Utterly lost. Can somebody please point me in the right direction?

[Patricia Lyn]

Hello, sorry to hear about your difficulties and the surgical infection! Geez! Hard enough to recover from surgery without that happening.
Ok ACA subsidies in a nutshell...you can qualify for a tax credit based on an ACA plan’s cost (there are different levels of coverage...bronze, silver, etc). But you have to be in an income window...can’t make less than (don’t quote me) 24,000 as a couple or they throw you onto medicaid and can’t make more than 64,000 as a couple or you don’t qualify for the subsidy. There are a couple of levels in between so say you make just over the 24,000/year mark, you would qualify for the maximum subsidy which would basically pay the premium for you. There are all sorts of subtleties and rules but it sounds like you could qualify for a nice subsidy for your wife. You personally would not get a subsidy since you have coverage through your work even after you retire.
Anyway, check it out. There are several good blogs online that explains it pretty well.
Good luck with everything. You sound like you have your direction mapped out...just need to make it happen and you are asking the right questions.

[Markola]

You seem like candidates for a highly-rated fee-only financial planner to me. DW and I have one and he knows all kinds of things I do not. There is no need to try to figure all this out on your own.

[Christian]

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Originally Posted by Teacher Terry I just lost my 22k part time job.

I'm sorry to hear that, Terry.

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So now we gross 3900/month. No car payments and 650 house payment including taxes and insurance.

Good for you. I wish I had done that well.

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You will spend money to park your RV. You could park where you don’t need to pay but will be out in the middle of nowhere...

No we won't.

This is a plain-Jane Sprinter van, not a 40-foot corrugated aluminum and fiberglass box with brightly-colored graphics on the side. We will be able to park anywhere.

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...and you still have to dump regularly.

No, we won't.

Planet Fitness has 1,742 locations all across the U.S., with unlimited hot showers and toilets, and it's $10 a month for both of us. That's just "Plan-A".

Ultimately we'll keep a porta-potty for emergencies, but neither one of us is a big fan of pooping in our own vehicle and then driving our poop around until we find an approved place to dispose of it. Nor do we want to be messing with "the stinky slinky", plumbing headaches, odors, leaks, maintenance, repairs, and finding a dump station to start with.

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Gas is not cheap.

That's why we're planning something that gets 20 mpg, instead of something that gets 7 mpg.

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Some parks will not take a RV older than 15 years old

We're not planning on staying in any parks, and our vehicle is so new that it hasn't even been built yet.

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...and have breed restrictions for dogs. It’s due to insurance. So no pit bulls or mixes everywhere and some places no shepherds.

We're not planning on staying in any parks, nor are we planning any pit bulls or mixes or shepherds.

[Christian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patricia Lyn Hello, sorry to hear about your difficulties and the surgical infection! Geez! Hard enough to recover from surgery without that happening. Ok ACA subsidies in a nutshell...you can qualify for a tax credit based on an ACA plan’s cost (there are different levels of coverage...bronze, silver, etc). But you have to be in an income window...can’t make less than (don’t quote me) 24,000 as a couple or they throw you onto medicaid and can’t make more than 64,000 as a couple or you don’t qualify for the subsidy. There are a couple of levels in between so say you make just over the 24,000/year mark, you would qualify for the maximum subsidy which would basically pay the premium for you. There are all sorts of subtleties and rules but it sounds like you could qualify for a nice subsidy for your wife. You personally would not get a subsidy since you have coverage through your work even after you retire. Anyway, check it out. There are several good blogs online that explains it pretty well. Good luck with everything. You sound like you have your direction mapped out...just need to make it happen and you are asking the right questions.

Wow, thanks.

Can you link me to some of the information that you're referring to? I could structure our income to be just under that $24K threshold if I needed to.

[Christian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Markola You seem like candidates for a highly-rated fee-only financial planner to me. DW and I have one and he knows all kinds of things I do not. There is no need to try to figure all this out on your own.

That's a tough one...

A financial planner will tell my wife that even though she's been without me so much already, that she needs to be without me even more, as I go back to work.

And that's assuming that I heal well enough to go back to work.

But thanks for your input.

[Patricia Lyn]

This is an excellent article. Once you read it, you will have more specific questions but this will get the ball rolling...and you have to be ABOVE the minimum threshold of income or you will have to go on the Medicaid merry go round
https://thefinancebuff.com/federal-p...obamacare.html

[38Chevy454]

You could do 72t withdrawals form your retirement account, to supplement your pension, in order to cover your income needs between now and SS coming in. 72t is a way to make periodic (e.g. monthly) withdrawals without paying the 10% penalty. There are some catches, it has to be for 5 years, and it has to be an equal amount for each payment over that time, officially called SEPP (substantially equal periodic payments).


Just one option to consider if you retire fully and need to get some money from your retirement savings prior to you turning 59.5.


I also think you are not being realistic about the conversion costs and time for the van. Why not just buy a Sprinter chassis class B RV already set up? Even better buy one 2-3 years old and save some money.

[Christian]

I'm reading an online 2019 Kaiser brochure with rates that seems to indicate that we can get their top of the line "Gold 0/20" (zero deductible, $20 co-pay) plan for about $500 a month.

That isn't nearly as bad as some of the garbage I saw on the ACA Marketplace website.

[Patricia Lyn]

Yep, it’s a whole new world when you find out about the subsidies! Good luck

[Christian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 38Chevy454 You could do 72t withdrawals form your retirement account, to supplement your pension, in order to cover your income needs between now and SS coming in. 72t is a way to make periodic (e.g. monthly) withdrawals without paying the 10% penalty. There are some catches, it has to be for 5 years, and it has to be an equal amount for each payment over that time, officially called SEPP (substantially equal periodic payments).

Good thinking, but 72(t) aka SEPP is for IRAs. I've scoured my retirement program literature and called them on the phone- I have to decide at retirement, whether I want to pull out 0%, 50%, 75%, or 100% in one lump sum, one time. I'm over 50, so I won't be subject to the additional 10% tax anyway.

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Just one option to consider if you retire fully and need to get some money from your retirement savings prior to you turning 59.5.

Up until I got injured in the line of duty a year ago, I just picked up an extra shift here or there if I needed more money. Unfortunately, that's not an option for me right now.

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I also think you are not being realistic about the conversion costs and time for the van.

I can do all of the work, and we've run the numbers- we think we can do the conversion for about $20K in materials.

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Why not just buy a Sprinter chassis class B RV already set up?

The six-figure price tag, for starters.

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Even better buy one 2-3 years old and save some money.

We have very specific goals that would not be met by the floorplan of any commercially-built class-B RV. I doubt we'd be able to buy anything that was still under warranty for as little as we're going to spend. Commercially-built RVs are built for taking vacations in, not living in. We'd be stuck with any built-in design limitations as far as insulation, plumbing, and to some degree electrical. And any commercially-built class-B is going to look like an RV, which would seriously restrict the places that we'd be able to park it.

[Christian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patricia Lyn Yep, it’s a whole new world when you find out about the subsidies! Good luck

Thank you very much.

[Teacher Terry]

Before I retired I spent a lot of time reading about WEP. In order for your years to qualify for SS you need to make enough money each year to be what is considered “substantial earnings.” They have a calculator online to figure it out plus you need your earnings printout. Or you could make a appointment with SS. I would definitely want to know this before retiring. If no bathroom and no staying in parks you going to use outside ? With a class B space will be a issue and a cold climate is not fun no matter the vehicle.

[Bamaman]

I find you in a very precarious situation. While it's natural to plan ahead, there are too many moving targets in your life to make a good plan of action. Your wife wants you to retire, but sometimes people cannot get what they want. You'll need to continue your disability plan through your employer as long as possible.

With the both of you requiring extensive medical care, you'll have to put the RV lifestyle on hold for quite sometime--possibly years. I'm a RVer too, and there's no way someone with serious illnesses/injuries can be mobile. You need to remain close to your doctors and current hospitals for obvious reasons. And a Class B is too small to have a quality of life for full timers.

In the short term, try to sell one of those vehicles you can do without. Do anything possible to lower your debt, including liquidating any sellable assets.


File for Social Security Disability for your wife, and you should meet with Social Security to see what your best plan of action is. Remember that you've got to have worked and paid into Social Security 40 quarters, or 10 years, before you're eligible for Disability payments. The golden egg is that those on Social Security Disability are eligible for Medicare 2 years from when they are deemed "disabled." And if you have a child, the disability payments are increased for them.

As far as liquidating retirement accounts, forget it. If you end up permanently disabled, you will never have the chance to replenish funds withdrawn to payoff "debts." You have to take care of your family for another 30 years or more, and they come first.

If you get to where you cannot pay your creditors, talk to them. See if they can change the terms. If they come after you legally, let them get their judgments against you. If you're not a property owner or have tangible assets, they cannot attach them. And they cannot touch your retirement accounts in most states.

I certainly hope you have great insurance to minimize future medical bills. You cannot give up great insurance--as if you retired, ACA deductibles and co-pays are unaffordable for those without strong incomes.

Until you and your wife's medical condition improve, forget filing bankruptcy. Although you may be very deserved of bankruptcy, it's not something you do until the medical issues are solved.

Keep your chin up and work on getting physically better day by day. And be thankful you have governmental benefits because in private industry you'd be receiving a small portion of your current benefits.

[Christian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teacher Terry Before I retired I spent a lot of time reading about WEP. In order for your years to qualify for SS you need to make enough money each year to be what is considered “substantial earnings.” They have a calculator online to figure it out plus you need your earnings printout. Or you could make a appointment with SS. I would definitely want to know this before retiring.

Yeah, I saw the online calculator. I'll take a look at it. Either way, it is what it is.

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If no bathroom and no staying in parks you going to use outside ?

As I said before, Planet Fitness has almost 2,000 locations with toilets and unlimited hot showers, for $10 a month, and since I get to bring a guest, that covers my wife as well. There are many other options as well.

We are planning a tub and shower set-up inside, as well as an outside shower.

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With a class B space will be a issue...

It sure is. But this has been a life goal of ours for many years- we'll do fine.

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...and a cold climate is not fun no matter the vehicle.

We're gonna insulate the heck out of it, and it will have heat. We've done hunting trips in sub-freezing weather in a completely uninsulated pickup camper with sleeping bags as our only protection against the cold- this will be light-years better than that.

[Christian]

Bamaman, you have so much information there, that I may need to respond to your post tomorrow- I promised my wife I'd go for a run with her tonight when she gets home from work.

[Teacher Terry]

If I had a choice between a toilet or shower/tub it’s a toilet hands down. We have to go in the middle of the night. I guess you can park in a planet fitness parking lot. I know a couple people retired on a shoestring and by age 60 were sorry. Most people want a little luxury such as meals out, entertainment or travel, etc.

[Christian]

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Originally Posted by Teacher Terry If I had a choice between a toilet or shower/tub it’s a toilet hands down.

We're gonna have both.

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We have to go in the middle of the night.

That's why we'll have the porta potty.

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I guess you can park in a planet fitness parking lot.

We will be able to park anywhere. We'll just stop by the nearest Planet Fitness to use their showers and toilets...and to get in our daily workout.

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I know a couple people retired on a shoestring and by age 60 were sorry.

We will see.

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Most people want a little luxury such as meals out, entertainment or travel, etc.

What we want is to spend time with each other, and to see stuff in this great nation of ours.

[Vacation4us]

Sounds like you are used to driving expensive cars and plan on buying another. I am sorry for your situation but you can not afford to retire. Period.

Don’t forget you will be taxed on your pension. I don’t mean to be cold it’s wonderful your wife will make a full recovery and not need further treatment. Your goal should be to pay off your expensive cars and save like mad. Trim your expenses and see if you can live off 3k a month.

I wish you and yours the best, and a long and happy life together.

[Sunset]

OP - Rather than throw away your retirement money, sell those 2 expensive cars and buy a 2 year old toyota/Honda/Hyundai car for $20K.

You must have a bunch of other expensive things you can sell off, as you are going to need to sell them off anyhow if planning to live in an RV.

Since you are currently injured, can you actually work after the rehab or is that simply wishful thinking, would you qualify for SS disability which pays a lot more than regular SS ?
Of course if you retire first, then you don't qualify.

[flintnational]

Christian, sorry for your troubles. Are you eligible for a disability rating from your job related injury? The Federal Employee's Compensation program (similar to private employer Workers Compensation) provides for disability payments for job related injuries. The disability payments are above and beyond the payments for medical and wage replacement. And, if you are deemed totally disabled, you should be eligible for continuing disability payments. If you are not permanently disabled, you should still be eligible for a disability rating and payment. If so, I would use the funds to pay off and sell the current vehicles and buy low cost cars as others have suggested.