Retirement plans

[Leigh Betsch]

My BIL announced yesterday that he was retiring today, he's 61. Sounds great but he said he had no plans on what to do. He figured he'd take up cooking. Sounds to me like a plan to wither away.
I'm not actually too close to retirement (54), but yet I keep thinking that I should quit early, sell the big house, downsize, move to the desert and do the things I like. I think I have enough plans to fill my life with plenty to do. But then I think what if I don't. What if I start to sleep all afternoon and watch TV all night. What if I get tired of making planes and furniture. What if I don't like traveling South America on motorcycle. What if the kids stop being home when I show up. What if my shop gets full of rebuilt tools and I have no more room. I hate cooking. I think I'll just go to work and forget all about this retirement stuff.

[charlie knighton]

you are lucky, go to work, from a displaced worker, whose plant went to china, we still have over 16% unemployment

[Mike Henderson]

Yep, work as long as you can and as long as you still enjoy working. Retirement is for the birds.

Mike

[David G Baker]

I retired when I was 55, the only plans I had was how to manage my money until I reached 62 and able to draw my Social Security. I am now 68 and still don't have a lot of plans. I pretty much do what I want or what ever is thrown at me. The reason I retired so young was I could and a very high percentage of the people in my profession that retired at 65 died with in 18 months of retiring. Looks like I beat those odds. I did do quite a bit of remodeling on the house in California and started doing quite a bit of the same on the house I now live in since I moved to Michigan. I stay busy most of the time doing things around the house. I have around 5 acres of land that I have to keep up with the tree cutting, lawn mowing and maintenance. If I had to do it over I would do it the same way.

[Stephen Cherry]

I plan to never retire; I want to be rolled out! (when the time comes)

[Harold Burrell]

I plan to never retire; I want to be rolled out! (when the time comes)

Yeah, me too. In fact, I told my church folks that I want to work until I die...and then be buried on site with a stone that says, "See...I told you I wasn't going anywhere."

[Keith Outten]

Tomorrow will be a month since I left the sign shop at CNU. I have been burning vacation since December 1st. My last official day at CNU is January 9th so I am unofficially retired already and enjoying myself beyond belief. I still have my sign shop to keep me busy, things to do around the house and four hours per day working for you guys and gals here at The Creek. It is unlikely that I will get bored or run out of things to do......what I won't do is miss the one and a half hours of commuting time that I used to burn up every day driving to CNU :)

And I like being the Boss again :)
.

[Rich Engelhardt]

@ 54 it's a wise thing to do,,,begin planning on what you do once you retire.

Keep in mind though, that when it comes to plans.....there's an old saying:

"Want to make God smile? Make plans."

I had my retirment all planned out. I was going to retire @ 59 1/2 so I could dip into my IRA and 401 until I was 62 and could start collecting SS.
We hae rental property and the loss we show on our taxes allows me to withdraw XXX amount from the IRA or 401 each year w/out being bit by the tax man too hard.
To keep busy and to start a new career, I'd planned on doing home rescues - buying houses in need of renovations, then doing the renovations and reselling them.
Not flipping where it's quick in/quick out and using any and all short cuts to get the work done.
Real honest to goodness period correct renovations, but, use modern energy efficient materials when ever and where ever possible.
Sort of a "premium" flipped house.

Well, the real estate crash pretty much drove a stake through the heart of that idea.

I should have had a better "plan B" in mind.
I'm sort of stuck in limbo at the moment. I'd like to work - but - unless I can hook up with some place that makes it worth my while in dollars, it will cost me in the long run.
I've looked ito the various charities - HFH, etc, where I could help out w/construction - but - too many rules/red tape there.

I also looked at starting a small - real small - "Hubby for hire" type of business - doing odd jobs that are too small for a regular contractor to do, but, something that's over the head of or beyond the equipment of a DIY'er.
More red tape/ more rules/ the cost of insurance for that is rediculous. Any work of that type requires (in my area) lead certification and asbestos certification to get a contractors licence from the city. Working w/out the licence and/or certs carries a stiff - real stiff, fine. Working w/out liability insurance is a foolish risk.
Bottom line here is that I estimated a cost of $11,500.00 to set up a tiny business that would bring in, at best, a hundred or two dollars a month.

Anyhow - my best advice would be to start some heavy duty planning right now.
Staying wwhere you are, if you really love what you're doing, isn't a bad idea either.
You can always see if they'd go for you cutting back on your hours so you'd have more free time if that's possible.

[Brian Kent]

I'm going to take up woodworking when I retire. Since I have been actively woodworking for 6 years and plan to retire in 12 years, I'll have an 18 year head start.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Start planning and working towards retirement in you 20's. If you wait until too late, you could discover the financial burdens too late.

Life can deal you a "no reasonable alternative" to retirement. I awoke deaf and had no alternative. Thankfully, I was one of those who was probably considered "insurance poor", worked for a large corportation who dealt with my deafness and they treated me well....better than I expected.

While a cochlear implant has given me back some of my hearing, it's not a constant. The quantity and quality of what I can hear varies periodically. That being said, my wife and I both agree. I would have the surgery again because what hearing I gained is a significant improvement over being deaf!

In February, it will be 2 years since I retired. Do I miss the profession? No. Do I miss the people with whom I worked? Yes. My wife retired the same day I did and feels the same way.

My woodworking projects and the continuing saga of my woodworking shop keep me interested and busy.

For 34 years I lived attached to a pager, an answering service, to corporate demands and the whims of customers. I enjoy the lack of professional stress!

There is life after a profession.

[Robert McGowen]

I am like Ken, I was forced to retire. I was 47 years old when I was injured at work and required a total knee replacement as a result. Forced retirement came 2 years later. Being a police officer for almost 29 years, it was hard to accept being retired. Fast forward 3 years and I can honestly tell you that I am busier now than before retirement. Being retired merely means that your day starts when you want it to, it ends when you want it to, and you do not have to stop after 40 hours each week. Like anything else in life, it is what you make of it.

[Bruce Volden]

I planned on retiring at age 55, saved, invested, schemed etc. to reach that goal! That was 4+ years ago. Since then I have found out that I need "Alaskan summers" (not much of a night) to stay abreast of what should be "done" on a daily basis. Where does the time go??? I always have things to do. Once in a while I get do do things I want to, most often I'm helping neighbors, friends, family.

If you feel you need to stay busy, just sit down for a spell---seems that's how it works at this part of SD.

Bruce

[David Weaver]

Start planning and working towards retirement in you 20's. If you wait until too late, you could discover the financial burdens too late.


One of the things we used to do at work was examine adequacy of a replacement plan when freezing a pension. Quite often, someone (at a client, not the subject of the study but just an individual) would say "since we have this program set up already, I'm 44...i want to get more serious about retirement, how much would I have to contribute to have the same standard of living and retire at age 60. Can you run a calculation for me?". They might've had a 401k balance that was the product of all of their other balances from prior employers being rolled into a current plan, and almost no other savings (and plenty of debt).

You can guess what the answer was.

Even 40 is too late, and it was then, too, when there was a reasonable expectation of returns over a 15 year period. The real question now is, how much will health insurance cost before age 65 (and after) and how much will you have to lower your standard of living to swing the whole thing.

Most people in the 40 age range are so far from that, except for public sector and a few private sector employees who have pensions, and the 10 percent or so who may have always lived with a standard of living 2/3rds of what they could've afforded.

AS time goes on and the pensions get wiped out, I wonder what really will happen for retirees, because most individuals don't come close to matching institutional returns in their own investments and they don't save enough or start early enough to begin with.

['Jacques Malan']

I am still a while ago from retirement, but I once talked to a old man running a shop, and he told me he planned to retire at 55.

He couldn't afford it, and tried for 60, and again couldn't afford it.

And when he hit 65 and could afford to retire, all his friends have since retired, and they all told him never to retire, it is too boring.

[Lee Schierer]

I originally planned to retire at 60, but was enjoying my work so I stayed until I was 62. The first few months were used to catch up on some of the home jobs that had been put off. It is nice to do a job and know you can always finish it tomorrow instead of working til mid night to get it done before having to go to work in the morning. We've had a few slow days, but between camping trips, travel, yard work and hunting I've been pretty busy. It is annoying when you want to go pheasant hunting that all your friends can't because they have to work. Our only plan is there is no set plan. We do what we want when we want to do it.

On another note, you nver know when that routine annual check up is going to reveal a problem so retire when you think you can and don't look back.

[Jerry Thompson]

It is hard to beat gluttony and sloth to keep one busy.

[Leigh Betsch]

My plan has been to afford to retire at 55 but like my job well enough to not want to. I've always thought it sad to see people who hate their job and spending 20 years waiting for retirement. So I've always moved around just to keep the job fresh. My financial guy says I'm right on track but until the health care debacle gets ironed out I think I'll stay employed, if possible. Of course there are days when I'd like to walkout and not look back!

[Harold Burrell]

It is hard to beat gluttony and sloth to keep one busy.

Man, I am well rehearsed there.

[Larry Frank]

I retired a couple of years ago at 62 after 38 years of working in a steelmaking shop. I had given it a lot of thought about retiring and did a reasonably good job and what I wanted to do. The number one thing on my list was to spend as much time with my kids and grandkids as they would allow. I use the woodworking to make toys and puzzles and also to keep my self busy.

I do not thing it is every too early to see a financial analyst to start the planning and saving. I did some myself but found that the analysis knew about things that I never even would have dreamed of. Also, you may have to find one that you are comfortable with his judgement. I need an honest one who will tell me if I am spending too much or exactly where I am financially. We have used him a couple of times to determine if we could afford something like an addition to the house or a pretty expensive vacation of a lifetime.

I have encouraged my children to also find one to start planning early especially if they have children.

Retirement will be one of the more significant events in your life and we are typically so unprepared and there is typically not real good information. Everyone thinks they know what you should do, but very few actually understand the process.

[Larry Whitlow]

I retired a couple of years ago at 62 after 38 years of working in a steelmaking shop. I had given it a lot of thought about retiring and did a reasonably good job and what I wanted to do. The number one thing on my list was to spend as much time with my kids and grandkids as they would allow. I use the woodworking to make toys and puzzles and also to keep my self busy.

I do not thing it is every too early to see a financial analyst to start the planning and saving. I did some myself but found that the analysis knew about things that I never even would have dreamed of. Also, you may have to find one that you are comfortable with his judgement. I need an honest one who will tell me if I am spending too much or exactly where I am financially. We have used him a couple of times to determine if we could afford something like an addition to the house or a pretty expensive vacation of a lifetime.

I have encouraged my children to also find one to start planning early especially if they have children.

Retirement will be one of the more significant events in your life and we are typically so unprepared and there is typically not real good information. Everyone thinks they know what you should do, but very few actually understand the process.

I retired one year ago at age 60. As you and others have said so well, financial planning is an essential ingredient. IMO, another critical part of the process is knowing what you are going to be doing starting from day one after you retire. I don't think sitting on the couch watching TV counts. In my case it is primarily woodworking and travel and I am happy to say that so far retired life has been even better than I thought it would be. Again IMO, people who say they look forward to sleeping in without any other real plans should give additional thought to staying at the paying job.

[David Helm]

Just turned 70 a couple days ago. I did retire, on December 31 from my home inspection business. License and insurance renewal was up (about $5K) and I didn't want to pay it again. Besides, while I am healthy, climbing on rooftops and crawling in crawl spaces is not as fun as it once was. Don't poopoo cooking. I have twice the money in my stove than in my table saw, and cooking fits very well with woodworking. One must keep one's knives sharp you know. I still need to work since I didn't plan when I was young (I can always put money away next year). Funny thing is, next year always has unexpected expenses too. Self employed all my life so it's hard to find anyone willing to hire me: way too independent. Oh well, there is more to do and less time to do it in than when I was working. Good Luck!

[David Helm]

Incidentally, you all know that work is a four letter word!

[Myk Rian]

I retired when I was 55, the only plans I had was how to manage my money until I reached 62 and able to draw my Social Security. I am now 68 and still don't have a lot of plans. I pretty much do what I want or what ever is thrown at me.
Exactly my situation. Retired at 55 with the house paid for. Will be 64 in March, and am loving every day.

[Shawn Russell]

I want work until I am 70 and hopefully have enough of skillset that I can still earn some cashflow to continue to pay for hobbies.

I won't be going anywhere soon. I am 40 this year and have the 401k account balance of a 3 year old. I would love to pick the brain of those already retired or are near there. I am sure there is a lot of wisdom to absorb and prevent myself from making dumb mistakes.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Edited to remove my post:

Rethought this & decided it wasn't quite up to passsing muster on the "taste" test...this being a family oriented board and not the local watering hole..

Apologies to anyone that read my comments.

[Steve Meliza]

It's never to late to start planning your finances and retirement, though when you start and how much income you have to work with will determine your standard of living in retirement. I'm a relatively young 34 so my plans don't include SS, but if they want to give me back some of my money then I'll take it. My financial planner is a millionaire, I won't take financial advice from people with debt or a net worth less than my own.

This thread is more about what you do after retirement than how to get there and I have enjoyed reading the replies as that is one area of retirement planning I am remiss in, but I figure I have plenty of years to figure that out. I sincerely feel that good health and longevity are inseparable from an active life that keeps you engaged and moving.

[Rod Sheridan]

I'm 55 in a month and I started putting money away for retirement when I was in my twenties.

My normal retirement age would be 65, at which time my retirement income would be $72K.

If I retire at 60, my retirement income drops to $52K for 5 years, increases to $62K at age 65.

We have no debts, children are out of post secondary education, and we have a good amount of money in RRSP's (Similar I believe to your 401K).

Looking at the above, which is my retirement income, Diann has her own, I came to the conclusion that I would retire at 60, based upon my employer requesting 5 years notification of my retirement date.

In all the seminars I've gone to on retirement, the key things are financial planning and planning for activities in retirement. Apparently if you don't start doing things well before your retirement date, you won't start once you retire.

Let's see, wood working, vintage motorcycling (I'm probably going to buy a new bike this year, should be my last, thin the herd and only keep the 1930 James as well as the new one), volunteering, gardening..........Gee, how did I ever have time to work?

Regards. Rod.

[Joe Angrisani]

....Let's see, wood working, vintage motorcycling (I'm probably going to buy a new bike this year, should be my last, thin the herd and only keep the 1930 James as well as the new one), volunteering, gardening..........Gee, how did I ever have time to work?

EXACTLY!!! People who say they'd keep working because retirement is boring....well....they're boring people. There is so much to life besides work that I pity those who say they enjoy working over playing, er, um, I mean retiring.

[paul cottingham]

I was forced to retire at 42 due to a congenital brain defect that we didn't find til I was, well, 42. The defect left me in a state as if i had a bad concussion for several years. (explains some of my odd, rambling posts!). I was a total workaholic, so the transition was challenging, to say the least. But, it taught me the value of not being a workaholic, and let me be a full time dad, so that's not too bad!
I was self employed, so planned to work well into my old age. So, no plans were made. I do have a reasonable pension.
i can literally say woodworking, church stuff, and model railroading saved me from madness. Gave me things to keep busy with. That and swimming, when I can get my large butt to the pool.
i was a student for a long time, so living on not that much is not too hard.
thankfully.

[Myk Rian]

I would love to pick the brain of those already retired or are near there.
I stayed out of the stock market, and loaded up on savings bonds. Getting 4-6% on those.

[David Meade]

I retired at 55 this is my first year not working. We did plan financially, my wife tolerates me. Nothing boring I love working in my shop, My hours are 10 to 10 if and when I want. Someone else said it earlier it could all end tomorrow so we better enjoy it. Life has 3 cycles, birth until we go to work, about 35 or 40 yrs of work, the rest is time we should enjoy.

[Joe Angrisani]

I stayed out of the stock market, and loaded up on savings bonds. Getting 4-6% on those.

Minus 2.5% inflation....hmmm....not so good.

Even a mindless S&P500 Index investment did 13.4% in 2012. A NASDAQ Index investment gained over 15% in 2012, even with Apple's $150 fall. Strong companies like Home Depot logged another 45+% in 2012 (close to 100% in two years), not to mention another 2% on top of that in dividends. Rebounding companies like BOA, if you took that gov't-backed bait at $5-6 a share, is up over 100%.

Ya gotta diversify, people.

[Stephen Tashiro]

It's easy to overestimate what retirement will let you accomplish.

In the first place, you won't have as much spare time as you anticipate.

In the second place you'll forecast what you will accomplish in your spare time by extrapolation.. "I spend 2 hours per weekday on this hobby. When I retire I have 6 hours to spend on it, so I'll get 3 times as much done." You won't. People don't realize how intensely they work when they only have limited time. The level of intensity you exert for 2 hours won't be comfortable to sustain for 6 hours. Also, the perception of what you accomplish in 2 hours per weekday isn't correct since you tend to overlook additional time you spend. For example, you take a few minutes to pick up some supplies on the way home from work or you take a few minutes away from work to think about your hobby.