The only thing there is to fear is that retirement is a bad judgment call

cobe54

cobe54

New Member
Location
southwest Wisconsin
OK, I have an interesting situation. First off I am 62 and will be 63 in Feb.;I want to retire now but there are several things holding me back, other than the fear of actually doing it.

I fear doing it because I am afraid it will be a bad judgement call and lord knows I have made plenty of them in my life and once I do it, I can't undo it. Anyway, I am totally confused on what to do and when. I want to retire sooner because my dad retired at 65 in Feb and by April he was dead. What kind of retirement is that? Not that I will die at 65, but one never knows. Anyway, our family history shows longevity is not in my favor, so I want to retire so I can actually enjoy it.

One thing is that I have crunched the numbers and figure with my SS I will be ok. I want to retire outright and not have to work again, but one of the things holding me back is health care. I talked with my wife about getting on her work insurance but she discovered it would take half of her pay check and that's just not going to work.

My problem is that I don't know where to start and what steps to take. I have absolutely no one my age to reason this out with and as I said, I am so confused. I know ultimately the whole thing is up to me to decide, but there is the confusion. Any ideas?
 

Cobe54 - Nothing to it! Just look into the future and predict how long you are going to live, how long your lovely wife will live, how your health and hers will be, what inflation will do to the purchasing power of your retirement income, what the stock market will do to your IRA/401k, housing markets if you want to relocate, and a few other trivial things. Then your decision is a piece of cake!

And if your crystal ball is broken just do what feels right.

Hoot N Annie, MBA/CPA
 
First off, what is your full retirement age? I could not draw the max SS benefits until I turned 66. So I waited. My husband had a light stroke and decided to retire at 67. He had already been drawing his full SS benefit and working full time. So we took his SS and starting paying the house off. What a relief not to have a house payment in retirement. When you get Medicare Part A & B (part A is no cost but part B is 109 per month, which they take from your SS benefit). You can get a supplement medical policy through anyone. We have Anthem Blue Cross and it is very affordable with a small deductable. You just got to shop around. It is very confusing!

On a side note...don't judge past deaths with retirement. People are living longer now because they are living healthier life styles. I'm more practical, so work as long as you can and put back as much as you can so you can enjoy retirement without any worries!
 

Maggimae, my retirement age is 66, but I am sick of my job and have to force myself to go in each day and I have health issues. This "people are living longer" thing I don't believe. I have seen countless people my age and younger die, so I don't buy into that one bit and to believe that is only fooling yourself. It's nice to think that and it's human nature I suppose, but the reality is, no. Sure I could live into my 80s, and I may not too.

Thank you Capt Lightning, I feel we are on the same page. At what age did you retire?
 
I retired at 64..(8 years ago)...I took a cash settlement from a smaller 401K and used it to pay my jobs cobra insurance until 65..Then medicare and a supplement..I also had to pay for my wife as she did not have health insurance after I retired and until she became 65 6 months after me.

You state that you have health issues,it maybe harder finding insurance unless you can carry your present insurance until you become 65.. You will find that health insurance will be right up there with your monthly cash flow!! The premiums go up but your income does not!!
 
Thanks Ken, good advice. For me to carry my present insurance would mean not retiring. Health issues is the big problem when it comes to working and insurance. There seems to be no happy medium there. I have a 401k, but I didn't have an opportunity to start it till 10 years ago, so it's minute at best. If I get in a pinch I do have a bit of stock I can cash in on if need be.If I can hang in there for 2 years not working I will be 65 then things will settle down more, then when I reach 66 I will start getting a pension from my older job of 24 years and things will be better yet. I just have to make up my mind what I want to do. Apply for SS now, or wait.
 
To confuse you more, I come from the other perspective -- I kept working till full retirement because I wasn't sure I could make it on the reduced benefits I'd get at 62. Additionally, I didn't want to go without insurance. I didn't get insurance through work, but had to buy it on my own. If I had quit working early I could not have afforded to keep the insurance.

My hips were failing and I knew they would need to be replaced, and, even though I had health insurance, it was an 80/20 plan and I could not have afforded to pay the 20% without beggaring myself. If I had taken the funds out of my IRAs I'd have taken a huge tax hit, and another income source wouldn't pay until 65. So I kept on working, with bad and very painful hips, using one cane and then two, until I reached full retirement age, got the Medicare and an advantage plan, had my hips replaced with minimal outlay, maintained the integrity of my retirement funds and got full benefits under SS.

I made the right decision for me. Those last years were AWFUL (I hated my job) on several levels, but if I had done otherwise I might have outlived my funds. I don't want to be that old lady eating cat food because she can't afford to buy food on her meager income. I'm glad I did it that way, even though it was indeed awful and a struggle, but I pretty much just gritted my teeth and got through it because I had to.
 
I agree with Captain's advice, do it as soon as you're able. If you haven't already, you may want to see if the healthcare.gov estimator tool will give you a better option. You can use that tool before actually applying to find out the costs and plans in your area.
 
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Cobe54, I gave up work at 56. I worked for 'Big Blue' most of my life, but when they had a big re-organisation, people like myself who were in our 50' s were on the radar, so to speak. Anyway, the money was on the table - and a reasonable early pension, so I left. I worked for another couple of years as a school janitor - where I was better qualified than most of the staff. My wife who had been a school secretary, packed up her job too and we returned to Scotland. We had always been careful with our money and along with my pension we could get by quite well - It's quite a bit cheaper to live in Scotland.

I would also add that health care is mostly free in the UK, and apart from in England, prescription medicines, eye tests etc.. are free too.

Now I've got my main pension, state pension and another two small pensions. OH has her occupational pension, so we're probably better off now than we have been for many years. We have a very busy lifestyle and have befriended and help two lady academics who quit the 'rat race' to start a market garden.

Thing is, you can never predict how the dice will fall, but retirement has given us freedom and fulfillment that work never did.
 
Having no one to reason this out with probably wouldn't help you much. As you may have noticed there is a variety of thoughts and experiences that you may not relate to but wish you could. The best I can offer is to access a financial institution like Fidelity and use their retirement planning as a way to determine where you stand.

I'm not promoting any particular company just suggesting you use the expertise that kind of financial institution provides.
 
You are right to be concerned about the cost of insurance coverage until you reach medicare age. But remember, costs do not go away with medicare, just perhaps more manageable. You have several options for health insurance, but you must check out each of them and compare.

Obamacare is most beneficial if your income falls below the level where you will get subsidized. Additionally, you cannot be turned down because of preexisting medical conditions. You will need to go on the web sight to check all of this out.

You can elect to take Cobra from your current company which will last for 18 months. You will pay the same price for the insurance as your company pays in total. This coverage is no questions asked and you will not be penalized for conditions you may have. This will only buy you 18 months, and you will have to look for other options after this time period if you have not reached age 65.

And then there is having your wife add you to her insurance. You have nixed that, but you need to do your homework on all 3 of these options before you disregard any one of them. I have looked at all the options other than the last, and costs can easily be 600 to 700 per month for one person at this time, and will probably increase each year.

I believe that retirement should be something you plan for and some research should be done. Even if your research does not stop you from retiring, at least it will minimize any surprises after you do. Research on your particular SSI benefits your wife's SSI benefits, what changes when you are medicare, and health care costs in general, will at least prepare you and reduce some of the fear you have. Knowing if you are financially ready beyond the health care costs is another story all together. Good luck.
 
Cobe54, I feel like I owe you an apology. I don't know your health issues or issues from your past family members. I made a generalized statement about people living longer lives and I was wrong. Deciding when to retire is a very personal decision and l know you will get some good advice here.
 
I have the same fears, I am 61 and want to retire at 62 in October. My dad never made it past 67 and wife dad at 62 so I think I had better do it now or I may miss out too. I have a 3 hour round trip drive per day.
 
Cobe54 there are financial "experts" who say taking SS at age 62 is the worst thing you can do. There are more realistic "experts" who acknowledge that an individual's personal circumstances are what should dictate the decision. Some even see taking SS early as a smart decision. Also, if longevity is not in the family's history, that is considered a good reason to take it early. Here is one of the best and most comprehensive articles on how to decide when to take SS. But do keep in mind that there's an expected across the board cut of 23% in our SS benefits by 2033 or 2034. It is not speculation...it is scheduled to take place according to the SS administration. Hope this helps.
https://personal.vanguard.com/us/insights/article/social-security-timing-082013?opentranscript=true
 
Cobe54, I would check with a Financial Advisor (like Fidelity or Vanguard) and visit some of the calculators online. I am a few years behind you in age and had to retire this year. Shortly after I had some health issues that I would not have been able to work through. Retirement has been a true blessing. Not sure how we will live through SS cuts mentioned above. :(
 
...also, there are a number of retirement boards out there. Early-Retirement .org has some resources to help you figure out if you are ready or not to pull the trigger.
 
Cobe54 You are right to think hard. Consider...If you retire and then want, or need, to go back to work, plan on a $10-$12 an hour job. If you were making $18+ benefits you'll be kicking yourself. If you made over $100K you'll really be suicidal. Do you really want to stock shelves at Lowes? If you are like me and take off 3 years and then think about returning, forget about it. We are spoiled by then. The body won't want to get up in the AM or work till the PM. You really are
'spoiled goods'. Better to suck it up and stay where you are unless you're positive you can swing it. Also if your mate doesn't retire with you it's gonna get boring at home. Now, all that said I'm glad I did but I can easily make the case that this wasn't my brightest decision.
 
Cobe54 Sorry, the link I posted about SS in my first reply no longer works. In re-reading your situation I must say that I'm all for early retirement and I understand why you want to do it now. A health issue was one of the reasons I retired plus being tired of working. I retired one month before my 51st birthday (also in Feb) and took a 12% cut in my pension because of it. But I knew I would have an excellent health insurance retiree benefit and my housing costs for the apartment I own were about 63% lower than comparable apartments in and around this area. Those two things are biggies! Add to that I was debt free. You stated that you already have health issues. That means getting insurance outside of the workplace may be next to impossible or either too expensive to afford if you can even get coverage. And chances are you are going to need that coverage. Unless you have a large retirement nest egg, I'm afraid that retiring now would not be wise. Following your heart won't work out so well if it puts you in a situation where you are constantly stressing about finances. Yes, can you let us know what your decision is (or was)?
 
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Cobe54 - I have little or no advice as to retiring but your comment regarding life expectancy hit home. My granddad was gone at 59 (heart), my dad at 66 (heart) and his brother at 50 or 52? (heart). This didn't bode well for my future. Based on this, I took an early retirement at age 58. Fortunately, my main income was from my government employee retirement plan as was my health care program. Social Security played a negligible part in my income (although it did cover my Medicare deduction). I'm 83 now and have been retired for 25 years. My wife and I have been blessed with reasonably good health and for this I am thankful.

Finances and health are (IMHO) the controlling factors in a comfortable retirement. The finances, you either have or don't and the health is something that you have little control over. People mention "getting in shape" and that's nice, but it'll only take you so far when an unexpected medical problem pops up.

Whatever your choice, I wish you well. I might add that, at least in our case, being surrounded by a large and loving family (kids, grands, great-grands) can also be a boon as you age.
 

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