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Retirement sounded so great to me a few years ago. Now as I face the reality of it, I find myself having panic attacks. “No more income? I will end up a homeless bag lady on Main Street….” I find myself thinking.
All irrational thoughts since I will have a COLA pension supplemented by my savings and will receive social security in 18 months. These revenues will come close to matching my current net pay when I start social security.
I had planned on working until age 70. But with the ageism I face at work it’s time to go. Also, at the age of 68 I’m just tired. But a part of me is disappointed in myself for not working until age 70.
I have many projects and activities I plan to pursue in retirement. I’m not concerned about what I’ll do, but how to pay for it.
As I consider retirement I can’t help but remember that both my mother and my maternal grandmother died at age 84. My father died at age 86 and his mother at age 92. How long will I live?
Money was a charged issue in my family. Basically, my father expressed his love for his family by supporting us financially. As a child of the Great Depression, it was his way of keeping us safe and secure. Even now, I find myself feeling that buying an expensive gift for someone is a way of expressing my affection.
But I remember back when my closest friend got me a birthday present. It was a teal highlighter. We were both college students with little money. Although the highlighter did not cost much, it touched me that she had noticed that my favorite color was teal.
But teal highlighters will not pay the rest of my mortgage, which is $150,000. And I still have to get the landscaping done which I hope to pay for with my current liquid accounts.
I find myself unprepared for this transition. I plan to go to the Enrolled Agent who does my taxes for a retirement check-up. But there is still that emotional component.
How have you dealt with the emotional aspect of cutting off the paycheck and the work identity?
You are a walking contradiction. You say you worry about no income, then you say you will have the same exact income when you retire. Just do it. I love retirement. I am an A personality and I thought I would never stop working. Retired 10 years ago and still love it. I have no pension, as you do. My only income is Social Security. But fortunately I was in the financial services industry and made a lot of money. Now I have more than I could ever spend. I love being able to do what I want when I want.
KT: I am 10 years into retirement, but remember clearly having the same financial concerns as I approached retirement. How to keep the money we had safe? Would we run out of money? Would we have enough to spend to enjoy our retirement? What about assisted care when we needed it? I suspect most people have similar concerns, but unlike easing your way into a swimming pool, one day you are at work and the next you are not.
10 years on, however, I offer that my experience has been just fine. We’ve seen our investments grow, but have not significantly changed our spending. The Pandemic certainly curtailed our travel plans, but it also allowed us to finally pay off our mortgage and do a few home improvements.
Having enough money in retirement is important, but as you anticipate that your cash flow will be roughly equivalent to your work income, you should be fine. The more important issue may be: what to do with your time? Going places and spending time with friends and family becomes important. Taking care of yourself – being physically fit and practicing good health habits is even more important as you could easily have 20+ years of active retirement.
Take a deep breath and make the leap into retirement. I think you’ll be fine.
Somehow I was able to make the decision to ease into retirement. I went from full time to part time, to easy time. Easing into retirement worked for me, as I did it over a 15 year span or so, and fully retired at age 78. The important thing is to make retirement work for you. If you saved well and grew your IRA’s, along with easing into retirement, you will take the panic our of your life.
KT, I can relate to your post. We are 18 mos into our retirement and it has been an adjustment. So far things have been ok. Spouse and I are doing the finances now and it it is good to have 2 sets of eyes on things. Also, Spouse was able to work part time last year to help with the transition. They quit this year since we started turning on our various retirement income sources. I want to encourage you that you will be ok. Talking to your trusted enrolled agent is a good idea, I think. Chris