i am 66 years and 4 months old.
My Social Security payments start next month at $3,300 per month. I currently work part-time, three days a week, as a professional engineer for $95/hr for my permanent full-time employer of 28 years. (I want to leave this position as soon as possible or soonuh.)
I currently have about $1.6 million in retirement accounts. My wife (60 years old) has about $600,000 in various regular and retirement accounts. We have a 16 year old daughter at home who attends high school and college in a dual enrollment program. If she stays with the program, she will have her bachelor’s degree at age 19. While she is in high school she attends colleges and we do not pay tuition while she is in high school.
Our monthly expenses are about $9,000-10,000 per month including health insurance for my wife and daughter. We own our modest single-family home without a mortgage. Taxes and insurance are currently about $6,000 a year. We currently have no debt apart from an American Express and Visa which we pay off each month.
I use Medicare. I am being knocked down for a double bounty for part “B” because I am considered a high earner. The two of us are for some old farts in fair/normal health.
I want to throw in the towel on May 5 and start playing more golf. can we do it?
To see: We’re in our 60s and have lost $250,000 in our 401(k) plans – can we still retire?
Dear reader,
Congratulations on saving so much for your retirement. That alone is a great achievement!
Because I don’t have all your financial information in front of me, and I’m not a financial planner building a comprehensive plan for your retirement, I can’t say for sure if you’ll be able to retire. However, it clearly sounds like you’re doing well and you intend to. Instead of telling you to go for it or not, I’m going to offer a few things to consider before you pick up your mid irons.
More than $2 million (you and your wife’s combined savings) is a lot of money — I’m not suggesting otherwise — but when it comes to retirement, it doesn’t mean you’re automatically ready to go once you hit the million-dollar mark. There are so many factors, some of which you mentioned, such as health care and debt, as well as savings and spending.
I hammer on spending analysis a lot, but for me it’s so crucial when deciding if and how to retire. Why? Because this is something that you can largely control. That’s a pretty powerful feeling.
So my first suggestion: review those AMEX and Visa statements, as well as money coming out of any checking accounts, and make sure you’re spending as you want and need to spend. When you retire, you won’t have that part-time income, and while you may be eager to get on the green, you’ll also be stressed if you don’t have enough green in a decade or two. You’ve told me what your Social Security benefits will be and what your average monthly expenses are, but I’d suggest thinking through your expenses carefully and assessing how comfortable you’ll feel if you continue to spend that way when you retire.
Check out MarketWatch’s column “Retirement Hacks” for useful advice for your own pension savings
There’s a second part to that analysis, which is how much money you plan to withdraw from your retirement accounts. I’m not sure if your wife is still working, but either way, the more money you take out of those bills each month, the less there is available to grow over time. Taxes also come into play here depending on whether you are withdrawing from a traditional or Roth style account. Those taxes can take up a larger portion of your spending money, and may leave you with a heavier tax bill if you pay taxes.
Think about this if your daughter is also going to college. She may not be around long as she continues with her hybrid high school and college courses (which is great, by the way), but do you plan to pay her tuition, and if so, where will that money come from? Advisers tell me all the time: you can take out a loan for your studies, but not for your pension. It may be helpful to have a separate savings account dedicated to education, if you don’t already have one, or some sort of savings account such as a 529 plan so you don’t drain your retirement account for a college tuition. .
One last bit on that – plan for the unexpected. What will you do if a major expense arises? Does that money also come from a pension account or have you reserved an emergency account for it? Saving a lot of money for retirement is great, but it’s not the only task individuals have to accomplish… coming up with a plan B, and maybe even a plan C and plan D, is also necessary.
Also see: Are you planning your retirement all wrong?
Then, before you retire, check how your money is invested. What does your asset allocation look like and should it change? Don’t make changes just to make them – and certainly don’t make them just because you read that it wasn’t that hot in the markets that day – but keep in mind that this money has to grow for decades to support you and your wife , so you will have to find that balance. Contacting a qualified financial professional, such as a certified financial planner, can help you understand the best investment mix, but at least log into your account or call the company where your accounts are held and check that asset allocation.
You also mentioned that you are already on Medicare. I would suggest taking the time now – well before open enrollment – to review your current and projected future health costs and then assess how useful your current coverage is to you. I know you mentioned that you and your wife are in fair health, but if there are surgeries or services that you think you may need next year, it’s better to see which plans give you the best coverage for your situation, so you don’t pay more out of pocket than you need to. This is an exercise you don’t need to do right away, but it will definitely help you feel more prepared at the end of the year when it’s time to keep your current plan or switch to something else.
On a side note, you end up paying less in Medicare Part B premiums when your adjusted adjusted gross income falls. Those premiums are based on your tax return from two years before.
You sound like you’re on the right track, which is great. I would just warn you to tie up a few loose ends before you resign so you can play without worry.
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