Do I worry too much? Honest thoughts appreciated.

[SAinMinn]

I'm a worrier. My current worry project is making sure I can make it to 100 without running out of money. This includes plans for eliminating long-term care at the end (death with dignity?) and fretting over whether or not to buy an annuity for guaranteed income over 85.

That said, I run the numbers when I'm worrying, and it often calms me down. In my recent worry project, I looked at the probabilities for how long I'll live and reminded myself that I, too, am better off than some huge percentage of Americans. I'm single, 68, retired but playing at work in two little p/t jobs, and have over $1M in IRAs, real estate, and other assets.

If worrying didn't come naturally to me, I'd be in hog heaven!

Right on! Thanks for the perspective. Congrats to you on being in a good place at your age ... tremendous. I would imagine the little p/t jobs play important roles actually. Anything that prevent diving in to the nest egg is key seems to me. But I'm still learning!

 

[target2019]

Sadly, discrimination is part of the equation. It is becoming increasingly clear. I was in a meeting where a decision-maker flat-out said that if only one person could be retained, it should be the person without my demographic. And the demographics were specifically mentioned WHILE I WAS IN THE (ZOOM) ROOM; the person speaking wasn't even trying to hide it. That was several months ago and I made the cut for one more year. I would imagine my luck will run out next year. It is a nonprofit so likely there will be no severance. And being a nonprofit, they think rules do not apply to them. Fighting over the legality of it just saps my energy thinking about it.

In megacorp, where I was cut at 60, one of the managers made a comment at a lunch I attended while laid off. It was something like, "Target2019 is near retirement, so this won't hurt him." When I got home I sent an email to upper management letting them know I wasn't close to retirement, and a permanent layoff would hurt.

Another thing this brings to mind is that the manager or spokesperson who looks to the young as the future is pretty damn dumb. After the upheaval the smart young person finds greener pastures. Who wants to stay behind and do the work of three in the barn?

If you are "on your game" you'll find that other small organizations may actually embrace your experience and skills. That is what happend to me in the last job before retiring.

 

[Bamaman]

Health Insurance. Many cannot afford the co-pays and deductibles. But everyone cannot afford to be without it in some form.

I just got my wife out of the hospital after a bout with pneumonia and afib. The bill will probably run $100K for 5 days with every test known to man. But with Medicare and Plan F, we won't even see a bill. Such things make one glad they hit 65 in order to go on Medicare.

 

[ivinsfan]

Health Insurance. Many cannot afford the co-pays and deductibles. But everyone cannot afford to be without it in some form.

I just got my wife out of the hospital after a bout with pneumonia and afib. The bill will probably run $100K for 5 days with every test known to man. But with Medicare and Plan F, we won't even see a bill. Such things make one glad they hit 65 in order to go on Medicare.

Sorry to hear this Bama...I hope your wife is improving pneumonia and afib must be a very scary experience.

 

[pb4uski]

Thanks for brining things back to my threshold concern of "do I have enough." Very helpful. I'd estimate our spending at $70K a year, tops. That includes two weeks in Hawaii to visit family and a couple other vacations, but nothing terribly spends. Otherwise, we're pretty low-maintenance -- share a paid-for car, etc.

I like to think ... I'd retire yesterday too if I was 59.5 instead of 54.5. But who knows! I'd probably still worry!

You're probably all set by a lot and could hang it up yesterday.

$70 spending divided by $1.9m is 3.7%... plenty safe considering that you have SS on top of the $1.9m of retirement savings (I presume).

Penalty free access could be a concern but it looks like between a 72t/SEPP plan and what you have in Roth and brokerage then you could make that work.

But you would still worry, because that is what you do.

 

[Ramen]

Thanks for brining things back to my threshold concern of "do I have enough." Very helpful. I'd estimate our spending at $70K a year, tops. That includes two weeks in Hawaii to visit family and a couple other vacations, but nothing terribly spends. Otherwise, we're pretty low-maintenance -- share a paid-for car, etc.

I like to think ... I'd retire yesterday too if I was 59.5 instead of 54.5. But who knows! I'd probably still worry!

OK, so $70K a year in spending, a paid-off house, a $50K part-time job, a spouse earning $70K plus benefits, and nearly $2M in savings.

If your nest egg is invested well, meaning in index funds with about a 60/40 stock/bond allocation, I think you can run FIRECalc and see clearly that you have just about nothing to worry about.

If anything shocking comes up, like a global market meltdown or some other calamity, it's coming for all of us and you'll be no worse off than the rest of us.

On a less dramatic note, even if you or your spouse, or even both, lost a job and/or benefits tomorrow, you'd still be in pretty good shape. In fact, I think you could have quit the nonprofit job (where evidently you are no longer wanted anyway) yesterday and you'd still be fine.

 

[SAinMinn]

In megacorp, where I was cut at 60, one of the managers made a comment at a lunch I attended while laid off. It was something like, "Target2019 is near retirement, so this won't hurt him." When I got home I sent an email to upper management letting them know I wasn't close to retirement, and a permanent layoff would hurt.

Another thing this brings to mind is that the manager or spokesperson who looks to the young as the future is pretty damn dumb. After the upheaval the smart young person finds greener pastures. Who wants to stay behind and do the work of three in the barn?

If you are "on your game" you'll find that other small organizations may actually embrace your experience and skills. That is what happend to me in the last job before retiring.

Thanks for your story and the perspective. Yeah, the folks they're hiring are coming from around the country and they won't stay long. I've lived in my neighborhood (walking distance from the employer) for 23 years and am not going anywhere. But they're new hires will be here only 2-3 years and then move to the Coasts where they really want to be (HCOL and all). Sad but true.

 

[SAinMinn]

OK, so $70K a year in spending, a paid-off house, a $50K part-time job, a spouse earning $70K plus benefits, and nearly $2M in savings.

If your nest egg is invested well, meaning in index funds with about a 60/40 stock/bond allocation, I think you can run FIRECalc and see clearly that you have just about nothing to worry about.

If anything shocking comes up, like a global market meltdown or some other calamity, it's coming for all of us and you'll be no worse off than the rest of us.

On a less dramatic note, even if you or your spouse, or even both, lost a job and/or benefits tomorrow, you'd still be in pretty good shape. In fact, I think you could have quit the nonprofit job (where evidently you are no longer wanted anyway) yesterday and you'd still be fine.

Haha! Love the video in the last link ... thanks. Great points. Truth is, I'll probably always make SOME income doing SOMETHING. So that is definitely a factor.

 

[newlyold]

If you have to ask, then yes, you worry too much. And you're aware of it.

 

[RobbieB]

Yeah, you're pretty good. Just go with the flow and you'll probably get a nice goodbye package too.

Don't worry, be happy -

 

[Rusa]

Don’t forget, you can get COBRA health insurance for 18 months after you leave.

 

[jeffmete]

If your income is too high for aca, look into a MediShare plan. I went from 2,200/month to about 700.

 

[maestro]

Yes, I think you worry too much, and don't yet have the faith to believe in what you've accomplished, which is very admirable. But faith is right there in the palm of your hand. Just grab it, as you did at mile 26, with point 2 to go. �� Your fears seem centered around health insurance; mine were similar. ACA is the way to go, and what everyone on this board is paying for (sorry folks). But go ACA only if you can maintain your MAGI below the threshold. Me? I've had virtually free health insurance since 2018 by doing so, and I am loving retirement. You can too. Best of luck.

 

[Retired Expat]

I retired at 53 with similar savngs numbers. Did move from a very HCOL area to a low cost of living. Changes Medical to Hospitalization only and self insured doctor visits and medicines. Negotiated with my doctors up front for cash payments and usually the cost was 1/3rd of what they would bill insurance for. Never spent more on medical than I would have with full premiums, co pay, deductibles etc.

But I ran all the numbers and it has worked out great. Of course I also live part of the year in South America and have access to paid doctora here too for a fraction of the cost in the US

But you don’t mention your expenses so how much you have or earn is just part of the story. Maybe your wife takes early SS. Lots to look at!

 

[JJpop]

Bear with me, I'm having one of those weeks. And it's only Monday. I'd be interested in your thoughts (and your support).

Do I worry too much about having enough and whether I'll have health insurance?

My full-time job (110K a year, has health insurance) is going a bad direction, fast. I'm assured of a job through June 2022, a month after my 55th birthday, and after that the writing is on the wall: They want me out. I'm finding the thought of losing a job with health insurance really stressful at this age.

My part-time gig (no insurance, unpredictable hours, too new to estimate income) is good but higher stress. I've been doing it only a few months, but I'm great at it. It's a huge positive.

Wife and I have no debt; house was paid off a year and a half ago and no car loan. No kids. Very little family on either side. I'm 54 and she's 56. She has a good job (70K a year with good health insurance and I can go on her plan ... but her health is not as good as mine and I feel like I need to be realistic. I can't plan on having health insurance through her job. I feel like I need a path for my own insurance.

Combined retirement savings is 1.9M. About 400K in Roth and 150K in brokerage. The rest is in tax-deferred accounts. Like I said, house is paid for, but it's a small footprint and four levels and not a "forever" home if mobility issues kick in. That being said, we don't want to move till we absolutely have to.

My side gig is pretty new, but I think I can gross 50K a year off it if need be.

Do I worry too much? I feel like if I was 59 instead of 54, I wouldn't be stressing over the thought of losing my job and the insurance. Sometimes it feels like I'm in a game to see if I can make it to 65 and Medicare in one piece. Ten years seems like a long ways off.

Thanks for reading and letting me vent ... and thanks for any thoughts, particularly those who are or were in similar situations.

Yes you worry too much. Imagine your same exact situation at work but now you have a big mortgage and only 50,000 in combined savings.
Feel better now?