mcchainsaw
Confused about dryer sheets
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2019
- Messages
- 4
Hello all,
I am brand new to this forum, having just registered today. I spent a good part of the day reading through your posts before I joined. From what I can tell, this is a very fun, supportive and helpful group and I’m sure that I can benefit from your collective insight and humor. A little about me:
I am 56 years old and I retired in April of 2018, having worked in the utility industry for over 30 years. I was eligible for a full unreduced pension, having met the rule of 85 (age + service) as well as company subsidized health insurance (70% company / 30% employee). I enjoyed most facets of my profession, but I helped to manage a fast-paced Call Center and every day was becoming a grind. The long commute, stringent performance metrics and sociopathic coworkers took their toll and pushed me toward retirement. I had reached the burn out phase. My wife retired in December from the school system after 10 years. She loved her job as an Administrative Assistant to the Principal but had to leave due to physical issues (2 major back surgeries in 2 years). Thankfully, she was eligible for a small pension.
We decided to sell our house in Long Island, NY and relocate near Mooresville, NC. We had been vacationing in Mooresville for many years, as our close friends have lived here for over 15 years. There were a lot of mixed emotions, since we were leaving a lot of great friends in NY. However, my Son lives in Virginia and my Daughter lives in Florida so we wanted to be a little closer to both of them. We also knew that we could never afford to retire on Long Island unless we both continued working into our late '60's.
Instead, we bought a new house here in NC for much less than our old house in NY cost. I still have a mortgage, but my total “nut” each month is only $700 vs. $2,350 on the old place. Rents in our new area for the same home (2,200 sf) exceed $1,400 / month. I’m hoping I can pay the new place off by the time I take full Social Security at 67. Here’s my total picture:
• Current expenses: $3,800 / month (still have room for savings)
• My pension (pre-62): $5,500 / month
• My pension (post-62): $3,500 / month (level income option with early SS offset)
• Wife’s pension: $450 / month (has filed for NYS Disability, which if approved, would bump this to $750 / month)
• 401(k): $707,000
• Roth IRA: $80,000
• Emergency Fund / Brokerage / Cash: $45,000
I don’t plan to take SS until 67, at which time it will be roughly $2,700 / month. We will start to draw down the retirement accounts when I turn 62 to make up for my reduced pension (3% initial draw). My wife will take SS at 62 and receive about $875 / month.
As far as life insurance is concerned, I have $20K of coverage at no cost through my former employer while my wife has about $15K of no cost coverage. Also, if I were to predecease my wife, she could continue on my health insurance for a period of 2 years at the company subsidized rate for an individual.
I just wanted to get everyone’s thoughts on my financials and see if I can survive a long retirement. I ran our numbers through various calculators (i.e. Fire Calc, Vanguard, T. Rowe Price, AARP, Smart Asset) and got generally good vibes, but I am still nervous about having enough to live on.
I still want to do some fulfilling work, I’m just not sure what that is yet. In the meantime, I do have some hobbies to keep me busy. Thanks in advance for your time!
I am brand new to this forum, having just registered today. I spent a good part of the day reading through your posts before I joined. From what I can tell, this is a very fun, supportive and helpful group and I’m sure that I can benefit from your collective insight and humor. A little about me:
I am 56 years old and I retired in April of 2018, having worked in the utility industry for over 30 years. I was eligible for a full unreduced pension, having met the rule of 85 (age + service) as well as company subsidized health insurance (70% company / 30% employee). I enjoyed most facets of my profession, but I helped to manage a fast-paced Call Center and every day was becoming a grind. The long commute, stringent performance metrics and sociopathic coworkers took their toll and pushed me toward retirement. I had reached the burn out phase. My wife retired in December from the school system after 10 years. She loved her job as an Administrative Assistant to the Principal but had to leave due to physical issues (2 major back surgeries in 2 years). Thankfully, she was eligible for a small pension.
We decided to sell our house in Long Island, NY and relocate near Mooresville, NC. We had been vacationing in Mooresville for many years, as our close friends have lived here for over 15 years. There were a lot of mixed emotions, since we were leaving a lot of great friends in NY. However, my Son lives in Virginia and my Daughter lives in Florida so we wanted to be a little closer to both of them. We also knew that we could never afford to retire on Long Island unless we both continued working into our late '60's.
Instead, we bought a new house here in NC for much less than our old house in NY cost. I still have a mortgage, but my total “nut” each month is only $700 vs. $2,350 on the old place. Rents in our new area for the same home (2,200 sf) exceed $1,400 / month. I’m hoping I can pay the new place off by the time I take full Social Security at 67. Here’s my total picture:
• Current expenses: $3,800 / month (still have room for savings)
• My pension (pre-62): $5,500 / month
• My pension (post-62): $3,500 / month (level income option with early SS offset)
• Wife’s pension: $450 / month (has filed for NYS Disability, which if approved, would bump this to $750 / month)
• 401(k): $707,000
• Roth IRA: $80,000
• Emergency Fund / Brokerage / Cash: $45,000
I don’t plan to take SS until 67, at which time it will be roughly $2,700 / month. We will start to draw down the retirement accounts when I turn 62 to make up for my reduced pension (3% initial draw). My wife will take SS at 62 and receive about $875 / month.
As far as life insurance is concerned, I have $20K of coverage at no cost through my former employer while my wife has about $15K of no cost coverage. Also, if I were to predecease my wife, she could continue on my health insurance for a period of 2 years at the company subsidized rate for an individual.
I just wanted to get everyone’s thoughts on my financials and see if I can survive a long retirement. I ran our numbers through various calculators (i.e. Fire Calc, Vanguard, T. Rowe Price, AARP, Smart Asset) and got generally good vibes, but I am still nervous about having enough to live on.
I still want to do some fulfilling work, I’m just not sure what that is yet. In the meantime, I do have some hobbies to keep me busy. Thanks in advance for your time!
