Early retirement
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Yes. A friend was at a BMW dealership. He said that you look out for 30-somethings that come in wearing $4,000 watches. They want to test drive a car. You run their name and find they have a bunch of maxed-out credit cards. They would never qualify for credit.
Another person drove up in a beat-up truck wearing well worn jeans. The salesman just handed him the keys to what he wanted to test drive. Founder of a telecom company.
Another person drove up in a beat-up truck wearing well worn jeans. The salesman just handed him the keys to what he wanted to test drive. Founder of a telecom company.
Wife and I both retired at 56. She has a small pension. I worked pt for about 2.5 years until political correctness made it intolerable. Don’t regret leaving one bit. Debt free, lifetime savers, we live cheap. Eat out 1x a week. Live off grid 1/2 the year, really cuts expenses. Going to take my SS at 65-66, try to keep hers till 70. We’re living on about 1/3 of pre retirement income.
With the way the world is trending we wanted to enjoy life and have fun while we’re still healthy.
With the way the world is trending we wanted to enjoy life and have fun while we’re still healthy.
I don't know your jobs or earnings history but go look at this article ,(broken link removed to https://www.morningstar.com/articles/1035566/mike-piper-delaying-social-security-not-always-a-good-deal). It has great example on when to take which SS and which one to hold.
Hello ,
Lots of solid advice from folks . I would just add a couple of things . I am 69 and started to collect SS at age 62 . I have a small business that I still run out of my home. For my wife and I, having good medical insurance before being Medicare eligible was a major concern that needed to be addressed . Another thought is that not all income affects SS ,such as income from investments or income from rental units /condo's etc . A Roth IRA has also been very beneficial . As others have said , either very low or no debt makes a huge difference .
Bob
Lots of solid advice from folks . I would just add a couple of things . I am 69 and started to collect SS at age 62 . I have a small business that I still run out of my home. For my wife and I, having good medical insurance before being Medicare eligible was a major concern that needed to be addressed . Another thought is that not all income affects SS ,such as income from investments or income from rental units /condo's etc . A Roth IRA has also been very beneficial . As others have said , either very low or no debt makes a huge difference .
Bob
Wow, at age 94 still sort of working - really just doing what he wants. Good for him. And cool he has an old Toyota with 200k miles, but could afford better. I haven't had a vehicle payment since 2009. My 2002 Silverado is fine for me, using it mainly for obtaining firewood. Just bought a 'new' vehicle last fall that's now 10 years old. Paid cash for it though. Ironically, I had 2 brand new vehicles when I was in my 20s. Unless I win the lottery, a new one is not in the cards for me.
Another thing to consider after retirement is vehicles. Considering all the renewing fees like insurance, registration, etc., I don't know if I'll have 2 like I do now. After completely retiring I may need to consolidate into one. My Silverado is a regular cab, 8' bed - so not the best for a one and only vehicle. I'll have to spend some money to save some money - but I may trade in the truck (if a place would take it) and my SUV and get an extended cab truck. I figure overall having 2 vehicles is about $500/yr more in fees, Need to do the math when the time comes.
Another thing to consider after retirement is vehicles. Considering all the renewing fees like insurance, registration, etc., I don't know if I'll have 2 like I do now. After completely retiring I may need to consolidate into one. My Silverado is a regular cab, 8' bed - so not the best for a one and only vehicle. I'll have to spend some money to save some money - but I may trade in the truck (if a place would take it) and my SUV and get an extended cab truck. I figure overall having 2 vehicles is about $500/yr more in fees, Need to do the math when the time comes.
Two of my neighbors are around your age, they started to collect ss at at 63. Seems like many do before the peak age. If I wait until next year I'd get not quite $200/month more, but it would take about 11 years to accumulate what I didn't get for the year not taking it.
If you need ti take it but remember, SS is typically the only inflation adjusted "pension plan" In the long run its best the maximize SS if at ll possible as if you do have long retirement non inflation protected assets really start to not amount to much.
chainsawopera
New Member
Life span of the average american male is 78.7 years
Canada is 82.05 years. I also used that in my formula. Best of luck to everyone
Canada is 82.05 years. I also used that in my formula. Best of luck to everyone
Some changes since I first started this thread. Gas prices now around $4.29 a gallon for one! Supposedly a temporary tax reduction was approved so maybe it'll go down to 'only' $4.00. I left my former job and will be starting a new one, a contract job for a year - next week. Of course I'm getting a lot of mail about Medicare, ads all over social media as well.
Last night had a Zoom meeting with an insurance agent who specializes in Medicare. I brought up taking Social Security at age 65, he thought that could be a sensible choice. As for Medicare ads, there's a company with my state's name - so I assumed I'd be speaking to a local agent when I called. I highly doubt that was the case. The agent I spoke to had a very thick accent and there was around a 4 second delay for him to respond to anything I asked. He asked for my name, when spelling it back to me a letter was wrong. I corrected him, he did it again, I ended the call. This sounded very much like an outsourced, overseas firm. The agent I had the Zoom meeting with is in my state. A much better experience.
Last night had a Zoom meeting with an insurance agent who specializes in Medicare. I brought up taking Social Security at age 65, he thought that could be a sensible choice. As for Medicare ads, there's a company with my state's name - so I assumed I'd be speaking to a local agent when I called. I highly doubt that was the case. The agent I spoke to had a very thick accent and there was around a 4 second delay for him to respond to anything I asked. He asked for my name, when spelling it back to me a letter was wrong. I corrected him, he did it again, I ended the call. This sounded very much like an outsourced, overseas firm. The agent I had the Zoom meeting with is in my state. A much better experience.
If you are not familiar with Medicare Navigators it may be worth seeing if there is on in your area. I have heard good things from folks who have used the NH program. Its federally funded program to help folks pic the best plan. They do not sell anything and do not get commissions. An insurance agent works on commissions so his recommendation may be biased towards what gets him the best commission.
couple notes: wait on SS till your full retirement age- taking it early leads to a host of payback problems particularly if you are still working. there limits to the amount of income you can have vs SS payment. untill you reach full retirement age . Medicare is subtracted from your SS payment - something like $172/mo. SS is taxed. Full retirement age varies with your birth date. being married adds some addtional ways to collect early with less ramifications. talk to someone that specializes in ss planning- it is quite convoluted.
Ya know I never thought about the taxes, meaning what would be deducted the first year. I knew S.S, would be taxed - but let's say the monthly payment is $2,000 before taxes. I don't know what the rate is, but whatever is withheld you don't get back. At least in my case, since the standard deduction is higher now for the last several years that's what I claimed, it was higher than itemizing. I know there's a liit what you can make. Above that for every $2 you make above the limit your S.S. payment is reduced by $1. But - I believe when you are at full retirement age (for me 66 1/2) the payment is recalculated and you get some of that back? I don't know, I do know at full retirement age there's no limit on how much you can make, so maybe the information I saw is referring to that.
If I understand correctly a pension payment won't reduce S.S. payments. I assume it would be counted as income though and taxed. For my particular situation, if I go with the plan reviewed last night add about $106 to $171,10. It would include dental and prescriptions. Some prescriptions, I think they're called tier 1, common ones are included with no co-pay required. An inhaler, although common, (Albuterol, ProAir HFA etc.) are common but I guess not tier 1, There would be out of pocket costs for that. Jeez there's so much to research nearing retirement and Medicare age!
If I understand correctly a pension payment won't reduce S.S. payments. I assume it would be counted as income though and taxed. For my particular situation, if I go with the plan reviewed last night add about $106 to $171,10. It would include dental and prescriptions. Some prescriptions, I think they're called tier 1, common ones are included with no co-pay required. An inhaler, although common, (Albuterol, ProAir HFA etc.) are common but I guess not tier 1, There would be out of pocket costs for that. Jeez there's so much to research nearing retirement and Medicare age!
There is a lot of thinking nearing retirement age that's for sure..I am lucky with my pension because I can work another job and make all I want without being penalized on anything..But they did subtract all my social security years and I get about 150 or so a month on S.S. including my husbands S.S. payment--they figure the larger one here and you just collect one and I had to pay medicare up until the age of 67 I think..On my retirement check I can only pick one way to go for they call it --double dipping or something and I actually lost about 700 dollars a month on S.S. that turned into a check for 150. a month just enough to take care of my health benefits..Now railroad people and federal military plans do it differently but yes its a lot of thinking before you pull the plug..But I do say one thing---the freedom of your time and what you want to do is more valuable then any money value and you will learn to love it and budget accordingly.. clancey
Good information and good advice - especially the end mentioning 'the freedom of your time and what you want to do is more valuable then any money value...' That's why I left the job I had. Yes I'll still be working full time with a small to moderate pay cut, but I can tell already it was a good choice. Drove to the new place yesterday to meet some of those I'll work with. A shorter commute in my own state. I've heard so many that are retired say it's well worth the sacrifices and adjustments. Like you said - budget accordingly . Part of that is having the 'luxury' of what we do - we can offset some of the high fuel oil costs of late with firewood. People around here filling their furnace oil tanks have been paying about $1,000 the last few weeks.
You certainly are fortunate receiving a pension. They are rare these days - and nice that it's not counted as income.
You certainly are fortunate receiving a pension. They are rare these days - and nice that it's not counted as income.
That's so sad blades but that seems to be happening more than usual and I am very fortunate with my timing of the whole affair and I was between a rock and a hard place with coming up with money to buy some retirement years because the rules were changing within two months and I had to make my decision--my table looked like a solitaire game with cards as I figure out how to get some money in order to retire before the deadline because I would have lost a lot of years that I could buy--hate pressure like that but figured it out...and never looked back and i mentioned this once before---sitting in my kitchen chair drinking a cup of coffee and looking out the back door with snow falling hard and wind blowing saying to myself---"Wow, I do not have to go to work today" and feeling "lucky" with a good cup of coffee knowing that I have worked continually since 15 years of age.. Thankful for the retirement plan..clancey
The funny thing about the average lifespan is it includes all humans, even those who die very soon after birth. The average age of death is higher for those that survive into adulthood which is us which is why we should plan using the adult life expectancy.
Social security offers this table to help demonstrate the issue.
For instance, a male at age 45 is expected to live 34.26 more years so 79.26.
If you're already 65, you managed to avoid getting stabbed to death and are rewarded with another 18.09 years for an expiration date of 83.09.
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Well that should give enough time to get everything out back split. 8.26 years have to put this at the top of bucket list.
Family longevity figures in, my dad was 98 and grew up in orphanage during the depression. He never knew what eating right was until he was 30 and had an all American high fat and carbs diet until his mid fifties. He was an accountant, no exercise until his late fifties. My mom made it to 88. All my calculations are based on making it to 100. I still could get in car wreck tomorrow but that is what beneficiaries are for.
Don't know if this reply will make this thread appear active again - but wanted to thank you for this and other good information. For the last few months I've been calling the company with my pension trying to get them to simply send me the forms to get it started. It's excuse after excuse 'We had some turnover here, so & so was out with Covid for awhile, etc.' I looked at the PBGC site, I will look at it more thoroughly today. I did see my former company listed, concerning that the phone number provided is not in service, but the toll free number I have is still valid but it takes days of intermittently calling before being able to talk to someone.
I did some more research and was directed to a Department of Labor website where I may be able to file and incident, or complaint - and maybe consult an advisor. Will check that out more thoroughly. I'll be 65 this month, not taking SS yet.
Happy Father's Day to all that it applies to!
Good luck and hope the PBGC can help you get what you paid. They are bureaucracy but in the case of my former coworkers, they all get their checks. It will be 5 years before I file but I know I am in their files.
Thanks again - I believe my fund has enough money, it's just a matter of getting it. About 7 years ago some of us were offered a buyout. Makes me wonder why though. Holding out for the monthly payment is the better option if I finally get it.
Interesting as I was going through some documents in my filing cabinet. Before I signed up on the Social Security website I'd save the summaries that were mailed. Going back to 2008 the estimated payments were about $300-400 less per month.
Interesting as I was going through some documents in my filing cabinet. Before I signed up on the Social Security website I'd save the summaries that were mailed. Going back to 2008 the estimated payments were about $300-400 less per month.
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