Can we talk about retirement?

Finances aside, a thought came up in rereading the response. Health and capabilities. A doctor friend has mentioned a few times, hint hint nudge nudge, once over 75, ones mobility starts to decline for the majority of people. Take trips and higher energy activities sooner than later.
Pierre
 
I had planned to retire at 60 and couldnt wait to go but the financial crisis postponed that for two years so I retired at 62. (72 now)
The education sector I was in started pushing early retirement so I jumped fast.
Having always had many hobbies and interests I had insufficient time for all them (I still don't)
I retired with 2 others from my department and I had always stated that if you want to retire you MUST have other interests else you will sit there and die.
One thought sitting in his boat everyday fishing would see him through, it didnt, he died within two years. The other went back to full time work within 6 months because he was bored and is still working part time.
I wanted to go early as we still wanted to travel while we still could handle it, an excellent decision, France, UK, USA, Canada, Singapore, Philippines, Japan, China, still want to get to Korea but not till covid settles down.
<Political rant bit>
The visit to china was an eye opener, the average Joe is the same in every country we have visited, they just want to get on with life and provide for their families. The people were very friendly and helpful but the authorities were a total pain.
In general it is the leaders not the people who cause all the problems.
<end rant>
We planned to self support our retirement with a couple of investments and they worked well along with the compulsory pension funds.
The state pension added to our income when we hit 65 but due to our self funded income is very small.
In Australia we are very lucky with our health system so do not have to worry about health insurance unless we want to.
Hospital visits or emergencies $0, doctors visits $0, Medications very small $, I'm type 2 diabetic and all my meds are subsidised.
I drifted off subject a bit there so I will just reiterate You must have other interests if you wish to survive retirement and take the travel as early as possible.
Good luck.
ps.
Retirees who used to state - "I dont know how I used to get anything done when I was working as I'm so busy now"
Now I do this.
 
I retired at 62. We discussed waiting until 65 and 4 months, but I was ready to retire and did so. What I hadn't counted on was the $230,000 profit sharing my employer dumped on me. It and SS have made the last 20 years pretty soft. Cancer took my wife last Feb, SS went down, I'd rather have her than her SS, but it's not to be. I figure to get by another 10 years or so. Life's still good, I play in my shop most days, some days profitably, other just for fun. And I won't die broke.
 
Reddinr said:
My wife semi-retired in June. I planned on retiring this year too but with Covid, there's no place to travel really so I decided to take on another consulting job that will take me through Q1 2021. We're 58/60 years old. With our 401Ks in pretty good shape, we plan to wait for SS until 68 or 70. It works for us but we've been lucky with 401K plans etc. Each year you wait is a gain of about 8% in income. It is like a guaranteed annuity with a fairly large return. There are a few variables that we can't know like when we will die, what SS will look like 20 years from now, what income taxes will be later on etc. It is really hard to come up with a one size fits all plan for taking SS. It also makes a difference too if the major earner dies first. Waiting can leave the spouse with more to live on.

There are a couple of spreadsheet tools available. One I use is called Neurosphere. I found it on the Bogleheads forum. They're a .org. BTW, if you are still investing, the Bogleheads is a great place to train yourself on the ins and outs of simple, low cost/diversified fund investing. Great retirement advice, and general advice too. I learned years ago to stop giving my money to the financial advisors. That's a losing game. They provide very little benefit and by the time it is over they have peeled a huge chunk off of your nest egg. There's also a pretty great retirement planning tool called "Flexible Retirement Planner". If you like noodling around with the numbers, it is a good, and free tool.

I'm not affiliated with any of the above. I just have found those tools very useful.
Click to expand...
Reddinr
I appreciate the information, good resources.
I don’t have the confidence to take this on myself, yes the advisers get a piece for sure.
I have had such good results from the advice we have received from our CPA/Investment advisor, I depend on his guidance.
 
T Bredehoft said:
I retired at 62. We discussed waiting until 65 and 4 months, but I was ready to retire and did so. What I hadn't counted on was the $230,000 profit sharing my employer dumped on me. It and SS have made the last 20 years pretty soft. Cancer took my wife last Feb, SS went down, I'd rather have her than her SS, but it's not to be. I figure to get by another 10 years or so. Life's still good, I play in my shop most days, some days profitably, other just for fun. And I won't die broke.
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear about your life partner.
 
So many good and varied responses.
Everyone's idea of when to retire and what retirement will look like is as different as each individual.
I was forced to retire early from my flying career due to a medical issue. It was one of the worst times of my life. Not only did I lose my career that I spent my entire life building, but I lost my identity. I was no longer Neil the pilot but Neil the... what? What was I? It was horrible.
I was just chatting with my good friend that still works for my company that I worked for and we were talking about retirement. He is 51-ish. When he retires he will have over 3 million in his 401k. He wanted to know if I thought it was going to be enough (he was serious). Unless he is going to collect Maserati's or McLarens, I told him he would be fine, but the point is that everyone has different expectations for their retirement.
I just moved all my investments from Schwab last week to Vanguard. I like the personal touch they offer, along with not having the huge cash drag that Schwab does. The guy at Schwab was not nice to me on my departure. I will never go back.
I have a "guaranteed" income until I am age 67 (I will be 55 next month).
I flew with guys that were 70 (no age limit in the private sector) and the main reason they were still flying were...1.) no other hobbies. 2.) 4 different wives over the years and trying to pay them all off.
Jeff, you have hobbies (I think we all do on here, otherwise why would we be on here? LOL). You will stay busy.
I have too many hobbies, that can be a problem too. LOL

Keep this in mind.... We are not promised tomorrow. Enjoy today.
I had a friend retire at the first of the year. He passed away last Tuesday night from Luekemia. He was 63. Did I mention, enjoy today?
 
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What's this talk of profit sharing , pensions , vacation time etc everyone is speaking of ? :dunno:
 
We had profit sharing until a regime change, the new owners keep it all for themselves nowadays. No pensions except government version and what you make for yourself, ie Registered Retirement Savings Plan in Canada, IRA and Roth IRA in USA etc. Vacation is the only benefit where they have been generous and I use them to the fullest.
Pierre
 
Schedule for this and next month has me working right thru all the holidays . Thanksgiving , Christmas and New Years . Weds , Thurs , Fri , Sat nights at 13 hrs per night . Ain't it sweet ?

Our group of skilled mechanics , electricians and machinists had a drawn out meeting stating we had to do more as we are absorbing the other plant which is shutting down . We all just looked at each other like , what else do you expect ? Managers are stating that this plant could be next , which makes sense . We are the only one out of four that is left ! :grin: I think it's in the very near future that this place won't be around as our entire group is at retirement age and have the skills to move on as necessary .

I personally feel the weight is on these managers who will be losing their cushy positions . We'll see in the near future . :)
 
Jeff,
like your situation, my wife retired 2.5 years ago from 25 years of teaching. With only 25 years, not a great pension, but an ok pension. She turns 65 next month so had to dump her state medical for medicare. Not planning to take SS till 66 4 months, her full benefit. Between her state pension and her 403B she does ok without SS. Her total medicare with copays will likely be $700/month. She has medical issues which will likely have her in a wheelchair within next 10 years.

Also like you, she does want me home retired now with her. I hope she will be able to be happy when I actually do join her ful time.

I turned 62 last week and still work. I have had my 401 maxed out for last 20 years, and have no debt. I have spent a lot of time planning my finances in Excel to try to figure out when to stop working, when to start SS, and which accounts to live off prior to taking SS. Current plan was stop working at end of 2021, but 401 account had a minor hiccup this year, so isn't looking like it will not have the balance I was projecting at end 2021.

SS figures out to be same payout total at your projected life expectancy, which is 82 for me. Was planning on waiting for my full benefit at 66-8 months.

Since life is indeed short, I do not plan to change my planned retirement date. We will make do with whatever money we have at that point. We had not planned on any major retirement purchases, but did plan on more international travel in retirement. After this year, that will change. Didn't think she ever would consider it, but we are now planning for a motorhome purchase next year and cancelling our international travel for a few years anyway. Not planning for full-timing, but maybe a 3 month trip a year plus some short ones. If our health and bodies last, maybe we be able to RV and international travel both. Due to unplanned expenses of the RV, I may take SS at 65 to have some extra cash.

The point of plans is that give us peace of mind to think that we have control of our futures. I have been known to plan. Life frequently laughs at all of our plans, and forces a direction that was never even considered. Nobody plans to get ill, or loose a spouse shortly after retirement starts, yet it happens too often. If I have learned anything about plans in my 62 years, I hope it is that the only plan that matters is I now plan to spend as much time as I can together with my wife. Meaning I plan to make as many new memories together as possible. Money, travel, some level of financial freedom, all these are just extras and not really that important compared to time together and memories.

Good luck with your decisions, they are truly different for all of us.
Ted
 
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