Your retirement plans . . .

[robav8r]

Wanted to start a thread on final retirement. Not from the military, but your decision to stop working for good, find your forever place/house, etc. I am 61 and about 4-5 years away from final retirement. I could stop working now, I make enough to pay all my bills and maintain my current standard of living, but want to keep working and pad my retirement accounts until I start taking SS at age 66 or so. I currently own a nice place in Loudoun Country and enjoy Northern Virginia (my son and his wife live in Reston), but want to find a less expensive place to find my final home.

Lots of gouge out there about when to start taking SS, Medicare strategies, financial planning considerations, etc.

I thought we could share info, stories and sources of information on best places to live (crime, cost of living, airport and amenity accessibility), etc.

Thanks . . .

 

[mad dog]

I don’t have anything to add other than “Good topic, dude!”. I’ll be 60 in a few months so I’ll be interested in what people have to say here.

 

[Griz882]

My original plan was to work until 66 + and retire at full Social Security. But…changes at work and some personal issues pushed me out of a door I was already standing in and I retired from federal service just months shy of 64. I won’t take SS until I reach full age (the money difference is just too obvious this close but I do hope to find some part-time work for the next few years. The biggest factor for me was knowing, and I mean KNOWING, my financials were inflation proof. Between my military retirement, federal retirement, and savings I’m all set so SS will simply be easy money.

I left Alexandria, VA about a month ago (I’ve never understood all the old people here who cling to their four story, nothing-but-stairs, old town homes around here) and have semi-somewhat-temporarily-maybe-permanently settled in New Hampshire to be close to my son. All things considered, I’d rather be in Colorado where I grew up and have extended family. NH is lovely. I’m 15 minutes to the Griz-O-Copter, 20 minutes to the beach, 45 to the nearest (decent) ski slope, and an hour to the big city of Boston. We’ll see if it takes.

 

[robav8r]

The biggest factor for me was knowing, and I mean KNOWING, my financials were inflation proof. Between my military retirement, federal retirement, and savings I’m all set so SS will simply be easy money.

This 👆👆👆

Hyper-focused on this as well. Right now, my plan is to take SS at age 66 - four years from this May. Also considering buying a couple of hours of a really, really good financial planner/professional to sanity check my plan now before I pull the trigger on my "strategy."

 

[SynixMan]

I fly with a lot of the near-retirement crowd in the Airlines. Seems like location is #1 and everything revolves around that. Either moving near adult children (or getting away from them and going to someplace warm and cheap like FL, NC, SC, GA, AZ). Seems like you likely rode the NOVA real estate elevator up, so you probably have good equity, but if you want to move to a townhouse or something smaller, it's a wash since NOVA is still going up.

 

[ChuckMK23]

Similar to Griz, taking a GS job late career was the smartest decision I could have made. Bought back nearly 10 years of military service in FERS, and I vest in under 2 years (vesting in FERS is 5 years of civil service). I consolidated all my corporate career 401K's into TSP (significantly lower expense ratios). I only need a Second-Class medical to hold this job. The real focus for me is staying healthy and reasonably flt.

My plan is to retire 31 December after my 65th birthday - and that's still 5 years away. The question is of course, then what? I own a relatively spacious condo in a community I like that is very affordable tax / HOA wise. Winters are not fun here to be sure - but for 3 months of the year and with 6+ weeks of leave every year, It's easy to take trips south and my job is very low key in the winter months if I want it to be. The GF is younger, so she is not ready to pull chocks out of the area either - she has kids in college at Ohio State. My two sons are local now here which is nice.

The big question is how to keep your brain and body engaged after retirement. Maybe I need to purchase a Griz-O-Copter. All I know is I don't ever want to be one of those CAE sim instructors who are pushing 80 and still working because they need to support 3 younger ex's!

I'll need my SS income - and I go back and forth on the calculus on when to take it - 65 or wait to 66 or 67. Will have to see what the world looks like.

I have a former HT-18 fellow squadronmate IP who took early retirement from airlines and down at The Villages in Florida having a grand ol' time as a single guy. Maybe that's the life - lol.

 

[JTS11]

This 👆👆👆

Hyper-focused on this as well. Right now, my plan is to take SS at age 66 - four years from this May. Also considering buying a couple of hours of a really, really good financial planner/professional to sanity check my plan now before I pull the trigger on my "strategy."

I hadn't heard of an hourly/fee based financial planner, but it sounds like a good idea (especially if you're reasonably financially savvy, and want to manage your own investments at a lower expense fee/commission).

Just curious what the range of rates would be for that service?

 

[Brett327]

I'm about 1.5 years out from Navy retirement. which will put me at 35 years active duty. Dream 2.0 for me is to return to the PNW, get some formal education in Enology and Viticulture and dive into the winemaking world somewhere in WA or OR. I've selected a school and a program in Walla Walla and am monitoring the real estate scene there. My retirement will mean that I wont have to work, so this endeavor will be purely a passion project. Winemaking can be a full time gig, or seasonal, so my desire for extracurriculars, like spending a portion of the year traveling, can be accommodated.

As a 53 year old bachelor, I haven't had to think a whole lot about finances or medical stuff, though I feel pretty well-invested, generally, and will be able to pay cash for my next house. Will certainly be an interesting transition... back to school for a few years, then entry level work initially. I'm looking forward to perhaps putting down roots, getting a pet, being able to randomly road trip or backpack for a week here and there when the mood strikes me... and making some non-Navy friends, be in a working band again, etc. My time here on Kauai has taught me the importance of the Chamber of Commerce and how much City/County government matters to small business, and I hope to continue that effort wherever I land.

Pretty excited about what that future holds.

 

[JTS11]

Honestly, if I make it to the grave as a retiree, and not have been 'pig butchered', I will have considered it a success. 😄

Seriously though, I have a brother in Federal LE who works these cases, and the stories I've heard are sad, and somewhat scary. Pig butchering is one. Another one is a retired couple who were set to pay cash for their dream retirement home. On closing day, they were sent instructions from the title company on wiring info. Well, that title company's email system had long been compromised by overseas hackers. They were reading everything, and spoofed an e-mail to the couple with fraudulent wiring instructions, and basically drained their life savings...to an overseas account. I think they were able to recover a little, but not most. Pretty sad if you ask me.

Not sure if this post necessarily lines up with the topic. Just saying, be careful out there.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Several months ago I talked with the financial guy where I have some investments and was pleasantly surprised that if I retire at age 67 I will be quite comfortable. If I continue doing what I have been doing I should be able to cover all bills and have money for enjoying life with just my retirement/VA disability, which means my 401K and other investments will just be a safety net.

I had originally thought we would move to Idaho/Montana around retirement and I would rent out our house, however talking to those who currently have or have had rentals in Washington and all the headaches they have had when they get a bad renter it just isn't worth it, several have had nearly a year of no income while the eviction process goes through the court so that plan is off the table. I have also become more involved with the VFW and American Legion which has been more rewarding than I thought it would be which has tied me to the area more than I thought.

It looks like all my kids will be staying local so that is another reason to not be moving, and I do want to stay active when I do retire so that could be as simple as going to the gym each day, working in the garden then doing volunteer work.

I am also not set on retiring at 67, my parents kept working until their late 70's and not because they had to but because they both enjoyed their work, if I am still enjoying what I do I might work past 67 and just take some extra vacation time each year.

 

[hlg6016]

I'm in this one for the knowledge, I Gotta give the city about 5 more years to get on a better footing financially. And I'll rate SS at 67. I don't plan on going any where and Boston area has the best medical care available since I'm not getting any younger. Time will tell.

 

[RobLyman]

I was going to work for a few years after my recent military retirement, but decided to take a year off. I am enjoying it. I have a military retirement 52%, GS retirement 24%, VA disability that's up there, and turned 60 last month. I won't say they are inflation proof, but they do have COLA increases. I also have TSP and a few 401ks from my civilian life. I am seriously thinking of taking SS early. A few health issues have me thinking I want to enjoy myself while I can, before any other issues seriously limit my physical mobility. I am living in my dream home for now, 1 acre that is 585' from the St Johns River, but I may downsize in the future.

 

[robav8r]

I have enough from Navy retirement (Final pay @ 38 yrs) and VA Disability to pay all my bills and live very comfortably. SS, whenever I take it will only sweeten the pot. My plan is to explore the world and travel as much as possible with dividends from my portfolio, never touching principal. So far, so good. Because my son and his wife will be staying in, or close to the DMV, I’m fairly certain we’ll be staying in NOVA for the near future. We bought our house at the beginning of COVID at an almost criminal mortgage rate. VA has a nice state tax deduction for military retirees - 20% for 2023, going up to 40% in 2025.

Also - no plans to stop working completely when I retire, just something enough to keep me active and feel relevant. I’m also fairly passionate about volunteering. I found an organization that provides school lunches free of charge to young kids (Generosity Feeds) and would love to help more with that. I’m also providing leadership/mentorship engagements to high school kids. Having more time to volunteer and give back to community is very important to me.

 

[Griz882]

I hadn't heard of an hourly/fee based financial planner, but it sounds like a good idea (especially if you're reasonably financially savvy, and want to manage your own investments at a lower expense fee/commission).

Just curious what the range of rates would be for that service?

Typically most of them will go over your financials free of charge (it is a two hour process) and then try to sell you a product - like their financial management services. It is well worth the time.

 

[JTS11]

Typically most of them will go over your financials free of charge (it is a two hour process) and then try to sell you a product - like their financial management services. It is well worth the time.

It's worth the time...unless, at the end, you agree to purchase a 'mutual fund' that requires you take a physical. 😄

I learned that as a stud in P'Cola, and didn't bite.

I do believe some people would benefit from reputable financial mgmt services, while others can go it alone...depending on their circumstances.