Yet another "Sanity Check" request

[Steelart99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by INTJ10 We have been using $2,000 per month as a health care expense number estimate. I hope that I am overly conservative. If you could count on the ACA subsidies until 65 it would be less.

So, I'll update my modeling to be $2000/mo until Medicare and then $800-$1000/mo (inflation adjusted) for after that. Obviously I'll have to finesse that properly given our different ages.

[ivinsfan]

Yes, when you read all the SS facts remember that if you are eligible for an ACA credit, once again, SS counts as income for ACA purposes. So not only will you get a reduced SS payment, your ACA credit will be reduced unless you withdraw less from your retirement accounts when you receive an SS check. It requires constant monitoring to hit optimum ACA credit amounts. It's completely legit but you have to keep an eye on it.

I'm not certain I agree with HH that you are "go to go" I think you have greatly underestimated what your health care will cost.

The fact your wife might be let short of income in the event of your demise is a concern also. Your wife isn't 50 yet she could need 40 years of income. And the sinking fund of 70K for auto and home repair/improvement isn't going to last for 40 years...I think your expense number need some work.

[Steelart99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ivinsfan Yes, when you read all the SS facts remember that if you are eligible for an ACA credit, once again, SS counts as income for ACA purposes. So not only will you get a reduced SS payment, your ACA credit will be reduced unless you withdraw less from your retirement accounts when you receive an SS check. It requires constant monitoring to hit optimum ACA credit amounts. It's completely legit but you have to keep an eye on it. I'm not certain I agree with HH that you are "go to go" I think you have greatly underestimated what your health care will cost. The fact your wife might be let short of income in the event of your demise is a concern also. Your wife isn't 50 yet she could need 40 years of income. And the sinking fund of 70K for auto and home repair/improvement isn't going to last for 40 years...I think your expense number need some work.

It has become obvious that I might have underestimated health costs so that is something I'll update appropriately and re-run the models to see where my issues might lie. I have to say that I've not tried to model what might happen should I pass away significantly earlier than my wife. I currently have sufficient life insurance to carry her, but that will go away (in its current form) when I retire.

The $70K I had 'modeled' to get through the next 5 years or so, but I also keep in a line item in my expenses for home repair. Other than appliances, we've made an effort to get the house fully painted/repaired/etc. before we pull the plug.

I appreciate the caution about expense so I'll definitely readdress that to see what I might need to do. Thanks.

[Steelart99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steelart99 Yeah, optimization is what I'm looking for ... well ... also to make sure that some obvious shortfall has been overlooked. Wish I could say that I've never fallen into "THAT" trap. I am one of those people that believe that the longevity tables we are accustomed to are obsolete. I think that we are on the cusp of some life extending technologies. (Kurzweil's Singularity). But that is a topic for another conversation. Thanks for the SS link. I'll go read it when there is a bit more light ... not the middle of the night. Somewhere I bookmarked a good online SS benefits optimization calculator. I'll go find that link too. I'd kinda forgotten about that.

I found the SS optimization calculator that I was thinking of:

SSAnalyze - Bedrock Capital Management

It seems to help in addressing various scenarios to aid in making a decision.