Decision Made

[ChainsBeGone]

Congratulations Brewer. Like you, I'm carrying a mortgage into retirement. Do you have a life insurance policy to cover the mortgage payment/pay off the home if something should happen to you? I found that a term policy helped me sleep better at night knowing that if I passed my wife would be secure and not have to worry about the house payment.

 

[Backpacker]

Congratulations. CO is awesome. We vacationed there a few years ago. I loved the mountains but the altitude kicked my butt. I'm destined to be a flat-lander.

 

[GolfingDuo]

Congratulations Brewer. Like you, I'm carrying a mortgage into retirement. Do you have a life insurance policy to cover the mortgage payment/pay off the home if something should happen to you? I found that a term policy helped me sleep better at night knowing that if I passed my wife would be secure and not have to worry about the house payment.

I think that an insurance policy to cover the mortgage is a great idea. Did you get that in conjunction with the mortgage would and could make perfect economic sense. It might be even better if tied to both you and your wife.

 

[brewer12345]

Congratulations Brewer. Like you, I'm carrying a mortgage into retirement. Do you have a life insurance policy to cover the mortgage payment/pay off the home if something should happen to you? I found that a term policy helped me sleep better at night knowing that if I passed my wife would be secure and not have to worry about the house payment.

We currently have $1MM term on me and $500K term on DW. This will be up for reconsideration when I bail, since these were bought in 2003 when we did not have a large enough asset base. I may reduce the face amount to save on cost, or I might get rid of the policies entirely based on a review of SS survivor coverage.

 

[Brat]

SS survivor coverage is a pittance.

 

[brewer12345]

SS survivor coverage is a pittance.

Not if you have kids under 18 in the house.

I have 9 to 12 months to figure out how to mitigate this risk. Worse comes to worse, I just keep the policies we have now in place. Its about $800 a year to do so.

 

[Lakewood90712]

The only time I was in denver was changing planes at the airport , but I would think several micro-breweries are in town. Maybe no market to support another one, but maybe an existing one would hire you .

I know it would ruin the hobby part if you started working in the industry, but some have made this type of transition. Crap wages ? most likely. Doing something you enjoy, working with your hands and mind...priceless.

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[ChainsBeGone]

I think that an insurance policy to cover the mortgage is a great idea. Did you get that in conjunction with the mortgage would and could make perfect economic sense. It might be even better if tied to both you and your wife.

My policy is separate from the mortgage, although I did receive solicitation for a policy specifically associated with the mortgage. The policy is only on me because my DW was stay-at-home throughout my career, and my pension is tied to me. The survivor benefit only provides 55% of my pension to DW, so I needed the extra insurance to cover the mortgage, and a little more to offset pension reduction.

My income would not change if something were to happen to DW. If I were dependent on her income, we would definitely have insured both of us.

 

[Greg V]

Brewer, depending on your desire to do bookkeeping in your new role as a Contractor/Independent consultant, there are companies that will provide "backshop" support for you (legal, contracts, accounting, etc) for ~5-6% of your hourly rate. They also help in figuring out what you should charge to cover expenses and have a reasonable take home pay. It may be worth your while during your prep period to talk to one or more of these orgs.

When I was thinking seriously about Independent Consulting (didn't pull the trigger, retired lifestyle was just too good), I had some very informative discussions with one of these companies...MBO Partners. I got a good appreciation for the issues and costs involved and learned lots of stuff that helped me with my decision.

Anyway, just a thought as you build your plan. Congrats.

 

[Buckeye]

I think that an insurance policy to cover the mortgage is a great idea. Did you get that in conjunction with the mortgage would and could make perfect economic sense. It might be even better if tied to both you and your wife.

A regular life insurance policy that covers the balance of the mortgage would probably provide more flexibility for the surviving spouse. Surviving spouse may want to dump the house ASAP and travel the world on the insurance proceeds!

 

[Sarah in SC]

I like the idea of keeping your existing life insurance coverage in place for at least the next few years. That isn't much $ for that much coverage. If be inclined to keep it even longer, really, since your kids are so young.

 

[GolfingDuo]

A regular life insurance policy that covers the balance of the mortgage would probably provide more flexibility for the surviving spouse. Surviving spouse may want to dump the house ASAP and travel the world on the insurance proceeds!

That is very true. I most certainly would dump the house and live on in a hobo style. Hopping from cruise ship to train to cruise ship myself.

My DW on the other hand would probably get bombarded by suitors looking for her lovely hand in marriage. I would suspect though she would be pretty careful in any decision. I can guess that she might return to Korea to live out her life.

 

[brewer12345]

Lots more thoughtful comments. In brief:

- brewery work might be fun for 2 weeks. After that, it is hard, dirty, hot, potentially dangerous work. I will be very happy to keep it as a hobby rather than a job.

- I do all the admin work for DW's business salready, so I will do it for my own as well. Its a "keeping control" issue more than the money.

- I haven't really decided what to do with the life policies long term. In the short term, they will stay in place. The first couple years will be a transition period with an elevated risk of failure. As a result, I plan on going in with ample insurance coverage, lots of excess liquidity, an untapped HELOC, all possible maintenance done to house and cars, certain things stocked up or purchased (just bought a generator, for example) so I won't have to lay out in the first couple years, etc. Once the ship is launched safely, I will consider letting go of some of the extra safety stuff, especailly the stuff that costs money.

 

[Nodak]

Congrats! Colorado is a beautiful state; I made lots of trips to Colorado Springs before I retired.