On 6/13/2018 at 1:13 AM, Barbaraok said:

In our case we both had survived life threatening medical issues (ovarian cancer/stroke) and once you face the fact that you are that close to death, you want to make sure you get to enjoy what ever time you have left.   As it turned out, not only had Dave survived his stroke, but just before we retired we found out he had blockages in his coronary artery, so 6 days after retiring he had three stents (longest 2 1/2 inches) inserted to break up 5 blockages.

  On 6/12/2018 at 11:51 PM, Barbaraok said:

We retired early at 62/61 and have never regretted it.   We were lucky in that our previous employer included in our retirement benefits health coverage until Medicare kicked in at which time the insurance became our supplemental coverage. 

This is my Apples vs Oranges pitch . . .

What if you were retiring now at 62/61, but without that employer health coverage? Would you still retire?

Zulu,

The answer to your question is YES.   Having once faced near death, the idea of waiting was not something we would do - - we know that we only have a finite time to enjoy retirement.   If it were today that might mean buying a less expensive DP in order to have funds to purchase heath care until Medicare kicked in.  

  On 6/13/2018 at 1:49 AM, Barbaraok said:

Zulu,

The answer to your question is YES.   Having once faced near death, the idea of waiting was not something we would do - - we know that we only have a finite time to enjoy retirement.   If it were today that might mean buying a less expensive DP in order to have funds to purchase heath care until Medicare kicked in.  

Thank you for your perspective.  This is a pretty personal issue and having the opportunity to have your experience shared with those of us(me) in a place in life that we are considering this type of decision, is very generous.

I should also add that we CONSCIOUSLY made the move to Texas for our jobs there  (UT Tyler) because of their retirement package.   We had other offers from universities to consider, but the health care portion of the retirement package was the deciding factor in our going to UT Tyler; and the reason it was included was that UT had years before found that including health care coverage for their retirees was a good benefit to offer to get faculty from around the world to come to one of the UT campuses.

We were also self employed and had to fund our own retirement and provide our own healthcare coverage. We do not have a pension and did not/do not have a retirement health care package. Fortunately, Obamacare hadn't hit when we retired, and we were able to limp to Medicare. In today's health care climate, I'm not sure if we would retire prior to Medicare. While our premiums weren't cheap because it was not group coverage, our business paid the premiums, and we had the income to pay them. What I'm reading now as to what poor coverage costs makes my stomach turn. It's robbery.

Edited June 13, 2018 by Dance Chick

  On 6/13/2018 at 2:16 AM, Barbaraok said:

I should also add that we CONSCIOUSLY made the move to Texas for our jobs there  (UT Tyler) because of their retirement package.

Good for you, but from what I've seen most RV retirees didn't have this option.

  On 6/13/2018 at 1:49 AM, Barbaraok said:

Zulu,

The answer to your question is YES.   Having once faced near death, the idea of waiting was not something we would do - - we know that we only have a finite time to enjoy retirement.   If it were today that might mean buying a less expensive DP in order to have funds to purchase heath care until Medicare kicked in.  

For the benefit of others, let's SWAG a current retirement scenario for you & spouse, but without that great university health plan. Now you have to purchase your own health insurance.

So, you're 61 and 62 today and you have to buy your own health insurance. Some assumptions:

• You'll go with an ACA plan.
• The ACA will still be available in its current form until you go on Medicare.
• Health care costs will only go up 6% a year.
• FL will still have nationwide health plans until you go on Medicare.
• You now domicile in FL, not TX, because you want a nationwide health plan.
• Your MAGI is $65k (or greater).

I used www.healthsherpa.com and found the least expensive FL BCBS EPO plan for a 61 and 62-year-old:  $1319 month or $15,828 year.

Over 4 years @ 6% increase, that's about $69000 in just premiums, but to be fair let's figure for at least one of those years you had a pay a OOP max of $7350. So, conservatively, that's $76,500 over 4 years.

However, if you earned less and had a subsidy, this could be considerably less.

On the other hand, imagine the 20-state lawsuit against the ACA successfully repeals Obamacare or the ACA is no longer able to sell heath insurance for pre-existing conditions. Now we're back to the old days -- you get cancer at 62, and your health insurance is cancelled at 63.

Zulu brings up one the main reasons those I know regret retiring at 62,  health care. One I know has throat cancer and no insurance. Can't buy it on SS funds. 

Edited June 13, 2018 by GlennWest

  On 6/12/2018 at 10:21 PM, offroad said:

Literally have met no one who regretted retiring early in any circumstance; and can not find these mythical humans.  And that is an issue with the public at large thinking they need more to retire on, than they really do.  Many think they need at least $1.5M for each person in the bank, plus other things like paid off house and maybe a small pension, and insurance coverage.  Its just not true. 

 

I have had a very different experience.  I could name at least 20 of my previous co-workers who have told me they wish they would have worked another five years or more and increased their retirement income.  They thought about retiring for years before they became eligible, then couldn't wait to retire in their late fifties.  Now in their seventies, they regret it.

My father is another example.  He retired at 55 after being self employed all of this life.  He and my mother were full time rv'ers for 15 years.  In his late seventies, he had serious regrets.  His retirement savings were gone and he was living month to month.  Poor planning?  Absolutely.  Regrets nonetheless.

By no means are these people the rule.  Most people I talk to say they wish they had retired earlier.  However, they do exist and certainly are not mythical.

And in my case odds are I will live a long healthy life. Now very well know life can fool me too. So I work till 66ish and likely retire sorta. Will likely hit a few shutdowns here and there but pick time of year to work. 

By the time people reach 62+ years their circumstances vary wildly.  There simply is no one size fits all.   There are elderly parents, disabled children, past health issues, financial windfalls and disasters and a thousand other situations that impact one's retirement decision.  That doesn't take into account one's current work situation - some people love their jobs and are having the time of their life going to work every day.  Others are just barely hanging on trying to get to exits.

If you narrow the discussion down to just one specific aspect of retirement - like which will get the biggest monthly check or will result in the biggest pile of money at the end of life - it gets a bit easier but even then different people have different life situations.

So, ultimately, we have to each do what we think is best for us at the time.  For me to tell others they need to do what I did is foolish on my part and, if they copy what I did it would be foolish on theirs.