Are you "lucky"if you have a secure retirement?

[300UGUY]

All the men in my family stop working when they die... I think this was much more common with farm families... there is always work that needs to be done... on the other side it was small family business.

The idea of retirement with a pension has never happened as best as I can tell... I was going to be the first and I think my Dad was more excited than I was when I landed a job with big company benefits... if he was still around, he would be in shock that they have all gone away...

When I hired in at GM, it was the largest corp in the world. The thought of bankruptcy was not on anyone's radar. The salary folks have lost the most, but the execs have done very well. The hourly guys, the new ones are only making about $17 per hour, with no retirement or healthcare after employment. With the foreign competition being low wage, it is hard to see how they can recover.

 

[Capricious]

"...how important will the extra couple of bucks be...


Everyone needs to make their own decision, but the difference in social security drawn @ 62 vs. drawn @ 70 is pretty substantial.

Depending on a lot of other factors, it can also be substantial for a surviving spouse.

I intend to put off drawing on the SS and the pension as long as possible. I hope to put it off for at least a year or so after I call it quits @ work. I have some assets held within IRA accounts that I would like to "take out" and I don't want a lot of additional taxable income in the year that I pay the taxes on them.

That will mean I will need to live off after-tax savings for that time period.

 

[Travelover]

"...how important will the extra couple of bucks be...


Everyone needs to make their own decision, but the difference in social security drawn @ 62 vs. drawn @ 70 is pretty substantial.

Depending on a lot of other factors, it can also be substantial for a surviving spouse.

I intend to put off drawing on the SS and the pension as long as possible. I hope to put it off for at least a year or so after I call it quits @ work. I have some assets held within IRA accounts that I would like to "take out" and I don't want a lot of additional taxable income in the year that I pay the taxes on them.

That will mean I will need to live off after-tax savings for that time period.

+1 I'm waiting until age 70 to draw SS because my pension covers my expenses. My wife will take SS at 62 or 66. When I die, she steps up to my payout amount, which will be about 3000 per month with COLA. I don't care which scheme potentially pays out the most, I am concerned with always having enough considering risks of pension defaulting, stock market crashing or the need for long term care, for which we are self insuring.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Interesting thread to say the least. I turn 53 next week and wishing I could call it a career now but it will be 62 for me.

My question, how do you know when you have enough? What was the tipping point that made you say I am out of here?

I've been a good saver and on paper am worth over a million with over half of that in 401Ks. I own 50 acres near my hometown,
a rental house in the same town. A little more land that Mom lives on near town. I have 7 acres here, have a tractor, a muscle car
and a four wheeler, guns to shoot. What more does a man need?

I have been in technical sales most of my career and have made good cash. I was lucky!

 

[ovrszd]

I just signed up, I'll get the first check April 1st (April fools day, appropiate, eh?)
They sent me a letter, after medicare part B is deducted, I supposedly will get 2300 - ish.
The wife (63) will get 900 ish.
Got two very small pensions coming in also (beer Money ):licking:
Not great, but doable.
Don't owe anybody a nickle, that helps alot.

You didn't state your age, but since you are talking Medicare I'm assuming 65 at least.

I started drawing at 62 and get 1450 gross

Your last sentence is the secret to a successful retirement. No debt. It doesn't matter how many zeros you add to the end of your monthly income if they are covered up by a pile of payment books.

Congratulations on your retirement. I highly recommend it. And the hours are great.

 

[ovrszd]

Had I waited until my full retirement age of 66 I would collect about $1765 a month rather than $1365 and if I waited until age 70 it would be about $2365. By starting collecting at age 62 I will get around $67000 over a four year period by starting early, now how long would the payback time be for that amount had I waited until age 66? 164 months!!! Almost 14 years....I don't know why people wait so long to collect SS.

I agree.

My Mother-in-Law is 72. Still working, which is fine because she enjoys it. When she turned 70 I asked her is she started drawing her SS? She said no, I can't do that I'm still working. So I had to go online and print off all the information which explained to her that she can draw with no penalty and continue to work. I often wonder how many people like her are stilling working beyond 70 and not drawing?? Sad.

 

[ovrszd]

+1 I'm waiting until age 70 to draw SS because my pension covers my expenses. My wife will take SS at 62 or 66. When I die, she steps up to my payout amount, which will be about 3000 per month with COLA. I don't care which scheme potentially pays out the most, I am concerned with always having enough considering risks of pension defaulting, stock market crashing or the need for long term care, for which we are self insuring.

I agree with your thoughts and concerns. But I think we sometimes get confused by what SS is. It's not a government program to support you, like Medicare/Medicaid or many others. It's your money. No different than your investment 401K style money that you've socked away. So my thoughts about SS are my ability to draw out everything I've paid in. So I must create an equation, estimating my expected lifespan to make that decision. As others have stated, when I did the math I had to live into my mid 80s before I hit the breakover. Odds get pretty bleak at that point. And as others have stated, my monetary monthly needs at that point will be a lot less. My "blow" money now is larger than my living expense will be when in my 80s.

 

[riptides]

...My question, how do you know when you have enough? What was the tipping point that made you say I am out of here?

Different people have their exit buttons.

For me, I retired through mutual agreement with many parties. Sort of a buyout.

I thought it was time to leave the o-dark-thirty world.

Didn't last long.
Some other parties called me in for specific work. Got to set my own schedule.

I'd say time told me when to step out of the full-time rat-race.

 

[ovrszd]

Interesting thread to say the least. I turn 53 next week and wishing I could call it a career now but it will be 62 for me.

My question, how do you know when you have enough? What was the tipping point that made you say I am out of here?

I've been a good saver and on paper am worth over a million with over half of that in 401Ks. I own 50 acres near my hometown,
a rental house in the same town. A little more land that Mom lives on near town. I have 7 acres here, have a tractor, a muscle car
and a four wheeler, guns to shoot. What more does a man need?

I have been in technical sales most of my career and have made good cash. I was lucky!

Minus your monthly paycheck, can you live today on the gains of your investments without touching the principles? If so, you can retire. Half a million in 401K returns will provide a nice monthly income. Secret will be your debt load as discussed earlier. You're a Missourian, you'll figure it out!!!

 

[MinnesotaEric]

I've got one of the two Briggs Meyer personality types that likes to work and since I have no wife or kids, I'm well aware that I'll need to amass enough wealth to pay for care when I'm unable to take care of myself (unless I stoke or heart attack out before then). Even so, Mr Market is my silent partner who goes out and works for me and pays the bills and allows me to continually pursue creative benders like making videos that express my increasing fear of rising markets.