Today I am Retired from UPS for one year. 2nd best year of my life!

moreluck

golden ticket member
we paid off the house 18 months before i retired so that we could save that money. already had savings of 12 plus months to live on without any income. maxed out the 401k every year so that is huge. haven't had to touch it. the pension is enough and in a couple years we can start on the social security.

one thing you should do is get any major medical and dental out of the way before you go out. here in the west we have to pay 150 month for healthcare coverage and they only pay 70 % so your medical/dental will go up.

also make major purchases before you go out. we put in a new floor, new appliances, bought a late model car and repaired the older one, saved up for a new roof , and made some other major repairs. it's easier to do that while working making 80-100k rather than the 35-50 you'll get with your pension.

also , write out your monthly budget now while you are working. write down EVERY expense you can think of plus some amount for the unexpected. then add 10-20% on top of that just in case. some expenses go down when you retire like gas and car repairs and work related expenses. the only thing that has gone up for us is we are eating out more. and we travel more too.

this will give you an idea on what you need for monthly retirement expenses. the way we figured it we would have almost a thousand dollar surplus every month and after a year we had slightly more than that so we went crazy buying Christmas early for the grandkids and gifted the grown kids too. that was nice.

granted, we have had no emergencies pop up but we do have a separate savings account for that.

good luck.
Take the S.S. asap! There are no guarantees in life!!
 

Notretiredyet

Well-Known Member
Plans change.

It does sound as though you prepared a lot better than most and should be just fine.
I'll be fine, the thing that bothers me the most is the way the international has spun this into a win in some way. It doesn't feel like a win to me, or my brothers and sisters who didn't or were unable to prepare.
 

Orion inc.

I like turtles
we paid off the house 18 months before i retired so that we could save that money. already had savings of 12 plus months to live on without any income. maxed out the 401k every year so that is huge. haven't had to touch it. the pension is enough and in a couple years we can start on the social security.

one thing you should do is get any major medical and dental out of the way before you go out. here in the west we have to pay 150 month for healthcare coverage and they only pay 70 % so your medical/dental will go up.

also make major purchases before you go out. we put in a new floor, new appliances, bought a late model car and repaired the older one, saved up for a new roof , and made some other major repairs. it's easier to do that while working making 80-100k rather than the 35-50 you'll get with your pension.

also , write out your monthly budget now while you are working. write down EVERY expense you can think of plus some amount for the unexpected. then add 10-20% on top of that just in case. some expenses go down when you retire like gas and car repairs and work related expenses. the only thing that has gone up for us is we are eating out more. and we travel more too.

this will give you an idea on what you need for monthly retirement expenses. the way we figured it we would have almost a thousand dollar surplus every month and after a year we had slightly more than that so we went crazy buying Christmas early for the grandkids and gifted the grown kids too. that was nice.

granted, we have had no emergencies pop up but we do have a separate savings account for that.

good luck.
Did you copy and paste this from a financial article on google news?? Written exactly like one I saw the other day.
 

oldngray

nowhere special
I've always heard to take it as soon as possible, because it takes a long time to make up the years of missed income, and most don't make it that long..

The break even point between taking it at 62 vs waiting is about 78. How long do you think you will live?

If you wait your social security increases 8% a year which would be difficult to beat if you invested it yourself.
 

upschuck

Well-Known Member
The break even point between taking it at 62 vs waiting is about 78. How long do you think you will live?

If you wait your social security increases 8% a year which would be difficult to beat if you invested it yourself.
8% is baseline for investing, and a good financial planner should be able to beat that.

Things will change in the next 10+ years before I even need to think about that part, and will probably be pushed higher anyways.
 

oldngray

nowhere special
8% is baseline for investing, and a good financial planner should be able to beat that.

Things will change in the next 10+ years before I even need to think about that part, and will probably be pushed higher anyways.

Yeah you can beat the 8% but it depends on whether you prefer to play it safe and take the sure money or gamble.
 
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