Retirement

[Travelover]

To answer some items.

I don't trust retirement planners either. But they are a tool to get one pointed in the right direction. I made everything worst case in my estimations. Fidelity does not get fees from me for managing my account. They get them from my employer. That was THE main reason I left my money with them instead of moving it when the plant closed. .........

I use Fidelity, too, and like them. Depending on which investments you choose within the 401(k) the expense ratio (annual fees) can vary a lot, so look at them if you have not. I use their Spartan funds.

Another advantage to leaving your cash in a 401(k) is the ability to withdraw it penalty free if you are over 55 and have left the job. A disadvantage is the tax treatment for beneficiaries other than your wife. If you have a fair amount that might go to your kids, it is worth looking into this.

 

[Uncle Doug]

Interesting study.

I to also plan to retire early at 55 within the next year. The effects of 35 years of long hours of shift work compounded by high stress and an ever increasing work load has worn me out. I reached warp speed burn out several years ago and it has started to effect my health.

Working for a hugh petro-chemical company has allowed me a 401k and a retirement plan that should see through old age with some left over for the kids to fight over. My 401k has returned to 2007 levels and is looking more likely that now is the time to go. Retireing at age 55 leaves a lot of money on the table which my co-workers think is foolish to do. I dis-agree.

The one thing I have learned over the past several years is that without your health, retirement with huge amount of money does one very little good other than paying for better medical treatment.

My dad retired at age 65 after 45+ years of hard construction work. Saved very little for retirement. His health declined to a point that by age 70 he has not left the house except to visit doctors.

 

[Mickey_Fx]

Made my mind up tonight.

I'm gonna retire before summer gets here. Probably in the next sixty days.

I have worked at the same job in two different plants for two different companies for more than thirty years. Production supervisor in a union setting with high rates and a lot of conflicts. Pay has been good but the stress will kill you. At my last plant I trained twenty two in my job and only four lasted more than two years. I am finished with it.

Now that I've made the decision I must try to figure out my finances. How much of which account to tap into.

What percentage of your working income do you retired fellows need to make it? By making it I mean to not lower your living standards by much.

I think I am tired and rambling.

Any thoughts on this.

Goodnight

RSKY

Thank the Lord for 401K's !!

Lots of good comments here. I'll add my 2 cents. We have a lot in common when I was your age. Retired at 58 and now 70, no debt then or now.

I worked for HP for many yrs and one thing they did at that time was hold seminars for those at least 55. Brought in outside advisors and even gave employees $500 to go out and hire an expert to review your situation and offer advise.

Back at that time I heard several figures for what one needed at retirement to maintain same living std. One was 80% of current income and the other was $1,000,000 in assets. That figure almost brought on several heart attacks. Remember this was at least 15 yrs ago. Heard that one million figure from several other sources. Hard to believe one needed that much to live out the remainder of your life. Not sure what all went in to reaching the million dollar figure but 15 yrs ago who could have envisioned our current situation, the economy, cost of energy and health care costs, etc.

As one ages, health care cost go up dramatically and if you don't subscribe to feeding at the public trough, health care cost can become a major portion of your living expense in your later years.

As for SS income, get the figures from SS and run some numbers. What's the diff in benefits between take SS early and waiting for full benefits. For me, the break even point was age 81. I went with the early retirement benefits.

Regarding financial planners, good or bad, all depends on your skills and who you do business with. Handled this myself for many yrs and used Fidelity. No real issues here but also didn't seek much help from them either. Turned my investments over to a small local Co a couple yrs ago and I'm more than happy. Went with someone that charges a std fee and not someone that makes a commission on sales. Used this person for a number of yrs for my folks and had close to 10 yrs experience with them when I turned over my investments to them. They have done a great job for my folks and have been happy with them for the couple yrs they have been managing my investments. There will come a time when you are no longer able to do a adequate job managing your own investments and IMO is better to find someone you can trust while you are able to make good decisions. I no longer have to spend a lot of time researching and babying my investments, have more time for the fun things in life. Last yr my investments grew 10%. I consider this pretty good considering the current state of the economy.

Hope it all works out for you and enjoy your retirement yrs.

 

[beppington]

I'm sure it's different for every individual, but I think most people tend to be more self-centered when they're younger, whether a little or a lot ... and I think it usually wears off with age, to the point that you're tired of focusing on yourself & really need to be needed by others. Quitting your job can put you in a position where you feel like you're not really needed anymore, by anybody.

OP, I wonder: If you can do all your retirement planning, make sure you know every detail of your finances, & determine that you can absolutely retire if you want to ... I wonder if that would change your outlook & happiness in your current job? It would be just a change in mindset from something like, "I really hate this place; Can't wait to get out of here; This just isn't worth the stress." to "Hey, this really isn't so bad after all, now that I know I can walk right out the door any time if I want to".

 

[dmccarty]

Back a few decades I worked as an intern for a very large company. I was hired into Personnel! Which for a Engineer was horrible. Or so I thought.

Turned out to be the best job I could have had since I learned alot about the company and how companies are run. And I ran retirement calculations for employees looking at retirement.

The company at that time was very loyal to their employees and the loyalty was returned. The company was family.

What I was told was that the average retiree lived two years after retirement from the company. I think this was because the employees were used to working, coworkers were family, the company was a special place to work, and people did not have something to do outside of work.

Most of the above no longer applies to many US companies anymore.

I had long planned to retire at 55. We have a good nest egg and I think we could stop investing if we HAD too. But with kids and health issues I see working until at least 62 or 65. The bigger problem in working is continuing to work in my current trade where so many jobs have been offshored. This should swing back at some point and I hope it does since trying to get a job in your field with an age of 50 or greater is not going to be easy.

Later,
Dan

 

[johnk]

I just pulled the plug at 59 1/2 and after 3 weeks it still feels like vacation. The hard part is organizing all the expenditures/ what date and how much and for how long. I don't forsee any regrets. Hopefully the money will hold out till I am 80 and after that bury me in the yard. I can sense the feeling of freedom. I have worked since I was 12 and I am a little ansy. Now I can watch what the wife does all day.. Only 2 arguements so far.............

 

[Ken]

I'm sure it's different for every individual, but I think most people tend to be more self-centered when they're younger, whether a little or a lot ... and I think it usually wears off with age, to the point that you're tired of focusing on yourself & really need to be needed by others. Quitting your job can put you in a position where you feel like you're not really needed anymore, by anybody.

OP, I wonder: If you can do all your retirement planning, make sure you know every detail of your finances, & determine that you can absolutely retire if you want to ... I wonder if that would change your outlook & happiness in your current job? It would be just a change in mindset from something like, "I really hate this place; Can't wait to get out of here; This just isn't worth the stress." to "Hey, this really isn't so bad after all, now that I know I can walk right out the door any time if I want to".

When first married 52 years ago. Wife and I had a discussion. and since her partial handicap after polio agreed to live by. Thithe 10% Save 10% pay all the bills then enjoy remainder.
15 years retired and continue the method.
Have no debt and can purchase what ever we need with out borrowing.
Credit score have never checked but havn't been asked either.
Why pay some one to take care of your money so they can live the good live and you have to keep working past retirement age. just my thinking ken

 

[framer]

Way to go Ken. I wish you and your wife many years to come. Framer

 

[Haoleguy]

Nice thread. I wish you all well even the young dudes & dudettes. My spouse and I retired a couple of years back at 55 following the pressure cooker in a large multinational. We moved retirement and 401K funds away from the company designated caretakers. Early in retirement we jumped into understand investments, fed stuff, insurances, and legal needs. The two things I can say about investments are (1)timing is everything and (2)if you need help pick an independent state/national licensed or registered advisor from an interview process. Following that short period we found visiting family, continuing education, travel, volunteer work, and farm business development to be what lights our day and keeps us motivated......in addition to each others company. What I can say is having family & friends, activities/interests that challenge or stimulate you, staying in good physical and mental health, and making contributions to others will keep you gassed until that 93 mark. Stayin' alive!

 

[Transit]

Now that I have had my cancer surgery Jan 7, I am recovering at home. The bladder surgery did not go as planed and I have a bag attached for life, the recovery time will be much longer into April, I will in likely hood retire or semi retires. Although they say that I can do all that I did before. I may work part time training my replacement. Today the weather was halfway fair and I walked a mile to and from the barber shop. Still get tired but I am getting fit. This time last year I could lift 180#, now I just about make 10 which is more than 0. I was planning on putting in 25 yr but maybe it is time to tend to my needs. It is hard for me to do nothing now that I am limited being on the mend. I have to get my head into a new mode, being where the action is all these years is a addiction that is hard to break. Money is no problem.