To retire or not retire?

[MotorSeven]

I retired after 27 years 2 months & 16 days..at age.....49....yes 49. I could have stayed another 5 years and banked close to a quarter of a million in DROP account but I walked away. Many of those before me that I know didn't make it more then a few years after retiring before dropping dead. Friends told me I was an idiot for leaving all that cash on the table. Things can be tight, but you have to live within your means. A smaller house, older vehicles, no expensive hobbies, eat at home, etc, can keep the expenses down.

It's been 5 years and I have not regretted bugging out early one time. {We} don't live forever and I figured I'd live my dream while I was still able to do so.

 

[keegs]

I plan to fund my retirement with a combination of reliable and investment income with the reliable portion covering a majority of our expenses. I consider reliable income, SS, pensions, annuities, CD's and MMAs. My investment income, revenues from bond yields, capital gains and dividends will be used to generate reliable income if needed or for re-investment.

 

[keegs]

It's been 5 years and I have not regretted bugging out early one time. {We} don't live forever and I figured I'd live my dream while I was still able to do so.

Up through our early fifties we saved a higher portion of our incomes but over the past few years the idea that we aint getting any younger began to ring a little more clearly. I've begun to hold back a little on the savings while the Mrs is still going full bore. The shift to more spending has been targeted toward our retirement lifestyle.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

My youngest daughter will be 4 in Feb. I MUST work for at least 20 more years... I will never get to retire...

That happens to be my retirement motto at the moment. I will be 49 this year, the wife is something like 20 months o l d e r (that is TOP SECRET BTW). She quit working outside the home while pregnant with our 14 year old daughter. She has a very small retirement account or two, I've put some money into hers when it was expedient and available. I have 3 mortgages and a HELOC because I own a huge swanky house in town, a little house on 2.1 acres out by the Lake, and this ramshackle modular on 50.77 acres we live in. Thank God both other houses are rented to what seems to be solid tenants. Both houses the mortgages are less than their CURRENT values, so if forced to sell it is all MY MONEY lost and not the bank (yes, I am likely too heavily invested in Real Estate, too late for that now...) My retirement accounts are slowly growing, mostly due to contribution and matching contribution, and 2 years of maxxed SEP input. The investments typically have gone sideways for the last 10-12 years... I worked for Intel for over 10 years from '92 to '02 and all of the stock employee purchase plan stuff the wife and I bought over that time we paid an average of ~$25 and yesterday it traded for $21.32 (Thank God for Dividends).

I've known since High School in 1982 I would NEVER see any SS (Reagan taught me that), I've always known it was a govt. scam.

I've moved all my fully vested retirement accounts into MY controlled SEP IRA and they are doing better, but it requires some work to at least decide what to buy and hold, and what to sell.

Where is this TooMuchInformation post going? The simple fact is I truly believe what I posted above, I will never get to "retire". Part of it is due to the times in which we live in today, and the ridiculous stuff our govt. has done to destroy our future with debt and inflation. Part of it is due to choices I've made in how much to save, and how much to LIVE. Maybe the real estate market will recover and make my investments there look genius, but I'm not counting on more than breaking even and regaining my capital that I've invested, a slight return would be nice though... I work hard and I try to climb the ladder. I believe strongly in Biblical stewardship philosophy about all of this and I feel God has entrusted me with these resources and my little flock, and I MUST care and tend for these blessings.

I suspect strongly I woll never "retire" in the commonly held fashion. I will probably need to have a few side jobs for beer money at minimum just because of my nature.

The other side of the coin is also that both my wife and I feel compelled to learn more about self sufficiency, and how to survive really tough times and do well regardless. It may very well be those are the best investments we can make...

Good luck and many Blessings upon you and yours on this road we are all travelling together...
Be well all,
David

 

[smstonypoint]

I plan to fund my retirement with a combination of reliable and investment income with the reliable portion covering a majority of our expenses. I consider reliable income, SS, pensions, annuities, CD's and MMAs. My investment income, revenues from bond yields, capital gains and dividends will be used to generate reliable income if needed or for re-investment.

Sounds like you will be using a "Bucket Strategy" -- A Bucket Strategy For Retirement Income - Forbes.:thumbsup:

Steve

 

[newbury]

With all the advice being given out on various financial strategies for retirement what happens to them if the economy tanks worse than last time? And stays down for decades?
I've seen too many market drops and manipulation to trust fully in them.
I would advise to include in retirement strategies investment in relatives and friends.
I'm pretty much of a "loner", stay away from social activities etc. but I'm making a concious effort to invest in family bonds.

 

[joemd11]

This is a very interesting and informative thread. I am 50 and would like to retire in 6 or 7 years. My big concern is healthcare costs. What do you guys that retire early do for health insurance? It seems like anything more than a policy just covering catastrophic illness would be very expensive.

Sent from my iPad using TractorByNet

 

[keegs]

Sounds like you will be using a "Bucket Strategy" -- A Bucket Strategy For Retirement Income - Forbes.:thumbsup:

Steve

Yeah..more or less a bucket strategy....though we're hoping at least early in retirement, to be able to rely on SS, Medicare and pensions to cover most of our expenses. Asset allocation is key though. I spend some time on bogleheads.org to stay plugged in to how others are handling this. It's been helpful.

 

[Mickey_Fx]

This is a very interesting and informative thread. I am 50 and would like to retire in 6 or 7 years. My big concern is healthcare costs. What do you guys that retire early do for health insurance? It seems like anything more than a policy just covering catastrophic illness would be very expensive.

Sent from my iPad using TractorByNet

You are focusing on one of the BIG variables, one that we have little control over. You can't control you health other than trying to live a health life style which a lot of times helps very little. Then there is this health care abomination that passed a couple yrs ago and is now going into effect. For many or most, it will insure rising health care costs.

You didn't say if yo have any employer provided health care coverage. Even if you do, you can't count on it as with growing HC costs, some, many employers will be cutting back or drop coverage all together.

Think it would be wise to start shopping around to find some kind of HC plan. Need to find one that provides good services, one where people are happy with the services provided and what do cost look like down the road.

We're very fortunate we live in the West where Kaiser Permanente is available. They were the first HMO in the country and are still one of the best. They even run their own hospitals. Lots of smaller facilities located in mid to larger cities. We've been with them for >20yrs and have been quite happy with their services and level of care. When we turned 65 we were required to sign up for Medicare and assign it over to KP. As of last yr, my former employer changed how they would be providing HC for their retirees. Today we have to pay KP and then file a claim with employer for reimbursement. What we found was our rates dropped considerably and new 2013 rates only went up one dollar/mo. Our current premium is $138/mo each. Can't complain about level of service or qlty of care.

What all this is boiling down to is, do shop around, find something to your liking and get on board as soon as possible. Don't forget to inquire about premiums and how quickly they have been rising in recent yrs. If medical needs are such and could be a major expense, you might give consideration to relocating to an area where medical costs are lower.

Hope your retirement yrs are good to you.

 

[Redbug]

I work for the Feds and will have full coverage health insurance after retirement at the group rate.