In Retirement

Old age has its many downsides, but there are a few perks when you hit the “Golden Oldies” era.
The first time I remember one applying to me was years ago when I stopped by Taco Bell to pick up a quick lunch. The counter guy asked if I wanted a drink and when I declined, with a wink and a smile he said, “They’re free for seniors.” I was about 55 at the time, so I went home with a burrito and a bruised ego.

As Jonathan and others have pointed out, I apparently think differently about retirement, investing, money and yes, budgets and spreadsheets. Based on some past articles on HD, I also think differently about children’s college, and spending priorities, even travel, but at this age it is what it is.
Rick Connor’s analogy between satellites and retirement planning amazed me. I doubt I could compare with the Wright brothers, perhaps not even a hot air balloon – remind me to tell the story about us riding in a balloon and crashing in the Arizona dessert. 

WE’VE BEEN TAKING stock of our nomadic life. We’re quite happy living as we are. But we’re also conscious that things could change at any time for multiple reasons, and we’re ready to shift gears if needed.
We aren’t exactly “living the dream”—because being nomadic was never our dream. We hadn’t even thought about it until a few months before we started our travels. We officially uprooted ourselves—meaning we sold our Houston home—after we’d been away from the place for most of the first year of my retirement.

Many of us have an idyllic vision of what retirement will be like—endless days of relaxation and recreation.  But the rules of retirement are being re-written. This will come as no surprise given the changes in our culture and nation’s economy during the past several years.  It may also be a little unsettling to some, as there was some comfort in the knowledge that, after decades of working, you could retire and enjoy your remaining years in peace and tranquility.

In the 80’s when I started to learn about investing and mutual funds I would devour magazines and books on the subject. I even fell for some goofy newsletter that claimed to have market timing figured out. Now at age 72, with investments in index funds I’ve lost my passion for ways to get rich quick. I’m content with my investment mix, just doing the minimum to manage allocations.
I used to stay on top of changes to tax law each year and did my best to convey pertinent information to my friends and clients.

Be careful what you ask for or at least understand it.
The words “living wage” keep popping up in my reading, even on HD, but mostly on social media when complaining about pay. It’s also a good trigger phrase in politics.
Everyone should earn a living wage we may be told. Of course, typically without understanding what that means, how it could be achieved or the possible consequences. 
After I wrote the following, I read and re-read it and concluded I was going in circles.

I had lunch with some friends from my old company last week and we discussed their retirement plans.  Many are delaying Social Security until FRA (full retirement) at age 67 or until age 70 to take advantage of the 24% increase over FRA.  The conversation then turned to strategies to bridge the 2-5 year gap between retiring and applying for SS.
If you delayed or plan to delay Social Security, how did you/will you bridge the gap between retiring and applying for SS? 

Your last day of work was Friday. You wake up Saturday morning and you are retired, just another retiree, a 65 year old senior citizen perhaps and some people instantly perceive you as low income as well, just because you are retired. 
But what is really different? You are still you, your personality has not changed, your habits have not changed, what you like or dislike hasn’t changed. You still like some people and others not so much. 

I’ve always been a growth investor. But as retirement nears I’ve been questioning whether it is better to stay investing for growth and sell some of it monthly for income or to invest in dividend paying stocks or stock funds for income.
Which is a better path to take and why? Thank you all as always for your input

There’s an excellent article in today’s WSJ by Jonathan. Enjoy.
 

I make no recommendations, no suggestions, no nothing, but ask what people conclude for themselves. Does the following make any sense under any scenario?
I used the SSA Quick Calculator and the SSA life expectancy table
Worker with Social Security average earnings of $75,000 
Starting worker only benefits at age 70: $2578 per month 
Starting worker only benefits at age 66: $1923 per month
Monthly additional benefit starting at age 70: $665
Accumulated benefits not claimed from age 66 to 70: $91,824 
Estimated value of age 66 monthly benefit if invested monthly to age 70 at 7% per year: $108,751.03
Estimated monthly income from accumulated assets using 4% rule: $362.50
Life expectancy at age 70: Male 13.69 years.

I have a decision to make over the next year or two. Money is certainly involved, but it’s not primarily a financial decision.
Currently, our daughter is living with us while she saves up money to buy her own townhouse or condo. She’s a huge lover of cats (understatement of the year). A few years ago, I noticed the jet-black feral cat that hung out across the street at our neighbors’ home was carrying a kitten around by the neck.

It’s ignoring connections and applying the reality of connections to strategic thinking.
Pretty heady stuff, eh?  Not really, just common sense or more realistically, cents. We are talking about what we say we want and the consequences of getting it. 
Corporate profits are much maligned by some people – greedy, too high and all that. Yet profits are what drive stock prices and whether they realize it or not most Americans depend on good performance in the stock market.

My wife is retired and I will be retiring at the end of the year.  With pensions and SS we will have all of our expenses covered.         We have 300k in IRA accounts.  (50% Roth,50% Traditional) .  I don’t like the idea of buying an annuity so I am considering investing in Dividend stocks for additional income and reinvesting the income until the time would possibly come in the future that we might choose to use the income.

According to the Federal Reserve, 64% of current retirees age 65 and older have a defined benefit pension. That includes me and today (last work day of the month) is payday as Connie calls it. Our “house” checking account as it’s labeled, is replenished. The pension deposit has not changed in fifteen years and will not change in the future.
The second and fourth Wednesdays are also paydays when our Social Security arrives at our bank.