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Old 01-15-2015, 09:20 AM
 
Location: East TN
11,026 posts, read 9,659,351 times
Reputation: 40216

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While it's true that everyone's financial situation is different, I will say that I left a lot of money on the table by retiring early, and I don't regret it one bit. If you are really burnt out and can't wait, then go for it. You will find ways to live happily on the lower pension, especially if you are willing to move to a low COL place. On the other hand, if you are not burnt out, just bored, maybe you can tough it out a little longer. No one knows that answer but you. I don't know anything about the COL in your part of Texas, but the info for comparison is available here on this (City-Data) website. As has often been stated on this forum, you really need to do a "boots on the ground" investigation of where you are thinking of moving to understand if it's a place you can be happy. Reading forums and websites is just the first step to deciding if a place is going to work for you or not.
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Old 01-15-2015, 09:41 AM
 
1,834 posts, read 2,685,882 times
Reputation: 2675
Do whatever you can to get the full SS and the pension.
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Old 01-15-2015, 09:54 AM
 
4,538 posts, read 6,419,982 times
Reputation: 3481
If you and your wife is healthy and your wife is younger than you it makes no sense for you to take SS early.

There are some strategies where one person like wife takes is early that may work as she can jump on yours when you are dead etc.
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Old 01-15-2015, 11:35 AM
 
48,505 posts, read 96,610,333 times
Reputation: 18304
Its all about the financing retirement including health insurance. Only you can do those figures.
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Old 01-15-2015, 01:17 PM
 
18 posts, read 54,734 times
Reputation: 67
Took early retirement at 46 in 2003 after 29 yrs with usps and never looked back. As we age time seems to be more important then money and you enjoy the simple things life has to offer. We also moved to another state and all has worked out well. Good luck!
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Old 01-15-2015, 01:54 PM
 
Location: SoCal desert
8,091 posts, read 15,385,554 times
Reputation: 15036
Quote:
Originally Posted by GM fitter View Post
I am 31 months away from 62 yrs. old. I have 25.7 years with my employer, with full pension being 30 years.

[snipped]

That said, am I being foolish to take the early retirement, and take SSI at 62? I think I would be happy with less money in a place I feel comfortable in. We can't afford to go back to where we are from, but are looking at Fla., North and South Carolina, and Delaware.

Will the extra money in retirement, that I would get by waiting, be worth 5 more years here? By then Ill be 65. Then it becomes "why not wait one more year to get full social?"
Call your personnel office and ask them what your pension will be in 31 months.
Go to the Social Security web page and find out what your benefit would be at 62.
Add the figures together.
Subtract cost of medical insurance.

Take that final figure and live on it month to month for 1 year.

You didn't mention any other retirement savings or taxable savings?
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Old 01-15-2015, 02:22 PM
 
Location: Florida -
10,213 posts, read 14,774,441 times
Reputation: 21845
From what I understand, you are about 59 or 3-years (31 months) from when you can start to collect reduced SS at 62 -- and 4.3 years from collecting a full pension. It should be quite easy to calculate the financial break-even point of both SS and the pension. (When I started taking SS at 62, I figured it would be 12-13 years before the total amount received in 62-65 Social Security benefits, would be equaled by the greater SS amount I could have received at 65). The addition of your 65 versus pension amount will make this a bigger number. You will also need to calculate-in your pre-65 Medicare health benefits (my cost was about $587 per month).

Since you are already committed to 31 months, you can always re-visit your decision as the time draws nearer. Only you can decide at that point, whether it will be worth it to you to put-in another 20 months to get your full pension and/or 36-months to get your full age 65 SS amount. For me, the extra 4-years of early retirement (61) was worth more than the money. (But, in all fairness, I had also accrued about a year's worth of vacation/'early-out' benefits -- so, it was like 62).

You can optionally 'back into' roughly the estimated cost to you of taking early SS/Pension, by by calculating your life-expectancy on one of those online sites (Since it's on the internet, you know it is absolutely reliable).
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Old 01-15-2015, 05:40 PM
 
Location: Near Manito
20,170 posts, read 24,264,523 times
Reputation: 15285
Loved that opening line: "i'm 31 months from age 62." (But who's counting, right? Man, you must LOVE your job!)

Ever consider writing C & W songs for a living?
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Old 01-15-2015, 06:06 PM
 
Location: moved
13,587 posts, read 9,618,420 times
Reputation: 23343
Consider the guilt-factor of retiring before a defined-benefit pension completely vests. If the OP has 25.7 years, well, that's only about 20 months of additional work beyond attainment of age 62, for that magic pension to vest. Decades down the road, having lingered for another 20 months on the job won't have mattered. But the difference in pension-income accumulates. If the OP is in poor health, and has distinct chance of passing away in his mid-60s, of course the considerations a different. But a healthy person with median incremental life-expectency ought to give grave and serious consideration before yielding to emotion and leaving an unpalatable job which offers nonlinear accumulation of benefits.

I also relocated decades ago to a locale which I despise, for purposes of my career, with an employer offering a defined-benefit pension. There are always tradeoffs, always pros and cons. But as one gets older, financial security and the psychological achievement-value of a full career, become substantial considerations. It's always easier to retire later, than to retire too soon and to seek return to one's former job.
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Old 01-15-2015, 09:12 PM
 
468 posts, read 580,043 times
Reputation: 1123
Keep this in mind TIME is the only thing you cannot ever get back. What do you want to do with your time???
Do you need more money?? then you have to give up time to it. If not then, how do you want to spend your time?
Somewhere in here is your answer that only you know the definitive answer to. Good luck in your choice.
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