Retiring on SS alone (relocating, payments, behave, taxes)

[MadManofBethesda]

Originally Posted by WellShoneMoon

OP's basic question was, Can you live on $1500 a month? For a single person, the obvious answer is yes.

Really? In 2048?

[ged_782]

Originally Posted by Lyndarn

People also forget that those that go into Nursing homes/hospice or end of life care.. IS NOT covered by Medicare.. BUT Medicaid... due to legislations..

Medicare actually DOES pay for hospice/end of life care. Had recent first-hand experience with this with my late mother. Medicare paid 100% of the hospice facility & related care.


As for nursing homes, if it is just custodial care (like an older person is no longer able to care for themselves, and can't do things for themselves like bathe, cook, drive, etc.; then Medicare won't pay for nursing home care. Medicare can pay for nursing home care, in cases where a patient requires skilled nursing care, like for a medical condition. Medicaid might pay for nursing home custodial care though; assuming the person is eligible for Medicaid.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by eliza61nyc

Lol. My property taxes in NJ were 11000 a year even with a paid off house that's almost a grand a month....

Here in New England with a huge house on 150 acres of land our taxes are around $800/year.

... I don't have a spouse so only 1 check so even if i got the max benefit things would be tight.
I did move to Pa but they are still 600 month. So you can see why I and many others don't think 1500/ month is great living

I have been on pension since 2001, so about 16 years. My pension has been less than $1500/month.

You 'problem' seems that you decided to live in a high COL area.

[Cyclist1968]

Originally Posted by whateverblahblah

Let's say you retire early and then your money runs out about the time when you start collecting Social Security.

It seems like you could do OK even as a single person. Let's say you get $1,500/month in Social Security.

You can move into a subsidized senior complex where you pay 1/3 of your income, which would be $500. You'd also get $200/month or so in food stamps, and you would also get Medicaid. If you live in a city, you could get senior bus/train passes which should be very cheap.

So really, your monthly expenses would be as follows:

$500 Rent
$50 Bus pass
$300 Food (since $200 is covered by food stamps)
$0 Medical since you get Medicaid
$50 cell phone with unlimited data
$100 household goods
------------
$1,000 total expenses per month

That means you would have $500 left over for whatever you want. Not a bad deal if you ask me.

She doesn't qualify for Medicaid. Her income is too high.
She doesn't qualify for food stamps either.
You can plug in the numbers at the USDA website, google food stamp calculator
She's 2k per year more than 135% of the federal poverty level.

Her income is far above the means tested welfare programs so this post is not accurate

The only perk she may qualify for is "Extra Help" for her prescriptions. She just squeeks by qualifying for that. If she made $9 more per month, she'd be over the limit

[Perryinva]

Originally Posted by Submariner

Here in New England with a huge house on 150 acres of land our taxes are around $800/yr .

No. There in rural Maine, those are your taxes. Certainly not anywhere in Ct, Ma, or RI, all part of NE. How much subsidized housing up there near you? Not much I’d wager.

Madman called it right. Waste of time discussion, since planning for a low SS only living 30 years from now, is preposterous. No one knows the cost of anything in 2048, nor the benefits or social programs that would exist.

[matisse12]

The OP also seems interested in current day living in the scenario and outline he gave. And interested in how people living close to that current day scenario are faring today.

I don't see where the OP said he is in his 30's and will not be retiring for several decades or plans to stop working now. It seems MadMan knows him from a different thread and knows his age to be in his 30's and his desires. (maybe I missed it from the OP in this thread)

Anyway, it doesn't hurt to hear how people are faring these days living only on Social Security or mostly on SS, and it's interesting and helpful to others to hear how many people would not be able to live solely on SS currently in retirement with their individual circumstances.

A lot of people are answering on how the OP's figures & scenario would apply to themselves and others currently under today's rules and figures and individual circumstances - which is interesting and fine - it always makes for an interesting thread, even though it's been discussed in the past. (and also filling us in on varying Medicaid & food stamp limits)

[Perryinva]

$1500/m SS is tax free. So today, at 65, the equal of working and making about $20k/yr with low cost of healthcare due to Medicare before collecting SS. Why is that interesting or instructive? There are a bazillion threads on very frugal living on tons of forums. Innorder to get $1500/mo today on SS at 62, one worked a decent job, certainly not minimum wage, so they chose to not save anything and/or lived above their means. The OP specifically mentioned subsidized housing and food stamps, none of which that income would provide. And some one that lived a life with no savings but that amount of SS would not want to live like. Again, just trolling.

[mathjak107]

Originally Posted by Perryinva

No. There in rural Maine, those are your taxes. Certainly not anywhere in Ct, Ma, or RI, all part of NE. How much subsidized housing up there near you? Not much I’d wager.

Madman called it right. Waste of time discussion, since planning for a low SS only living 30 years from now, is preposterous. No one knows the cost of anything in 2048, nor the benefits or social programs that would exist.

I am at my friends house for a few days in upstate ny . Nice country town of rhinebeck. He pays 9000 a year in taxes for his home ,barns and 10 acres.

Anywhere i would consider living ain't going to be close to 1 k a year. Even when we had the home in the poconos we paid 3k a year and 650 in hoa dues

[eliza61nyc]

Originally Posted by Submariner

Here in New England with a huge house on 150 acres of land our taxes are around $800/year.





I have been on pension since 2001, so about 16 years. My pension has been less than $1500/month.

You 'problem' seems that you decided to live in a high COL area.

Very true, although I would not call it a problem. I would kill myself if I had to live on 150 acres of land and in Maine. literally would not, could not do it.

So me for it's more philosophical. My retirement years are not supposed to be torture. the reason why I sacrifice and save today is to be moderately happy in my senior years. For me where I live is supremely important. There is no scenario that I could imagine where living in the woods, with no neighbors and nothing to do would make me happy, so I have to plan accordingly. like most things it's a trade off, I'd rather work a few more years to ensure I can avoid being forced to move, than retire and then the price of the area becomes an issue.

One of the best pieces of I got in my 30's was actually from a Baptist preacher who said the first step in any planning is to know what would bring you happiness and then to plan for it. I know the type of environment that would bring my happiness and fulfillment and yep unfortunately it looks like it will be in a high cost of living area.

So I do consider it a failure in planning, if I am forced to move to the backwoods of any state solely to lower my cost of living.

I do like threads that discuss this, it gives me idea's of the pitfalls I have to avoid.

[mathjak107]

As most here know we sold our lower cost of living area home we were going to retire to . It didn't work for us. It just lacked way to much that would be important to us in retirement .

We have everything right here in queens in nyc