Retirement Advice
 

I was on Yahoo Finance this morning and they were discussing the virtue of working until one is 70 as opposed to retiring at 62. These articles are generic and everyone must decide for themselves when is their best time to retire.

At the end of the article they gave three items to consider:
1. Work as long as you can.
2. Save like you will be on your own tomorrow.
3. Live each day like it could be your last.

I guess if you love your job (and I think those that do are very lucky) that it would be ok to "work as long as you can." For those of us that didn't love our jobs, or maybe used to love our jobs but no longer do, I would say to do the math, but retire as soon as you can! Does the author of this advice think we will all live into our 80s and 90s?

Maybe my tune will be different if in 10 or 20 years (assuming I live that long) if I am struggling financially, but having had one parent pass away at age 42, I say go for retirement as soon as the math makes sense. Reduce debt to 0, have some savings, try to project your income and expenses as best you can, and go for it.

So far, it is amazing to me how inexpensively you can live when retired, at least in TV - there are a LOT of work-related expenses that you will be cutting out. Also, you can spend all day doing free things (OK, not really free, since you are paying an amenity fee). I know lots of people who keep putting off the decision to retire - we are glad we decided to hang up the work shoes and put on the golf shoes (or the swim goggles, or the dance shoes, or the gardening gloves - you get the picture).

And, if you feel you need to keep contributing to society in a tangible or intangible way, having more time and energy for volunteering is another nice factor to consider.

I also had my father sick at age 44 and died at 61. My brother, after a good physical the week before, had a massive heart attack and died at age 37. My cousin got an infection at age 26 and was dead before 27. My a second cousin passed at age 57. Three co-workers died in thier thirties.

My point is whoever we are tomorrow is not promised to any of us. Enjoy today and if that is means retiring with less $$ just do it. And like the above note, if it means later in life you are short $$ you still will make it somehow. But if you wait and become sick and are unable to enjoy you will never forgive yourself for wasting those months, day, minutes.

aj

Ohiogirl and ajdeck:

I agree with you both. These articles are generic in that they lean heavily on the financial aspects and not dwell on the personal situations of everyone. Hence,"work as long as you can" statement.

One has to weigh whether one finances are the driving force vs the human aspect of one family longevity.

One's health is the most important consideration.

What good is having money if you are sick.

Exactly! Or, worse!

I saw a cartoon where a doctor was examining a portly man and was saying to him "Let's see. Which will fit more conveniently into your schedule - exercising one hour a day or being dead 24 hours a day?"

Freeda:

That's a good one that I have never heard before.

My father used to worship Aristotle Onassis as he was the first billionaire that my father knew of.

Whe he passed away, I said to. "what good did his money do him".

My father replied, "at least he suffered in comfort".

A snapy reply but I thought I was right in my view of one's health is the most important thing in the world.

As to : Work as long as you can.
I say every day NOT at work is a day added to your life

Sadly, I am one that loves my job and am not looking forward to retirement as much as others. I also love having time off for golf and other outdoor activities. Money is no longer the deciding factor of when to retire. I'm sure others have been in the same situation. My only concern is that I retire and then miss the challenge of work and become bored with recreation every day. Sort of like eating ice cream for every meal. There is no going back to your old job once you retire. I will be 65 this year but my wife is 8 years behind. She is ready to retire now. Maybe I have become a stress junkie. Any words of wisdom from people who were in a similar position?

I too would like to retire. The financial piece I can handle, but it is the Health Insurance that is a challenge because I am only 58 and not eligible for medicare. What have the rest of you done to get health insurance coverage that retired early? I'm so anxious to move to TV, this is all that is holding me back.

My son is in investments and he told me to retire young, travel, play sports (tennis, pickleball, golf, swimming, racketball, badminton, pool, platform tennis, etc.) and enjoy life . . . when I'm too old to travel and play sports then you'll see me as the greeter at Wal-Mart!

Retirement Advice
 

The latest advice coming from experts is to work as long as you can save as much as you can and forego your social security until you retire.

The reality for all of us is that it is an individual choice based on many factors. When you decide to take retire is really a crap shoot. I used a rather conservative approach and based my longevity on the age my last parent died. I divided that amount into months and then applied the income we would be receiving from social security, pensions ,ec. We only figured our 401k for inflation purposes. We paid down all our debt. The net result is we will be able to live within our means without dipping into our savings well beyond the longevity model I used. For personal reasons we are hoping to pass on as much wealth to our offspring as we can afford.

Bottom line each of us has to look at our DNA, financial goals, remaining responsbilities, remaining debt, lifestyle and personal philosophy.

What could upset the apple cart is some major changes in health insurance coverage.

I agree with you cause I thought the same thing - loved work and worried I would miss it. That took me maybe a few months more than others but I was WRONG. I should have done it earlier.

aj

There was a time I would not agree but I have to agree the last few years has showed me that is the way I see it. I don't need the stress or the 24X7 on call. I can't wait until July 1!

Ditto, Francie.......health insurance......the trap.

I read the article this morning. The problem I have with the article is that the advice is somewhat contradictory - on the one hand it tells you to enjoy life and live every day like it's your last but then it tells you to work as long as you can. Well if I'm going to enjoy life and live every day like its my last I certainly don't want to keep working as long as I can. My job was OK but I worked to make a living not because I enjoyed working.

Francie - Health insurance is the big problem for a lot of people. My wife and I are very lucky that we can continue our employer's group health insurance in retirement at the same rates that we paid as employees. When we become Medicare eligible at age 65, Medicare will then become our primary health insurance plan and our employer's plan will become secondary coverage. If you don't have health insurance, it's very difficult. My sister took an early retirement from the phone company in New York at age 57 and moved to Florida. They gave her free health insurance for 18 months. But after the 18 months, she found she couldn't get affordable health insurance on an individual basis. She had to return to work just to pay for her health insurance and will probably continue working until she is eligible for Medicare.

I used to think that what I did in my legal career was so great that I would be hobbling around in a courtroom with a cane and a little gray bun someday - that's what I remember saying; I just couldn't imagine a life without it; my career so defined me as a person that I couldn't separate myself from it. So I can really understand what you are feeling. What happened for me is that I stumbled onto another interest, wholly unexpectedly, that fascinated me, and because of that I gradually gave up my law practice, so the separation from it was a less 'drastic' step, which is something that I realize isn't as easy with a job. But what I found, and it became even much more evident once we moved to TV, is that there is alot to be said for free, uncommitted, unstructured time (something that was rare during my career); and time to consider and learn about other things. I started seeing myself as very narrow, because I had been so immersed in law and raising children, the only two things I had really focused on for most of my life, that I didn't even realize what else I was missing out on in life.

Maybe for someone who has a job, it might be helpful to just take off a few weeks or months, or as long as you can, rent a home in TV, and totally, deliberately absorb yourself in TV lifestyle. You may be surprised at all there is here - not just 'to do' to fill up your time (I hate the idea of just 'killing' time), but opportunities for learning and evolving as a person. There are so many interesting and talented people here that I feel like in the past 3 years of living here I have grown alot as a person. The clubs program here, for example, gives us the opportunity to learn from the collective knowledge and experience of educated, intelligent people from all over the world and from many different backgrounds. There are many purposeful, self-fulfilling things you can do outside of a job, including joining public service organizations, etc. Then, there is also travel!

Your analogy of 'eating ice cream for every meal' is a good way to describe how I now in retrospect feel that my life was during my career, because the requirements of my work kept life pretty much the same, and didn't allow me to experience alot of change and personal growth, or time to try new things.

[QUOTE= If you don't have health insurance, it's very difficult. My sister took an early retirement from the phone company in New York at age 57 and moved to Florida. They gave her free health insurance for 18 months. But after the 18 months, she found she couldn't get affordable health insurance on an individual basis. She had to return to work just to pay for her health insurance and will probably continue working until she is eligible for Medicare.[/QUOTE]

I have to agree with this. I need the break on my health insurance payment which at $900 per month is nearly as much as a house payment. I am going back to work to pay for insurance. I cannot wait to be 65. Who'd a thunk it?:evil6:

Our health insurance is through my husband's Ford retirement. But before we were married I had an individual policy that I paid for myself.

One suggestion is that you might do some serious shopping around to find out what a suitable individually purchased health insurance policy would cost until you reach Medicare age, and then figure out what you could do to produce just that much additional income, if other than that you would be able to retire, financially speaking. In other words, if an individual health insurance policy would cost $800 per month, for example, you have to weigh whether you are really going to continue working fulltime, and give up years of retirement, just to keep that $800 per month benefit that is being provided by your employer; or look at, instead, other part-time options, such as a parttime job, or a homebased business, where you could create the income to just pay for that coverage, so that you can go ahead and retire.

I turned 62 last Thursday, and retired last Friday. While I enjoyed my job (and signed a consulting agreement with the company so I can still contribute when needed) the prospect of freedom to do the things I really enjoy and experience some new things as well is just too exciting to pass up. My new mantra is "It's better to retire a year too early than a day too late." Now we just have to sell the house in VA and we are TV bound!

B.

Dear Freeda,

Your post was was lovely and heartfelt.

Thank you,

J

To batman 911:
You will have an adjustment in life; try to slow down work by getting a deal where you work only 4 or 3 days a week, allowing time for more recreation. After a few years you may be ready to only work on a on-call basis, then stop completely.

Thank you Freeda. Great insight.

We too are trying to decide what to do. Currently have house on market in NJ and just waiting to sell and come down. But since I am not 65 yet, the health insurance is a concern for us too. Will I need to work (don't want to full time) just to have the insurance? Would love to know how it works in Florida.

I retired at age 59 (4 years longer than minimum age) and wife retired at 52 from Federal government jobs on the same day. We moved to The Villages about a year ago.

Federal government retirement is great. We paid into our Civil Service Retirement System every month just like folks on Social Security. We do not get Social Security but the Civil Service retirement. We paid health insurance premiums all the years we worked and in retirement we still get health insurance through the Federal Employees Health Benefit plan - and we do pay a monthly premium still.

I am very glad that I took a Federal government job when I got out of the Army and college. The pay was not the greatest but very nice benefits.

Retirement is great. It took me all of 1 day to adjust.

I retired at 62 after 40 years in education. My Dad, who was to retire at that age, died when he was 61. Althought I loved what I did, I was determined to retire at 62. My wife did the same. Next week we will close on a house in The Villages and look forward to many years of enjoyment with each other. Retire when your ready and don't look back!

Ready
 

[QUOTE=batman911;334702]Sadly, I am one that loves my job and am not looking forward to retirement as much as others. I also love having time off for golf and other outdoor activities. Money is no longer the deciding factor of when to retire. I'm sure others have been in the same situation. My only concern is that I retire and then miss the challenge of work and become bored with recreation every day. Sort of like eating ice cream for every meal. There is no going back to your old job once you retire. I will be 65 this year but my wife is 8 years behind. She is ready to retire now. Maybe I have become a stress junkie. Any words of wisdom from people who were in a similar position?[/QUO

One fourth of my grade school class is dead. I am 57, love my OB Nursing job. I look around me and look at the Nurses who have no chance of retiring,.

They have knee replacement and hip replacements and shoulder and back problems. They all work in pain.:thumbup: I want to retire as quick as I can. It is 60 for me. !

Lots of good advice here. Thanks to all who took the time to post. Anyone out there who wishes they had worked a few more years?

Nope. Should have retired even earlier; or at the very least, should have moved to TV earlier.

1 & 3 are mutually exclusive!

Couldn't agree more. It quickly reminded me that "investing" in myself was well worth the effort!! We are working now "dejunking" our house so we can get ready to put it on the market and make the "can't wait to make it happen" move to TV.

Freeda, my hubby and I thoroughly enjoyed reading your thoughts. When the time comes for him to retire it will not be "from" something but "to" something. And I can't think of a better place place than The Villages! Lord willing, we hope to join y'all in a couple of years @ the ripe young age of 55! :wave:

Trudy

Retiring in two years from the railroad at 57. Working 35 years will be enough for me. I like to stay fit and active, so after one visit, to the Villages. I new, it was the place for me. "Life is to Short! not to be Happy!

:wave:
I am in similar situation. We recently (last Nov.) moved from South Florida. I am elgible for Medicare, but my wife has another 5 years to go.
We both planned on working here for a while, me to keep from depleting my IRA (which is all I have besides SS) and my wife for health benefits.
My wife finally got a job about a month ago which has good benefits (health industry) but the pay is a little more than half what she made in Boca Raton.
I had so many interviews, I could almost answer the questions before they were asked. I decided to only work part time and use my gof cart for transportation, which limited me somewhat. Just found a part time job at exactly 45% the hourly rate I was paid in Pompano Beach, FL.
But!!!! We are extremely happy we made the move and would do it again - it is all worth living in paradise.
I am just pointing out that the pay scale here is pretty weak and most only hire part time to not have to pay benefits.
As far as taking early retirement goes if you have longevity in your immediate family (mother and father) it is best to wait as long as you can still work.
If you think early is better - i think about my father who retired at 55 and took Social Security at 62 - he is 91 now and wish he had waited.

Having second thoughts at 91 is not necessarily a bad thing! :rolleyes:

Retirement Advice: Don't retire

How many of those 36 years did he have nothing to do but enjoy himself?

And what would he have said if he only had 10 years and then had a stroke and could never do the fun things again?

The good Lord, will give you the first 50 years! The second 50, you have to work for.

B, where in Va are you?

Jim

I recently retired at only 53. I loved my job, but the company was downsizing and outsourcing everywhere and anywhere it could. After 30 years of dedication, I was thankful that I did not lose all I worked for. My very close friend recently retired early, moved to Florida, and died two years later at only 48 years young. I guess you can't plan every aspect of our lives. You plan on working until 62, things and events change. The most important thing is your health, friends, family and hapiness....and be thankful for everyday...and live it to the fullest. :crap2:

You are right, live every day like it is your last because one day you will be right!