Retirement Question

[JerryK]

You can live pretty good with about 2/3's of your income if you have everything paid for when you retire and have good health benefits. [ without touching your savings except for REAL emergencies or long term purchases ] Costs a lot of money to keep a super dependable vehicle to go back and forth to work... and to pay for the commute. Sometimes when working a lot of hours, you don't make very good decisions on hiring work out or buying stuff. When retired, you can be more frugal in that regard. You don't want to start taking your SS too early, but have to decide about how long you plan on sticking around.. some folks should take it as early as possible. And, life style figures in. If you make it a regular thing to go out for big expensive dinning out, that cost big bucks. All, in all, two thirds is doing me fine..... I used the extra SS income to finance my Mahindra...

 

[GPintheMitten]

I probably drive almost now as I did when working but not daily. It's a 50 mile one way drive to visit the grandkids. And it's a 30 mile one way trip to visit my other daughter.

Don't count on cheaper transportation in retirement. Your going to go through a few vehicles retiring early.

 

[npalen]

Lot's of great insight and advice in the above posts! Can't beat hearing about diversified real life experiences.
I turned 70 this year so also faced with setting up the RMD's (Required Minimum Distribution) for two 401K's and an IRA. It was nice to invest tax free but now it's time to "pay the piper". Maybe should have converted to Roth IRA when the market was down seven or eight years ago. But life is full of "should haves".
I will say that I worried a lot more about health insurance costs prior to retirement than I should have. (Retired four years ago at 66)
I find, also, that I'm able to do a lot of home repairs and lawn care etc with the extra time on my hands. I would say the 2/3 amount for living cost compared to pre-retirement is probably in the ball park.
I worry about the stock market based on all the problems in the world today but held firm during the Great Recession and plan to do the same in spite of the current fluctuations. I strongly urge anyone in the stock market to stand firm long term. It's just that at any age one doesn't know what "long term" really is.
Also worry about worldwide catastrophe as I'm sure a lot of people do, but hey we're all in it together. I could easily afford to buy a brand new tractor with all the bells and whistles but am a tightwad. Maybe it would be a good long term investment especially if we start seeing inflation like back in the day. On the other hand, I remember when $10K 6-month CD's were paying 18%.

 

[TomSeller]

Any insight into social security payments that might not be apparent on the SS website?

 

[npalen]

Only thing I can offer is that Medicare Part A (hospital coverage) can be auto deduct each month. It's a little over $100/month currently.

 

[California]

Any insight into social security payments that might not be apparent on the SS website?

One aspect that may not be apparent: your spouse can claim a SS benefit based on your earnings and let her age increase for a higher benefit when she starts SS in her own name later. I don't understand this very well so sorry if the explanation is vague - but it works for us. My wife researched this and started it, then will start her own benefit at age 70. As I recall it was someone who writes a Retirement column for Kiplinger or something who described this.

I just wanted you to be aware of this. Maybe someone else here can explain it more clearly.

 

[ultrarunner]

I help several with their bills and here is one from today...

2177 Gross Social Security
-105 Medicare
-132 Prescription Drug Plan
______________________

1940 remaining
-273 Supplement
______________________

$1667 net or about 20k annually and she still saves money each month

I have no idea how inline these numbers are or if they are typical.

 

[Streetcar]

One aspect that may not be apparent: your spouse can claim a SS benefit based on your earnings and let her age increase for a higher benefit when she starts SS in her own name later. I don't understand this very well so sorry if the explanation is vague - but it works for us. My wife researched this and started it, then will start her own benefit at age 70. As I recall it was someone who writes a Retirement column for Kiplinger or something who described this.

I just wanted you to be aware of this. Maybe someone else here can explain it more clearly.

The benefit to draw SS based on spouse work history and let your SS increase and draw on it later expires this year if I read the SS site correctly

 

[TomSeller]

One aspect that may not be apparent: your spouse can claim a SS benefit based on your earnings and let her age increase for a higher benefit when she starts SS in her own name later. I don't understand this very well so sorry if the explanation is vague - but it works for us. My wife researched this and started it, then will start her own benefit at age 70. As I recall it was someone who writes a Retirement column for Kiplinger or something who described this.

I just wanted you to be aware of this. Maybe someone else here can explain it more clearly.

I wonder if this is what you reference. Clear as mud

Social Security Q&A: With an Older Lower Earning Spouse, How Should We Sequence Our Claims?

 

[Capricious]

One aspect that may not be apparent: your spouse can claim a SS benefit based on your earnings and let her age increase for a higher benefit when she starts SS in her own name later. I don't understand this very well so sorry if the explanation is vague - but it works for us. My wife researched this and started it, then will start her own benefit at age 70. As I recall it was someone who writes a Retirement column for Kiplinger or something who described this.

I just wanted you to be aware of this. Maybe someone else here can explain it more clearly.

I cannot explain in more clearly, but there are recent changes in law that probably affect this:

Big Changes for Claiming Social Security-Kiplinger