Old and worn out

[HI Bill]

I am in no way an expert on this, but is there any way you'd qualify for a medical disability?

 

[aaronc879]

Hello all.
32 years in construction this year. Body parts not working like they should any longer. I am ready to get out.
So I'm 50 and cant access retirement till I'm 55.
Plan is to be debt free by 55. Currently on track. Every thing is paid for except 5 years left on mortgage.
Not sure will have enough retirement funds to retire at 55. Currently there is right at 800k between a money market and a pension.
At 60 I will get a 800$ month union pension.
Then of course ss.

Is 1m enough? How many have retired on 1m and are comfortable??

Everyone "needs" a different amount to retire. I have never known anyone who had a million dollars yet have known a lot fo people who retired and have been happy for many many years. Some on here will say you have to have multiple millions to even consider retiring. It's very personal, different for everyone. I will retire on far less than $1M with no pension.

 

[Fishmasterdan]

I am in no way an expert on this, but is there any way you'd qualify for a medical disability?

Highly unlikely. Not really disabled. Just move slower.

 

[Closet_Gamer]

Time to start educating myself.

Right on.

You can move this ball way down the field with just a little bit of research into your own expenses and ensuring you know the full details on your existing pension/retirement assets.

The folks on this board will provide an amazing amount of help if you're putting in the time to bring better and better information to the conversation.

Good luck.

 

[gooddog]

Something else to consider - if you are unable to do your job due injury, you may be qualified for SS disability. That could be a bridge from now until you are able to tap your funds at 55.

 

[Surewhitey]

I concur with others, that you could find good paying pick up work.

I've hired a few two person handyman teams, one experienced, and the other learning and doing the physical stuff. I'm in Washington state, greater Seattle area, and for instance my nextdoor.com web site always has posts for people looking for electricians etc.

It is scary to give up a regular wage job with benefits. Maybe you could talk to your current employer and say you just can't do the physical part of the job anymore - offer to go for reduced wages and/or part time work and still keep a regular pay check.

I think you'll feel better about retiring when your house is paid off - that helped me make the decision to retire.

+1 on Nextdoor. I started picking up handyman and cabinet work & soon after I have a healthy small biz, part time out of my garage. Custom furniture, cabinets and finish-painting... Stuff I enjoy and keeps me thinking...

On coastFI now...

If DW would join me, we'd pull the cord. We keep our spending ~$50k pretty easily and have what we need to carry us to SS.

 

[FIREarly]

Hello all.
32 years in construction this year. Body parts not working like they should any longer. I am ready to get out.
So I'm 50 and cant access retirement till I'm 55.
Plan is to be debt free by 55. Currently on track. Every thing is paid for except 5 years left on mortgage.
Not sure will have enough retirement funds to retire at 55. Currently there is right at 800k between a money market and a pension.
At 60 I will get a 800$ month union pension.
Then of course ss.

Is 1m enough? How many have retired on 1m and are comfortable??

If you live to 100, you're young and almost half your life to live retired!

Enjoy!

 

[2017ish]

Definitely educate yourself, if for no other reason, than to be able to evaluate whichever hourly based, fee-only, fiduciary advisor you might talk to. Both this site and bogleheads have a lot of information to be searched for, as well as people happy to answer questions.

I feel for you. My younger brother, age 59, has worked as a bricklayer his entire life and is functionally at least 10 years older than me. It takes a toll.

 

[ERhoosier]

In my mid 50's I got a one-time fee-only consult from an experienced independent financial advisor specializing in retirement planning. WELL worth my investment in time and a few hundred $. Too many financial advisors have a vested interest in selling one type of investment (like commercial annuity salesmen). And too many use cookie cutter budget planning that may not fit your situation & future plans. There should be slack in any budget to help cover those unexpected big bills (car engine blows, big medical deductibles, etc.).

At your young age I would consider continuing some part time work projects to stay active (and feel useful?). A little extra $$ don't hurt either. Part time opportunities seem more plentiful in this tight labor market.

I FIREd, failed (psychologically, not financially) & went back to w@rk for a few years. And just retired again this past Summer. We'll see how it goes this try. Successful retirement ain't just about the $$.

 

[maestro]

+1 need more info... if your expenses are $40k a year then $1m is plenty when combined with SS but if your expenses are $100k a year then no way. (Ferminion beat me to the punch).

+1
Healthcare with ACA should help, too, but it's definitely doable with under 1M, IMO. I've been doing it for 3 years plus, and haven't started SS. Just keep living below your means until 55, if that works for you. Stress, physical pain are both killers. Free yourself from that. Good luck, good peace.

 

[Bamaman]

Ya I hear ya. Just scary to leave current job.

I get asked about every 6 months to leave my current job and go to another employer. So ya not hurting in that area. But knee surgery, back surgeries, now hips are going. Just tired of hurting non stop. Permanent limp, numb hands. Just trying to hold out till house is paid. I do sit behind a desk alot these days but I not always. I am an ibew member.

My mother worked at the IBEW, and I had 3 uncles that were members.

I'm so sorry that you're having such joint issues. The numb hands were carpel tunnel for my wife, and she had surgery to correct that. My wife had a great paper trail, including going part time at work and she finally had to file for social security disability when she was 50 years old.

Do you have any disability insurance through the union? Have you considered filing for social security disability? You can file for disability while you're working since you've already had substantial surgery and may need more. Good luck to you.

 

[GoBears]

A couple of additional points to consider:
1). In budgeting for retirement, you need to include expenses your employer now pays or your union provides. DW and I are paying $1k a month for her Medicare (disability) and my ACA coverage. Plus coverage isn’t as extensive as my former employer’s plan prescriptions that were $75 a month are now $350 a month.

2). Plan for lumpy expenses. My retired MIL was recently widowed and discovered after the last storm that she may need a new roof. First quote was for $23,000. She also needs to replace her 15 year old car, with what she hopes will be a RAV4. That’s another $40k plus or so.

3). A very general rule of thumb suggests withdrawing 4% from your investments per year, adjusted for inflation, is likely to last 30 years. But you may need to fund a longer retirement if you do retire at 55. And some say 4% should be 3.5% because of today’s high stock valuations and very low interest rates paid by bonds. Also, the 4% is based upon an allocation between stocks (60%) and bonds (40%). If I read your post correctly, it looks like your nest egg is kept in a money market fund, which isn’t going to provide the return you need to make your money last for 30 years. I apologize if I misread your post.

4). Have you researched how much social security you will receive in retirement? Your savings/investments will need to fund the difference between what you receive from Social Security and your pension and what you spend. Be careful and don’t rely on the default estimates provided on your annual Social Security statement since they assume you will continue working at the same income to age 62, your full retirement age, or age 70.

Good luck and don’t hesitate to ask additional questions as you educate yourself.

 

[Pellice]

You can make an appointment for a one-time visit with a FA. Make sure it's one who states he/she is fee only and approaches retirement questions as a fiduciary - not trying to sell you anything (except possibly retaining the FA as a manager - which is never requrired, but sometimes suggested).

Have your ducks and documents in a row before going to the FA UNLESS you feel you need help with a budget. Mine knocked the price for my appointment down because I had a detailed budget and every single document and "consideration" in order.

You may find that you feel more confident after a visit. That happened to me. My FA was very reassuring about my financial situation (for reference, I am probably at the lower end of the net worth spectrum here, lol!), and I have increased my annual "income" well over what I was spending while working.

A one time fee-only visit would, I think, be helpful. MarieIG's advice, above, about paying attention to your physical lifestyle, is also a great idea.

 

[427Vette]

You have received good advice above. I too am/was an electrician. I remember being recruited by IBEW business agents and their promises of an outstanding retirement package. I did spend just a short time in the IBEW, it wasn’t for me. Looking at your numbers it doesn’t resemble anything like what the BA’s were promising. Have you only been a member for a short time or is the retirement plan not what it looked like?

I can offer a little insight on things after retirement. I retired at 49 from doing full time electrical work. I too have some back, neck and knee issues from overworking and having all physical hobbies. While working I was seeing a chiropractor twice a week most weeks and doing lots of stretching and strengthening exercises to minimize the pain levels and to keep working. After retiring my pain levels are much less than they were and I don’t go to nearly as many appointments as I used to. Once you remove the stress and physical work your body will inevitably heal up some.

You absolutely need to know your expenses before you can begin to calculate your retirement plan going forward. I will put it into terms that you and I can relate to. It would be like trying to calculate an electrical service size without knowing how much load will be demanded from it... Make it the first step you do going forward.

 

[Fishmasterdan]

You have received good advice above. I too am/was an electrician. I remember being recruited by IBEW business agents and their promises of an outstanding retirement package. I did spend just a short time in the IBEW, it wasn’t for me. Looking at your numbers it doesn’t resemble anything like what the BA’s were promising. Have you only been a member for a short time or is the retirement plan not what it looked like?

I can offer a little insight on things after retirement. I retired at 49 from doing full time electrical work. I too have some back, neck and knee issues from overworking and having all physical hobbies. While working I was seeing a chiropractor twice a week most weeks and doing lots of stretching and strengthening exercises to minimize the pain levels and to keep working. After retiring my pain levels are much less than they were and I don’t go to nearly as many appointments as I used to. Once you remove the stress and physical work your body will inevitably heal up some.

You absolutely need to know your expenses before you can begin to calculate your retirement plan going forward. I will put it into terms that you and I can relate to. It would be like trying to calculate an electrical service size without knowing how much load will be demanded from it... Make it the first step you do going forward.

32 years working IBEW. Have 32 credited years (so over 1000 hrs per year).
There is a few more retiement perks I am getting details on.


Thanks to everyone for the excellent advice. Your are pushing me into really digging into everything.
I have really starting to pindown everything offered to my thru the union plus looking close at my actual spending. Still working on all the details.

 

[Koolau]

I see a lot of good advice so far. Not sure if anyone mentioned things like moving to a lower cost of living area, researching tax benefits of various states, renting vs buying, downsizing, etc. etc. It's often better to spend less than make (or accumulate) more. YMMV

 

[Fishmasterdan]

Thought I would update this. So after feeling sorry for myself for at least 2 years ended in the ER for what they thought was septic knee. Turns out I had the gout pretty bad. Got on gout medication and now feel great. Ready for another 30 years in construction. I cannot believe the difference the gout made me mentally and physically .
All my joint pain is gone. Feel like I'm 30 again, well 40 anyway. No more thinking how to retire everyday.

 

[skyking1]

Whew!!
Great news Dan. Now you can plan your retirement your way.

 

[W2R]

Thought I would update this. So after feeling sorry for myself for at least 2 years ended in the ER for what they thought was septic knee. Turns out I had the gout pretty bad. Got on gout medication and now feel great. Ready for another 30 years in construction. I cannot believe the difference the gout made me mentally and physically .
All my joint pain is gone. Feel like I'm 30 again, well 40 anyway. No more thinking how to retire everyday.

Wonderful news! Thanks for letting us know how this turned out.