I'm stepping out of retirement for a three day project a good friend has out in The Hamptons for a client of his. I enjoy doing those jobs again from time to time.
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Retirement, pros, cons, opinions and advice
- Thread starter nakneker
- Start date
Got a daughter that spent 25+ years as an RN. Got REAL SICK and found out how screwed up the Medical Ins thing is!! 
Had to learn and is learning how to walk all over again. Close to retirement age. Tough to retire if you don't want to. Another "one day at a time" thang!!
Had to learn and is learning how to walk all over again. Close to retirement age. Tough to retire if you don't want to. Another "one day at a time" thang!!
Heck I said that to myself after my first day at a real permanent job!! The only thing worse that having to get up to go to work is having to get up to go to school. (or to court)
I like getting up to do what I decided on doing the day before. It is called FREEDOM, But to do this one has to be independent to start with. Many are not and no fault to them.
nakneker
Gold $$ Contributor
Lots of good info being shared. I’m amazed at the amount of you that were able to retire long before your 60s. LEO, Fire fighter seems like a good path to do that among others.
Me and my wife share many hobbies and enjoy working on the place, I’m not worried about occupying our time, just trying to get there wisely. She’s my best friend, I look forward to seeing her being able relax too.
I spent so much time enjoying my hobbies in my twenties and thirties, so much that retirement was being ignored. When I turned forty my focus changed and I got serious about it. Seems like most of us either have time or money, it’s rare to have them both. That’s been my goal for the last 18 years, I might make it by the time I’m sixty, I hope anyways.
I know cash flow will erode a bit when I retire and I’ve been trying to plan for that. I’ve been building a few rifles every year, have a few toys paid for, a good stash of things like components but I’m hoping that there will still be enough cash flow to keep the ability to purchase something if I really want it but that won’t be my priority. I’ve avoide things like shooting in competition just because I lack the time now.
I’m mostly looking forward to what I mentioned above, time. Time to spend with family and friends, get a couple more dogs, more chickens, volunteer work, church work, hobbies or whatever else looks attractive at the time.
I’ll always keep a spec home or something going, I enjoy that stuff but it will be nice to do it a relaxed, enjoyable pace.
Thanks again for the many insights!
Me and my wife share many hobbies and enjoy working on the place, I’m not worried about occupying our time, just trying to get there wisely. She’s my best friend, I look forward to seeing her being able relax too.
I spent so much time enjoying my hobbies in my twenties and thirties, so much that retirement was being ignored. When I turned forty my focus changed and I got serious about it. Seems like most of us either have time or money, it’s rare to have them both. That’s been my goal for the last 18 years, I might make it by the time I’m sixty, I hope anyways.
I know cash flow will erode a bit when I retire and I’ve been trying to plan for that. I’ve been building a few rifles every year, have a few toys paid for, a good stash of things like components but I’m hoping that there will still be enough cash flow to keep the ability to purchase something if I really want it but that won’t be my priority. I’ve avoide things like shooting in competition just because I lack the time now.
I’m mostly looking forward to what I mentioned above, time. Time to spend with family and friends, get a couple more dogs, more chickens, volunteer work, church work, hobbies or whatever else looks attractive at the time.
I’ll always keep a spec home or something going, I enjoy that stuff but it will be nice to do it a relaxed, enjoyable pace.
Thanks again for the many insights!
tjtjwdad
Gold $$ Contributor
After 9 pages of comments you can probably tell there are a myriad of factors that impacts each one of us differently. Some are probably known [herederity issues such as illnesses and life expectancy], financial situations, loved ones being taken care of after your departure and so on. Some of the unknowns are medical issues as you age, out living your savings or a loss of savings due to market crash, swindled or other methods.
First off, find and retain a good financial advisor, one you can trust or educate yourself.
Second off, get your affairs in order. You need to know about such things as Medicare, Medicaid and for estate planning "Medicaid's Right of Recovery Act [RORA]". With respect to RORA, it is a federal program administered by the states so it's better to find out how it works in your state so there can be slight differences from state to state.
SSA: When to file for;
I'm presuming you're Social Security qualified by meeting the 10-years/40 [good] quarters. Do you start drawing it at the earliest age @ 62 [currently], at FRA [full retirement age] or at age 70 where the benefits are the maximum?
There are many tripwires & trapdoors you can become a victim of so if you can draw SSA funds take a good hard look before doing so, especially if you decide to do so before FRA. For me, when I looked into this initially, for my situation it was going to take approximately 17 years for the total dollar benefit to cross lines and another four years [IIRC] for those lines to cross if I waited to age 70. Note that this isn't exact because the rate of SSA increases varies each year. When I figured mine out I used a fixed percentage.
SSA distributions are up to 85% taxable.
Retirement Income: where is it coming from;
Residual income: If you have a pension I'm presuming it's set up to be for life whether it's yours or the paying institutions. One thing I'll add regarding state [federal, state, city, county/parish] pensions and they can apply to none government pensions too; "if you accept the queen's shilling, you serve at the pleasure of the queen" meaning they can change the rules on ya'.
IRA/401k Withdrawals:
It's been said often that you'll make less money in retirement than when you're working/employed. That's not always the case so look at your situation carefully,
Roth IRA & 401k are tax free as long as; you're 59 1/2 and the account has been opened for a minimum of 5-years. Once met, distributions are tax free, otherwise they're not. There is no RMD [required minimum distribution] for a Roth IRA but there is for a ROTH 401k [currently].
Traditional 401k and IRA's [tax deferred] are taxed as income and are subject to a penalty if withdrawn before age 59 1/2 [currently].
Make sure you know your income tax situation!
Make sure you know your medical situations.
IIRC, you said you were 57. It's not to late to look into "Long Term Care" policies. They're not cheap and they vary in scope from policy to policy but it may help you if you find yourself in need. Sudden and surprised medical issues do-not discriminate based on society stature; they can strike anyone at anytime!
All that said;
- If you can retire and cover your bases and be happy you should do it. Time is one thing we never get back!
- When people ask me about retiring, it's 6- Saturdays and a Sunday.
- For me I waited until FRA primarily to ensure my wife of 45 years would be taken care of if I left the world before she did. Financially, I had obtained that goal several years earlier. But last fall I went deer hunting for the first time in [too] many years. I was sitting on a hill side watching the Tamarack Trees turn from green to yellow and just really enjoying the serenity of it all when I thought to myself; "there's a better way to spend my time than going into work" and watching a bunch of youngsters reinventing a wheel that's already round; and so I did just that!
- I may have ventured from retirement to a little bit of estate planning but in a since, they all tie to each other in one form or another.
I'll add one more thing, as someone hinted at previously; I've never read a gravestone epithet that read along the lines of; "Gee, I wish I had spent more time at the office."
Good luck!
I like to look at graphs. Here is a good one which shows where the investment industry is leaning to right now = in short term liquid instruments. There are many interpretations as to why but I think it boils down to uncertainty. I happen to be one of them.
Here is another graph. Share values of most stocks are based on anticipated future earnings derived from consumer spending. Where is the consumer at today? No cash savings and overloaded with high interest debt! Other stock values are partially based on govt spending contracts. We all know our govt is in the same, or worse situation, than consumers:
No wonder Elon wants to go live on Mars!
No wonder Elon wants to go live on Mars!
My advice would be to retire on a date that you can do things immediately after retirement. Meaning, I retired in late December. Hunting season pretty much ended. Ice fishing was a month out pretty much so I got bored fast. If I had to do it again, I'd have retired in spring or earlier fall. After 3-4 years I got a little bored anyway but loved retirement regardless. No negatives about retirement but keep active for sure. I picked up a PT job (on call) that I could take the work or leave it and not be held to a schedule. I get texts daily asking if I want the next day. Hard to beat that schedule. My working is based on the weather forecast. I work a day maybe two a week and pick the bad weather days if they happen. Stay active is my best recommendation.
I retire 55 had a excavating business my son took over , hes doing great . i just found out i have leukemia and am lucky as hell to have a new chance at doing stuff , we live on 115 in pa been in my blood since 1800 .we got plenty in bank so life is good . retire and do everything you want well can.
ArtinNC
Gold $$ Contributor
Well I worked 42 years at the same place and only laid off for two weeks. Had a good life .
hopefully you are still having a good life! lol
Yup and NVDA HAD,.. great earnings,.. YIPPEE !!!
The Mag 7 stuff,.. should Be,.."Golden",.. Again !
And , end of Month, ETF / CEF,.. Divy's,.. are, almost, Here !
jackieschmidt
Gold $$ Contributor
Nothing beats a nice, big fat paycheck every week.
Am I the only guy over 75 in this whole discussion that can say that.?
Am I the only guy over 75 in this whole discussion that can say that.?
If that's YOUR GOAL, more power to you. Seen TOO MANY folks get sick OR drop dead at work just to make those $$.
I've got it but don't need it. 
One thing I keep in mind, you're only going around one time (unless you're Shirley MacLane) and you can't take it with you unless you change it into Travelers Checks so, you better really enjoy what you're doing.
From the pictures you post, you DO enjoy your work & working. More power to you!!
Seen lots of folks that arn't smart enough to GET OUT while the getting is good.
You SIR are a CLASS ACT!! Keep it up as long as you can, OR want to.
Gary in MD
Gold $$ Contributor
Greed being a human trait, Some folks are greedy for money and some are greedy for their time to do things that are important to them. I’m greedy for “my time”. Once you have enough money and maybe some to spare then everything else is just extra that you won’t be enjoying from the grave. YMMV
^^^^^^
Another day of retirement for me. Today I'll be a dump truck driver, a skid steer operator, a laborer, and a sawyer. I'll do some gunsmithing this afternoon. Good times. WH
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