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retirement planning

O/P, Bogleheads.org might be a good site for you to lurk on for a while. Like BARF, there is a range of experience, intelligence and integrity. You will soon sort out the wheat from the chaff.
 
900ss said:
O/P, Bogleheads.org might be a good site for you to lurk on for a while. Like BARF, there is a range of experience, intelligence and integrity. You will soon sort out the wheat from the chaff.
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Bogle, Warren Buffett, and Peter Lynch are three talking heads who actually have something to say.
 
Buffet is 80-something owner of a financial institution with a bajillion dollars and is still working. Tux's question is more about life than money, imo. His answers will come from a more philosophical position than a financial one, again imo.
 
byke said:
Buffet is 80-something owner of a financial institution with a bajillion dollars and is still working. Tux's question is more about life than money, imo. His answers will come from a more philosophical position than a financial one, again imo.
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I see it more as a gaming outcome. Game the possible life span, the amount of money involved, and the possible outcomes, and act on that. I do know from experience that what may seem a large chunk of money may not seem to be that in ten years.
 
Tux...

Your currently working, so if you "retire" now what do want to do / accomplish say in the next 5 yrs? Travel, start or complete some special projects, or?
If you continue to work till 60 that gives time to serious think about what you'd like to "do". It may also sufficiently increase your monthly pension payout. IE,
at 58.5 pension is X (do you have to turn 60 before pension payout begins?), but at 60 does it increase by 2%, 3%, or ?
Is a lump sum payout from pension possible? Lots to consider if going down that route!

Health insurance, employer currently contributing some amount? Your monthly premium costs and out of pocket deductibles? What happens if you leave at 58.5?
As GAJ and others said: "find out what Health Insurance will cost you in the "bridge" years until Medicare kicks in at age 65".

At 65 your Medicare premium will be based on your income (adjusted annually). If not drawing SS this maybe an out of pocket expense.

Do you have at least 40 quarters in Social Security? At what age can you start drawing SS? Let's say you can start drawing the minimum 65, your monthly Medicare premium will be taken out of it.

Yes, when you "retire" you will probably be in a lower tax bracket, BUT... Taxes, healthcare, utilities, food costs, etc, etc, will continue to creep up.

Children, dependents in the picture? House you inherited paid for? Are you living in it or someplace else? Rental income potential?

If you retire now would you have to start drawing funds from those "equities"? Or able to live comfortable on pension income?

Also, if you don't have a "Will/Trust" and an Advance Health Care Directive please consider looking into them.
 
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+1 for keeping the cost of health insurance in mind. IMO keep working while you can as long as your job is enjoyable. There's a decent chunk of older folk trying to find jobs just for health insurance. These days though retail places like Target make it difficult to do this though unless you are full time.
If work is soul-sucking or affecting your health significantly...might be worthwhile to retire.
 
Some good thoughts to ponder here. I’ve liked afm199’s $ suggestions even though I kept my T. For peace of mind health insurance comes into play. I’ve been preparing and practicing for retirement the last few years and it’s close. I had elective surgery with no work 8 weeks ago and came to the realization that I did not miss work. Hallelujah brothers and sisters! I was bored but physically couldn’t do anything in the garage but was able to spend some time with good friends. Probably go back to work February and plan to travel in March. The equation is quality of life / $.
More of both is better.
 
I guess I'll add one last thought, as I promised to stop.

The biggest surprise I got in retirement was that it's not a permanent vacation. The first few months are super! Get up late, stay in your bathrobe, go to Hawaii. After several months you realize that the huge network of friends, acquaintances and work relationships has suddenly shrunk dramatically. You go from being someone who had 1,2,15, or 50 people with whom they interacted on a daily basis to, sometimes, none. It's a huge change, and it's an important one to be ready for. In some ways, it's more important than any other change. It took me a while to rebuild myself.
 
That's the conservative life trap(not to be confused with anything political). The changes need to be bigger than a vacation. Get rid of your possessions which in turn possess you. Move to a new country and embed yourself for at least a year. Learn a new language, eat new food, listen to new music and make new friends. Gotta hang it out a bit.
 
byke said:
That's the conservative life trap(not to be confused with anything political). The changes need to be bigger than a vacation. Get rid of your possessions which in turn possess you. Move to a new country and embed yourself for at least a year. Learn a new language, eat new food, listen to new music and make new friends. Gotta hang it out a bit.
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:thumbup

Does a three day weekend in Monterey count?

But I like Bruce Springsteen!
 
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What about long-term care insurance? That's something my wife has brought up. Seems like something worth considering
 
Abacinator said:
What about long-term care insurance? That's something my wife has brought up. Seems like something worth considering
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I've looked at it but the cost/benefit just doesn't seem to be there, especially if you read the fine print.

Generally it doesn't kick in until you are unable to do two of these things:

'...bathing, dressing, toileting, eating, transferring, (moving from one place to another in a room) and continence."

Neither my Mom or Mother In Law, who were in assisted living with cognitive dysfunction, "qualified" to start taking their benefits before they died.

https://www.kiplinger.com/article/insurance/T036-C001-S001-when-long-term-care-policies-kick-in.html
 
Abacinator said:
What about long-term care insurance? That's something my wife has brought up. Seems like something worth considering
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It's basically a great thing if you're wealthy. If you're not, have a bunch of kids.

It's SO expensive, and nowadays so limited in scope that it's just not a practical alternative for most people.

A little known alternative is a Continuing Care Retirement Community, where you buy in ( ranges from $40k to hundreds of thousands) and stay there the rest of your life. You purchase the right to live there until death, and the alternatives range from townhouses to small apartments. At a certain point, you move "upstairs" to the nursing facility, but you get care for the rest of your life. Of course you have to be pretty healthy to get in. And of course, there's no guarantee that the CCRC will be around. There are always monthly fees for these.

The best plan is to not get old, and then get hit by a semi while riding your motorcycle when you do.
 
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Healthcare being yet another reason to leave the US.
 
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