preparing for retirement (pension, move, communities, federal)

[Rtom45]

I couldn't really get a good answer by doing a search. We're looking at the possibility of retiring in 3 years. What kind of things should we be doing now to "get our ducks in a row"? We will be 60 and don't expect to being hurting without SS until we're eligible to collect. Were there surprises for those of you who have retired, were there things that you took for granted that you found caused problems later? Any thoughts or suggestions will be helpful.

[Retired Law 08]

If you are retiring in 3 years you need to ask yourself...will I have health care
coverage to carry me to medicare?How far will my pension/401k/what ever
source of income you recieve will work for you,I moved to PA,because my pension goes alot farther there than NY,also is only taxed federal.do you have
enough life insurance? as long as you can get by on what you are recieving and have a major medical plan,you should be o.k

[Waterlily]

I'd consider paying off any debt you have too. Bills can ruin a good retirement. Pay off your credit cards and you cars. It'll make your budget a lot easier to manage.

Another thing is to figure out if you are going to stay in the house you are in or not. If you might move then sometime you'll need to find out about what your house is worth verses what you owe.

One more idea. How will you spend your spare time? Go ahead and get some hobbies. You don't want to spend all your time in front of the t.v. That road goes nowhere.

[Sunnydee]

If you plan to relocate start researching and visiting the communities you are interested in now. Also start dejunking/decluttering your current abode.

[Retired Law 08]

Yes,by all means do research and your homework on places you would want to live

[HappyTexan]

One thing I'm doing while I'm still working is to budget with post-retirement estimated income and see how I do for 1 year. So far it's working out for monthly budget.
I did get an unexpected surprise last week with a broken AC unit and had to dip into savings so that's one thing I need to add to my budget..savings for those unexpected breakdowns.

[Tesaje]

Originally Posted by HappyTexan

One thing I'm doing while I'm still working is to budget with post-retirement estimated income and see how I do for 1 year. So far it's working out for monthly budget.
I did get an unexpected surprise last week with a broken AC unit and had to dip into savings so that's one thing I need to add to my budget..savings for those unexpected breakdowns.

Me too. The surplus goes into savings (and a new roof)

[Retired Law 08]

My best advice to anyone planning to retire is to have a plan.I am retired 6
months now but how I planned mine is my job had a 20 year pension,so I
know I was going to have an Income,I contributed to a 457 plan(It is a 401
for city workers you can take out when you retire,you will get taxed,but no penalty) I made sure my health Insurance carried over,looked for a place
that was affordable,yet offered a good quality of living,good cost of living
and where my pension would go far and only get taxed federal.
what ever your plan is,you have to have one

[HappyTexan]

I definitely agree with you coartist88 on finding an affordable place. I'm doing my investigation now for that and if I find it between now and when I retire I will buy it as a "weekend" place that will turn into my main home. Where I'm looking is about an hour away from where I am now which is doable as a weekend place that I can work on and fix up over time.

[rferd]

Rtom45,

There is a book by Ernie J. Zelenski called "How To Retire Happy, Wild & Free". It gives you many hints on how to approach and live during retirement. I highly recommend it.