Spinoff: What kind of retirement do you want? Lifestyle, expenses, etc.

Xstatic3333

bmo88 said:

smerka said:

I am so fascinated that no one said after 65 when Medicare kicks in. My full retirement age is 67 for SS. I think insurance premiums are going to be a strong factor for us. Our policy now costs around $20,000 a year when you factor in what the employer kicks in along with our premiums. That's even more than our mortgage now. And who knows what it will look like 20 years from now.

We are in a government pension plan, so no SSI. Provided the plan holds up (we will see) we can also purchase health insurance at a fairly affordable rate. We are actually planning to not have it available though, just in case. Obviously, it's impossible to know right now, but we are planning to the best of our ability. 

H is, too. I'm trying not to bank on it since he'd need to stay with the state 10 years to be vested, and 20 to be fully vested. It's likely the lump sum could end up a better deal for us in either case. Fingers crossed they don't dismantle the plan, like they recently did in the state we actually live in. If it does work out, the health options are a huge plus.

AprilZ81

I've been so focused on saving money and making sure that we are prepared that we haven't given a lot of thought to the specifics. I'm going off my gut with these answers.

Goal Age for Retirement: 65 for DH and 63 for me

Living Situation/Location: Have our primary home paid off and possibly own a vacation home somewhere warm

Hobbies/Activities: Our hobbies aren't too physically demanding unless you count snorkeling and laying on a beach.    We like movies and reading and things that shouldn't present too much of a problem as we age.

Travel Plans: I like to travel and I would like to take a trip at least once a year, maybe more frequent in the beginning while we are (assumably) healthy enough to enjoy it.

% of pre-retirement income: I've not done the math on this, but because we want to travel I'm thinking this will need to be 90% or higher.

Work/Volunteer Situation: No idea...  I might be a poll worker or spend time with grandkids.

short+sassy

hoffse said:

We'll see if the tax laws change on it, but you can actually deduct your insurance premiums if it's not through an employer-sponsored plan and it accounts for more than 10% of your AGI.  That currently weighs into the calculation for me for how much it will actually cost in real dollars.  I don't think there's any question that medical/insurance will be our single largest line-item if we no longer have a mortgage in retirement.

I would also not be opposed to leaving the country and moving to some place where health care costs aren't astronomical.  My H maintains his Belgian citizenship, so it would be fairly easy for us to move to the EU, because he could legally work without having to go through any red tape.

One of my former tenants were a couple from France.  They love it in the U.S. and have made it their permanent home.  But they talked about, after they retire, they might need to move back to France just for medical care reasons.  Can't say I blame them!