Reply to How much to retire in late 50's?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote]To the PP in my situation, what's your plan? How to fund, what income do you require for spending? The Fidelity calculator says we run out of money in our 90's, if we live that long. So not it's not just me being anxious. My assumptions do account for a couple of new cars in our future and health care, LTC. I can mess with the market performance expectations and make it work, or lower the life expectancies, or ignore that the ACA exchanges price health care in the 25,000 - 40,000+ range (for PPO).[/quote]

This is the PP in your situation.  Honestly, after reviewing this thread and talking late into the night, DH and I reevaluated our situation and decided to work at least 5 more years.  He'll be 60 then, which will mean only 2 years to Social Security (because he'll be taking it at 62) and only 5 years to Medicare.  Social Security benefits will be $2,068/month for him at 62, which would cover his out-of-pocket medical insurance until he's 65.

I have a history of cancer--only 3 years out from diagnosis--and the long-term prognosis for me isn't great, so I want to balance the reality of needing enough money for retirement with the acknowledgment that I'm not going to last to 90.  If/when the cancer returns, I can take disability payments immediately, and then a year later, I qualify for Medicare based on my health condition regardless of my age.  Thus, a lowered life expectancy for me helps make our retirement plan appear healthier (ha!).  Obviously, that's not a plan you can (or would want) to follow!

As for income we require for spending, I've come to realize how much we rely on not having to worry about money.  When we met with a financial planner, he wanted to know where all our money went.  I feel we live pretty simply--mortgage is paid off on a 60-year-old house in Prince George's County, our van has over 200,000 miles on it, kids went to state schools and had academic scholarships, etc.--but we like to eat out a lot, and we enjoy vacations a few times a year.  I thought we'd be in good shape when we paid off our mortgage, but now we help pay for my MIL's housing expenses, and youngest DD is still in college at $40K/year, and so on and so forth.  Add to that a host of home improvements (e.g., roof replacement), including an upcoming renovation to prepare for aging in place, and our income is clearly slipping through our fingers.  I thought we had a healthy savings, but the planner said we should have quite a bit more based on what we make.

I think the only reason I became excited to retire early is because my sister & her DH are retiring (they're in their early sixties), and I got the retirement bug!  DH and I are going to begin keeping an eye on our spending, which we've never really done in the past 15 years or so, and we'll be more aggressive with our cash savings (e.g., invest in CDs or higher-interest accounts).  In short, we're going to put the brakes on & enjoy the fact that we have money coming in--because the thought of not having that cushion has become more of a concern than retiring early.

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