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.