Why am I so nervous about ER?

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wclr Hey bentley, you'll be amazed at how different things look once you bite the bullet. There is a whole another world out there waiting for your talents, abilities, and passions. Try taking off a month (if you can) and pretend you are retired. There are many commitments that you cannot make now that you will be able to when you retire. And spend time with the family. Those grandkids are in desperate need of your time to teach them work ethic and values! An investment into just one of their lives will pay greater dividends than you can imagine. Leave a legacy, other than the job.

(emphasis mine)

I think this is a great idea. Before I retired, I took a series of vacations from work - - two weeks of leave, a week back at work, and repeat, 3-4 times. I did it for reasons irrelevant to this thread, but it turned out that also these vacations helped to ease the transition to retirement. In Bentley's case, a vacation could give him a little idea of what retirement is like, to see if he likes it. A more gradual approach to retirement is sometimes easier than just jumping off the cliff.

[Spanky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack The first one was for money first, the second one will be for the pure job satisfaction with money a distant second.

What might the second career be?

[urn2bfree]

The worry that stops me in my tracks, causes me the most agitation is HEALTH INSURANCE- how will I provide for health insurance? Not just for me but also my family--and for me at least until Medicare--which looks like it will be moving farther away from me before I can get to it as they look into raising the age? The volatility of health insurance premiums is the hardest thing to plan around...I could see taking a job just to earn the several thousand needed to pay for health insurance...and of course as long as my wife keeps working we could get it through her employer. But I dont want to retire and leave her feeling that it will only work IF she keeps working....she has to stop when she is ready and not have to keep working just because I was counting on her insurance.

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by urn2bfree The worry that stops me in my tracks, causes me the most agitation is HEALTH INSURANCE- how will I provide for health insurance? Not just for me but also my family--and for me at least until Medicare--which looks like it will be moving farther away from me before I can get to it as they look into raising the age? The volatility of health insurance premiums is the hardest thing to plan around...I could see taking a job just to earn the several thousand needed to pay for health insurance...and of course as long as my wife keeps working we could get it through her employer. But I dont want to retire and leave her feeling that it will only work IF she keeps working....she has to stop when she is ready and not have to keep working just because I was counting on her insurance.

The worry about affordable Health Insurance is what kept me working several years after I was FI. I was fortunate to be able to RE at 55 with retiree health insurance. At 55 I had a lot more money saved and I would have ER'ed even without the retiree health insurance as many folks here have done.

[patela6]

When i do ER, I could go back to the UK for health care and setup "base" there. Perhaps use travel insurance to cover my "trips" back home to the US? I dont know...

Any creative options folks have used to get around pricey health insurance in ER?

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by patela6 Any creative options folks have used to get around pricey health insurance in ER?

Other than going without or moving to another country, I don't think so.

[Seeking Hobbes]

Hello everyone,

I guess I'm one of those lurkers... skimming this great site while contemplating ER.

My specifics...
Male, Single, Never Married - 48
NW: 1.6m (soon to be 4.4m)
Annual Expenses: 35k to 40k
Debts: 130k mortgage
Dependents: 1 wonderful Dog

This thread is especially appropriate to enter the FIRE community, since anxiety has kept me from pulling the trigger thus far. Like so many previous posts... a lot of soul searching has pushed me to understand why I might be hesitant...

- A strong work ethic
(instilled by my father who, in passing away recently, will offer me an ironic independence)
- A fear of losing social interaction
- A fear of the unknown

One thing is for sure... I won't miss my job of 20 years; the challenges, frustrations, manipulations, and deceptions. Still... it has given me purpose for 6 days a week; defining who I am for almost half my life. Furthermore, while miserable at times, there's something masochistically comforting about misery that you understand, are accustomed to and share with others.

Sooo... I've decided to USE that nervous energy to push me, unabashedly, into a new life chapter. I meet with a new Financial/Retirement Advisor tomorrow & will sketch out a plan to turn in my notice by August (20th Job anniversary). I figure... all I can do is trust my financial Parachute and jump - GERONIMO!!!

(For now, however, I have to get ready to prostitute my soul a little more and burn half my Saturday in the office... ughhhhhh...)

ps... thanks for this anonymous forum... there is simply no one else I can talk to about this without coming across as a poncey a$$.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seeking Hobbes ps... thanks for this anonymous forum... there is simply no one else I can talk to about this without coming across as a poncey a$$.

Welcome to the forum, where you can be a "poncey a$$" and no one will notice...

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by patela6 When i do ER, I could go back to the UK for health care and setup "base" there. Perhaps use travel insurance to cover my "trips" back home to the US? I dont know... Any creative options folks have used to get around pricey health insurance in ER?

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Other than going without or moving to another country, I don't think so.

I agree, that about sums up your options.

[Spanky]

Quote:

Male, Single, Never Married - 48 NW: 1.6m (soon to be 4.4m) Annual Expenses: 35k to 40k Debts: 130k mortgage Dependents: 1 wonderful Dog

Welcome to the forum. Do you really need a financial adviser? A NW of $4.4 mil will last forever for the said expenses!

[Beryl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seeking Hobbes Hello everyone, I guess I'm one of those lurkers... skimming this great site while contemplating ER. My specifics... Male, Single, Never Married - 48 NW: 1.6m (soon to be 4.4m) Annual Expenses: 35k to 40k Debts: 130k mortgage Dependents: 1 wonderful Dog This thread is especially appropriate to enter the FIRE community, since anxiety has kept me from pulling the trigger thus far. Like so many previous posts... a lot of soul searching has pushed me to understand why I might be hesitant... - A strong work ethic (instilled by my father who, in passing away recently, will offer me an ironic independence) - A fear of losing social interaction - A fear of the unknown

You are in fine financial shape. Most people FIRE with much less. A 1.6M NW alone is pretty good for a single person. The great thing about your situation is that you do not have to work for anyone unless you enjoy it. Congratulations!

Fear, in my opinion, is no good. You are in good enough shape to sort out your fears either on your own (vacation, sabbatical, etc.). Or with professional help (nearly everyone has a therapist in California).

You obviously have a lot to offer the world and lots of time and resources to try out different things. Good luck to you.

[Arnie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seeking Hobbes A strong work ethic (instilled by my father who, in passing away recently, will offer me an ironic independence)

Condolences on your father. My dad taught me a work ethic but also taught me you can pass on at 57. Good for you for getting out when you can. Best of luck.

[rescueme]

Quote:

Originally Posted by patela6 Any creative options folks have used to get around pricey health insurance in ER?

Having a w*rking wife (or other)?

Just trying to answer the question ...

Seriously, in our case the monthly premium is just under $600 for full coverage for both of us, under my former employer's plan. While some may think it is a lot, others would think it is cheap.

All I know that it was accounted for in our retirement budget, and will become less of an impact in under two years, as we go to Medicare.

For somebody who is doing it "on their own", it certainly is a challange...

It's not the question of the cost, but rather does your retirement budget/income cover the cost...

[Seeking Hobbes]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spanky Do you really need a financial adviser? A NW of $4.4 mil will last forever for the said expenses!

Thanks everyone,
I guess I just want a plan for for my father's estate disbursement. Although I'm sure my broker would love to get his hands on every check... I feel better knowing that an independent advisor has offered some direction as well.

[mexico]

[QUOTE=bentley;1053744]Thanks for all the comments guys. I guess in a nutshell, the one thing that holds me back is still a significant insecurity about the future of our economy.
I'm still sorta waiting on the double dip taking the DOW to a fraction of where it is now.

I would be more concerned with the how much time you have left to live your life while you are healthy verus running out of money. You have enough money and 58 is not that young to be retiring. I am 46 and waiting another yr, 2 the latest, to say goodby to the corporate world. If I could do it today, I would.

[Delawaredave5]

[QUOTE=mexico;1055259]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bentley I would be more concerned with the how much time you have left to live your life while you are healthy verus running out of money. You have enough money and 58 is not that young to be retiring.

+1. We fret over financial risks. Yet our biggest risk is mortality. Death rate at 55 is around 1% -- so retiring early at 55 vs 65 has a 10% risk of dying and not making it to 65.

And our risk is more than "death". There's a bigger risk of "sucky life" - debilitating medical conditions that make "w*rk look good" - cancer, etc.

"Sucky life" risk is probably 2x death risk (wild _ss guess).

So if you add "death risk" plus "sucky life risk" -- you might only have a 70% chance of an enjoyable early retirement.

Kind of makes fretting over 85% vs 90% portfolio survival rate look trivial.

[ItDontMeanAThing]

Quote:

Originally Posted by patela6 Any creative options folks have used to get around pricey health insurance in ER?

I haven't tried this option yet, but it intrigues me. I'm a combo of PT and have a retirement visa for Thailand. My new health insurance covers me for up to 90 continuous days in the country that issued my passport, the US of A. The policy doesn't say how many times I can go to the US per year but it does state I have to be an expat. I've asked for the precise definition of 'expat'. If, for example, it means I have to spend more than half the year outside the states then that gives me the option of living there less than half the year while taking two 3+ month long vacations to Thailand each year.

[patela6]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Other than going without or moving to another country, I don't think so.

An option we like the idea of...is having a home in Vancouver during ER. We both like the Vancouver/BC area. It would still be just 2-3 hours away from we are now, SF bay area. The idea would be to set up "base" there, be able to take advantage of medical benefits etc, still be able to "visit" SF /London/Europe whereever else.

Any thoughts on this? We havent thought it through more than this...its still a while away...

[mh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by patela6 An option we like the idea of...is having a home in Vancouver during ER. We both like the Vancouver/BC area. It would still be just 2-3 hours away from we are now, SF bay area. The idea would be to set up "base" there, be able to take advantage of medical benefits etc, still be able to "visit" SF /London/Europe whereever else. Any thoughts on this? We havent thought it through more than this...its still a while away...

there was a "moving to canada" thread of some kind in the past here.
the impression i got was that it was not particularly easy to get into canada.
you might want to do some searching on canada in the archives..

[rescueme]

RE the posts about setting up a "second home" in another country for retirement medical care - what do you do for an extreme emergency (example stroke/heart attack?) which may require long term hospital care? Do you get on an air ambulance for extraction to your "country of medical care". DW/me buy travel insurance whenever we are out of the country, primarily to cover this specific need. But "retirement travel insurance" could be expensive, indeed.

Having medical coverage/insurance is OK for routine matters, regardless of where you reside. I would question the "big hitters" - those that result in long-term care requirements such as cancer, heart disease, etc.