Hello there, Retiring at 46 in April 2018

[polcdb]

Hello from NM! I am going to retire in April, 2018 from the state pension (PERA). I will get 83% of my highest 3 year salary, plus I have $250,000.00 in a 457b. I will be debt free with the exclusion of a mortgage. Two kiddos in college but both maintain 80%+ scholarships (thank god).

My hopes are not to even touch my 457b and let it accrue, work part-time, my concern is health care. I can get it through PERA and for myself it is reasonable, to cover my spouse not at all. Any tips regarding the health insurance, or should I just reside myself to having my wages from a part-time to cover my insurance premiums?

The state pension seems solid, they did that on our backs but I was grandfathered in with the exception of waiting 7 years for a 2% COLA.


Forgot to add, my monthly pension payment after taxes is 4200.00 per month.
Thanks for reading!

[Blue Collar Guy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by polcdb Any tips regarding the health insurance, or should I just reside myself to having my wages from a part-time to cover my insurance premiums? !

I like that approach,

[kimcdougc]

Hope for the best but plan for the worst in your budget.

[euro]

Do you know what your monthly expenses are? How much slack do you have in the budget? What ARE the numbers for family insurance through PERA (don;t know what that is)? While it may be high, it may still provide the best option. It's hard to find part-time work that covers healthcare, especially for family. Have you considered doing a few more years in your current job, if the budget is too tight for healthcare?

[polcdb]

My expenses are the following:

Life insurance policies 180
Mortgage 1000 (including principal/interest/taxes/ins.)
Utilities 500 (Gas/Electric/Water/Sewer/Cable/Internet/Cell)
Car Ins. 200
Groceries 350
Incidentals 500

no car payment, no credit debt.

It gives me approx. 1470.00 a month left if I live in a state with moderately friendly tax states or 1710.00 in states without an income tax.

And I will have the 457b account if needed but I do not want to touch that at all.

[pb4uski]

Have you checked out healthsherpa.com? It looks like individual health insurance in your area is pretty affordable compared to other parts of the country.

To me the cost of health insurance is part of the cost of freedom.... from having to go to work.... you're either willing to pay the price or not.

[38Chevy454]

Welcome to the forum. I just left NM upon retirement to move near family. I was only there for work, so did not have any real roots there. Lived in east mountains of ABQ.

Health insurance is a big deal, and having coverage or not is a factor for many early retirees. Seems your pension is covering your basic fixed expenses with a little left over. You may need a bit extra to cover insurance and also have some discretionary fun money in your budget. Also is your pension COLA'd or not? That will have an effect in future years. Do you have SS as an available source?

[NgineER]

Quote:

Originally Posted by polcdb My expenses are the following: Life insurance policies 180 Mortgage 1000 (including principal/interest/taxes/ins.) Utilities 500 (Gas/Electric/Water/Sewer/Cable/Internet/Cell) Car Ins. 200 Groceries 350 Incidentals 500 no car payment, no credit debt. It gives me approx. 1470.00 a month left if I live in a state with moderately friendly tax states or 1710.00 in states without an income tax. And I will have the 457b account if needed but I do not want to touch that at all.

Why do you keep a life insurance policy? IMO a life insurance policy is to protect your family while you are the primary breadwinner, if others are relying on your income. Is there no survivor benefit for your pension?

[polcdb]

The life insurance I have had since I was younger (20's) and have kept it ever since, it's a mix of whole life (I know I know but had that since I was 15), and term.

My pension does have a beneficiary option however, my take home would be $400.00 less per month. It would be beneficial for me to keep my life insurance policies in effect rather than using a beneficiary for the kiddos as they are cheaper and actually would be more.

The reason being is while my kids are techinically adults they do still rely on us. My term 750,000 policy costs only 68 bucks a month, I really can't beat that rate so I keep it. My whole life policies pays for itself and another term policy through dividends as well. The term policy's are in effect until I am 72 years of age.

I will definitely check the healthcare site for insurance options. As far as SS, I will, but that won't kick in for another 20 years. I do get COLA's, 2% per year however, that will not go in effect until 2024. It used to be 3% per year after one year of retirement, 2008 really sucked lol.

I am glad in a sense that I can complain about having to pay for healthcare because I am retiring at an early age, could be a much worse scenario. I am coming to the realization that to have my freedom to travel and have health insurance, I am looking to work part-time to pay for some of that. I like that I have the discretionary spending and don't have to tap into my 457b for that.

I am really liking all the replies, thank you very much!!

[polcdb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 38Chevy454 Welcome to the forum. I just left NM upon retirement to move near family. I was only there for work, so did not have any real roots there. Lived in east mountains of ABQ. Health insurance is a big deal, and having coverage or not is a factor for many early retirees. Seems your pension is covering your basic fixed expenses with a little left over. You may need a bit extra to cover insurance and also have some discretionary fun money in your budget. Also is your pension COLA'd or not? That will have an effect in future years. Do you have SS as an available source?

I can not wait to get out of NM, beautiful scenery, horrible place for any sort of progressive thinking (not talking politics, even though it sucks too lol).

[pb4uski]

You can make affordable health care one of your search criteria.

[38Chevy454]

Quote:

Originally Posted by polcdb I can not wait to get out of NM, beautiful scenery, horrible place for any sort of progressive thinking (not talking politics, even though it sucks too lol).

I got out mainly to be near family, but escaping the way high crime and the near third world state were high on my list! Just an example, my car and house insurance rates here in OH are approx half of what they were in NM. I agree for such a beautiful state it has way too many problems. It was good riddance for me, leaving and have no regrets at all.

[polcdb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 38Chevy454 I got out mainly to be near family, but escaping the way high crime and the near third world state were high on my list! Just an example, my car and house insurance rates here in OH are approx half of what they were in NM. I agree for such a beautiful state it has way too many problems. It was good riddance for me, leaving and have no regrets at all.

Exactly, It has gotten horrible in the last 5 years, I am so excited to leave and one of the reasons I didnt' ride out the 25 years at a higher rate. Looking at TN , NC, or SC.

[alterreur]

I also have a government pension and will retire in about 1.5 years...I am including my wife in the retirement due to the Life insurance went from about 50 per month for both of us to over $400 when the term expired..Might want to check on that...(The older you are the more they want).

SS, are you paying in it? Here in Ca. with PERS we don't and the SS I have from my past job is reduce by WEP.

[alterreur]

If you can, I would work a few more year to build up your 457. At our department, the insurance went from about $70 a month for a family in 2007 to $1000 now.. Crazy..seems to go up at least 10% per year or more. (2018 went up $200 per month). This is the reason I am still working...
Dental is another expense that you may think about also...Usually not covered in retirement.
Sorry with all the bad news but its better to find out now.

[Another Reader]

Careful on the insurance. Government entities can change their minds about how they handle pre-Medicare retirees. My local government dropped us from the employee plans and I'm now paying over $700 a month for my share based on a group that's comprised only of pre-Medicare retirees..