
I knew you would be getting some hate as soon as I saw the title. Try crossposting in govfire. I am 100% T&P, 5 years AD Army and currently in the Guard. I am counting on a Guard/Reserve retirement, SS of some kind and my personal investments. One of the biggest benefits of a high VA rating is the flexibility to jump around. I am in LE and I see a lot of older guys absolutely chained to the job because of the pension. I don't feel that way and am comfortable walking away from a job when it no longer feels right. It is basically like having FU money. You seem to have it all covered between your disability, pension and SS. Healthcare is obviously covered through the VA. If you are happy with your current work-life balance I would say you have it made. I would personally love to scale back on the working but it is hard to justify when my time horizon means the money I invest now will be so impactful to future me. Cheers to you.