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Old 03-17-2017, 05:31 PM
 
3,484 posts, read 3,183,374 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Perryinva View Post
So how long ago did you retire? And how did you decide you are now $400k short? Did that force you to live more conservative or are you saying even living conservatively you are not as well off as you thought you would be?
The housing crash, followed by a new real estate bubble; the increased cost of food (40%), increased cost for health insurance [4X] completely unforseen, the cost of utilities, services like landscaping handyman, and to some degree, HOA's all up, the former have jumped 3 to 4X; and of course, 5+% CD's (which were around for years) vanished over night. Really nothing else. Once you're retired, it's strictly money out. Assume nothing else. It's how fast the money goes out that matters. Massive changes in just 10 years. I planned my retirement on these costs in the preceding 10 to 15 years before I retired. And,yes! That's how off I was!

Last edited by TwinbrookNine; 03-17-2017 at 05:45 PM..
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Old 03-21-2017, 10:31 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles area
14,017 posts, read 20,869,471 times
Reputation: 32530
1. Pension became enough at age 61.5 and 34 years of service.
2. I was ready - somewhat tired of the rat race.

But I numbered those that way on purpose - the main thing was an adequate pension. Now, almost 12 years later, I can look back and say I wouldn't have changed anything about the timing. It's one decision I got right.
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Old 03-22-2017, 03:20 AM
 
Location: RVA
2,766 posts, read 2,073,024 times
Reputation: 6638
Quote:
Originally Posted by TwinbrookNine View Post
The housing crash, followed by a new real estate bubble; the increased cost of food (40%), increased cost for health insurance [4X] completely unforseen, the cost of utilities, services like landscaping handyman, and to some degree, HOA's all up, the former have jumped 3 to 4X; and of course, 5+% CD's (which were around for years) vanished over night. Really nothing else. Once you're retired, it's strictly money out. Assume nothing else. It's how fast the money goes out that matters. Massive changes in just 10 years. I planned my retirement on these costs in the preceding 10 to 15 years before I retired. And,yes! That's how off I was!
Thank you for your response. Those are all sobering realities that one seldom sees spelled out. They are the types of things that I want to get a handle on, and one of the reasons I fear retiring too early.

Please do not misconstrue this as prying or judging. I just desire to grasp real world scenarios that educate. You do not need to answer, I am just extrapolating based on your excellent honest openness. So you retired around 2006, essentially before the $hit hit the fan, planned on perhaps selling real estate to then fund a lower COL domicile. You had investments that you assumed (for your calculations) would earn around 5%+/- in safe vehicles, and based future expenses on, what at the time seemed a reasonable inflation rated amount. The unforseeable economic downturns, which increased costs disproportionately to stated inflations, coupled with a lack of appreciation on fixed income and earnings on savings, quickly put you far further below your hoped for standard of living, to which you have dealt with (successfully?) by cutting back your expenses. At the approximately 10 year mark in to an expected 30(?) year retirement, you find that if you could alter, in retrospect, your retirement funds such that if you had had about $400k more saved ( or an increased income that $400k would generate, say $16k/yr perhaps??), you would then be in the position you had hoped for at this time in your life.

Well that sucks.

We read all too often on here that so many are doing just fine in retirement, many on just SS. Timing, which translates in to sequence of risk, is perhaps the uncontrollable spoiler that worries. Someone a few years younger or older, with the same plan, would be in better shape, simply due to timing.

If they were 10 years older, and retired in 1996, they could have benefited from higher earning rates and lower costs of housing, which appreciated (except for the tech bubble in 2000) and carried them to 65 where Medicare would have defrayed the medical expenses, and of course, by now, funding 10 years less retirement.

Or ten years younger, and just retiring in 2016, reaping benfits from an 8 year bull market and historically low mortgage rates, while having a better grasp of the insane increases in health care costs and thr chance to try to compensate for it.

Food for thought, thank you.
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Old 03-22-2017, 03:39 AM
 
Location: Central IL
20,726 posts, read 16,283,321 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SportyandMisty View Post
I'm of the opinion that there is no such thing as retirement; you just change what you do every day.
Quote:
Originally Posted by matisse12 View Post
Why would you say this, SportyandMisty? Surely for many people, the fact of not needing to commute into work every day and have the regimented 8 to 5 existence, and be under the jurisdiction of your boss and workplace all day every day constitutes a radically different existence from working.

Is your statement true for you? Although true for some, most retirees start living a radically different life than what constituted their work life. There are few things that must be done in retirement, one sets one's own schedule, one can be as propelled or unpropelled by tasks, activities, interests as one chooses.

I'm curious what you are thinking by stating "there is no such thing as retirement, you just change what you do every day." Are you saying that many people choose not to be idle in retirement, which can be similar to working a job where one is not idle?

Are you saying that being retired from a job, from a career or profession, or from work in general is not being retired from life, so that's why retirement is just changing what you do every day?
Agree...makes no sense considering S&M's (!) tagline...
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Old 04-03-2017, 07:39 AM
 
Location: Summerville, SC
298 posts, read 191,066 times
Reputation: 1470
Quote:
Originally Posted by tom1944 View Post
What State or government authority. NJ State pensions do not count overtime in the pension although if you work for the Port Authority they do since they follow the NY State pension formula.
New York Tier 4 allowed for unlimited boosting with overtime. Tier 5, which only lasted a year, restricted the boosting to 10%, and Tier 6 eliminated it completely.
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Old 04-03-2017, 09:07 AM
 
31,680 posts, read 40,970,152 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve40th View Post
I am not quite 50, but I have enough money to live on with my pension, health care is good forever etc. Not living at same standards, but enough to just chill and get out of the rat race. With one exception, daughters college, I dont see any reason to keep killing myself living to work..
So, what finally made you retire, and just start living?
I wouldn't. Retirement can be for a long, very long time hopefully. Inflation and other factors can eat at and erode that pension. Look at your pension statement and project the annual benefit out to at least age 60 or later. Get your daughter through college and when that is done if you don't have a 403B then start one and kick in the max amount possible. Also do not consider health care to be good for ever. While it is a projected life benefit now most state and local governement that are providing health care for current and retired employees are finding their budgets stretched to do so. In some cases really stretched. Those no longer on the payroll will be jettisoned first.

How strong is your retiree association and are they able to negotiate on your part with your former employer?
Remember unions are designed to work for and benefit their members and those paying full dues. Are you? Are your fellow retirees? If not don't expect them to represent your interest over those of curent dues paying employees.

Changes in federal health insurance laws can/could have a dramatic impact on the cost to employers offering insurance etc. That could be in the form of making it more expensive to offer full boat so called Cadillac plans.

For those of us with pensions and SS, inflation can be our biggest long term foe. Investment funds can be our friend in fighting inflation. Lots more to all of this than having enough pension income when we start out.

I can tell you from experience it is much better to delay and go for assured overkill and really be able to chill and enjoy life. Remember every year closer to 65 is one less year to worry about no health insurance until Medicare. Hey at your age who knows what Medicare eligibility will be like by the time you reach 65.
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Old 04-03-2017, 12:03 PM
 
4,798 posts, read 3,493,214 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TuborgP View Post
I wouldn't. Retirement can be for a long, very long time hopefully. Inflation and other factors can eat at and erode that pension. Look at your pension statement and project the annual benefit out to at least age 60 or later. Get your daughter through college and when that is done if you don't have a 403B then start one and kick in the max amount possible. Also do not consider health care to be good for ever. While it is a projected life benefit now most state and local governement that are providing health care for current and retired employees are finding their budgets stretched to do so. In some cases really stretched. Those no longer on the payroll will be jettisoned first.

How strong is your retiree association and are they able to negotiate on your part with your former employer?
Remember unions are designed to work for and benefit their members and those paying full dues. Are you? Are your fellow retirees? If not don't expect them to represent your interest over those of curent dues paying employees.

Changes in federal health insurance laws can/could have a dramatic impact on the cost to employers offering insurance etc. That could be in the form of making it more expensive to offer full boat so called Cadillac plans.

For those of us with pensions and SS, inflation can be our biggest long term foe. Investment funds can be our friend in fighting inflation. Lots more to all of this than having enough pension income when we start out.

I can tell you from experience it is much better to delay and go for assured overkill and really be able to chill and enjoy life. Remember every year closer to 65 is one less year to worry about no health insurance until Medicare. Hey at your age who knows what Medicare eligibility will be like by the time you reach 65.
Great advice. Much appreciated. 403B will be on my radar.
I am retired USN, and a Disabled Veteran. So my retirement and medical are pretty good. And I have mutuals though fidelity since 2000 and aa relatively small 401K.
I am not seeing Social Security being much due to government failing it.
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Old 04-03-2017, 01:09 PM
 
Location: Texas
4,850 posts, read 3,626,344 times
Reputation: 15374
I would have retired last year if my husband had finished our home renovation.

He has 184 days to get it done.

I am not working another year.
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Old 04-03-2017, 04:50 PM
 
Location: Somewhere in Colorado
155 posts, read 155,899 times
Reputation: 329
I had a 401K that was "abandoned" from my workplace changing hands. By abandoned, I mean no more contributions and I was okay with how it was invested, so I left it alone for a few years. One day, I got a call from a guy at the big brokerage house that was holding it -- he was chasing "dead accounts." Whoa! I told him that I'd meant to roll it over to an IRA but never got around to it. So, we set up a rollover with a guy at the local office. The account rep there ran some ballpark numbers and said I could retire any time. That was August, 2015. It took me almost a year to let that settle in and figure out all the details of actually pulling it off. Retired in July, 2016; about 20 months ahead of my schedule (just turned 61).

The reality, though? Burned out on work and glad as heck retirement was an option.
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Old 04-04-2017, 03:38 AM
 
Location: Mount Airy, Maryland
16,181 posts, read 10,323,045 times
Reputation: 27354
Quote:
Originally Posted by scgali View Post
My dad retired at 39. He was a police officer and owned apartment complexes that he bought in coastal CA in the 60s. He retired from the force at 39 and had paid off his apartment complexes by then. He lived in one of his units until he was 42 years old. He was single all that time and had me at age 43 but wasn't in a relationship with my mom. So he was able to save money by living in one if his units and by not having a family to support. Then he just had me. So I lived with him and he never worked aside from managing the apartments (he did most repairs, painting, vacancy turnover etc). I also remember he never over-extended or leveraged his real estate to buy more. He had a few complexes and could live comfortably off the income. He had no debt and didn't try to live above means. He knew when enough was enough and just enjoyed his time. He passed at 60 so did have a good life.
It seems like most stories I see of people retiring very early don't have kids or families to support.

I have no idea how a police officer could have the money to purchase an apartment complex at such a young age.
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