The Income Stack
W

Wes

Sample plan

Railroad Conductor · 59 · Omaha, NE

married to Marla

Railroaders aren't in Social Security — Railroad Retirement replaces it, and the 60-with-30-years rule is the best retirement deal left in blue-collar America.

Earns now
$71k
per year
Saved
$30k
nest egg
Spends
$71k
per year, incl. health
Retirement income
$68k
SS + pensions
The outcome as-is

Runs short in the 70s as-is — even the annuities can't cover the spending

Income streams

Conductor paywork
active now → age 60
$71,000/yr
RRB Tier I annuityretirement
starts age 60 → for life
$30,000/yr
RRB Tier II annuityretirement
starts age 60 → for life
$24,000/yr
Marla — spouse annuityretirement
starts age 62 → for life
$14,000/yr

Savings — $30,000

Brokerage (taxable)$8,000
401(k) / IRA (tax-deferred)$22,000

Spending

Living budget$5,167/mo
Health bridge (pre-65)$750/mo
Total, pre-65$5,917/mo

The 12-month glide

  1. 12 months out

    Audit the service months with the Railroad Retirement Board — the annuity statement is a railroader's version of the Social Security number. Thirty full years is the whole ballgame.

  2. 9 months out

    Enter the pieces as separate income lines: Tier I (the Social-Security-equivalent), Tier II (a real pension on top), and Marla's spouse annuity when he retires.

  3. 6 months out

    Price railroad retiree health coverage to 65 as its own line. The bridge exists — it just has union paperwork.

  4. 3 months out

    The gotcha check: his four years of pre-railroad work under Social Security interact with Tier I. Verify the combined estimate so no check surprises anyone.

Now run Wes’s plan.

Open the What-If board with Wes’s exact numbers — drag a lever and watch the earliest age Wes can actually retire.

Explore Wes’s What-If →
← Read Wes’s full story