What next

[Breedlove]

I have worked since I was 15 and now the latest straw was being riffed from the Oil & Gas business at 62 . We have followed our rules all credit cards paid off cars paid off . All we owe on is our house in the suburbs . Years ago I bought some foreclosed land in the country to some day build a dream home . We have built the dream home only 900 Sq Ft paid off . Lots of frills but built like a bunker . We have no clue how much we need to retire. We hear horror stories about health insurance costs. We will pull about 38,000 per year from SSI if I understand the tables correctly . Plus we will have our IRA's and money from our house we will sell in the suburbs. Here is the problem I am scared to say I am retired or retiring ! It just doesn't sound right .

 

[Walt34]

Welcome to the forum!

We can't answer your questions without knowing what your expected income is/will be, if there is a pension, is it COLA'd, what will your expenses be, and savings/investments and what you expect to get out of those.

This is a link to questions that you're going to need good answers to:

http://www.early-retirement.org/for...re-asking-can-i-retire-69999.html#post1399715

 

[RobbieB]

At 62, you are close enough eh?

Or maybe you still want to work?

Run the firecalc and see what it says.

 

[pb4uski]

Welcome. Change is hard and hanging it up and retiring is scary.

Many of us were uncomfortable with characterizing ourselves as "retired"... in six months it'll be second-nature to you.

 

[travelover]

Welcome. You have a lot of questions, but they all can be answered - you just need to work through them one at a time. You can get an idea of how much health care will cost from HealthSherpa.com Looking over your past expenses, you can get an idea of how much you need to spend to live. Firecalc (bottom of screen on a PC) will help you figure out how much of your savings you can safely spend per year. Many of us have been pleasantly surprised at how low our expenses are in retirement with fewer taxes and other fixed expenses.

 

[rodi]

The first thing you need to do is figure out your spending (pre-retirement). You can get a quick swag by taking your gross pay then subtracting out: SS contributions, Medicare contributions, and 401k contributions (and any other savings type contributions - ESOP, etc.) Then you need to add in some since health insurance will be all on you... Healthsherpa is a good source for pricing health insurance.

That's one approach to getting your annual spending number.
Another is to look at spending by category. It's pretty easy if you've used financial tracking software (quicken, mint, etc.) but will take more work if you're starting from scratch and don't have historical data. Don't forget to include annual or semi annual bills like property taxes, insurance, etc...

Once you have a good idea of what you currently spend - you can plug it into firecalc or a variety of other calculators.

If you plan on taking SS right away - then you can always use the 4% rule on your remaining investments... Assume you can draw 4% of your investment portfolio the first year. Then each year you multiply that initial value by the inflation rate - and that's your new withdrawal for the year.

So if you have $500k in investments - you could withdraw $20k the first year. Then $20k * CPI the send year. Etc.

 

[eta2020]

I Here is the problem I am scared to say I am retired or retiring ! It just doesn't sound right .

In a way it does not sound right at any age or net worth.

Maybe it is good to retire to some other set of responsibilities, duties, work. Some that one enjoys and looks forward to do.

 

[RobbieB]

I've been known to "do the hokey-pokey and turn myself around" after announcing that I'm retired -

 

[Breedlove]

We have just over 1000,000.00 in assets . Includes 401 , wife's 401 and equity in the house we will sell . We own our retirement home out right . We have the property taxes on the AG. program ( 450.00 annually )

I think we will be OK except for insurance . It seems so odd to say retired or retiring . I feel almost guilty for not working.

 

[Katiek]

It's probably more unsettling when it happens unexpectedly and it isn't something you initiated. But now is the time that your good habits earlier in life can pay off. As others have suggested, run firecalc and try to get a good handle on how much you spend (and what you can spend going forward) and make sure the numbers work.

If you're not comfortable after looking at all the details, consider a part time job to help make the transition smoother.

 

[ivinsfan]

Why don't you have a go at tracking all your expenses...if only for your peace of mind.ACA as of now is still in play for health insurance. At 62 you aren't too far away from Medicare, Medicare costs have risen every year since my DH went on at 65, but the big sliver lining is in limited out of pockets exposure and the broad network of providers.

 

[broadway]

We have just over 1000,000.00 in assets . Includes 401 , wife's 401 and equity in the house we will sell . We own our retirement home out right . We have the property taxes on the AG. program ( 450.00 annually )

I think we will be OK except for insurance . It seems so odd to say retired or retiring . I feel almost guilty for not working.

With $1,000,000 in assets and only 3 years from Medicare, I think you will do fine.

 

[Milton]

In a way it does not sound right at any age or net worth.

It sounds right to me! IMO, no one should have to apologize for working, or not working ... do whatever seems right to you!

Maybe it is good to retire to some other set of responsibilities, duties, work. Some that one enjoys and looks forward to do.

Yes, I agree. Some (many? Perhaps most?) people look forward to retirement because they hate their jobs or ar just 'burnt out'; but happiness generally involves more than just escaping from negative circumstances. Hobbies, volunteering, travel, part-time work or a combination thereof are typically part of a successful retirement.