Enough Money to Retire (vacations, spouse, community, federal)

[texdav]

Yep;retiremnt expeses will change as you age.I know people who sudenly wne tfrom no drug cost to several hundre per month even with insurnace coverage becuase the tier.

[greatspark]

Originally Posted by highcotton

What I question is - why you were unable to save for retirement during your career. Obviously you spent all your income since you were not able to save any. I'm curious, did whatever it was that was taking your last penny of income for all those years just suddenly vanish? Something just doesn't sound right...

I was employed for 36 years in the construction industry up north. I averaged 8 months work during those years. At age 57 my youngest started college. I lost almost everything I had in my 401 back in 2000. In 2003 I retired from my career job and started a new career which has served me very well.I currently reside in the beautiful, retirement friendly upstate of South Carolina.

[Submariner]

I retired in 2001, my pension gives me ~$1,500/month, I am not eligible for SS yet. Though how my pension works is that when SS does kick in, my pension will reduce by that amount, in such a manner that my monthly total remains the same. My Dw started working p/t when I retired, last year she was promoted to f/t.

We moved to a low cost rural forested area, built a house, started gardening and raising livestock.

No debt.

[bottoms]

I agree with highcotton. Do you have any savings at all?? I would worry about the 900$ mortgage payment. What if you get sick? Do you have health insurance?

[TuborgP]

Originally Posted by bottoms

I agree with highcotton. Do you have any savings at all?? I would worry about the 900$ mortgage payment. What if you get sick? Do you have health insurance?

Getting ill doesn't impact his pension or SS. You could speculate that other things might but illness probably isn't one of them.

[PAhippo]

I agree with highcotton. Look at past spending habits. if the reason you were unable to save before has been resolved, you should be fine. If in reality your own spending was the reason you couldn't save, no amount of retirement money wiil be enough.

[highcotton]

Originally Posted by greatspark

I was employed for 36 years in the construction industry up north. I averaged 8 months work during those years. At age 57 my youngest started college. I lost almost everything I had in my 401 back in 2000. In 2003 I retired from my career job and started a new career which has served me very well. I currently reside in the beautiful, retirement friendly upstate of South Carolina.

I'm assuming the $5600 a month in pensions and social security are the combined income for two people (both you and your wife). You did not give the breakdown in income amounts of SS versus pensions. I see you have multiple pensions (plural). The $5600 amount (for SS and pensions) just seems rather high to me for just one income earner, especially for the type of employment you had.

It sounds like you (and/or your wife) were once able to save for retirement since at one time you had a 401k. I'm not sure that I understand why you lost almost all of it back in 2000, or why it hasn't mostly recovered. Did you somehow withdraw and use what remained in the 401k for something?

You didn't mention how many years remains on your mortgage. It's always best to be debt-free during retirement even if there's enough income to cover your current-day debt payments.

You should be okay for some [unknown] number of years unless you have a habit of wasteful spending. But you still must expect sizable expenses in the future, not to mention inflation. Home ownership always means there will be the need to re-roof, replace HVAC systems, carpet and appliances, etc. Automobiles repairs, tires, etc. is something that must be considered, and vehicles never last forever so sizable expenses will be needed when it's time to replace them. Medical insurance, or supplemental insurance, is something you cannot afford to be without. Do you have major medical insurance?

Also, future inflation will really lower your purchasing power in the years to come. While your SS will be increased due to cost-of-living, your pension income will not increase, thus lowering your purchasing power in future years. I'm sure you remember when things cost 1/10th what they cost today - be it hamburgers, vehicles, gasoline, housing, rent, or whatever. You'll likely live long enough to see things costing 3, 4, 5 or even 10+ times what they cost today...but will your income be enough then? The SS part of your income will increase with cost-of-living, but your pension won't and you don't have any retirement savings or investments to supplement your SS and pension income that will be declining in purchasing power as the years go by.

Lots to think about. Lots to consider. Lots of unknowns. Lots to plan ahead for.

[Submariner]

Medical insurance can be costly. In this state private policies start at around $1400/month with high deductible and low caps. For two people $2,800/month which is roughly half of your projected gross.

Assuming that you own your home and are debt free, paying $1,000/year for property taxes; your situation still looks pretty good.

[highcotton]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

Medical insurance can be costly. In this state private policies start at around $1400/month with high deductible and low caps. For two people $2,800/month which is roughly half of your projected gross.

Assuming that you own your home and are debt free, paying $1,000/year for property taxes; your situation still looks pretty good.

He still has a mortgage. He said; "My only debt is my house. $928 per month.(That's mortgage,taxes,and insurance)."

[Submariner]

Ooops, of course, my bad.

My opinion is that going into retirement with a mortgage, is a bad idea.