Retired at 51 (originally planned for 55)

About five months ago, I posted here (original post) soliciting advice for a possible early exit. Well, I pulled the trigger a few weeks ago. An opportunity presented itself at work that would let me leave with some severance and a small amount of continued stock vesting. Combined with the burnout I was experiencing and seeming to be ready financially, I evaluated and discussed this big life-change with my wife for several weeks to make sure the timing was right for our whole family. It was.

So, now I'm done accumulating. The drawdown phase has begun.

Key Numbers as of now:

• 51M, married to 51F
• MCOL area
• 2 kids (one launched, one in college)
• NW: ~$5.6mil
  • House paid for - $400k
  • Liquid assets (invested) - ~$5mil (roughly 72/28 stock/bond allocation)
    • ~$2mil taxable brokerage
    • ~$1.9mil tax deferred (401k+IRA)
    • ~$660k tax free (Roth)
    • ~$230k HSA
    • ~$175k college (529+ESA)
  • Cash and equivalents: ~$200k
• Income:
  • Immediately prior to retirement:
    • ~$300k/year gross
  • Now:
    • ~$5k annually from part-time work
    • ~$70k of stock that will vest over the coming year and then stop
• Social Security (at least 11 years out):
  • Conservatively, $44k/year at age 70 or $27k/year at age 62. (This assumes payouts at about 75% of current benefit levels)
• Expenses:
  • Before retiring: ~$155k/year (included taxes)
  • Expected in retirement: TBD, but expect roughly $160k/year
    • Includes $25k/year for health insurance until Medicare at age 65
• No debt

Financially, I feel pretty good about things. I'm of course nervous about SORR and would hate to see a market crash as we begin drawing from the portfolio. But should the market tank, there's quite a bit of discretionary spending in the $160k/year of expenses. All the energy I previously put into accumulation plans I will now redirect into efficient drawdown/income planning (which I expect will include a heavy dose of tax planning and potentially managing MAGI). We plan to live off of the taxable brokerage and HSA accounts until we can tap retirement accounts at age 59 1/2.

Emotionally, I'm still in the "honeymoon phase" of early retirement. I've now been away from work about a month, longer than my longest vacation in the last ~30 years. My wife and I are adjusting well (we think). I'm mostly focusing on personal health (lots of walks) and relationships. I'm starting (slowly) to get to long-neglected tasks/projects at home, but not rushing this. And my wife tells me that she's keeping the "honey do" list under wraps for now, giving us time to adjust and just enjoy doing things together. Oddly enough, I haven't done any gaming yet, which is one of the things I thought I'd want to make time for since I was into gaming in college and during my early career years before work and family commitments crowded gaming (mostly) out of my life.

We did a summer vacation, but it was planned well before deciding to retire. So far, we have no immediate retirement travel plans.

I know I need a few more months before retirement will feel normal. But I sure am enjoying this honeymoon phase so far. I feel like I'm able to be fully present in whatever is taking place at the moment, without feeling even a twinge of guilt that I'm neglecting something that I know will need attention soon.

For anyone who's gone before me on a similar journey, please feel free to offer any thoughts or advice that you may have. For anyone still in accumulation and dreaming of the freedom that comes when you step away from the daily grind, feel free to ask questions--I'll do my best to share whatever wisdom and knowledge I've gained over the last 30 years.

Feeling Blessed!