With $4 million in liquid investments, I too would probably keep working. I'd be working part time for a few years to ease out of work mode and I'd train my replacements well to ensure proper transition. I'd also do so, so that my mind doesn't quickly turn to mush.
Continuing to work doesn't mean you haven't transitioned toward retirement. Those that end up with a windfall, stop working for a few years, then start a company out of boredom... you're not retired. You have a gap in your working history.
I come from an industry where we often hear stories of guys that just randomly drop dead within a few years of retirement. I've also seen first hand, people that transitioned out of retirement too fast and in a nutshell, I'd describe it basically like the shell shock of the pandemic quarantines. The risk of heart attack/stroke for our industry is just too high for people going straight from full workload to full retirement and honestly speaking, people usually ignore it and just assume it was bad luck. I was chatting with someone in a different industry and he mentioned the stats were higher in his, but no one talks about it either. If I won the lottery, I'd primarily ease myself out of my role for health reasons, but for other reasons as well.
I've contemplated what I'd do if I won the lottery. I'd want to fly under the radar as much as possible. I'd spend money to maintain as normal of a middle class existence as possible while still enjoying the occasional luxuries it can afford me. If I retire and my peers are not/I have few friends who are also retired, that's a lonely existence IMO. Life is more fun when you have friends with you and friends you can relate to. I wouldn't want friends to feel uncomfortable in the difference in net worth, I wouldn't want my kids to wonder why their parents have a totally different day to day than 90% of all other parents out there etc.
I wouldn't be able to throw myself into an aimless existence. I need some semblance of direction and opportunities for spontaneity. I wouldn't be able to just going into an aimless wanderlust, sit at home playing video games, buy a crazy car and just drive in an unknown direction... that'd turn me into a zombie quickly or a messed up decision paralysis/hopeless state of ennui in little to no time.
$4MM low end retirement... WTF, my calculations with a house paid off (I guess it's worth 1 million by retirement) and 2 liquid investments of $1 million to 1.5 million paying out 5% in passive income annually have me comfortable for my family of 4 AND frequently adding small top ups to the retirements of our 4 parents AND there should be a nice chunk remaining as intergenerational wealth by the end.
My parents and kids better not be draining me to the tune of a part time job each when I am age 60. My house currently requires $50-70K a year, but it should drop by $40K a year once the mortgage is finally paid off.
$50K x 2 annual passive income ($100K total, but both below $50K threshold)
- $15K taxes
-$20-30K expected average cashflow for housing costs (includes budget for significant repairs)
- $30K ish a year for kids and parents ($5K each annually average)
= $25K remain for living and travel for two people ($2K a month, modest).
= assume modest $50-75K of annual investment value drain from age 60-65 for random things ($4-6K per month) (ie: vehicle, unanticipated renos, travel and travel top ups, experiences etc.)
However, investments double every 10 years or so with modest risk and low effort.
Expect to add another $15-20K a year each (after tax) in CPP/OAS starting at age 65. We'd assume that maybe our investments dip down into the $750K each by age 65, but then CPP/OAS/other unanticipated pension amounts juicing up the difference means we'd likely never have to touch the base investments again and it'll grow on an annual basis.
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