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Old 10-12-20, 01:35 PM  
wishiwasinhawaii
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: NJ
I worked for the county many years ago for a couple of years. It was my first job out of college, but I thought it was boring so I left, lol. If I only knew back then what I know now... I'm 54 and when I retire, there's no pension, no reduced health insurance. My company had a pension but discontinued it after I'd only been there less than two years. I'd love to work for the government, I've looked into county, state and federal jobs, but never see anything I'm qualified for.
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Old 10-12-20, 02:52 PM  
TracyQ
 
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Donna—I get very anxious when Sunday night rolls around. I won’t miss that.

The private company I work for has really good benefits (not as good as the government though). We have a pension, 401K and depending on your age and years in get to retire with health insurance (a so-called “Cadillac“ plan but we have to pay—it’s $1000/month for myself and my husband). Still the coverage is excellent. It’s worth it to me.
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Old 10-17-20, 03:02 PM  
LAC
 
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For those of you who have retired, or will be retiring soon, did you meet with a financial planner first and did you find it helpful? DH has never really wanted to talk about retiring, but he was recently offered the opportunity for an incentive if he retires by January 1 and he is giving it consideration. Health insurance isn't an issue, he'll have coverage. He is eligible for a government pension, but there are several different payout options and we don't really feel sure about what one is right for us. I'm finding it nerve-wracking and think we need to consult a professional.
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Old 10-17-20, 03:36 PM  
annette
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Join Date: Nov 2001
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We've had a financial advisor for several years since I was laid off from my first job and wanted to take my 401K with me. Then the company offered a pension buy out and I wasn't sure what to do. I feel having the advice of a professional has put my mind at ease about several things especially now that I'm retired.

We wanted to pay off our house using some investment funds but I thought it would be better to wait until next year because of tax implications but he pointed out a few very good reasons to do it now, so we did. Obviously he makes money from our money but I feel better about our finances this way.
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Old 10-17-20, 05:17 PM  
bzar
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LAC View Post
For those of you who have retired, or will be retiring soon, did you meet with a financial planner first and did you find it helpful? DH has never really wanted to talk about retiring, but he was recently offered the opportunity for an incentive if he retires by January 1 and he is giving it consideration. Health insurance isn't an issue, he'll have coverage. He is eligible for a government pension, but there are several different payout options and we don't really feel sure about what one is right for us. I'm finding it nerve-wracking and think we need to consult a professional.
he can meet with the HR or retirement specialist of his current employer to provide estimates of what he can receive from the various payout options (assuming his current employer is the one providing the pension). this is free of charge. The HR specialist can also create a report that shows the pension distributions and add in social security distributions depending on when he plans to start collecting.

if he has a 401K-type of plan too (this is different than a pension, and governments have different names for it, such as "Thrift Savings Plan", "Tax Sheltered Annuity", Deferred Compensation Plan, 457 plan), the HR specialist could also add that to the estimated retirement income he could receive over future years.

in general, the recommendation is to delay social security as long as possible to maximize your distributions in the future. you can delay up to age 70. if he can live off of his pension for that long, this would be best.

i would get all of this data before even considering talking to a financial planner. financial planners are OK, but they tend to have a conflict of interest because they will try to get you to buy their products. at least if you meet with the HR specialist first, you will get the basic information needed and may not even need to meet with a financial planner. you can even get advice from the HR specialist for free that a financial planner would charge you for.

regarding medical coverage, even if he will be covered in retirement, make sure he signs up for medicare when he becomes eligible. his medical coverage from his former employer will coordinate benefits with medicare at the time of sign up. the reason for signing up for medicare on time is because medicare will penalize you if you fail to sign up when eligible. i learned about this in a retirement seminar.
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Old 10-17-20, 06:03 PM  
Usia
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financial planners are OK, but they tend to have a conflict of interest because they will try to get you to buy their products.
This was exactly my DH experience, except the financial planner wasn't even OK. He was a sales guy masquerading as a "financial planner" and wanted to sell us everything under the sun. If you choose to go to the financial planner make sure you check out his/her experience and credentials very carefully, educate yourselft, be skeptical and ask a lot of questions.
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Old 10-17-20, 06:45 PM  
Carol K
 
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Location: Chicago, IL
Look for a fee-only planner with the CFP credential.

https://www.napfa.org/
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Old 10-17-20, 08:51 PM  
LAC
 
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Look for a fee-only planner with the CFP credential.

https://www.napfa.org/
Thank you everyone, I appreciate all of the advice shared. After doing some internet research and a bit of reading, I think Carol's suggestion is what we need to look into.
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Old 10-18-20, 07:40 AM  
Laura S.
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Location: Raleigh, NC
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Originally Posted by LAC View Post
For those of you who have retired, or will be retiring soon, did you meet with a financial planner first and did you find it helpful? DH has never really wanted to talk about retiring, but he was recently offered the opportunity for an incentive if he retires by January 1 and he is giving it consideration. Health insurance isn't an issue, he'll have coverage. He is eligible for a government pension, but there are several different payout options and we don't really feel sure about what one is right for us. I'm finding it nerve-wracking and think we need to consult a professional.
Yes, and it was a specialized financial planner. My DH retired from the federal government and had those options of payout options. We found a financial planner in DC (where we lived then) whose firm specialized in federal government options and who DH had heard give a seminar at his agency. He was VERY good and really helped us figure out our options. He did do a pitch for MY business (I have 401Ks rather than a government pension), but it was a soft sell and did not influence the service we got. (I didn't go with his firm.) They were willing to meet with us as many times as we needed for free. It was a great experience and my DH figured out what he wanted to do.
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Old 10-18-20, 08:00 AM  
FirmDancer
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I highly recommend seeing a financial planner, a CFP !! Though I now have a job with the local county government, I did "retire" from my corporate job & sought financial advice. In fact, I spoke with 5 different firms, and I recommend doing that. Never did I feel I was being sold anything. Each firm spent at least an hour with me. But each one asked different questions, had a different perspective on money, and gave different advice. It was an incredible learning experience for me! I learned so much about money, but also myself - what my priorities are, how I want to live my life, what money-management style fits me best. So yes, talk to someone. Talk to more than one!
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