As someone who had the good luck and opportunity to be able to retire early (58), I'd like to throw a couple of cents worth of opinion into the discussion.
You're absolutely right when it comes to health care: it is the most critical factor. If you have a plan that will take you through to Medicare, you are one leg up.
As for Social Security, one never knows when your last payment will be coming, so while you can calculate the theoretical breakeven point, who knows if you'll get there.
The points you made about investments are generally sound, but there is a rather new thought about asset allocation in retirement that runs counter to previous "rules". It is explained rather thoroughly here:
http://www.aaii.com/journal/article/reduce-stock-exposure-in-retirement-or-gradually-increase-it.touch
or more briefly here:
http://time.com/money/2795170/plan-for-the-critical-first-decade-of-retirement/
It makes for worthwhile reading in either case.
Finally, enjoy doing the things you love & like early in retirement, whether it is going to playing with the grandkids, casinos, traveling, cruising, etc. Just as we don't know about that last SS payment, we also don't know how active we're going to be after 5, 10 or 15 (or hopefully 20, 30, 40) years.
It is a time to enjoy, you've earned it!
Certainly the game is rigged. Don't let that stop you; if you don't bet, you can't win. -Lazarus Long
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is. -Yogi Berra
There is no such thing as luck. There is only adequate or inadequate preparation to cope with a statistical universe. -Robert Heinlein
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From: "Glenn Chee TedChee@aol.com [vpFREE]" <vpFREE@yahoogroups.com>
To: vpFREE@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, February 14, 2015 9:29 PM
Subject: [vpFREE] Retirement & its impact
I've been retired for several years now so I thought I'd share a few observations:
Health care: should be number one for most people. It ought to play a large role in where you live after retirement especially if you have good health care where you are compared to where you want to retire to. Remember to apply for Medicare 3 months before your 65th birthday.
Social Security: most of us hope to have more than SS to look forward to, some will have only SS, & some will be close with a few quarters to go. This is addressed to those with a few quarters to go. If you can honestly justify filing as a pro, this might be a good enough reason to do it to qualify for SS which is also the qualification for Medicare. If you already qualify for SS & don't need the money, consider waiting till 70, because benefits increase 8% a year after your 100% year. If you're married study "file & suspend" & spousal pay options.
Income other than SS: like pensions, investments hopefully you have. But many of us have to continue working. If you have a pension, generally the "buyout" annuity is a bad idea. If you have investments, don't put all your eggs in one basket but also don't have too many baskets. What can substitute for other income in casino towns like LV & Reno are the many ways in which casino points can be used for every day needs ranging from food to pharmacy to car repairs to gift cards for just about every vendor & this is all non-conventional income. Of course there's always the job.
Gotta go to dinner. Time for others to share their thoughts.
Sent from my iPad
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Posted by: GURU PERF <guruperf@att.net>
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