OT: Is it time to retire

[bzar]

if you decide to retire, do all of your dental work, glasses and medical prior to leaving while you're still an employee.

you can also ask HR what benefits you will have in retirement such as if there's a pension involved, they can create the future projections about what you can expect each year and the timing.

you mentioned you're "over 60". if you can delay your social security benefit distributions to age 67, your future social security distributions can be much higher. unless you are married and your spouse is still working, it might be worth waiting til 67. your HR dept can also provide projections on that too - delaying vs. collecting right away.

[adawn]

Originally Posted by Usia

If for whatever reason they retired before 65 and don't have health insurance through their spouse, they most likely spend their money on health insurance until they're eligible for Medicare. In my case it's almost $1000 per month. Other than that, I too am spending less than when I was working. I'm planning to throw myself a big "Welcome to Medicare" party this December!

I bet December can't come soon enough!

My sister-in-law and my brother finally got married last year (they've been in a happy, monogamous relationship living in the same house for about a decade). Part of the marriage discussion/choice was because she wanted to retire early at age 62 and needed health coverage for the 3 years until she reached 65. The industry my brother is in normally provides health coverage to domestic partners/significant others but the current company he works for (which is otherwise a fantastic company) does not cover partners/significant others unless you're married. Anyways, between the health coverage and the apparent tax benefits, they finally got (happily) married last year. Each had gone through a divorce in the past; not sure if that is why they never bothered getting married until the early retirement health insurance issue came up.

[bzar]

also - shop around regarding Medicare coverage. apparently, there are a number of authorized medicare plan "dealers" with different packages. If you have medical coverage in retirement from your employer or your spouse's employer, you'd need to coordinate coverage with your medicare plan to optimize your benefits.

[Demeris]

Oh, as others have noted, you will have to pay for health insurance yourself, if you retire before 65. Currently, I pay close to $900 a month for health insurance. When I hit 65, that will drop a bit (right now it looks like it might be cut in half—but I'm still two years out), so I'll be getting a little raise then.

[Joni O]

Originally Posted by Usia

If for whatever reason they retired before 65 and don't have health insurance through their spouse, they most likely spend their money on health insurance until they're eligible for Medicare. In my case it's almost $1000 per month. Other than that, I too am spending less than when I was working. I'm planning to throw myself a big "Welcome to Medicare" party this December!

I had health insurance through my company for a few years after retirement, then they did away with it and I paid $900 a month for a few years. Lovin’ Medicare now!

[Taramisu]

Originally Posted by bubbles76

I want to quit right now, but I have at least 15 more years till I can . Have you crunched all the numbers? Would you feel comfortable sticking it out another six months if you made your own preparations (masks, hand sanitizer, etc.)?

Oh amen to this...I so wish I could just retire right now, but I probably have 10-13 years left.

Either that or I need to consider a different field or something....need to figure it out I guess.

To the OP, I would crunch the numbers as others are suggesting and see if you can pull it off. Good luck....

[ddj]

Originally Posted by Gams

I couldn’t wait to retire. When I found out my Social Security check would be $500 a month more than I was making working full time, I told my boss right away that I was retiring.

Am I the only one confused about how you can make more money taking social security than when working? My DH will make so much less I fear I will have to get a job to cover my insurance (I'm younger than he is.)

[bzar]

Originally Posted by ddj

Am I the only one confused about how you can make more money taking social security than when working? My DH will make so much less I fear I will have to get a job to cover my insurance (I'm younger than he is.)

it can if you made more $$ in a previous job.

create a social security account so that you can make sure they're tracking all of your wages that you're currently earning. your account will also allow you to project how much you will get depending on when you begin to take distributions. past earnings will dictate what you will receive. someone might be at a lower salary job compared to the past, which may explain why SS distribution is more than the current salary.

not sure i understand your last sentence, but if you're married, one of you would have to work until 67 in order to maximize your SS distributions. if he is still working and you can be covered on his medical, check to see what that would entail by having his HR department assist you with that.

[Hsim]

Thanks everyone for all the great suggestions and tips. I am going to have to weigh the pros and cons of this for awhile. I am sure I'm going to be going back and forth on this. One thing I really want to do is go to the eye doctor to get a new pair of reading glasses and a new pair of contact lenses. When I called my doctor's office I found out they are still closed.
No matter what, I am not working past December. I also work with someone that I cannot stand ….. so looking forward to never seeing that face again. And of course the boss is friendly with her which is so wrong.

[Gams]

ddj,

As a widow, I am able to collect SS off my husband’s income and he made considerably more than I did.