Retirement: When would you like to retire? Do you have a plan to get there?

[Treeshark]

Yep- there is a sweet spot between daycare ending and when sports really get going.

Our middle one was a killer, we were into volleyball for an easy $10k a year for a few years. It paid off with a full ride (that was to plan, otherwise it wasn’t happening)- so it paid off for her, while we kind of broke even I suppose.

 

[Mountain Man]

How does volleyball cost $10K/yr to participate in? I guess I’m ignorant of what is to come.

 

[FlatlandHunter]

I am on the fence of retiring next year at 48. My wife and I meet with our financial advisor tonight to go over numbers. I can get on her healthcare as long as I am not offered healthcare at any encore career. Only thing we owe on is our house and it will be done within 5 years. 48 is too young for me not to work so I will be doing something if I go. I don’t hate my job or the people I work with just thinking a change would be nice.

After our meeting I have tentatively decided to stay another 5-7 years. My pension will be set in January and I can leave anytime I will just lose any interest gained after January if I go before 5 years. Main concerns are house isn’t paid off yet still have 1 kid at home. If the mandatory OT gets out of hand I will give them my notice and sign my papers. I can go work anywhere and be fine I just have a hard time giving up the PTO that I earn. Good thing I listened to my uncle and started saving early because it is a game changer if things get bad.

 

[BgFishnSD]

This is what I did. After 25 years I took a early retirement. I was in my mid 40's. My plan was to retire from the place I was working and take 5 years off and go backpacking or anything else I wanted to do, Then go back to work for a while. That was 16 years ago.

I dont have any kids and my wife was still working at the time. I put all the money I could away, ira, savings, etc. The only thing I didnt plan for was health insurance going up at such a huge rate. When I retired, insurance was 190.00 per month. 4 years later it was over 1000.00 a month.

So this is what has happened. After I retired i did all my hiking/hunting/anything else I wanted to do. 5 years later I took a job and worked full time about 4 months a year. Enough to pay for insurance/ vehicle and the such. I stlll work 4 months a year and have the rest off.

For me, you have to not spend on frivolous things. Get the smaller cable package, not the fastest internet, used vehicles, keep your old phone, etc. We also spend 3 months in arizona each winter to get out of the montana cold.

This is what worked for us. In a couple of years, ill be getting social security, my retirement check and my wifes IRA and her social security.

Not sure if you already checked on this, but Obamacare is ridiculously cheap after you turn 60. It can be much less if you're under 60, but there's more income hurdles to jump through. My wife retired about a month ago. Through her work we were paying about $1300 month for insurance. We looked at getting COBRA, but it would have been over $2,200 month. After calling an Obamacare agent, the agent worked out that we could get a plan with equal coverage for about $700/month. That's because my wife had income (worked) for half a year. Next year, I turn 60, she will not be working, and the same coverage will be about$325/month for BOTH of us.

I think when you turn 65, you are required to take Medicare, and are no longer eligible for Obamacare, but I'd recommend calling an Obamacare agent to find out.
Here's a link to get you started (if you haven't yet) - https://localhelp.healthcare.gov/

BTW, not sure if you spoke with an investment counselor, but you may want to before you take social security. There's a few calculations involved in whether you take it at 65, or wait a couple years for larger payments, etc. Our financial dude calculated that I should take mine at 65, and my wife should take hers at 68.

 

[JCS]

Not sure if you already checked on this, but Obamacare is ridiculously cheap after you turn 60. It can be much less if you're under 60, but there's more income hurdles to jump through. My wife retired about a month ago. Through her work we were paying about $1300 month for insurance. We looked at getting COBRA, but it would have been over $2,200 month. After calling an Obamacare agent, the agent worked out that we could get a plan with equal coverage for about $700/month. That's because my wife had income (worked) for half a year. Next year, I turn 60, she will not be working, and the same coverage will be about$325/month for BOTH of us.

I think when you turn 65, you are required to take Medicare, and are no longer eligible for Obamacare, but I'd recommend calling an Obamacare agent to find out.
Here's a link to get you started (if you haven't yet) - https://localhelp.healthcare.gov/

BTW, not sure if you spoke with an investment counselor, but you may want to before you take social security. There's a few calculations involved in whether you take it at 65, or wait a couple years for larger payments, etc. Our financial dude calculated that I should take mine at 65, and my wife should take hers at 68.

Yep, have looked into obama care and I have never spoke with an investment counselor. I'm kinda my own investment counselor. I'm a numbers guy, not a cpa but I crunch lots of numbers with my retirement. I think I have a good handle on my(our) money.

Thanks for the website and info.

 

[BgFishnSD]

Yep, have looked into obama care and I have never spoke with an investment counselor. I'm kinda my own investment counselor. I'm a numbers guy, not a cpa but I crunch lots of numbers with my retirement. I think I have a good handle on my(our) money.

Thanks for the website and info.

I hear ya. I'm a numbers guy too. But, I don't know what I don't know. It's usually free for a first consultation, and the reason I'd still recommend it is that they will usually give you info on angles you never considered. You don't necessarily have to hire them, just listen to their advice. If it makes sense, at least you're smart enough to use the info they just gave you for free.

One of my neighbors is way more a number cruncher for investing than I am. He has been managing his own money (and his wife's). After we were friends for about 10 years, we started talking about retirement and investments. He was sure he had it nailed down. Two years later he confessed he had seen several investment counselors, and settled on one he liked. I think they charge him .25% for custodial fees, based on performance. That was 5 years ago, and he says he's making about 2.5% more with the firm than he was doing on his own. He didn't give them all his money, just what he was comfortable investing.

 

[Treeshark]

How does volleyball cost $10K/yr to participate in?

$4k just for the registration to be on the team. Add in camps, training sessions, flying/hotels/car rentals all over the country for tournaments (like one every 3-4 weeks).

$10k is probably under-shooting it for the last few years to be honest.

 

[mdhunter61]

BTW, not sure if you spoke with an investment counselor, but you may want to before you take social security. There's a few calculations involved in whether you take it at 65, or wait a couple years for larger payments, etc. Our financial dude calculated that I should take mine at 65, and my wife should take hers at 68.

Just curious if he showed you how he ran the numbers on taking SS...I ran my own numbers based on taking at 62, and taking at 67 (full SS age for me). The larger amount (taking at 67) didn't surpass the lower amount (taking at 62) until I was halfway through my 78th year, so I will start taking in January of next year, when I am almost 63.

 

[Treeshark]

It can be much less if you're under 60, but there's more income hurdles to jump through.

While the value of pre/post-tax retirement tools can be debated until the cows come home, this here is the true value of Roth IRA contributions (as far as I understand, I’m no expert).

They keep your reported income and therefore Obamacare premiums quite a bit lower in that “bridge period” that tends to kill early retirement.

 

[Hunt&FishCO]

I retired at 35 after selling my business; I still choose to work, just have a different mindset about it.

 

[conibear]

..........working on my second million. Gave up on the first.

 

[BgFishnSD]

Just curious if he showed you how he ran the numbers on taking SS...I ran my own numbers based on taking at 62, and taking at 67 (full SS age for me). The larger amount (taking at 67) didn't surpass the lower amount (taking at 62) until I was halfway through my 78th year, so I will start taking in January of next year, when I am almost 63.

He did show me the numbers. The particulars are that it matters WHERE u are. I live in the peoples' republic of Kalifornia. Here they screw you every way they can. My wife wants to move, I want to move, but the fishing, weather, etc is still a draw, so we drink the Koolaid. Here, our accountant and investment firm work together. They are different companies, but they both talk to each other to figure out what's best. I'm kinda smart, and might be able to figure it out, but I'd rather lose a very teeny tiny percentage of my investments to employ professionals who I've grown to trust, to help me out.

Ya, we question the hell out of every choice they make. But, they're good, and professional, and they know they're in a service industry designed to cater to the customer. They may deal with a client who's got 100+ mil, or someone with 100k, and they are the same (I hope) with each. My wife's secretary of 30 yrs recently was given 5 months to live. It was horrible, and my wife was torn up. Her secretary had a sh1tty husband, 2 kids, and 90k in her lifetime 401k, with about 5k worth of other investments. My wife told our investment firm rep about it, just as a side note about crap going on in our life. The firm offered to set the kids up with her investments at NO charge, and help them after her transition. It was another confirmation we made the right choice.

I'm not an expert, which is why I pay someone else. I would hope that a firm like this is available to most, and that ppl are able to find trust and knowledge, without the bad part. I've experienced the bad part, and wish I had a boilerplate for what not to do. There's a lot of bad floating around with the good, so my advice is to ask many ppl who they use, and why. Then do due diligence. Then do it again, and spend weeks doing it. I was lazy in the beginning, thinking I could fix whatever cuz I was still young. Not young anymore, and more skeptical than accepting, but still open to opinions...

 

[BgFishnSD]

While the value of pre/post-tax retirement tools can be debated until the cows come home, this here is the true value of Roth IRA contributions (as far as I understand, I’m no expert).

They keep your reported income and therefore Obamacare premiums quite a bit lower in that “bridge period” that tends to kill early retirement.

That is true. Obamacare (before 60) is based on AGI. So, either you have deductions, and/or an income below their thresholds. Not to beat a "dead horse" but someone more proficient at investments can show you areas of investment that are, and are not prone to mandatory required minimum distributions (RMDs) typically taken at 73. It's possible to stagger, depending on your level of investment, the amount you take, affecting your official income as reported to agencies connected to Obamacare. Roth are tax-free, but one would need to start that NOW, or have an IRA converted to a Roth, in which case the taxes would be paid now.

Either way, you can do the calculations, or pay a nominal fee to have an expert do it. I'm not a shill for the industry, I'm someone who's done it the hard way, and lost a bunch of money learning. When I was working, ppl paid for my advice because they trusted me. Do the research, find someone you trust, and have a conversation. Even if you don't give them any money, you'll still be wiser for the talk.