u/PDMM2021

38 (wife 40), two kids aged 8 and 6. Aiming to FIRE around 48–49, when the kids hit university. Saving ~£6k/month consistently. Current expenses around 8k pcm.

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Net Worth

Real Estate (net) | £595,000 | 40% |

Pension | £235,000 | 16% |

Global ETFs | £211,000 | 14% |

Individual Stocks | £87,000 | 6% |

Equities/Other Investments | £150,000 | 10% |

Cash | £75,000 | 5% |

Crypto | £11,000 | 1% |

Total - £1,480,000

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I feel like we are on track although liquidity is poor and I know I need to get rid of some RE and move to VWRA or so. Thoughts?

Secondly, I am nervous kids' university costs in 10 yesrs or so will be ridiculous.

Now the tricky part is - we are currently residing abroad in the middle east. So trying to save and invest into vwra when possible. This stint has made us realise that there is so much life to be lived when moving out of the UK, so we are thinking retirement life is probably going to be a mix of a UK base + abroad.

I know this is for much later but does anyone know what the best options and tax efficient ways are to withdraw pension if we are living abroad, say, in a 0 tax country? Do we still have to pay tax in the UK?

Thanks!

38M / £1.48M NW / Targeting FIRE in ~10 years — sense check

Background

38 (wife 40), two kids aged 8 and 6. Aiming to FIRE around 48–49, before the kids hit university. Saving ~£6k/month consistently. Current expenses arpund 8k pcm.

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Net Worth — June 2026

Bucket	GBP	%
Real Estate (net)	£595,000	40%
Pension	£235,000	16%
Global ETFs	£211,000	14%
Individual Stocks	£87,000	6%
Equities/Other Investments	£150,000	10%
Cash	£75,000	5%
Crypto	£11,000	1%
Total	£1,480,000	100%

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The Aggressive Plan

• Target ~£1.5M liquid/investable (excl. Pension and RE) by ~2031
• RE share deliberately falling over time, ETF allocation growing
• Pension (accessible ~57–58) acts as long-stop — untouched until then
• SWR ~3.5% on liquid portfolio, pension supplements from 58
• Kids' university costs explicitly reserved for — not absorbed by drawdown

Honest concerns

• RE still too high a % — actively reducing
• Individual stocks add concentration I'm aware of
• Pension inaccessible until 57 creates a bridging gap to manage
• Market valuation concerns, dot com bubblesque...

Questions

• At £1.48M and £6k/month savings, am I on track / be doing anything differently?
• Anyone managing an inaccessible pension alongside an earlier FIRE date — how are you bridging the gap?

Thanks!

Fellow NRIs, I ve always wondered what a good retirement pot is to settle in say, cities like Trivandrum, eventually. Still 38 years young, so long way you go, but every time I visit in the summer, I notice how expensive things have become back home. In 15 years time, at this rate we may need 3 or 4 lakhs to love comfortably (with travel etc)! Meaning a retirement pot of 10cr or so (rough).

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Keen to hear thoughts from others..

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Background

38 (wife 40), two kids aged 8 and 6. Aiming to FIRE around 48–49, before the kids hit university. Saving ~£6-8k/month consistently.

Monthly expenses, around £8k. Hoping to reduce this during retirement although we do want to travel extensively.

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**Net Worth — June 2026**

| Bucket | GBP | % |

|---|---|---|

| Real Estate (net) | £595,000 | 40% |

| Pension | £235,000 | 16% |

| Global ETFs | £211,000 | 14% |

| Individual Stocks | £87,000 | 6% |

| Equitues/Other Investments | £150,000 | 10% |

| Cash | £75,000 | 5% |

| Crypto | £11,000 | 1% |

| **Total** | **£1,480,000** | **100%** |

---

**The Aggressive Plan**

- Target ~£1.5M liquid/investable (excl. Pension and RE) by ~2031

- RE share deliberately falling over time, ETF allocation growing

- Pension (accessible ~57–58) acts as long-stop — untouched until then

- SWR ~3.5% on liquid portfolio, pension supplements from 58

- Kids' university costs explicitly reserved for — not absorbed by drawdown

**Honest concerns**

- RE still too high a % — actively reducing

- Individual stocks add concentration I'm aware of

- Pension inaccessible until 57 creates a bridging gap to manage

- Market valuation concerns, dot com bubblesque...

**Questions**

- At £1.48M and £6k/month savings, am I on track/be doing anything differently?

- Anyone managing an inaccessible pension alongside an earlier FIRE date — how are you bridging the gap?

Thanks!