Today marks 18 years complete as a police officer. Only 2 years to go and I can be “20 and out”! While the prospect of early retirement excites me, I do have some trepidation.
My primary source of income in retirement will be a pension. While I am confident that it will sustain me in the early stages of retirement, it is the latter years that I worry about. The pension will be a fixed amount and as a result I’m concerned that inflation will eventually erode its value. My fear is 15 years down the line, I may have to work a job I don’t enjoy in order to survive.
To hedge against this fear I began educating myself about personal finance and early retirement. This has lead to me opening several tax advantaged retirement accounts, such as a 457 and Roth IRA. I’ve also embraced a more mindful approach to budgeting and spending. Yet, I still feel there is more I can be doing to position myself for a successful retirement.