I am retiring in 6 years (62yo). I have 695k in TSP and contributing 26k a year with 5200 yr match. I have 65k in HYSA for house down payment. I'm putting in 1500 a month. Another HYSA emergency fund – 20K.
I'm buying a house right before I retire. I want to reduce my TSP contribution to 6-10K and redirect the extra to the house HYSA. I plan to put a large down payment on the house and get a small mortgage that I'll pay off within 5-10 years.
I will have a 46k pension (COLA). I'm not pulling SSI until 67. That will be 37K (Delaying because I need to do Roth conversions).
I've ran the numbers and even with dropping my contribution to match and a modest 5% gain, I'll be right at/over 1MM by the time I retire.
Ideally, I prefer to live off my pension and eventually SSI and not rely of my TSP.
Is it a bad idea to take my foot off the gas a bit on my TSP and redirect that money for the house? I know continuing putting it in my TSP makes sense from a financial gain aspect, but I would like to be debt free. Less stress.
Extra: I drove a car for 20 years and only recently got a new car (in preparation for retirement) that will be paid off next Summer. CC is paid in full at the end of each month.
Am I overlooking something that would make this a bad plan?
Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Buying a House Right Before Retirement
byu/faux_sunflower inpersonalfinance
Posted by faux_sunflower
2 Comments
I’m your age and going longer because no pension but I have about the same savings – adding 50+K per year. But my initial feel is you will probably be good. Try ficalc.app and run the numbers. They let you add income streams like pension and ss starting at certain ages. You’ll need to know your estimated expenses in retirement including the mortgage.
You haven’t told us anything about your actual planned expenses in retirement. Will the $46k pension be enough to cover your mortgage and living expenses? We have no idea.