It's interesting how we all approach the retirement decision.

Rick stayed until he reached 66, that was it. There were days, once he was medicare eligible where I told him to leave sooner. One time he was so aggravated he gave notice. After a conversation with the boss, he stayed.

I had a job, not what I'd call a career. I didn't mind what I did, I preferred to be busy, and I wasn't always busy enough. I always looked forward to getting out. When the business was sold when I was 60, that was a turning point. As much as the original owner was a tough guy to work for, the old "devil you know" does apply. The new company was better in some ways, but I didn't care for the manager they brought in. I consulted the calendar and figured I'd made my exit as soon as possible, working out how many months of COBRA I would need until Medicare eligibility. Original plan, retire in June at age 63, enjoy the summer. I bailed at the end of March. I was done.

Jerry, you think too much..... However, I do get how medical insurance factors in, especially with your son's situation.

 

You do know I am an engineer right? in my work environment I would do a Formal Decision Matrix ( FDM) with factor weighting.
I didn't post a tenth of the crap in my head. My wife is worse. She did expense sheets and budgets for 2 years before she pulled the plug.

 

Jerry from what you've said I would say you are not ready to retire. My wife was like that; she worked another 10 years after I retired. Had she retired at the same time I am sure we would have done several things differently in the way of travel trips, etc. By the time she retired I had lost the desire to see the rest of the world.

 

My cousin, also an engineer had a specific order/direction in which on should shop while at a mall. None of this crossing back and forth stuff. Oh, my sisters and I really gave him the business on that. My brother in law and nephew are also engineers of one type or another.

We don't have large monthly expenses, our lives are pretty simple. I calculated what our SS income would be, we talked about what we thought we would need to withdraw from our IRA to continue living as we did, which was not all that extravagantly. We had no big travel plans. I knew what COBRA would cost. I made a quick spread sheet of monthly expenses, added a figure for home maintenance, medical and vacation and that's about all the calculating I did.

Our IRA continues to have a healthy balance. We stick pretty close to the suggested annual withdrawal percentage recommended by the smart people. I still look at price tags, I always will. We do think before major expenses, but thankfully we don't have to think too much. Sheit happens. We upgraded the Jeep and the Porsche and didn't go broke. There are a few things that could be done around the house. I could spend the $, but I don't want to deal with any projects at the moment.

 

The boiler has been lit on the retirement train.
Officially filed for SSI and medicare today.

 

I almost get the sense that I've wandered up to a street-side card table with a guy with a plaid fedora playing 3 card monte when I read the descriptions of the plans.

 

No question. Traditional Medicare and a Supplement (Blue Cross) your choice, Sapphire and Core, and the real mystery is the Part D.

Dropping Medicare Advange plans

 

about medicare advantage plans, "I'm sure all those advertisements are because they are losing so much money helping folks out"

 

Now that I'm about to hit the 6-year window to retire, I had another financial review, done by a friend of FedWeek. Before medical and life insurance, I'll have about $2000/mth from my pension and about the same from Social Security, when I retire at 62. The 401k is over 250k now and is projected, with a conservative 6% profit/year, to be at just over 600k in 2030.

Things could delay that retirement date of April Fools Day 2030: my glaucoma stays in check and my relationship with Amy stays solid.

Amy and I are forecasting that she will move West... from her house in suburban Columbus to my place, outside Yellow Springs, Ohio, in 2026, to stand up and take over the Western Ohio office of her property receivership company. If she gets her real estate license back, she could start maxing out her yearly Roth IRA contributions, while setting her daughter up on a Land Contract, so she can live cheaply in the house she grew up in... making Amy's house expenses net zero. That will make Amy's regular income and the profit from her real estate, all profit!

 

I'm not a financial planner but I don't think 6% profit is conservative. I think a more realistic number is 5%. At least that's what a company that manages trillions is saying. Others can jump in if they wish . . . with their thoughts.