Thank you all SO much for your responses, I appreciate your unique perspectives and help! I apologize for the delayed response, it's been crazy getting kids back into the school routine on top of working two 48 hour shifts back to back.
What is your shift schedule like, and might there be any flexibility in how that is structured?
Maybe there are ways to set up your life so that you continue to work in TX, but the family mostly lives in a more hospitable climate?
I work 24 on 48 off and am afforded about 21 shifts of vacation a year, which will max out next year at 24 shifts. That gives me about 2 1/2 months total of time off per year, which is awesome. The last few years we definitely have been structuring it to have at least a month off for a vacation in the summer, but we'll likely be looking to stretch that out longer going forward. I'm able to trade shifts with other firefighters, which could potentially allow me to bank up some days ahead of time so I can have a bigger chunk off in the summer without having to dip into vacation days, which I also use for holidays, kids' events, etc.
The short answer is that you work until the pension hits your income needs -- or until you have identified longer-term job options to fill the income gap.
Seems like another 5 years is practically mandatory, given what you'd lose from leaving before 20 years. And 10 years seems like the maximum reasonable time to stay, since that's when the pension covers even your current expenses and your youngest is out of HS and so you are free to up stakes and move to the tiny home.
It's the 5 years in-between that are more difficult. What would you do if you quit right at the 5-year mark? Would you sell the house and move to CO then, even though your kids are still in school? You could quit then and rely on the pension, as long as you were able to reduce your monthly expenses to the post-FIRE figures you've estimated, but with kids still at home, you wouldn't really have the tiny home option, so you'd have to be creative about reducing expenses. OTOH, if you wouldn't move right at the 5-year mark, it seems to make sense to stay in the job and let the pension continue to grow.
Absolutely! This seems like the route we're likely aiming for. There are a lot of what-ifs up in the air with kids' college plans and things of that nature, so we'll definitely continually revisit the options every year as we approach that 20yr pension mark. If the younger two were gung-ho on board with moving even though they're close to graduating high school, I think we would absolutely be up for jumping ship and finding some jobs up there to supplement the pension income and continue to pile on the savings. We're both open to continuing to work to supplement the lower pension benefit, especially since we'll be paying a health insurance premium to cover them until they're officially out on their own.
One option to consider for that 5-year interim period would be for your wife and kids to spend summers farther north, and for you to group together your vacation shifts as best you can to spend time up there with them. That would allow you to keep growing the pension while giving your wife some allergy and heat relief. OTOH, it would also involve additional short-term expenses for a place to stay for them (but you do make plenty of money to cover it, and with the significant growth in the value of the pension from staying those extra years, you don't need to worry so much about a temporary hit to your savings rate).
Since you're pretty much committed to where you are now for the next 5 years, why not use that time to investigate a bunch of different options. What would life look like if you quit in 5 years, in 7-8 years, in 10 years? Think of what you'd like in terms of daily living/activities/location/income sources, and then start putting in some serious research to flesh out those scenarios. Make sure you consider downsides, too, like changing schools, losing in-state tuition benefits for college, etc. And see how your new job suits longer-term; it sounds like it's significantly less demanding, so you might find it to be more tolerable for a longer period than you think. Or not. But regardless, putting in the work to plan through options will help you be prepared to make the right move when the time comes. Good luck!
This is also true. I could get most or all of the time off to be somewhere farther north for 2-3 months if I planned it out correctly. She's also open to working part time up there (she works as a tasting room server at a local winery and could do something similar) to help supplement the added cost of an airbnb for that long of a stretch. You are absolutely right that the significant growth of the pension, even if it's just 2-4 years beyond 20, is worth the sacrifice. I hadn't thought about cutting down contributions to savings during those months to help offset the costs as well, that's a great idea and again, I agree it's worth the tradeoff of a larger pension.
You're also right about looking at various options right now. One thing we've been doing with our summer trips is staying in different places that might be viable options to live down the line. It's giving us a great variety of locations to see and experiences to enjoy, and serving as some reconnaissance work in the meantime. We're trying to plant some seeds in our kids' brains about getting discounted in-state tuition if they went to Colorodo State University in Fort Collins, which so far, is high up on our list for retirement considerations =). My wife discovered that if one of us works there, the kids get half-price tuition, and they'd have the option to stay with us rent free if they so choose to do.
Is there any other type of role in the FD that would allow you to continue earning retirement benefits, but get you off the truck? Sort of like a desk job assignment in a PD. Can you teach/train other firefighters or manage equipment, etc? Although I'm not sure your role is even the problem, and this wouldn't solve for heat and allergies...
Thankfully there are a lot of options in a major metropolitan fire dept like I work for, but a M-F job with lots of commuting does not sit well with my soul, haha. I'm actually in a great spot and am grateful for the schedule and minimal stress level I'm afforded in the position I'm currently in. I have, however, thought that I could pursue something like that full time or part time in early retirement though.
Hello, I also have the same career as you and understand the need to maintain your current job for the purposes of recieving a full pension. Basically, you are in a holding pattern with your current job/department for the next 5 years. I personally wouldn't solidify any decisions until you arrive closer to that date, as circumstances can easily change. Based on the information you provided, you will be FI in 5 years when you can retire, so staying on longer would only "buffer" your stache. I would look for ways to improve your current living situation, are there any adjustments you can make to your current house to improve conditions for the hot days/months? Any new hobbies you can take up that may be indoors? Just some things to think about as you likely wont be moving for the next 5 years.
Lastly, I have coworkers that make long commutes and are happy doing so (though I personally would have a deep level of satisfaction doing so). Does you employer allow shift trades? I know people who make several trades to bring the number of times they need to commute down to 2-3 times a month, allowing them to either liver 5+ hours away via car or plane. Something to think about as you approach the 5 year mark (maybe this is something you would be comfortable doing for a year or two, bringing your timeline that much closer).
Thanks for the insights, fellow firefighter! You're spot on that circumstances can change, so we are indeed holding our plans loosely and praying for wisdom and direction one day at a time. Holding pattern til I reach at least a 20yr pension is good advice, and we're trying to make the best of it and maximize all the things that we DO love and are grateful for being here in TX (family time, great community, close friends at school, etc.). I think the best adjustment we can make is stretching out our trips in the summer to really get a big break from the heat that we loathe so immensely, so we'll be working on that. We indeed are allowed shift trades, and I will look to maximize that benefit and bank some shifts ahead of time for the summer. Thankfully there are a lot of guys to trade with, so I could easily spread it out and have different people working for me once every few shifts interspersed between vacation days.
Would your wife be willing to bring in more money for the next five years to make it more likely you can do something drastic once you hit your pension milestone? I personally don't think I would move states with an 18, 16, and 14 year old (approx ages of your kids when you hit your pension milestone) but maybe your family is different. You could do something like not being in your state during the summer at all though! And lots of long weekends/weeks out of state on school breaks.
In short, yes, she is open to and up for that. She has been searching for a few months for a job with more hours (she works part time about 15 hours a week right now), but it's hard to find something that fits in the odd 24 / 48 schedule I have that changes my working days every week. Hopefully we can figure something out that brings in a bit more income, as that could serve to increase our savings rate and afford us the ability to do longer summer trips because short term rentals cost so much these days!
