Retirement. What age is your goal (1 Viewer)

[Steve Tasker]

I’ve heard the SSA did some analysis and said that a lot of people wait too long to start earning SS. A lot of people are waiting and then not collecting (living) long enough to make up for the time they got nothing. 

My understanding is that the generic cutoff is approx 15 years - obviously dependent on inflation and other personal factors.  Generally if you collect SS for 15+ years, you were better off waiting....i.e. if you take SS at 62 and live to 77, you would've been financially "better off" if you'd waited until 66 to take SS.  And same applies there....if you take SS at 66 and live to 81, you would've been better off waiting until 70 to take SS.

I may be slightly-off on my numbers but it's somewhere in this ballpark, I believe.

 

[Steve Tasker]

But you only lose money if you live long enough. I did a back of the envelope calculation a few months ago and my tipping point didn't happen until I hit 78 years old for taking it at 62 rather than 67.

 

[Sand]

My understanding is that the generic cutoff is approx 15 years - obviously dependent on inflation and other personal factors.  Generally if you collect SS for 15+ years, you were better off waiting....i.e. if you take SS at 62 and live to 77, you would've been financially "better off" if you'd waited until 66 to take SS.  And same applies there....if you take SS at 66 and live to 81, you would've been better off waiting until 70 to take SS.

I may be slightly-off on my numbers but it's somewhere in this ballpark, I believe.

If you just knew when you'd have to turn in the meat suit this would all be so much easier...

Though, for sure, if you have a spouse with SS benefits coming there are definite optimizations to be done that can result in significant monies difference (tens of thousands).

 

[snogger]

Plan is no House payment and NO car payments..

Daughter graduates college May 2019 and is getting married September 2019... It is nice to know that those two BIG expenses will be over and down with next year.

I turn 51 in this December and can start increasing the amount of money I put in my ROTH IRA, and other investments after the wedding.

If you don't have car payments at some point in time a new car will be needed and it's either payments or using some of the nest egg. 

Going the route of my Father in-law who helped me start investing back in my late 20's...drive what you have until it dies and then pay cash...
Our vehicles tend to stay with us for a LONG time as I work from home and the wife works in town. We have a 2008 Ford F-150 that only recently topped 55,000 miles and runs as good as the day we bought it. We also have a 2014 Ford Escape that only has 15,000 on it.

Father in-law has done so well that he has been retired for almost 10 years and is just now going to start touching his IRA due to being "forced" to, aka 70 1/2.

Hoping my investments can match his so I can ride it out as well.

 

[Judge Smails]

Then just say that and don't use a phrase with a completely different definition.  

My previous post didn’t go through for some reason..

The dilemma is you work hard to ascend in your career. OK, so let’s say you then make it to a coveted executive spot.  Your income could double or more in your fifties. Then one could have stock options or RSUs vesting. Just saying it becomes really hard to walk away from the kind of bank. Especially if you have no pension. Even an extra year or two of socking cash away and vesting can make a big difference in retirement. That being said, those jobs typically come with more stress etc so there is a trade off decision to be made. 

My ideal situation is to get 2 good board seats and then retire at 60-62. My financial advisor ran Monte Carlo simulation and it’s 99% at 62. That’s factoring in big sums for assisted living in later years, etc 

To Joe’s point: I drive a 2005 Cadillac CTS. Bought in 2007 with 7K miles on it. $19K cash. Has 106K on it now, looks semi new and I’ll drive it into the ground. Wife has 2005 Denali. Same thing. We’ll buy one more set of cars at some point. Never bought bigger/better house even though we can afford it. Keeping up with the Jones’s here is futile. So thankfully we never tried. In retirement just want to be able to travel, keep my golf club membership, go to the gym and be healthy enough to enjoy life experiences, family and friends. Material stuff means nothing to me. Accumulation phase to me is for the freedom to enjoy what matters + never be a burden to my kids 

 

[James Daulton]

I get that the spending thing "depends" but there should be some corridors around which we can say we want to be within at the minimum.  Yeesh, I estimated quick and dirty assuming $1,250/monthly for Medicare supplement and got $7k in cash/month to be totally comfortable with routine travel.

Holy moly.

 

[ghostguy123]

With social security, it also makes sense to WAIT to collect if you are still currently working for extra money, healthcare, all that stuff.........due to partial payouts (I had no idea about this until very recently when an older coworker of mine told me their earnings would impact their SS payout, so they were waiting)  

If you are fully 100% retired, then yeah, I think it makes sense to collect right away.  

 

[belljr]

My previous goal was 55.   Then my daughter came along and I'll be 55 as she is almost done college.

I actually switched jobs 2 years ago so to get full retirement benefits I need to work until I'm 65.  So that is the plan - assuming everything stays status quo.

My wife is 4 years older than me. Once my daughter finishes college, my wife will probably retire, find a part time gig and we will downsize to my work area. (I drive an hour)

Again assuming everything stays as it is now.

After that probably relocating south somewhere

 

[tonydead]

If you don't have car payments at some point in time a new car will be needed and it's either payments or using some of the nest egg. 

How is that any different if you are making car payments?  Besides interest.

 

[lod001]

Hopefully late 50s. The kicker is health insurance. How much will it be then? Will my wife still be working and bringing home the insurance? 

If not late 50s, I guess 62 or whenever. I don't know.

This is the big showstopper. I wonder how many think they are gonna retire and then when the insurance bill comes due, they realize they really can't retire. Or they don't pay health insurance and roll the dice. Or they get cheap insurance with high deductibles.

Everyone's answer should include their health insurance plans. I'll be working to 62 for sure. Max I'm working is 65. I'd quit now if I could.

 

[ghostguy123]

This is the big showstopper. I wonder how many think they are gonna retire and then when the insurance bill comes due, they realize they really can't retire. Or they don't pay health insurance and roll the dice. Or they get cheap insurance with high deductibles.

Everyone's answer should include their health insurance plans. I'll be working to 62 for sure. Max I'm working is 65. I'd quit now if I could.

This is why I am pretty convinced I will at least work part time till 62 no matter what my financial situation looks like.

Health care costs are the suck

 

[dgreen]

For those concerned about health insurance, look into the potential of a federal government job for your last 5 years. I believe you can carry federal health benefits through retirement as long as you are enrolled in a federal health plan for your last 5 years. I might be off on some requirement, but it’s worth looking into. It’s one of the best benefits for federal retirees. 

 

[Bob Sacamano]

I have an accumulation phase in my underpants.  

@JerseyToughGuys, did I do that right?

 

[JerseyToughGuys]

I have an accumulation phase in my underpants.  

@JerseyToughGuys, did I do that right?

Pretty good. Pretty alright.

 

[comfortably numb]

For those concerned about health insurance, look into the potential of a federal government job for your last 5 years. I believe you can carry federal health benefits through retirement as long as you are enrolled in a federal health plan for your last 5 years. I might be off on some requirement, but it’s worth looking into. It’s one of the best benefits for federal retirees. 

What kind of federal job can you get in your mid/late 50s or early 60s?

 

[Gawain]

I had roughly 150K in student loans. It delayed starting a family, buying a home, getting married. I want to try to lessen that burden for my kids as much as possible so will try to work until the youngest is out of school when I'll be 63 or so. Then two years or so to hopefully save a couple more bucks and get to 65 (assuming Medicare is still a thing in 25 years).

I grew up in a single parent household and while I never realized we were poor when I was a kid, my mom never made more than 30K until I graduated in 1997 (dual masters degrees in philosophy don't put food on the table).

The concept that a million bucks isn't enough to retire comfortably is nuts. Feel like my grandma complaining a cheeseburger isn't 35 cents anymore.

 

[-OZ-]

For those concerned about health insurance, look into the potential of a federal government job for your last 5 years. I believe you can carry federal health benefits through retirement as long as you are enrolled in a federal health plan for your last 5 years. I might be off on some requirement, but it’s worth looking into. It’s one of the best benefits for federal retirees. 

All this talk about health insurance costs makes me feel even better about our decision to make less money for a while and retire from active duty. That's one of the best perks. 

What kind of federal job can you get in your mid/late 50s or early 60s?

Many. Depends on your expertise but two of the ladies in our office started in their 50s. They'll retire in their 60s without a huge pension but decent benefits. 

 

[Eephus]

What kind of federal job can you get in your mid/late 50s or early 60s?

The US Govt had a hiring freeze earlier in the year and agencies are reportedly running short staffed due to budget cuts.  I'm not confident in Jared Kushner's abilities to reorganize federal bureaucracy.

 

[dgreen]

What kind of federal job can you get in your mid/late 50s or early 60s?

Like @-OZ- said, there are a lot of jobs out there. Obviously it helps to know someone, though. At the very least, there are several of us here who might be able to help, depending on what you’re looking for. 

 

[comfortably numb]

Like @-OZ- said, there are a lot of jobs out there. Obviously it helps to know someone, though. At the very least, there are several of us here who might be able to help, depending on what you’re looking for. 

No.

Not looking was just curious what kind of jobs and how easy it would be for someone with no prior gov experience to hop into a job as they approach 60

 

[Instinctive]

I hope to be retired by 40. Well, by retired I mean: financially independent, always able to stay home and parent, and not working for a boss of any kind.

 

[Rooster]

I've got a pension, and the current plan is between 58 and 63, depending on how much I'm enjoying my job at the time.  At 58, I'll get ~75%, at 63, I'll get 100% of my final salary and you can't go above 100%, so that'd be the max.   I consider myself lucky to be in the situation.    For my situation, the #s work out like this:

50: 29.7%

55: 64.0%

58: 76.58%

60: 85.62%   <--- really 100% effectively, because 7.5% goes to SS and 7.5% goes to retirement

61: 90.29%

62: 95.08%

63: 100%

 

[ex-ghost]

Wife is a teacher, hope to have her stop at 60 which gives her a little pension. If she wants to find another job to make a little side money that would be just grand. We plan on cash flowing a large portion of our two kid's college, so her working until at minimum 58 is important as we stop a large portion of investing to get the kids through school - I know, you can't get loans for retirement, have been through this with my wife for years, it is a done deal.

I will probably work into my early 60's, which I am okay with. I decided a couple of years ago to use some of our money to take trips now and not wait until we are retired.

 

[ShaqAttaq]

I hope to be retired by 40. Well, by retired I mean: financially independent, always able to stay home and parent, and not working for a boss of any kind.

please remain a member of the FFA community, so we can stay tuned in to the evolution of your career. it certainly sounds like you have the potential to have an interesting one.

 

[ghostguy123]

I am thinking the ol "work full time till X-age and then fully retire" days are probably going to be over for most people.

Most people are probably going to want to (have to?) work some sort of part time job or be doing something to make money after their current full time jobs are over with.  

It's maybe not TOO horrible of a thing since going from 40-50 hours a week every week for like 40 years and then going straight to fully retired is a complete shock to the system, and maybe why a lot of people end up not living very long once retired.  

Probably gonna be a lot of part time landlords out there in about 20 years. 

 

[shadrap]

I have already missed my goal by several years.  Caring the past 20 years for my facility bound older brother came with substantial costs.  No regrets though, he would have done the same or more for me if the shoe was on the other foot.  BTW, I once held his aorta in my hand.  I was 11 at the time.  He got run over by a motor boat.  He was laid open from his neck to his hip.  My dad, a doctor, jumped in and grabbed him.  He called to me.  I went over.  he grabbed my hand, stuffed it into my brother and said "hold this", "Its his heart and if you let go or slip he will die".  I held it as we rushed the several hundred yards up to the house and the car, and held it as we drove 25 miles on bumpy back country roads to the hospital.  I miss him now that he is gone.  I would happily pay the nearly $7,000 I was out of pocket every month on his care to have him still around.

I get this.  Been fully supporting my sister in law for 10 years in her condo as her family is poorer than she is.   She has one or two years to go before she dies.  Just glad I was/am in a position to help. Been semi-retired for 14 years.  Wife has seen me with too much spare time.  It's not good(for me) & I agree with her.   

 

[belljr]

My previous goal was 55.   Then my daughter came along and I'll be 55 as she is almost done college.

I actually switched jobs 2 years ago so to get full retirement benefits I need to work until I'm 65.  So that is the plan - assuming everything stays status quo.

My wife is 4 years older than me. Once my daughter finishes college, my wife will probably retire, find a part time gig and we will downsize to my work area. (I drive an hour)

Again assuming everything stays as it is now.

After that probably relocating south somewhere

This is the big showstopper. I wonder how many think they are gonna retire and then when the insurance bill comes due, they realize they really can't retire. Or they don't pay health insurance and roll the dice. Or they get cheap insurance with high deductibles.

Everyone's answer should include their health insurance plans. I'll be working to 62 for sure. Max I'm working is 65. I'd quit now if I could.

This is part of it

 

[Bossman]

better question would be ... when will you have enough money to retire?

I think I may already be there at 49 years old ... but I'm a fool so I keep on working another 10 years or so.

Likely giving up 10 years of freedom but it'll be nice to not worry about finances when I get there.

I need an exit strategy and maybe a way to take more time off during this last decade of work.

 

[ghostguy123]

better question would be ... when will you have enough money to retire?

I think I may already be there at 49 years old ... but I'm a fool so I keep on working another 10 years or so.

Likely giving up 10 years of freedom but it'll be nice to not worry about finances when I get there.

I need an exit strategy and maybe a way to take more time off during this last decade of work.

It's called PART TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Work like 16-20 hours a week, use all that money for healthcare expense and 403b/401k contributions, take home NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Random]

I hit retirement "phase 1" at 41.  Downsized out of my full time job, been living off rental income since.  Phase 2 will be when the wife retires (teacher) and I sell the rental properties.

 

[DallasDMac]

No.

Not looking was just curious what kind of jobs and how easy it would be for someone with no prior gov experience to hop into a job as they approach 60

Without some sort of veteran status, it will be very difficult to break in to government service.