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I'm brand new here and trying to come to terms with what it's going to be like to be poor in retirement, especially since we are accustomed to a 6-figure income now. I'm 62 and dh is 63. We are among the millions who, with the exception of a couple of houses we bought and sold a long time ago, did not save or invest for retirement. I need to say that I'm very aware of the mistakes we made, our irresponsibility, as well as extenuating circumstances that made saving difficult (special needs child). No scolding necessary. We've been through the miserable beating ourselves up stage. I'm trying to problem-solve.
We rent in a very affluent New England town. By our SS calculations, allowing for me taking retirement now (500.) and dh taking his at 70 ($4000.), we will be receiving between 4500 - 5000/month. (That upper number assuming that my amount will go up to a percentage of his benefit.)
It will be possible to move further into the country, say, Vermont, and rent a cottage for about $1200. That would also be about the cost to stay here and live in elderly, public housing. A thought which (unnecessarily) shames me. It also kind of intrigues me: such a wealthy town doesn't really have a public housing waiting list.
We will have 1 car, no debts, and very simple needs. Moving isn't an option, we're in metro-Boston, have no funds for a downpayment and cannot find a rental for less than what we are paying now.
Could you do live on about $3300/month, after housing costs? What would you do to get ready?
I've thought about side gigs, actually dh has one now. He's in IT by day, but LOVES being a local handyman on weekends. He could do that for as long as he's healthy. I've had a hard time medically for the past year and haven't worked. I have MS and back problems. Which is kind of why I want to take early SS. No one knows how much time we have.
You gotta do what you gotta do, and if seniors' subsidized housing is an option, go for it and don't feel ashamed. You raised a special needs child; not easy or cheap I'm sure. My aunt and my mother both lived in subsidized housing for the elderly (in Newton, MA) after they were widowed. I'm glad it was there for them. I also have a friend who lives in it now, in Colorado. (She didn't really plan for retirement, either...) Again, you gotta do what you gotta do. Good luck.
Would you qualify for disability? You might look into that.
Other than that, I don't think it should be too hard to live on $3300 a month. My parents had a paid-for house and lived on their Social Security, which was less than $2000 a month combined, and they were fine, but they lived very simply. I was kind of surprised to find that they had $8000 in their checking/savings when my dad died, though. If you were willing to move somewhere else, like rural Midwest, you could find a place to live much cheaper than $1200, but that would probably be too much of a culture shock for you.
That amount of money would be livable in lots of areas of the country. Not high class hoity toity places but I live on less that that and just got my mortgage payed off last year.
I think the 1st thing you should to is get used to the fact that you will probably have to move and start looking around to figure out where.
I am poor too. Here's the real scoop. 2 people with a monthly income of 5K will not qualify for subsidized housing. Except for MAYBE NYC? Won't happen. My cousin gets subsidized housing. He is 68 and his total income is 1K per month. His rent is $500 per month with all bills paid. Most of the people in his complex are in a similar situation income wise.
Both coasts are very expensive places to retire. I think the more you research this the more untenable you will find this option to be. Snow and ice are not great for old people who want to continue driving and stay fit. New England also taxes everything but the air you breathe. The property taxes you pay are higher than mortgage payments. Unless you are well off the coasts are not for you. If I had a lot of money I would be on 1 coast or the other. But I don't.
I moved to Las Vegas. I own a 1500sf house and my property taxes are $700 per year. No state income tax and SS is not taxed either. I have 1 car. My monthly bills run about $350. Compare that to Boston or just about anyplace in NE. 5K per month would leave me with disposable income for fun stuff like vacations. Plus, Vegas is full of low income, crappy, customer service jobs. Things have to stay cheap here or people leave and they lose their workforce. So food is cheap and we have a lot of choices. 5K per month here is doing well!
I am not trying to say come to Las Vegas. There are many other places that are good deals too. I am saying it may be impossible to live well in Boston for 5K per month. But there are tons of other places where you can live well on 5K per month. It's a lot more fun to be OK than it is to be poor!
You gotta do what you gotta do, and if seniors' subsidized housing is an option, go for it and don't feel ashamed. You raised a special needs child; not easy or cheap I'm sure. My aunt and my mother both lived in subsidized housing for the elderly (in Newton, MA) after they were widowed. I'm glad it was there for them. I also have a friend who lives in it now, in Colorado. (She didn't really plan for retirement, either...) Again, you gotta do what you gotta do. Good luck.
I'm just wondering what kind of subsidies a couple with a monthly income between $ 4500 and $5000/monthly would qualify for.
I have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that an income like that makes anyone "poor".
Of course there could be unforeseen medical expenses, there is that........
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