Three years in and many thanks to the members here

Romer

Romer

Recycles dryer sheets
Joined
Jun 13, 2021
Messages
465
Location
Centennial
It has been 3 years since I left my job at Megamart at age 60. I had gone part time the week before so my vacation bank would last till August paying for my Health Insurance at reasonable rates. That was one of the things I negotiated to extend my initial plan 3 months.

I had a high pressure job managing a spacecraft development program. It was said by my boss I could replan the entire program on a dime when issues occurred. Meaning I was always busy and doing things in a constantly changing environment. I really liked my job. It was one that gave me a great sense of accomplishment and I was very good at it. I was concerned going from high pressure constant activity to retirement would leave me unhappy. That was not the case and I couldn’t be happier. My older brother retired about the same time and complained how bored he was and even went back part time as a consultant.

I have had a great retirement. I have gone from sitting at a desk/conf table all day to being active. Going on 4 mile daily walks everyday with my dogs, doing yard work, traveling much more. As a result, I lost 70 lbs. My sleep apena went away (no more CPAP), my blood pressure went down and my Dr took me off my Blood pressure Medicine. 12 months later my BP was 124 over 75 yesterday so still in good shape. We flew on to and walked on a Glacier in Alaska, flew in a Helicopter over an active Volcano in Iceland, sailed through the engineering marvel of the Panama Canal and much more. I bought a Kindle and check out ebooks from the library finally getting payback from all the taxes I paid supporting the library. I try and do something productive every day. When I am bored, I see it as I chose to be bored as I can always find something to do if I look for it. Sometimes it is nice to be bored and do nothing seeing it as a positive rather than negative thing

I had been modeling my retirement plans for 5 years. I came on this site 9 months (2021) prior thinking I had it all figured out. Thanks everyone who gave me grace while I had to readjust my thinking. It was more about what I didn’t know. There is a lot I learned here and am greatly appreciative for it. I found through this site I was even more ready to retire than I first thought. That moved my date from 62 to 60. Right now I am 70% complete converting my tIRA to my Roth and will be complete in 3-4 years. I have a pension and plan on taking SS at 67 as that just feels right for me. We could take it now (63) and be fine or at 70. The breakeven for me between 67 and 70 including savings growth and expenses is age 88-90 (Includes SS Haircut). 67 just feels right for me and I know there is no end of opinions on this.

Things I have learned since retired

  • If spouse Social Security benefit is less than half, then she/he can take Spousal (50% of yours)
  • IRMAA is a additional cost for Medicare that is based on your income 2 years prior.
    • E.g your income at 63 determines if additional cost will be added
    • Additional cost resets every year based on income two years prior
    • Once you go over trigger $1 might as well go all the way to next trigger as penalty cost is same (Depending on tax impacts)
    • If 65th birthday is in middle or near end of year, cost is small as it is yearly basis. Not much pain going over in that scenario to fund Roth conversion two years prior (age 63)
  • Once you lose income the IRS wants you to pay taxes quarterly or there will be penalties. EXCEPT a withdrawal from a IRA/Roth/401K that pays the full year taxes is accepted due to being on a 1099-R and waves the requirement for quarterly payments.
    • If this bumps into a higher IRMAA trigger, can treat as a rollover if refunded within 60 days. Allows you to pay taxes with IRA in December even if you have cash to make quarterly payments. One rollover allowed per year
  • You must apply for Medicare when you are 65 to avoid penalties. Can apply 3 months ahead
    • Medicare advantage plans seem great, BUT they remove ( at least in Colorado) the ability to switch back to Government plan G. Many people have been stuck when Advantage plans either raised in costs or were canceled. Other plans then won’t accept pre-existing conditions. Medicare Plan G can be switched between companies every year. Cost may start higher, but better as you get older for cost coverage and flexibility and pre-existing conditions as they develop.
    • Early look shows apply for Medicare A, B, D and a Plan G (likely) or N. Research based on current items available in year planning on taking.
  • Look at single Tax rates to make sure surviving spouse doesn’t get hit with huge tax bills running money out sooner. Plan long term strategy accordingly. e.g Roth Conversions
    • If I go first and have completed conversion of all IRA/401K to Roth, then only taxable income is Social Security no matter how much spent. Colorado doesn’t tax Social Security so no state tax.
  • Lots of opinions on Roth Conversions. My reason is lower rates before 2026, avoid RMDs and also consider surviving spouse Single (vs married) tax rates
  • Make sure all accounts have beneficiaries and contingent beneficiaries. Accounts with Beneficiaries don’t enter probate leaving only property for probate if both should pass.
  • Leave clear instructions and don’t leave a mess for your kids to figure out. My father passing taught me that.
  • I-Bonds and Brokered CDs are government backed and good investments depending on rates at the time. Brokered CDs are different than those from a bank, but still can be FDIC backed. I used broker CDs to build a CD ladder in my tIRA
  • When rates are high (5%), CD ladders build secure and safe source for income. I personally built a 3 year ladder in 2024 with enough $$ to last until I start SS.
  • Lots of great tools like firecalc and opensecurity.com on the internet. Everyone’s situation is different.
  • Social Security is COLA adjusted in November for future estimates. Except The window of 60 and 61 years old where you don't get a Social Security COLA, but do get a wage adjustment. For me it was a similar amount to a COLA so not an impact
I am sure there is much more

Thanks for being such a welcoming site and crew
 
Very good summary. If you missed anything significant, I'm not seeing it but I pretty much "winged it" when I FIRE'd and learned as I went. I would have liked to have this summary before I left Megacorp.

Best luck for a long and happy life and retirement.
 
Glad it is working out for the Op.

Something I have noticed, is it seems like most people who post about their retirement in message boards like here or Bogleheads have had a very positive experience. I’d say informally 90-95% of posts are positive. However I frequently hear anecdotally, from others, media articles, and even posters in these forums talking about others they know, about how retirement didn’t go well, and they were bored, unprepared etc.

So what accounts for the difference, if there is a difference?

- People on these message boards tend to be more prepared?

- positive selection bias? Only people with positive experiences share them?

- Facebook effect - people tend to exaggerate and put an overly positive spin online (clearly things are going well for OP- in no way am I doubting that )

- people on these board tend to be comparatively more affluent than average person?

Other thoughts on the issue?
 
JBTX said:
Glad it is working out for the Op.

Something I have noticed, is it seems like most people who post about their retirement in message boards like here or Bogleheads have had a very positive experience. I’d say informally 90-95% of posts are positive. However I frequently hear anecdotally, from others, media articles, and even posters in these forums talking about others they know, about how retirement didn’t go well, and they were bored, unprepared etc.

So what accounts for the difference, if there is a difference?

- People on these message boards tend to be more prepared?

- positive selection bias? Only people with positive experiences share them?

- Facebook effect - people tend to exaggerate and put an overly positive spin online (clearly things are going well for OP- in no way am I doubting that )

- people on these board tend to be comparatively more affluent than average person?

Other thoughts on the issue?
Click to expand...
Interesting question
here is my thought comparing me and my brother(s)

I had crafted multiple hobbies decades ago. I like to offroad, camp, etc. I tinker in the garage and work on landscaping projects. I am well known in the Toyota off road community and lead trail runs at events. I have done these things well before I retired rather than switching to them. Now I can spend more time doing them. My daughters both live near me and I spend a lot of time with their kids. I am happy

My brother doesn't have any hobbies that I know of. He loves to go to France, travel elsehwere and likes to own real estate. His daughter lives in another state which they go visit for a month every year. He has no grandkids so I share mine with him when we can :) He retired at 66 and is bored

My other brother lives in another state and retired at 59. He is very happy. One daughter and set of grandkids lives near him, the other close to me. He has a hobby in Boats. he has a 54 ft boat and spends a lot of time with the Boat club as they have a large facility and he was thee "Comodore" for a while. They go on trips with the boat and hangs out with his kids and grandkids.

I think its a combination of developing hobbies and other activities besides work along with family activities. I think he also had more of his identy in his job, whereas me and my other brother has developed an outside identity before we retired. Also could be that two of us retirred early because we wanted to and he retired later even though he could have retired earlier
 
Sounds like you have adjusted and made the best of the last three years. I know some that lose their way and can't adjust to all the time one has.

Glad for you in retirement.
 
Loving your awareness of the things learned. I've learned some pretty small details things in addition to yours. So much knowledge and willingness to share.

JBTX, Similarly imo, you still are living life & with life challenges. You just don't have work stress things to worry about. We did 3 years off & thoroughly enjoyed it but we had a plan & purpose to the crazy thing we did. Even our closest friends (some) didn’t understand it...

Having a purpose is a big part for us. Now we're contemplating the next retirement at 54&60. I'm ready, DW is still enjoying what she does, so we enjoy the 4 day WW and grandkids 1 street over. Talking more about the options we may want when we get there. Stress level is so much lower than our past ladder climbing days...
 
JBTX said:
Glad it is working out for the Op.

Something I have noticed, is it seems like most people who post about their retirement in message boards like here or Bogleheads have had a very positive experience. I’d say informally 90-95% of posts are positive. However I frequently hear anecdotally, from others, media articles, and even posters in these forums talking about others they know, about how retirement didn’t go well, and they were bored, unprepared etc.

So what accounts for the difference, if there is a difference?

- People on these message boards tend to be more prepared?

- positive selection bias? Only people with positive experiences share them?

- Facebook effect - people tend to exaggerate and put an overly positive spin online (clearly things are going well for OP- in no way am I doubting that )

- people on these board tend to be comparatively more affluent than average person?

Other thoughts on the issue?
Click to expand...
Agree with all your points.
 
Glad it’s working out so well.

In terms of why people succeed vs fail … I think it’s always important to be running towards something rather than away from something.

I was definitely done with life in megacorp when I found my way out the exit door … but I had a long list of interests and things I wanted to do once I was out.

I think people who “just want out” are running away from something rather than running towards something. They get away from what they didn’t like but still don’t know where they are heading.
 
Surewhitey said:
Loving your awareness of the things learned. I've learned some pretty small details things in addition to yours. So much knowledge and willingness to share.

JBTX, Similarly imo, you still are living life & with life challenges. You just don't have work stress things to worry about. We did 3 years off & thoroughly enjoyed it but we had a plan & purpose to the crazy thing we did. Even our closest friends (some) didn’t understand it...

Having a purpose is a big part for us. Now we're contemplating the next retirement at 54&60. I'm ready, DW is still enjoying what she does, so we enjoy the 4 day WW and grandkids 1 street over. Talking more about the options we may want when we get there. Stress level is so much lower than our past ladder climbing days...
Click to expand...

I actually retired about a year and a half ago. Spouse who is 5 years younger still works. It would be pretty much impossible to work between helping adult kids and now parents.

My situation is kind of unique - I was in kind of a wind down period with work for many years. If it weren’t for kids and parents would I still work? I don’t know. I’d only do something I liked. I don’t particular miss work.
 
Congratulations! Great OP.

We used opensocialsecurity.com to model our recommended ages as a couple and compare the differences between starting ages. That might be a good exercise for you.
 
JBTX said:
Glad it is working out for the Op.

Something I have noticed, is it seems like most people who post about their retirement in message boards like here or Bogleheads have had a very positive experience. I’d say informally 90-95% of posts are positive. However I frequently hear anecdotally, from others, media articles, and even posters in these forums talking about others they know, about how retirement didn’t go well, and they were bored, unprepared etc.

So what accounts for the difference, if there is a difference?

- People on these message boards tend to be more prepared?

- positive selection bias? Only people with positive experiences share them?

- Facebook effect - people tend to exaggerate and put an overly positive spin online (clearly things are going well for OP- in no way am I doubting that )

- people on these board tend to be comparatively more affluent than average person?

Other thoughts on the issue?
Click to expand...
I do think people on these boards are well prepared when they retire, and newbies get a thorough education if they stick around.

Since folks here are generally retiring early in most cases that does indicate that they are affluent as well as careful money managers/savers compared to the population.
 
audreyh1 said:
Congratulations! Great OP.

We used opensocialsecurity.com to model our recommended ages as a couple and compare the differences between starting ages. That might be a good exercise for you.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I did that after leearning about it on this site. I found this site after using firecalc and searching for tips on how to use it. Both great tools . Recommended 63 for my wifes small initial (we did that) and I take mine at 68 along with her spousal. 67 is still in the green range of the graph they provide and the delta isnt that much
 
Romer said:
yes, we use to call my company Lockmart :) likely cause of the Megamart slip
Click to expand...

I was just joking. I knew what you meant.

Your spacecraft more than likely used parts I designed. I don't know what level you worked at, but my specialty was designing very high speed radiation tolerant circuits for space.
 
Romer said:
yes, we use to call my company Lockmart :) likely cause of the Megamart slip
Click to expand...
I've referred to it in the past as the more-generic megacorp. When I heard lockmart, it came from the government customers, and it wasn't exactly a term of endearment.
 
Just for fun, I put the term Lockmart into Google, thinking it might give some insight into the nickname. Amazingly, I think the 2nd website was the official website for the company. I guess some nicknames just stick.
 
so the employees called it that as it is the first 4 letters of the two companies that merged creating the two name company :) I heard customers call it that as well with a different tone thinking of Walmart.

Most of the stuff I worked on was sucked out of my brain when I left and I can't remember those programs. Early in my career I worked on this vehicle that went to Venus
1742862928191.png


This program leveraged a lot of what we had on another program I was leading and we provided support to this asteroid visitor currently on mission
1742863032373.png


After he retired from NASA Bruce McCandless came to work there and I really enjoyed meeting him. It was also cool that they trained for the MMU (Manned Manuvering Unit) at our facility so seeing astronauts there was a normal thing for a period.
1742863118583.png


It still had all the BS and politics of any Megacorp. The higher I moved in the org, the more of it I saw. When that irritated me, I would walk into the highbay and look at what we were building and that made it worthwhile. Plus I was well paid and recognized for my achievements which didn't hurt

I miss the cool stuff, but would not trade my retirement for even a dream job. Well maybe as the Chief Engineer for the Starship Enterprise :) but that would be a different organization
 
^^^^^^^^

Sounds like you had very cool j*b.

Glad you were able to get out on your terms and in your time frame.
 
Early in my career we were doing a security product for DOD with help from the NSA. I called my part SHAAM. My manager didn't find it funny. I guess the extra A didn't help. He made me change the name.
 
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