It's Time For Medicare (whether I want it or not)

[Williy]

YUP! And there are some people that never had
a chance to make good money to invest in anything
I knew people years ago that made less than $500
a month!

willy

 

[Tinhack]

I didn't read the whole thing. When I got to "It (S.S.) is the largest source of retirement income for a majority of seniors." Wow...that's really poor non-planning.

Poor planning has nothing to do with every retirement situation. I went through two divorces with child support during my "planning" years. It pretty much wiped my retirement savings out. I do pretty well with just SS even though I had to use it early do to a health situation.

And SS certainly wasn't free for me. I was paying into it since I was 16. And many of the later years at maximum. I earned/paid for what I'm getting. And I plan to beat the average return.

 

[Fuddy1952]

YUP! And there are some people that never had
a chance to make good money to invest in anything
I knew people years ago that made less than $500
a month!

willy

Dad (rip) made $200/month...later more... yet retired at 56 very well off from planning.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Well, Medicare, SS, etc are US items that don’t pertain to the rest of the world, so that would make the entire topic unacceptable in today’s climate.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

How to crack the code to happiness in the second half of life

Aging can be hardest for strivers, says social scientist Arthur Brooks, because they sometimes mourn that their biggest successes are in their rearview mirror.

www.npr.org

"On cracking the code to happiness in the second half of life​

You've got to do the work. You can't just wish for it, and you can't hope you get lucky."

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Poor planning has nothing to do with every retirement situation. I went through two divorces with child support during my "planning" years. It pretty much wiped my retirement savings out. I do pretty well with just SS even though I had to use it early do to a health situation.

And SS certainly wasn't free for me. I was paying into it since I was 16. And many of the later years at maximum. I earned/paid for what I'm getting. And I plan to beat the average return.

+1 on picking the right woman as the best path to a comfortable retirement. My first wife was a financial disaster, and cost me most of my assets in the divorce. I built my first house myself, then had to settle for its 1983 cash value, plus she cleaned out my bank account and maxed the credit cards 4 hours before she served me with papers. My second wife has been a true life partner, and has contributed as much or more to our retirement.

+1 on being fortunate enough to stay healthy. Having to hire help is expensive. Assisted living is expensive. Neither are much fun. I have had cousins who died in assisted living, and my brother just died last march. Nothing spoils retirement like pain, disability, or death.

+1 on not being downsized. My employer decided my job was superfluous, for the second time, two years before I reached FRA. I saw that one coming. I did gig work consulting for a couple years to fill the gap, but many people don't have the option to work independently.

 

[Fuddy1952]

Yes I should have mentioned planning is all encompassing, all facets of one's life have to be considered. It's not luck finding the right spouse, it's best especially dating in your teens knowing the spouses family, skills, mindset and reaction in all different situations, their friends, financial abilities, priorities, goals...the list goes on.
Then planning early, in your 20's, IRA, a Roth, investing, living below your means, diet, exercise...the list goes on.
Planning has nothing to do with luck or inheritance.
Luck doesn't bring you a generator and 1-2 weeks of stored food when the power goes out.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

About 7 years ago the retirement vendor changed where my wife works and I went with her for a one on one with a rep.

I got a big shock when she said short of a divorce our retirement plan was "OK". She said divorce was the major retirement wrecker for 55+.age couples.

I had neighbor in his 70's that got divorced that lead to selling the farm that they bought 45 years earlier. This triggered a major boost in income and somehow caused SSA to do a clawback and he was pissed.

Late in life decisions can be good or bad on retirement income for life.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Read about 5 articles about retirement funds this morning. At 71 hindsight is much better than foresight was at 31 or 41 in my case.

It seems like some business owners including land owning farmers that flirted with bankruptcy for a few decades and make it to retirement do ok. Businesses that survive teach many survival skills that can make retirement go more smoothly. Forced money management can lead to capital gains especially in farming. Being around other business owners especially the older ones can provide a lot of mentoring.

As some say experience can be a cruel teacher. By the time the teaching is done so is the time to use what one has learned.

SS income is nice so is learning how to maximize it if its one's main retirement funding.

Working for a strong company and maximizing their retirement benefits along with SS is the more common route for many.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I'm a big believer in the "many socks" theory of retirement. Plan for income from multiple sources, because one or two of them may not be here. If the gummint shuts down, no more SS. If the stock market crashes, no more equity. If the housing market crashes, no more equity. If interest rates go up, long term bonds go into the toilet. If you keep your money in money we all know how that goes, though some money is better than other money.

If every income stream stays reliable, you are in tall cotton. If a couple of them tank, you are still not broke. Stay insured. Even with Medicare, medical bankruptcy is still a thing in the US.