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My wife and I are 58 and 66, respectively. She’ll be retiring soon, but expects to launch herself in a new job for at least several years. I expect to continue working until just after turning 70. I’m in my dream job as the president of my local community bank. We are in our forever home enjoying single floor living. We’re both healthy and travel for a short and long vacation annually. Our four kids are launched in their careers and doing well; all live within a two-hour drive. One parent is receiving home care and she is well-covered by two LTC policies and ample savings.I’m delaying social security until I turn 70. If you could wind your life back to four years before retirement, do you have any wisdom to share on what you might have done differently to prepare for retirement?
Hire out any work that involves a ladder!
Wear an Apple watch (and verify ‘Fall Detection’ is turned on).
If the price of an Apple watch seems steep, for those like me who use an Android phone there are smart watches with health monitoring available for $50. I got one for my spouse and because of my very frequent labs I wore it and compared it to the official medical measurements (heart rate, BP and oxygen). It was accurate. If I got what seemed to be a blood pressure reading that was “off” I simply took another measurement or two. My spouse, who has a blood pressure issue now uses it and compares to a cuff on occasion.
Michael, You will get there soon enough, if not already there. Change your currency from money to your time and health. Good Luck
I’d make sure I have enough $ sooner than when you plan to retire. You’re probably fine but most in Corporate America employees may get “retired” by their employer many years earlier than planned. And by enough, I also mean whether you stay married or separate (sorry to be Debbie Downer). I’d also shift more tax deferred assets to Roth. I’d start good health habits as soon as possible. I’d invest in strong relationships and community.
I had traditional IRAs, ROTHs, and a 457 savings plan through my county employment. I would have put more into my ROTH, and, as a veteran I should have checked on buying my service early in my career to have added time to my pension, as later it got too expensive. I didn’t know that buying it was available at my county level.
Thanks John! You make a great point about applying eligible military service toward a pension. I was a state employee for 12 years and had four and a half years of active duty, 18 months of which could be credited toward my pension. The state made me purchase the military service early in my career for which I’m very thankful.
I probably would have done Roth conversions far earlier. The closer you get to retirement age, the less value they have.
Oh yeah – and if I go back to a time long before the last four years, I would have done these three things: (1) buy a lot of Microsoft stock in 1997 and hold it; (2) buy a lot of Apple before 9/11 and hold it; and (3) buy a lot of Berkshire Hathaway stock any time during the 1980s and hold it.
Just to emphasize a step you have already taken: match your living situation to where you see your physical needs down the road. If you have bad knees in your 50s, one-level living should be your goal, switch out toilets for taller ones, replace carpets with walker-friendly flooring. Also, don’t leave a mess for your heirs. Get a handle on your possessions and make your estate plan comprehensive, accessible and shared with those who need to know.
Thank you! We have modified two of our three bathrooms to new, better -located sinks and vanities. We have the master bathroom to tackle with the removal of a tub and the installation of an expanded, no or low-lip shower. We are minimalists with nothing in our attic and just holiday decorations in our full basement. I was the executor for my parents’ estates and saw first-hand how ugly things could get when nine children share the estate equally.
In retirement there are “Go Go Years” “Slow Go Years” and “No Go Years.” If you have the resources, don’t cut short your “Go Go Years.” By extending your working years you are only eating into your “Go Go Years.”
Thanks William. I would agree with you if I was doing work that I didn’t enjoy or I was denying myself time with family and friends, or I didn’t take awesome vacations with my wife and kids.
I agree totally with this. Go go years tend to be during the years you are in your 60s. I’ve seen many friends that I thought were in good shape to continue those years well into their 70s don’t due to reason or another- chronic condition/illness, disease diagnosis, etc. I would say if you have the resources to retire, to consider going earlier than later. Not too many folks on their deathbed state they wished they had worked longer…
Invest time and money in maintaining fitness and health.
Michael, I would say prepare NOW to retire at ANY time, not just the 4 year plan. I hope you can and do hang in there for the timeframe you’ve established but be flexible to go earlier. If god forbid a health issue or career set back happens, you might need to accelerate your timeline. Just be ready.
Also, start planning your post work activities. Volunteer work, board positions with groups you care about, part-time work/ consulting, fitting into family and grandkids schedules and travel. Since retiring 20 months ago, I’ve stayed so busy, I wonder how I ever had time to work! Good luck.
Thank you! I think we’re well-covered financially with two pensions and future social security. My pension also provides full Medicare reimbursement for the two of us. I’m thinking I need to carefully ramp up some of the activities that I’ll be pursuing in retirement. No grandchildren just yet, but my wife and I have been dropping a lot of hints.
From your post and comments, you seem to be well prepared to meet health and financial needs in retirement. However, I have seen some retirees struggle because they miss their colleagues and a busy career. They search for a purpose. You have some time to mentally prepare for this.
There are several HD articles on this subject. Example: https://humbledollar.com/2024/10/begin-by-quitting/
Thank you Sundar for the link. I am trying to figure out exactly what you cite, here and in your post; how do I avoid that loss of identity with something creative and meaningful? It doesn’t have to necessarily involve a new income stream. I may not figure this out until I’m in retirement.
If this is a real concern, if you even think about it, then I submit that you may not be ready to retire. You shouldn’t have to work at being retired or plan every day. And your identity should be more than your job and I bet it is. Ask your wife.
That’s right Michael, and while I agree with the advice to think about it, nothing says you have to have it all figured out before you retire, or that you can’t change your mind.
Thanks Michael. I’ve always been someone who had a couple of options in front of him before taking that next career transition. I think I may need to take this leap with some things in place and give myself permission to adjust as we go along. I worked about 20 years in the Air Guard, as town selectman, and state representative while doing banking full-time. The future drop-off from the sole job is a challenge.
Exercise more with advice from a personal trainer.
You are not doing it for your 66 yo self.
You are exercising for your 70 yo self.
And you sleep better too.
Thank you Winston! I’m working to get 10,000 steps in daily. New England weather is working against me right now. I like your perspective of doing this for my 70 year old version.
IMHO, doing steps isn’t enough. Think core and upper body strength. Work on balance. Consider your endurance.
Thanks Jeff! Point well taken. Prior to our pandemic, I had belonged to our local fitness center and was alternating between machines for upper and lower body workouts. I need to get back there.
Health can be fleeting. I would keep that in mind. Sudden, drastic changes can occur. For example, my spouse has suffered with a chronic illness for 15 years. I was the opposite, fit and very healthy. Then in 2022 a grave illness occurred, and I was diagnosed with a rare, inoperable and deadly cancer (15% survival rate). That ended my “fit as a fiddle” life. After two years of treatment, I’ve been diagnosed as stable and my medical leash has increased in length. But the go-go years are over for me. Nevertheless, I’m able to do a lot, but not as I did prior to 2022. Today G and I are more equal in terms of stamina, etc. I have no regrets, but I do miss water sports.
I began a phased retirement at age 67, but continued to work somewhat for another 10 years. That approach allowed me ample time to plan for full retirement and we did a lot of travel, too. We took G’s parents on several trips which were on their bucket lists. I was able to up my volunteering. At age 67 we rented a small RV and visited National Parks. We like that so much we purchased one and spent the next 10 years part-time trekking all over the U.S. We set up two “lily pads” to stay for extended periods and we continue this. We fit in a couple of cruises, too. I liked the “glide path” that doing this provided to me. I’m now about 95% retired and continue to do volunteer work, etc. The 10 years of partial retirement helped our savings and also gave us a lot of time to plan and prepare.
Thanks Norman! I understand that your healthcare diagnosis changed everything;I hope that you’re on a much more stable path for years to come. I am appreciating as I age just how fragile we are. My wife and I have visited a number of national parks; we have more identified to check out over the next few years.
Michael I’m certainly no bank president but we do have at least a couple important things in common. You have, and I had, a job that can be physically worked to age 70. Maybe more importantly is the fact that we both enjoyed the work. So many people hate their jobs. Some have crappy jobs or employers, some just have sour attitudes. I was always of the opinion that I had to work, so I may as well like it.
I don’t think I’d do anything different 4 years prior to retirement. I may have a different answer if we were talking 24 years prior.
Thanks Dan. Liking my job as much as I do and the people I work with, and for, makes the idea of early retirement not very appealing. I feel like an outlier sometimes. Seventy seems like a good age for me given good health for my wife and I.
Michael, sounds like a well-thought out plan. Most of my thoughts have already been captured in other comments. In order I think:
1) Focus on your health and fitness.
2) Do any home improvements or upgrades while still working and earning.
3) My father-in-law said buy a new, reliable car just before retirement and it will last quite a while.
4) Agree on the active travel as early as possible.
5) Talk to your wife frequently about what you want retirement to look like. Consider it a journey, not a destination, and make it what you guys want, not what others tell you.
Best of luck.
Thank you Rick! I especially appreciate your thoughts on communication with my wife. I see a lot of couples in restaurants checking out their cell phones and not talking to each other. I can see how spouses can drift apart if they’re not communicating with one another.
We engaged our financial advisor 1 year before retirement but if I had to do it over again, I would have done it 5-10 years before retirement to help with various decisions, planning and transitioning some assets. I also would have started on the steep learning curve about retirement, both financial and non financial earlier-maybe 10 years out. That said, we did OK but some of it was luck. If the market had tanked 2-5 years out, that would have impacted our plans I’m sure-we were not prepared for that. One thing I’m glad I did was start putting more in after tax accounts which was partly enabled by higher income at end of career-that really helped. On the non financial side, my wife and did some discussion about how we wanted to spend our time and that also really helped. The surprise that occurred post W2 retirement that I could not wait for due to megacorp burnout was that 6 months later I started part time consulting-that was 6 years and still doing it. I had thought of retirement as an “end” but it’s since dawned on me that it’s a beginning.
Thanks Rob! I guess I’ve been thinking that at 70 I would be done working at a traditional job. You’ve made me consider being open like you were to the possibility that just maybe I’ll want to go back to earning some money some way. I like your positive approach to it being a beginning, not an ending. Thank you.
Michael, I wish I had taken better care of myself. I always pushed myself to the limit. Now I wish I had given myself the care I gave to others.
As far as planning finances, I should have eased up on myself there as well. I was much too responsible and conscientious. Resist the urge to attain perfection in any area of your life.
Never feel you failed to get everything right or fell short of what others might accomplish.
You are doing just fine. If you and your wife raised four children who are doing well, that is the finest achievement of a lifetime.
Thank you Marjorie! Your comments about resisting the drive for perfection resonate with me. At this junction, I do find myself being more reflective of the past than ever before. We are very proud of our children – thank you- but we seem to be biting our tongues a lot lately!
Keep in mind you don’t have to plan anything flawlessly to be highly successful.
Not sure I would do anything different, but if I were you, I would grab the best, healthy years now and not work to age 70, especially given you are eight years older than your wife.
Life can turn on a dime. Unless there are reasons you don’t mention, you may be risking the best years of retirement.
I retired at 67, my wife was 71, we traveled the world extensively for several years. Then her eye injury and health issues started taking it away.
I suspect you enjoy your job, so did I as a VP of a S&P 500 company, but not as much as retirement especially the go-go years. Even now as I sit in Florida a good part of the winter, it’s pretty darn good.
Thank you for responding. I do enjoy my job a lot, especially the mentoring of the next level of management. From your posts I know that you’re a world-class traveler; our interests and experiences are much more modest. I think about that trade off of time and money more than ever before. My wife’s grandmother and her mother were diagnosed with dementia.
In the last several years we have driven across and around the US three times. You don’t have to be a world traveler for great experiences. I think your comment about dementia says retire and enjoy life.
It sounds like you enjoy your job a lot. I would suggest starting to develop hobbies, friendships,etc to occupy your time once you leave your work position. Also I would try and do any vigorous travel/activities prior to age 70. In my experience mens’ health and activity level tends to diminish significantly after that age. Not home bound but different. Good luck
Thanks Charles! I am starting to immerse myself more in local community activities and my wife and I are joining a local church. I think that groups automatically view me as a potential treasurer and I’m trying my hardest to avoid that role in retirement. I appreciate your counsel about men’s health and activity after 70.
Seems like you might be qualified as a board member on a large nonprofit’s pension or finance subcommittee.
Thanks David for this suggestion. I hadn’t thought before about service on a non-profit board. Being of service to others is important to me.
I’ve served in very responsible capacity for a number of years with non-profits. I have a few observations to make.
In one situation I was actively involved and/or on the board of directors for about 10 years. A couple of things to be aware of: 1) It can be an incredible amount of work. When the banking crisis of 2007 and recession occurred, that non-profit found itself in an extreme situation. I put in more than 1,000 volunteer hours that first year. 2) It may be an open-ended agreement as two of my non-profit positions were. Such agreements can be difficult to manage. Some volunteers are more serious or more capable than others. Sad to say, there is coupon clipping and some volunteers like the cachet or power of being on a board. Yet there is real work that someone needs to perform, and budgets may be very tight.
I would say what I did was very rewarding in certain ways and made a significant difference. I do encourage others to take on the responsibility, but I do also encourage one to determine precisely what they are agreeing to.