Were you forced into retirement?

keedge said:
I heard that folks tend to find out that they needed much less $$$ in retirement than they thought. Is that true?
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That has been true for me so far, and I was surprised by that. I also went into retirement debt free so that was very beneficial.

Another thing that surprised me was Medicare. I spent the last twenty five years of my working life on a high deductible health plan where out of pocket cost were substantial. Switching to Medicare was such a blessing, I had Hernia surgery this past summer and my total out of pocket was $305.00.

Like many I was just plumb wore out and stressed from working, even though I still work hard in retirement its a different kind of life and I like it very much.
 

Forced. I had to relinquish my commercial driving license due to night blindness.

No more putting parcels down, donned in brown, all around town, being a clown, entertaining the folks with my jokes. I was planning to work, ten more years, but my worst fears, my license taken with a jerk, no more paid work, home to be a housewife, not what I had planned in life.

It wasn't all it was advertised to be, so you can see, My husband worked until 71, when it wasn't fun, that he fell down a concrete stairs run, so he came home with broken knees bone, and then I had added work, to cut the grass, while he sat in pain on his a s s. So a few years did pass, I am still full of sass, although a cancer tumor almost took my humor, I carry on, sometimes with a moan and sorry about my crime of making this rhyme. Be careful Y'all, don't fall.
 

keedge said:
I heard that folks tend to find out that they needed much less $$$ in retirement than they thought. Is that true?
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The big difference in our financial needs came when DH & I paid off the mortgage some 10 years ago. We've never lived large, so the rest of our cost of living has been fairly constant.

That said, our combined SS isn't enough to comfortably support us. We took SS at 65 (me on my own earnings record) and 70 (my husband on his). We receive healthy checks each month, but would be dipping into into savings if we stopped working a bit for our small business (working from home as consultants to two clients).

Try mapping out all your expenses over the next few months to see what will drop when you retire. Commuting costs, business wardrobe, lunches out, that kind of thing. It may turn out to be more or fewer $$ than you imagine.

Spousal SS is 1/2 of yours at your full retirement age, but that's assuming your wife delays claiming until her full retirement age. If she files earlier, she'll receive less each month for the rest of her life.

This is from the SS website:

SS.JPG


I wish you the best.
 
My retirement was accidental. I had worked at a large, tax-funded hospital for 15 years. Loved loved loved my job, until the government started dictating what we had to do. It negatively affected patient care. I took early retirement with a small pension and accepted a position in a private day surgery facility. It was awful! A year there and one day I gave my two weeks notice. I was just done with the drama and in-fighting. That was in 2012.

The plan was to take a few months off, then find another job. During those few months, I realized it was a great opportunity to make that long-desired trip to Alaska. I spent the following ten months building out a camper van, then off I went for an almost six month trip. Traveled around for the next few years, living in that simple van. Never went back to work and if I ever do, it will not be in health care.

I was receiving my pension, my late husband's pension and a widow's benefit from his SS. Switched to my SS at age 68. I live very simply and the income more than covers my needs.
 
GoodEnuff said:
... loved my job, until the government started dictating what we had to do. It negatively affected patient care.
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Everyone noticed. Everyone over 40 who has chronic health issues, at least. It's like we got a national healthcare system but no one's saying it out loud...and it ain't free.
GoodEnuff said:
The plan was to take a few months off, then find another job. During those few months, I realized it was a great opportunity to make that long-desired trip to Alaska. I spent the following ten months building out a camper van, then off I went for an almost six month trip. Traveled around for the next few years, living in that simple van. Never went back to work and if I ever do, it will not be in health care.
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That's awesome!

I went to South America for a few months, myself. Stayed mainly in Venezuela with a cousin who had a gorgeous little farm there, and an amazing wife who cooked amazing food. That was just before a major shift in leadership that sunk everyone's boat. But I sure had a great time.
 
Be careful what you wish for....A while back I told my husband I wanted to retire at 70 yrs old. He didn't want me to, because he thought I would miss it. When I was 69 yrs old, my husbands health was declining, so I cut my hours at work. Also at the age of 69 I was diagnosed with cancer. Between the side effects of chemo and radiation, and my husbands health and him subsequently dying, I never made it back to work.
So..I did get my wish. I did retire at 70 yrs old.
 
I went into retirement at 62, and never really looked back.

Things changed along the way, but I was comfortable with my decision…
.. I do tend to look at those around me, in their 70’s, still working, and I admire them.
 

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