Retirement

[Traveler II]

We retired 12 years ago. During that time the economy has been all over the place. We’ve managed to navigate the hurdles and are doing OK and enjoy ourselves. We travel about a 1/3 of a year in our 5th wheel, (Cardinal).

I was thinking that if I had to make the decision now to retire or not I’m not sure what I would do. I’d be pulled between knowing I was getting older and would want to enjoy good health and do somethings I want to do, versus waiting.

For those of you nearing the magic time what are you plans?

[Triguy]

I think you're asking if people are waiting to retire due to today's economy? I think the poor economy has had an impact in that people are retiring more carefully now than ever.

I'm 44 (so not ready to retire) but can give you my impressions as a business owner (money managers) where nearly all of our clients are pre-retirees and retirees so we get to help people through the decision-making process all the time. Should I retire? Should I not? Its a weekly discussion in our office and for good reason. Here are my observations.

Bottom line is that the only ones I see waiting on retirement either really enjoy their jobs and see no need to change or the math (described briefly below) just doesn't support their retirement today. Sounds basic and it is. Its also pretty consistent with what I have seen over the past 20 years in the business (with the possible exception of the craziness of the late 90s where many people were looking to retire with completely unreasonable market expectations).

However, there is one big difference that can be traced back to the economy over the last 10 years (and its an improvement, IMO). The pre-retirees I see today seem to be making their decisions to retire similar to the retirees of the past who left the workforce during a stronger economy, but their assumptions about the future (returns, personal life expectancy, their personal cost of living, etc) are more reasonable and more conservative now. This is probably due to the experience over the last 10 years and is good as the more conservative assumptions provide a cushion for the rough patches.

So, basically, if someone is ready to leave the workforce, they need to account for things differently than they might have in the past:
-lower future return expectations
-higher taxes
-more reasonable personal withdrawal rates (the amount of money taken out of their portfolio that can be sustained in retirement)
- and assume a higher cost of living...

The ones who can make the math work using more reasonable assumptions about the future are retiring happily. The ones where the math can't work; continue to stay employed.

[Traveler II]

Well put.

[Triguy]

Thanks. I hope i didn't just hijack your thread. I'd also be interested in hearing some of the stories from those around here getting ready to retire.

[mjones12]

Good points, Triguy. My plan is to make a move as soon as I'm old enough to supplement my retirement investments with social security, if it still exists in the next four years. I'm tired of working and ready to retire, even if it means making significant lifestyle revisions. As long as I'm able to live comfortably and still afford to go camping, I'm outta there.

[Hatchet58]

Originally Posted by Traveler II

We retired 12 years ago. During that time the economy has been all over the place. We’ve managed to navigate the hurdles and are doing OK and enjoy ourselves. We travel about a 1/3 of a year in our 5th wheel, (Cardinal).

I was thinking that if I had to make the decision now to retire or not I’m not sure what I would do. I’d be pulled between knowing I was getting older and would want to enjoy good health and do somethings I want to do, versus waiting.

I have to agree with you, retire and ENJOY Life. I watched my dad work until he was 73, he retired after Mom died. He passed away 3 mothes ago not doing the things they had Planed, Like being snow birds... I my self want to retire when the wife turnsd 62, I will be 59 (I'm 52 now) and I'm able to retire when I'm 56 ( I'll have 43 years Goverment service) and I have seen first hand why Not to work longer..
Last year we did our first Long trip in our RV, Colorado and back, and we enjoyed every part of it, No big Hurry to get there drive no more then 6 hours a day, take it slow and Back roads most of the way, Kind of like Life, Dont go Fast, slow and easy and ENJOY
and Yes, You do have to Plan ( wish I learned that when I was in my 20's) But I was in time to refi the house down to a 15, and it will be paid off Befor I retire..

[pondlady]

I sold my business after Katrina and have not looked back. I am 69 years old. Donna still has her practice and does not want to give it up completely yet. She is 64. But she is working only three days a week and taking two months a year for traveling.

I only worked throughout my life to feed my travel addiction. If I wanted to take a year off, I would sell my business at the time and start over when I got back.

After the Katrina dust settled, I was bored and needed a few bucks for a TT and TV, so started day trading. Come to find out I like it and can do it from the road. I also write for garden magazines and take photos as well. That's something else I can do on the road. If we could sell our house, we would be full timers now.
So retirement? Yes, but with a bit of work on the side.

[Hipshot]

I agree with Hatchet 58. I saw my grandfather and father work until they couldn't then retire and pass away in a few years. I decided years ago I would retire as soon as I could. I took a simplistic view about retirement.

1. Determine what you want to do in retirement, be realistic. (I believe most people don"t know what they are going to do)
2. What will it cost. (Be conservative, it will cost more than you think)
3. Pay off debts
4. Get the money (pensions, savings, stock market)
5.When you have the money, income, retire (retirement should not be connected to some arbitrary age)
6. Enjoy life (set up a annual budget and STICK WITH IT, mine goes out 35 years, you don't want to outlive your money and be the greeter at Walmart)

I retired 16 months ago at 63, should have retired at 62. The falling economy spooked me. I think most people fail to plan for retirement and depend soley on social security and are shocked when they see what it pays.
just my 2 cents

[crocus]

We retired as soon as it was feasible, and were lucky to do it at 55. We could have worked another 5 years and had a few more bucks to spend, but my body was telling me it was time to relax. We just live within our means (although we are splurging on a month in Costa Rica this winter).

[revrnd]

I'm officially retired from GM the end of the month. Due to my plant being slated for closure a month after our CBA was ratified. GM was forced by Labour Relatons to settle a lawsuit. As a result 3,600 of the Truck Plant employees that had @ least 26 years of service could grow into retirement rather tahn bumping 3,600 junior employees @ the Car Plant next door. I had 28 years when I left.

I had always planned on retiring when I reached 30 years. My grandfather worked until he was 65 & retired w/ 42 years. He died 3 years later.

My father retired @ age 55 w/ 34 years in there as a draftsman. He passed away earlier this after 22 years of enjoyable retirement.

Hopefully mine will be as good as my father's. Buying the TT was part of my plan to see more of North America that what I've already seen.

I haven't had any problems adjusting as I was not enjoying the work I had been doing the last few years & I was dealing w/ 2 supervisors that were universally despised. I have several activities that I participate in, so finding something to do, isn't a problem.

[old guys]

I retired about 2-1/2 years ago due to health reasons. Mostly my wifes but after 37 yrs. and new owners where I worked and who's policies I just didn't agree with I retired at 60. We bought our trailer and a truck to tow it with and haven't regretted it yet. There are times when it gets tight and I think about getting a part time job but we have been able to cut back and get through the difficulties so far. If I had to do it over again I would retire just the same or maybe even earlier. We have learned we don't need all we thought we did, our health and lives seem so much better, we have seen places we never thought we would and met some great people. Our only regret is that we didn't plan to do this till 65 so we can't afford to travel as much as we would like but on the other hand; if I had worked longer I might not have been able to travel at all or even been here. Now we have nothing but time to enjoy every day as best we can. I would say everyone needs to make there own decision based on their own circumstances but things like your and your loved ones health and personal enjoyment should be weighted a little heavier in favour of retiring. Old Guys

[jimh]

I retired 1.2yrs ago. I didn't see that It would cost more to b retired. We tend to spend more because of the extra time.
I wasn't concerned abt the economy; it will never b perfect.
Just don't do what my inlaws have done and work into their 80's then have health issues that prevents them from traveling.it also keeps everyone Close in case something happens to them.

[whitebb]

I retired this year after 42 years as a Telephone man (Telecommunications Man) New title. The wife also retired. I am 66 and we have been on road since June. We are enjoying it very much.

[Dakota EV]

My wife and I start thinking about retirement about 10 years ago. We put a plan together that hopefully will see us through retirement. She retired this year and I am planning on retiring next year when I hit 62. We purchased our truck earlier this year and then bought a new 2011 V-Lite 30 foot travel trailer. We have already taken 6 short trips this year to shake down the camper and get comfortable with it. Our plans are that next year when I retire we will plan a longer trip of about 30 days out west somewhere (not sure of exact location yet).

As far as our retirement income goes Linda retired with a pension. I will have a pension from my current company plus two other smaller pensions from two other companies that I worked for. I also plan to take my Social Security at 62 plus we both have our 401's. We have managed to purchase a seperate house near the beach that we have discussed selling for retirement if needed. We also will have our main house paid off next year. We have only one credit card, which will be paid off at the end of this year and no other credit/charge accounts.

I am no expert at this but we have tried to plan for retirement instead of letting it sneak up on us. Our plans are to camp in as many places as we can while our health is good enough to travel. There are a lot of beautiful places in these United States that we have only seen in films and pictures but we would like to see them in person.

[jimh]

We were debt free and had a little more take home without touching the 401k. Wasn't expecting to replace a vehicle one yr after retirement. Now I'm hitting it but believe it will perpetual at the rate of withdrawal.
Eventhough we hear of the bad economy, actual return on investment has out performed cd over the life.
Just keep in mind, the unexpected happens; have a ready reserve somewhere.
We have made several trips sense retirement. Would like to revisit sd again. Maybe nx yr.