Hello - input, please and thank you.

[Joyjoy757]

Hi, folks!
Ive been a member for a few years but have only posted a few times.
Id like your input. Be nice.
Im 59. My husband passed unexpectedly in 2015.
At that time, I told myself that I was going to get out of
debt and retire.
I was a corporate/government travel consultant and was permanently
Furloughed last March. Ive been riding the Unemployment train since, but have
just restarted to apply for jobs. Almost a year later.
Since 2015, I have sold the cars that we had. Sold the 4br 2 1/2 bath with inground pool and 2 garages house and everything in it. Bought a manufactured home in a 55+ with cash, bought a 2019 rental car with low mileage with cash and have paid off my Ccs.
My few questions -
From what I understand, I can retire at 60 and collect my husbands SS and then, if mine is more, switch to mine at regular retirement age. Would that be a bad move? Im relatively healthy. I manage my diabetes.
Also, would you suggest that I hire a fiduciary to manage the $ I got from the sale of my house? How do you know who to trust? To most of you, 150,000 might not be alot, but to me it is. I also have a small 401k, traditional ira and TSP. Would you suggest I roll those over into a Roth? Ive been reading alot and what I see is that using Vanguard or Fidelity would be smart. When it comes to $ and where to put it, I just dont get it, so Ive just let sit safely. I do receive a part
of my husbands pension, of course.
Its just me. My 2 “kids” are self sufficient.
Ive been fortunate, when it comes to healthcare. 12.50 a month. Vision 12.50, Dental 41.00. Tricare for life after retirement.
Anybody? Thanks for your input.

 

[VanWinkle]

Hi, folks!
Ive been a member for a few years but have only posted a few times.
Id like your input. Be nice.
Im 59. My husband passed unexpectedly in 2015.
At that time, I told myself that I was going to get out of
debt and retire.
I was a corporate/government travel consultant and was permanently
Furloughed last March. Ive been riding the Unemployment train since, but have
just restarted to apply for jobs. Almost a year later.
Since 2015, I have sold the cars that we had. Sold the 4br 2 1/2 bath with inground pool and 2 garages house and everything in it. Bought a manufactured home in a 55+ with cash, bought a 2019 rental car with low mileage with cash and have paid off my Ccs.
My few questions -
From what I understand, I can retire at 60 and collect my husbands SS and then, if mine is more, switch to mine at regular retirement age. Would that be a bad move? Im relatively healthy. I manage my diabetes.
Also, would you suggest that I hire a fiduciary to manage the $ I got from the sale of my house? How do you know who to trust? To most of you, 150,000 might not be alot, but to me it is. I also have a small 401k, traditional ira and TSP. Would you suggest I roll those over into a Roth? Ive been reading alot and what I see is that using Vanguard or Fidelity would be smart. When it comes to $ and where to put it, I just dont get it, so Ive just let sit safely. I do receive a part
of my husbands pension, of course.
Its just me. My 2 “kids” are self sufficient.
Ive been fortunate, when it comes to healthcare. 12.50 a month. Vision 12.50, Dental 41.00. Tricare for life after retirement.
Anybody? Thanks for your input.

My condolences on the passing of your husband.
You are correct on the SS survivor benefits. Age 60 is the earliest
you can claim(without young children at home) at a reduced rate.
You can ask what your own SS payment would be at 70 and let it
increase while collecting the survivor benefit. The amount of each
benefit is what makes the decision for you. I would contact SS whether online
or by phone to get the amounts you need to make this decision.

Vanguard will manage the investments for .30% per year
and that is likely all you need. A financial advisor will get 1% plus
and may not add any additional value over what you can ask here.

Fidelity is fine also, but make sure you're not paying an advisor for
more than you need.

Charles Schwab would also be a good choice. Stay on the low cost
management portion of their advice.

Rolling to Roth's would depend on the amounts of each account.
You have to pay taxes if you Roll to Roths

Best to you in retirement,

VW

 

[pb4uski]

Wow Joy... a lot there. Sorry for the loss of your husband.

The important thing to know is how much is your spending for living expenses annually. Include everything... health insurance premiums, deductibles and co-pays, income taxes, provisions for periodic car replacements, provisions for occasional roof or HVAC replacements on the house, etc.

If the survivor benefits from your husband's pension and SS exceed your projected spending then you should be able to retire.

What you wrote on SS sounds right but the best thing do would be to make an appointent with SS to have them tell you what you are entitled to if you claim at 60 or if you claim later.

On the proceeds from the sale of the house, do not hire a fiduciary. I'd suggest that you go with Vanguard or Fidelity or Schwab (flip a coin if you need to) and simply buy their target retirement fund that has an asset allocation that you are comfortable with. 60/40 is common but anything from 40/60 to 70/30 wuld probably be fine.

The best time to convert to a Roth will likely be after you retire... you should be able to convert and pay no or little tax... especially if you convert over a number of years.

 

[JRon]

Sorry for the loss of your husband and congratulations on the financial decisions you have made - well done!

As an alternative to VW’s advice above, which is excellent, you could read up on investing in index funds and asset allocation and once a bit more educated you could select a couple funds at Vanguard, Fidelity, or Schwab and not pay an advisory fee.

With the smart decisions you have made, I think you’ll do very well.

 

[Joyjoy757]

Thank you SO much. You’ve been very helpful!

 

[Joyjoy757]

Thank you! You’ve been very helpful!

 

[Joyjoy757]

Thank you! You’ve been so very helpful!

 

[HI Bill]

Also, would you suggest that I hire a fiduciary to manage the $ I got from the sale of my house? How do you know who to trust? To most of you, 150,000 might not be alot, but to me it is. I also have a small 401k, traditional ira and TSP. Would you suggest I roll those over into a Roth? Ive been reading alot and what I see is that using Vanguard or Fidelity would be smart. When it comes to $ and where to put it, I just dont get it, so Ive just let sit safely.

Welcome! Sorry about your loss.

I agree with others, there's no need to hire a fiduciary. Agree that you should just invest with Vanguard or Fidelity, and that buying a Target Retirement Date fund (in the year closest to that in which you intend to retire such as 2021) would be the easiest and cheapest (and probably safest) way to go. No need to roll $ into ROTH, unless you expect to be in a higher tax bracket in the future. Anything you move from a tax-deferred account (401(k), IRA, TSP), will be taxed as ordinary income as you do the conversions, so you probably won't need to do this based on the assets you've reported (and likely low tax bracket once you start SS and distributions). Good luck!

 

[skyking1]

I applaud your good moves so far. Those medical costs are just off the hook, good for you!

 

[Joyjoy757]

Thank you, Skyking! My husband was in the military for 29 years. Gone much of the 26 years we were married. I dont have much of anything, but I am fortunate to have Tricare, for sure!

 

[SheitlQueen]

I am in the same position as you. Lost my husband at 61 and retired at 62. I get survivor benefits, but at a reduced rate since I was not at FRA. I think it was about 74% of what the full rate would have been. Be aware that there is an income limit. Between that and rental income it is enough for me to live on. I am going to switch to my own benefit at age 70 since it will be substantially higher than what I get now. Best of luck to you!

 

[Time2]

To be really helpful we would need more numbers. You have done well to get out of debt and reduce your spending.
You need to calculate your spendable net worth, from that we can say how much of it can safely be spent per year (4%), then you can add the pension and SS income to that, to know how much you can spend each year.
It would help to know how much you have spent for the last two years, assuming you have stabilized your spending during those years.
Then we could figure out what shape you are in.


Edit to add:
Once you get some numbers together, you can put them in https://firecalc.com/
You might just pull up the page and go through each section to see what applies and to help you figure out what does apply. Many of us here have used Firecalc as a check on our finances. I ran lots of scenarios before I retired and some after, it gets to be fun, once you have it figured out.

 

[street]

A lot of good advise above. I would say that sometimes what works for others may not work for you. Do some research and get help for some of the decisions that you may not feel comfortable with. Then do research again on what their plan for you was.

Good luck in retirement.

 

[VanWinkle]

I am in the same position as you. Lost my husband at 61 and retired at 62. I get survivor benefits, but at a reduced rate since I was not at FRA. I think it was about 74% of what the full rate would have been. Be aware that there is an income limit. Between that and rental income it is enough for me to live on. I am going to switch to my own benefit at age 70 since it will be substantially higher than what I get now. Best of luck to you!

Great plan, letting your own benefit rise until age 70!!

VW