Retirees (or Soon-to-bees): Share Your Wisdom

[twodko]

Mike, shoot a PM to 68x426. Dan can offer some solid advice.

(Yeah, OK. He paid me to post this referral. )

[RECHRGD]

As others have stated, being debt free is key.  Make a plan that takes inflation and emergencies into account.  I retired at 59.  I wanted my investment income to be as safe as possible.  Old school thinking led me to a 100% bond portfolio with a return between 4&5%.  That provided me with a nice income without having to dig into the base amount.  That only lasted one year before the Great Recession hit and the bond returns started dropping down to next to nothing.  When it was apparent that this was the new normal and we could easily out live our money if we stayed on that path, we had to make a change.  I sold all the bonds and spent time with my financial adviser going over the best moves to make.  We ended up going with a few quality mutual funds with loooong track records and a variable annuity that we have not drawn from yet.  Also bought a rental property.  With the dividends that we are currently taking and SS my income is above what my salary was when working.  The value of the funds has grown nicely over the last four years and continues to grow even with the monthly dividend taken out.  We are now both on Medicare plus supplements, so medical is taken care of.  This setup has worked well for me.  I shouldn't have a worry in the world, but if our economy totally collapses, as many predict, then we're all screwed.....

[RallyeMike]

Mike, you don't work at Boeing to you? Sounds like my life lately.

Generally they say that you need to be able to replace 70-80% of your pre-retirement income. But, accelerating medical costs are a concern now and esp what you will do for medical until you can go on Medicare.

Having all your debt paid off is an important step, esp the house paid off as was mentioned earlier.

You have to think about quality of life too...how long will your health hold out. I am planning on retiring at 60 (less than 4 years). All of my kids will be out of college and my house will be paid off then.

I have watched as my parents and others are able to do less as they get into their mid to late 70s. I am hoping for 15 years of volunteer service and travelling, etc.

If you think you are close you could go see a professional planner, but the numbers aren't that hard to run for yourself.

I've always thought quality of life was more important that a little more money.

Mark

Not Boeing here... construction. I am essentially debt free now, and really, the math is not hard. Of course the variable of inflation and health care can throw it all into a tail spin.

I don't want to be the guy who works too long in order to be more secure, and then kicks the bucket a month after retirement. The real trick, which I think is mostly a personal question to be answered is..... how much financial risk are we willing to take to get out early and enjoy that quality of life? While I do have resources built up, I don't have have the lifetime health care and uber-generous CA pension plan that we read about in the paper.

Mike, shoot a PM to 68x426. Dan can offer some solid advice.
(Yeah, OK. He paid me to post this referral. Cheesy)

Thanks for the referral. I don't think the math is that hard when you spend some time on it. It really comes down to how much risk are people willing to take.


Part of the equation is cutting expenses. It expensive here - so we've been looking around. I have not heard yet from anyone who relocated and how that worked out.