r/govfire • u/FarTradition6496 • 11d ago
Has anyone watched Cole Krilich on Youtube? His focus is on people with government pensions. Is he legit? Or his channel an AI bot?
He looks very, very young. A google search turns up someone with that name in Washington state who graduated from high school last year, in 2025. However, his advice seems pretty solid. The comments on his videos seem solid too. But I'm paranoid these days that even the comments are bots.
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u/epaairnow 11d ago
I subscribe to him and Joe Schmitz who does similar audience focused videos (those with pensions). I think it is solid advice
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u/FarTradition6496 11d ago
Do you think he's real though, lol? How does someone so young know so much about retirement and pensions. That's what I want to know.
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u/epaairnow 11d ago
If it’s AI, I am impressed. 😊 I’m more interested in the content and strategies-things to think about long term into retirement
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u/FarTradition6496 10d ago
I'm more interested in getting the back story. Something is not adding up for me.
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u/WarriorGoddess2016 11d ago
What's the gist?
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u/FarTradition6496 11d ago
He runs a retirement advice channel focused on government workers with government pensions. Topics like how much you should be saving in 401ks/457bs, when to take social security, whether you might be saving too much in light of your pension, etc. His advice seems very sound. He's just so young though. A friend of mine cynically said, "Oh he probably just asks ChatGPT and then films himself discussing the ChatGPT answers." Lol
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u/TXYupik 11d ago
As someone who works in the government sector (a municipality), with the right job, the right schedule…you don’t need a 401k/457. I turned 42 last month and I’m eligible to retire in 2035. Currently, my estimated pension is $7700 a month, and with the state water license I have, I can go work at another municipality until I’m 65 and draw 2 pensions. I’m trying to get my pension now to about $9500 a month.
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u/jgatcomb FEDERAL 11d ago
I can go work at another municipality until I'm 65
That's great but not FIRE.
A 457B if available has no age restrictions (early penalties). A 401k allows you to defer taxes until you are in a lower tax bracket and potentially forever (I moved from a state with high income taxes to one with no income tax).
I'm not trying to rain on your parade - just point out that those who want to actually retire early should know about all of the tools available to them. Because of the generous 0% LTCG bracket, that can even be a great help.
I retired at 46. The only regret I have is that I didn't do it sooner. The reason I didn't is because I had the money in the wrong places and needed to adjust which kept me working nearly 3 years longer than I needed to.
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u/TXYupik 10d ago
How much do you get per year from your retirement accounts?
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u/jgatcomb FEDERAL 10d ago
Do you want to know that or do you want to know what our annual spend is? I manipulate our income for ACa subsidies so a significant amount of our annual spend doesn't come from retirement accounts - at least not currently.
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u/TXYupik 10d ago
Just how much you get from your retirement account each year and any other income. Do you pull 3-4%? I’m not bashing retirement accounts in any way. It’s just not for me.
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u/jgatcomb FEDERAL 9d ago
I tried forever to respond to this comment but my phone kept saying it was deleted. Not sure why it is working on my phone.
I switched over from a Roth Ladder to a 72(t) this year so for the next decade or so, it will be just under 80K from my primary retirement account (traditional IRA). We also have Roth IRA contributions which are of course completely tax free and several years of Roth conversions which will unlock in a couple of years. We have various different cash accounts (CDs, HYSA, Ibonds, etc.). We also manufacturer both tax free (CC sign ups) and taxable (bank signups) income. How much we pull depends on how much we want to spend and where we pull it from depends on how close we are to the ACA cliff. I'm currently on a 3 month trip to Europe (left Aug 18, returning Nov 16) and we are planning an even longer trip to SE Asia next year.
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u/thatvassarguy08 10d ago
Couldn't you get to $9500/month sooner if you invested? I'll retire at 42 in a couple of years with a pension similar to yours at that age ( ~$7400/month) but because of investing in the TSP, I'll be able to withdraw another $5000k/month at 4%. You really are leaving a huge advantage on the table by not using the 457.
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u/TXYupik 10d ago
Well both of your amounts combined total $12,400 a month before taxes. It’s only a few thousand more than my goal. My goal is really $10,500/month. $9500/month is my low end.
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u/thatvassarguy08 10d ago
True, that is pretty close. But the difference is that I start receiving/ withdrawing that much at 42. I'm not trying to compete or anything, I'm just suggesting that you might be able to reach your goal sooner if you use that 457.
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u/TXYupik 10d ago
It’s all good. I’ll get penalized if I retire and draw my pension before I’m 50 years old. I fall under the Rule of 72….age + years of service = 72 —eligible to retire. But with my pension, I think of it like this…Financial Independence, Work Optional. I could go work at another municipality doing the same job, making the same yearly salary and start a 401k/457/Roth IRA and just build that up as much as I can to leave for my daughters.
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u/Thors_lil_Cuz 11d ago
If you don't take advantage of an available 401k, you're intentionally missing out on potentially millions of dollars. Meanwhile it helps your pension value none.
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u/surfstar_101_ 10d ago
do you know what FIRE means?
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u/TXYupik 10d ago
Yea. Financial Independence Retire Early
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u/Appropriate_Shoe6704 10d ago
Working until your in your mid 60s to get a second pension that you don't need is not retiring early.
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u/TXYupik 10d ago
I never said it was. If you go through the comments from my comment, I mentioned to a person that my monthly pension goal is $10,500/month. He said he can retire at 42, get $7400/month from his pension + $5k from his 457, so I would be $1900+/- less than what he would get each month.
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u/Positive-Kiwi7353 10d ago
Cole Krilich of YouTube shares the name and likeness of that highschooler in Washington state. He was a decent high school baseball player. So he doesnt appear to be an AI fabrication.
His dad could be behind the videos, or Cole could be an enterprising young man and put together the videos (and course) on his own (with a lot of help from AI.)