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View Poll Results: Do you have any contingency plans for retirement?
No; I am playing the whole thing by ear 3 6.67%
I only have a rough plan and insurance 7 15.56%
I have a good plan, insurance and rough idea of how I could adapt 19 42.22%
I have detailed plans and run analysis for various scenarios 16 35.56%
Voters: 45. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 04-08-2016, 05:18 PM
 
Location: Jamestown, NY
7,840 posts, read 9,144,924 times
Reputation: 13779

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By insurance, do you mean long term care insurance? I don't have that because I'm single, and I have a nice guaranteed income stream that will likely cover 75-80% of any assisted living/nursing home care.

I started a rough plan for my retirement when I started working in the public sector decades ago: work at least until 62 when I would have 20 years in the pension system. About a year or so before I turned 62, I recalculated my retirement income at 62 and at 66 (FRA), and decided to work until then. My plan wasn't anything elaborate, but my goal was to have a guaranteed income of 85+% of my salary minus my 403b contributions. I turned 66 in January. My income from SS and pension will be about 95% of my last year's salary minus my 403b contributions, in part because I've apparently had a horseshoe up my butt the last few months.

In October or November of 2015, I decided to work until April 1, 2016 because I saw no point in retiring in the winter. I sort of hit the lottery with that in that my employer offered an early retirement incentive that came out 2 days after I would have retired. I then hit a more modest little jackpot in that NYS's fiscal year runs from April 1-March 31, so rather than getting credit for 3/4's of a year's salary, I'll get credit for a full year, which will raise my monthly pension a bit more. As the old saying goes, it's better to be lucky than good!
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Old 04-08-2016, 05:20 PM
 
24,510 posts, read 17,988,287 times
Reputation: 40204
My contingency plan now as I'm about to turn 58 looks nowhere near as grim as it did a few years ago. I got my housing sorted out and I'm now in the phase where I'm saving for 8 years and creating the war chest to retire comfortably.

My worst case is that I become unemployed, lose my disability insurance, and then have a health issue where I can no longer work but don't qualify for Social Security disability insurance. It would be pretty lean if it happened now but I'd have a roof over my head and food on the table. Every year, it looks less lean.
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Old 04-08-2016, 05:26 PM
 
1,321 posts, read 1,676,964 times
Reputation: 4589
I didn't take the poll either. I do planning all the time. I know my expected income, I know my current expenses. I keep an expense log by year. I have LTCi, life insurance, health insurance, and disability insurance. I have two sets of plans. One is for if I am widowed again. The other is for if we both live a long life.

Things change annually with me. My husband's health is not the best and we go from one medical issue to the next. Also, I was in an accident a long time ago that nearly killed me. There were mistakes made in my medical care and I will need further surgery. The surgery is high risk and I am high risk. Each year I am evaluated to see if I am high risk enough for the surgery. I take it that the surgeons don't want to operate unless I am at death's door anyway.

I'm not sure how much longer I will be able to work. I will be seeing my CFP again shortly to review what has been going on and to revise anything that needs revision.

The things I am still not sure about are: (1) where do we want to live, (2) at what age do we want to move there, (3) what do I want to do to keep active in retirement.
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Old 04-08-2016, 08:18 PM
 
Location: NC Piedmont
4,023 posts, read 3,780,347 times
Reputation: 6549
I probably should have qualified the insurance. If you have a good sized war chest or are single with reasonably good savings you are self insured IMO.
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Old 04-08-2016, 08:51 PM
Q44
 
Location: Hudson Valley, NY
894 posts, read 1,023,449 times
Reputation: 1777
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveinMtAiry View Post
I think my plan is rock solid. Unfortunately we can not predict the future. There are times when I honestly feel like I'm the only 57 year old in the world who wishes he was 65. If I could get there with no hiccups, have my investments appreciate at a fairly conservative figure of say 5%, be eligible for SS and Medicare and otherwise be financially independent and not so reliant on this job I"d be a much happier person.

But then again I get so angry at myself for not enjoying what I have now instead of worrying about what hasn't even happened yet.
I'm also 57 and I've said many times I can't wait for 61/62 to get here. The job has taken a 180 in the past year and I really just want to get to the next stage with my wife. Only thing that brings me back to 57 is getting the last 2 kids through college. When they're done - I'm done. Hang in there.
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Old 04-08-2016, 11:35 PM
 
8,238 posts, read 6,534,156 times
Reputation: 23135
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr5150 View Post
I disagree, unless you made bad choices with lifestyle, habits or got unluckily with genes.

When I was a Social Worker, I dealt with a lot of people who were lucky to be alive at 65 due to smoking, drinking, drugs and lack of proper exercise/nutrition! With everyone I know as friends, friends of friends and acquaintances, very few under the age of 80 have any real health issues. But maybe it has to do with the CA lifestyle.

But yea, at 66 I am not as strong and fit as I was at 46.
Mr5150,

No smoking whatsoever, no drinking, no drugs, good exercise & nutrition here....but bad arthritis has struck.

really bad, not moderate. Ironically, I think the destruction of many of my joints was caused by a 3 times per week aerobics exercise class I did for many years in the late 80's and 90's.

I'd LOVE to try the California life style you mention, no matter what my age!!

(and I agree about not being as strong, as fit, and as energetic at 66, as at 46!)
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Old 04-08-2016, 11:58 PM
 
Location: SoCal
20,160 posts, read 12,662,726 times
Reputation: 16993
I'm in between bullet 3 and 4, so I voted for 4. I don't have to worry about income level for health insurance, if I did it would be more complicated.
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Old 04-09-2016, 12:47 AM
 
Location: Was Midvalley Oregon; Now Eastside Seattle area
12,969 posts, read 7,347,489 times
Reputation: 9711
Almost 66/69
4 Asset buckets, all approximate: 25% SS and small pension (took early); 25% Rental Condo (cash purchase from inheritance); 25% GLWB VA (5% by 5%, 10 year guarantee) and Fixed-Index (5% by 6.5%+, 15 year guarantee) laddered in time & amounts; 25% trading accounts (85% cash). LTCi purchased in 2002. Own. No debts. We can live well, on any 2 of the 4 buckets.

If the Stock or Bond markets tank, in the near future, our future income would barely suffer.
If the S & B, rises, in the near future, We would lose out on this rise. (Jan 30, 2016, I was fully invested but now almost entirely in cash)
We can live inexpensively. Health issues are our primary concerns.

I didn't like 2008 and made a real effort to have financial products that reduced risk to the downside. The annuities are Puts to the down, and I lose in premium on the up.

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Old 04-09-2016, 10:39 AM
 
Location: Columbia SC
14,198 posts, read 14,559,798 times
Reputation: 22004
There was my wife and I and we each made a good living. When younger one of us could have financially gotten along without the other. As we aged we built up retirement so both or one alone could live comfortably. Bottom line was I never believed in nor purchased life insurance.
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Old 04-09-2016, 11:44 AM
 
Location: Central IL
20,726 posts, read 16,203,793 times
Reputation: 50367
I guess I don't really know what I COULD do differently. I feel I'm saving about as much as I can now and will have my house paid off. My house is not large and is on one level other than the basement so downsizing would not make much difference. I could move to a more rural area and save money on property taxes but most would probably think my tax is relatively low. So my only real alternative is to work longer which I'd begrudgingly do.
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