I'm Ready to PULL THAT TRIGGER ... (I think!)

[SoReadyToRetire]

I introduced myself several months ago. But today I'm here to say, I'm trying to gather the courage to pull the trigger and tell the manager I'm gonna RETIRE at end of August--4 weeks away!!!

I turn 61 on Sunday. DH and I still have "only" $800K in our IRAs combined. Neither of us will get a pension. He's younger than me and will keep working at least 1 more year to keep us in health insurance. I currently plan to take SS starting at 62 (may revisit that when I get here). No mortgage, no kids, no debt.

We live simply and our monthly expenses are $2400 (non-discretionary--that's utilities, insurances, groceries, property taxes, etc.). I sold my beloved 2002 BMW convertible this morning for $6500, which gives me a little over 5 months of my half of the monthly expenses. I'll probably sell a few shares of some stock I'm holding that has NOT figured into my retirement planning--I consider it my personal "slush fund", ha ha--each month for the other 7 months to get me to SS age next year. Then I'll bring in enough from SS to cover my half. And if hubby stays working, then we still won't have to touch our IRAs until he's done.

FIRECalc has been telling me for a little while now that we're at 100%. But it's still SO SCARY to actually give up the golden handcuffs!!!! That's why I haven't done it yet. I came in yesterday DETERMINED to talk to my manager, but I chickened out.

Let's hope that within a week I'll have found the courage to give my notice and tell them that as of Labor Day weekend 2019, I'm a FREE WOMAN!



Holy crap--just typing this has given me a feeling in the pit of my stomach ... I need to get over my fear and just jump--right?

 

[SoReadyToRetire]

... one more thing ...

Oh, and one more cool thing--the guy who bought my Beamer retired at 58. We had a nice talk on our test drive. He told me he buys the ACA Gold plan through the Vermont health insurance marketplace and pays just $130/month! Holy moly--that's better than what we pay now for our health insurance! I was stunned. In a good way.

 

[Dtail]

Oh, and one more cool thing--the guy who bought my Beamer retired at 58. We had a nice talk on our test drive. He told me he buys the ACA Gold plan through the Vermont health insurance marketplace and pays just $130/month! Holy moly--that's better than what we pay now for our health insurance! I was stunned. In a good way.

Have you checked out the ACA costs as to management of income possibilities?
I didn't look up the past posts.

 

[HI Bill]

Holy crap--just typing this has given me a feeling in the pit of my stomach ... I need to get over my fear and just jump--right?

At your age, spending, proximity to SS, and FIRECALC results, assuming you have some contingency plans and can weather a market downturn with a reasonable AA, then yes, just jump!

My only concern is that you talked about "my half" of the expenses. Have you determined the effect on your retirement if one of you died, you were to become divorced, or your husband had to unexpectedly stop working due to illness or injury?

Best wishes!

 

[SoReadyToRetire]

Have you checked out the ACA costs as to management of income possibilities?

Not sure what you mean by "management of income possibilities"? Are you saying do I understand that I may or may not get that same rate based on how my income differs from his, and/or how it may vary in the future?

If so, the answer is yes, I have. I was just surprised to see that it's possible to even get a rate that low for ACA plans--esp. the gold one.

 

[SoReadyToRetire]

At your age, spending, proximity to SS, and FIRECALC results, assuming you have some contingency plans and can weather a market downturn with a reasonable AA, then yes, just jump!

Thank you.

My only concern is that you talked about "my half" of the expenses. Have you determined the effect on your retirement if one of you died, you were to become divorced, or your husband had to unexpectedly stop working due to illness or injury?

Yup--in the case of his death, my expenses would go down but my assets will be the same and there would be life insurance proceeds, so I'm ok. If he has to stop working in the next year, that's ok--we'll just have to start drawing out of our retirement funds sooner than planned--but FIRECalc says we're ok in that case too. And we have a little bit of money that I haven't included in our retirement planning, just for a cushion. I've tried to cover all the bases--been working on this for a long time. But thank you for bringing that up, just in case I hadn't thought of it.

 

[footenote]

Congrats and welcome to those of us who retire on "only" $800k or so in investable assets.

WOO HOO - don't fear giving notice. RELISH IT.

 

[Dtail]

Not sure what you mean by "management of income possibilities"? Are you saying do I understand that I may or may not get that same rate based on how my income differs from his, and/or how it may vary in the future?

If so, the answer is yes, I have. I was just surprised to see that it's possible to even get a rate that low for ACA plans--esp. the gold one.

My reference was to potentially keeping your MAGI to lower levels, in order to receive large tax subsidies using an ACA plan.
My MAGI is 20k with a full Silver plan in Fla and I pay $64 monthly premium with a max yearly OOP of $1,440.

 

[ckelly78z]

Your situation/numbers sounds very much like ours, right down to my wife holding onto her silver 2003 BMW 325CI convertible as a viable 3rd vehicle if needed.
I don't think we (both 54 years old) will have any trouble with making a go of it, even with 2 kids, and I will have a small pension, so I don't see a problem with your numbers. Frugal living is easier in retirement, when all the expenses of commuting/working will be eliminated.

I think the next month will be the best one of your career so far with the knowledge that you will walk away from all the stress, and MegaCorp B.S.

 

[MBAustin]

You are not alone to be SoReadyToRetire but still apprehensive about actually doing it. It sounds as though you've got everything planned out with options so you just have to tell yourself "it's time" and JUST DO IT! Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[pacergal]

Firecalc has you at 100%, you have no debt, and you have a planned budget.
Congratulations, I say go for it!

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I turn 61 on Sunday. DH and I still have "only" $800K in our IRAs combined. Neither of us will get a pension. He's younger than me and will keep working at least 1 more year to keep us in health insurance. I currently plan to take SS starting at 62 (may revisit that when I get here). No mortgage, no kids, no debt.

Bolded my me.

This is the key right there, go for it! DH should too.

 

[Bamaman]

You have had a plan, and you have executed it well. The ace in the hole is not having any mortgage and debt.

Have a great retirement life.

 

[travelover]

I would not retire right now if I needed ACA subsidies, as the current administration is working to invalidate the ACA.


https://www.axios.com/justice-trump...nal-ab8bf281-65fc-4b91-8606-d1f3f65818d6.html

 

[HI Bill]

I would not retire right now if I needed ACA subsidies, as the current administration is working to invalidate the ACA.

+1. Given the unknowns regarding the future of the ACA, I'd ensure that you can afford to pay double the current retail price for health insurance.

For example, in Hawaii, a Kaiser Permanente plan for a couple is about $850 per month, without the subsidy. If the ACA goes away, I'd expect so see that double, IMHO.

 

[pb4uski]

You might sit down and noodle out what your MAGI income would be once you are both retired and then check out healthsherpa.com to see what your subsidized health insurance costs would be.

We live in VT and buy unsubsidized catastrophic coverage (essentially bronze) from BCBS VT for $250/month each.

Finally, are you totally sure of your expenses? $2,400/month for two sounds really low for Chittenden County to me... we're in the NEK and I don't think that we could get by on $2,400/month... our property tax bill alone is $7k.

Does your $2,400/month include income taxes? periodic car replacements? periodic home improvements/replacements like replacing a roof, furnace, or whatever?