What is a year of retirement in good health worth?

[phunhog]

[Topic is now in Personal Finance (Not Investing) - mod mkc]

So my question is what is a year of healthy retirement worth? I am a 55 years old and now eligible for retirement from the fire department with almost 30 years of service. It seems like a bit of a no brainer to retire why I am still healthy and can do all the activities that I love. If I retire in 6 months I will get a 125k pension which also gets a 3% COLA every year. However we are completely on our own for medical benefits once we retire. 400k in a 457/401k plan. We still owe 300k on our primary residence and will need to tap into the retirement savings to pay the mortgage. Or I can keep working for a few more years to insure I don’t use the retirement accounts until needed. So getting back to the original question. Is it worth retiring and using those retirement funds to pay off our only debt in order to gain a few years of healthy retirement?

[Sandtrap]

So my question is what is a year of healthy retirement worth? I am a 55 years old and now eligible for retirement from the fire department with almost 30 years of service. It seems like a bit of a no brainer to retire why I am still healthy and can do all the activities that I love. If I retire in 6 months I will get a 125k pension which also gets a 3% COLA every year. However we are completely on our own for medical benefits once we retire. 400k in a 457/401k plan. We still owe 300k on our primary residence and will need to tap into the retirement savings to pay the mortgage. Or I can keep working for a few more years to insure I don’t use the retirement accounts until needed. So getting back to the original question. Is it worth retiring and using those retirement funds to pay off our only debt in order to gain a few years of healthy retirement?

Medical insurance and health care expense can be critical from age 55 (you), until Medicare "Original" at age 65.

This might help your projections:
Engaging data: site:
https://engaging-data.com/early-retirem ... and-tools/

Consider editing your original post to include this data in this format for comprehensive input by forum seniors.
Edit using the "pencil icon".
Portfolio Review Request
https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewt ... =1&t=6212

To answer your question, while "how long we can sustain "great or optimum" health is unknown, even if in "perfect health" at the moment, being able to have as active lifestyle as you want, without limitations and compromises, AND retiring (FIRE) early to make the best of those healthy active years, is priceless.

As an example:
I early retired at age 58 due to progressive health issues and disabilities.
Fortunately, I was able to FIRE with more than adequate financial reserves. The ACA "penalty cliff" at the time, was brutal, and ACA costs and coverage were terrible (in our area) as well, which made for substantial medical costs until Medicare "Original" and excellent supplementals at age 65.
By FIRE at age 58, I was able to then accomplish a lot of things and enjoy a relatively very active lifestyle "in retirement freedom", than if I had waited until age 65.

These kinds of health and health insurance related scenarios can take an unrecoverable toll (Much like SORR) on one's portfolio, etc. So, be prepared for that, if, if, it should happen.

"Black swans" and "Perfect storms" are inevitable.
As the old saying goes, "you cannot buy health".

j

[blortchplop]

So my question is what is a year of healthy retirement worth? I am a 55 years old and now eligible for retirement from the fire department with almost 30 years of service. It seems like a bit of a no brainer to retire why I am still healthy and can do all the activities that I love. If I retire in 6 months I will get a 125k pension which also gets a 3% COLA every year. However we are completely on our own for medical benefits once we retire. 400k in a 457/401k plan. We still owe 300k on our primary residence and will need to tap into the retirement savings to pay the mortgage. Or I can keep working for a few more years to insure I don’t use the retirement accounts until needed. So getting back to the original question. Is it worth retiring and using those retirement funds to pay off our only debt in order to gain a few years of healthy retirement?

It will be critical to figure out what your yearly expenses will be in retirement, including healthcare and mortgage payments. Maybe you've already run these numbers, since you indicate needing to tap retirement savings to pay the mortgage.

[J295]

I left full-time at my profession at age 53, and that was 12 years ago. I would absolutely do the same thing today.

This isn’t a dress rehearsal. Good luck with your decision.

[SurferLife]

I retired early so I could start a farm, which is extremely labor-intensive. Even in my 50s it’s hard but doable. If you have things you want to do with your life once you retire, then delaying could mean never being able to do them, so that could truly be a priceless opportunity. It just depends on what you want to do.

[syc]

So my question is what is a year of healthy retirement worth? I am a 55 years old and now eligible for retirement from the fire department with almost 30 years of service. It seems like a bit of a no brainer to retire why I am still healthy and can do all the activities that I love. If I retire in 6 months I will get a 125k pension which also gets a 3% COLA every year. However we are completely on our own for medical benefits once we retire. 400k in a 457/401k plan. We still owe 300k on our primary residence and will need to tap into the retirement savings to pay the mortgage. Or I can keep working for a few more years to insure I don’t use the retirement accounts until needed. So getting back to the original question. Is it worth retiring and using those retirement funds to pay off our only debt in order to gain a few years of healthy retirement?

As to the explicit question in your subject line, this is a pretty good, albeit academic, discussion. It suggests a range of 30K to $170K for one additional year in perfect health. This is on a population basis. Individuals may see things differently, according to their unique circumstances.

https://conversableeconomist.com/2018/0 ... of-a-qaly/

[260chrisb]

So my question is what is a year of healthy retirement worth? I am a 55 years old and now eligible for retirement from the fire department with almost 30 years of service. It seems like a bit of a no brainer to retire why I am still healthy and can do all the activities that I love. If I retire in 6 months I will get a 125k pension which also gets a 3% COLA every year. However we are completely on our own for medical benefits once we retire. 400k in a 457/401k plan. We still owe 300k on our primary residence and will need to tap into the retirement savings to pay the mortgage. Or I can keep working for a few more years to insure I don’t use the retirement accounts until needed. So getting back to the original question. Is it worth retiring and using those retirement funds to pay off our only debt in order to gain a few years of healthy retirement?

Welcome to the forum! You haven't really provided enough info but from what you have provided I'd say no it's not worth using those retirement funds at 55 for that. Retiring at 55 is very early for nearly everyone. At a healthy 55 I'd work at least a few more years as you're a long way out from Medicare, still have a mortgage and have just 400K in retirement. You don't say if it's traditional or Roth but either way that's not going to last long. Keep working for a few more years, focus on the mortgage and increase your retirement savings. It will be much easier to keep working than getting back into the workforce in 5-6 years if you've spent more of your savings than anticipated.

[Ron Ronnerson]

You don’t say what your expenses are. For example, if they’re low enough that your pension will cover the expenses, then you can retire now. Just use the pension to pay for your health costs, mortgage payment, and all other expenses. $125k is enough money to cover all that for some people. For others, it isn’t enough. Which group are you in?

[vectorizer]

I'm now an evangelist for retiring as soon as one can. I was lucky to be able to retire at 59, but I could have done it a few years earlier.

I was pretty active (for my size) in retirement--bicycle riding, 3 days a week of pickleball, a little golf, ham radio from parks on multi-day trips. I decided to get elective foot surgery, which began a 10-month-long-and-counting nightmare of infections and wound openings and hospitalizations and threats of amputation. Highly unlikely I will play pickleball or bike or golf or walk 20 minutes ever again, and every step I take is painful.

The upshot is, you never know. I am forever grateful I had those 7 healthy years in retirement to be active. Enjoy retirement as soon as can: "you never know".

[sharukh]

If I were you, this is what I would do.

Sell/rent the house.
Travel the world for 5 years until you are eligible for medicare.
Travel to places where medical costs are low.
Also the monthly travel expenses will still be less than the rent you collect from your house.

You get to do your activities just in a different place.

[GetSmarter]

In my book, nothing is more important than health. You have a bird in the hand. Take it, and do what you want. What you enjoy.

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That is why it's called the present." Eleanor Roosevelt

[White Coat Investor]

So my question is what is a year of healthy retirement worth? I am a 55 years old and now eligible for retirement from the fire department with almost 30 years of service. It seems like a bit of a no brainer to retire why I am still healthy and can do all the activities that I love. If I retire in 6 months I will get a 125k pension which also gets a 3% COLA every year. However we are completely on our own for medical benefits once we retire. 400k in a 457/401k plan. We still owe 300k on our primary residence and will need to tap into the retirement savings to pay the mortgage. Or I can keep working for a few more years to insure I don’t use the retirement accounts until needed. So getting back to the original question. Is it worth retiring and using those retirement funds to pay off our only debt in order to gain a few years of healthy retirement?

I'm not hearing you talk about how much you love working for the fire department so I think you should quit if you can afford to do so.

If that pension really pays $125K a year, I think you can afford to do so, even with a mortgage and even needing to buy your own health insurance. Lots of Bogleheads and most firefighters live on far less than that. That by itself is like a $3M+ portfolio in some ways. Plus it's indexed to inflation. Awesome. You probably get Social Security to help in 15 more years too. And you've got $400K in cash. Awesome. Not a big fan of the mortgage though, but I don't think I'd use all the cash you have to pay it off. What was your plan with that mortgage when you got it? When were you planning to pay that off?

[TipsQuestions]

I'm not hearing you talk about how much you love working for the fire department so I think you should quit if you can afford to do so.

If that pension really pays $125K a year, I think you can afford to do so, even with a mortgage and even needing to buy your own health insurance. Lots of Bogleheads and most firefighters live on far less than that. That by itself is like a $3M+ portfolio in some ways. Plus it's indexed to inflation. Awesome. You probably get Social Security to help in 15 more years too. And you've got $400K in cash. Awesome. Not a big fan of the mortgage though, but I don't think I'd use all the cash you have to pay it off. What was your plan with that mortgage when you got it? When were you planning to pay that off?

Agree. You've been doing the same thing for 30 years, and you have enough money to retire, so the only reason not to is if you love your job, and don't love much else. My thoughts on early retirement here: viewtopic.php?t=439128

[Caduceus]

If your pension is more than enough to cover all your needs and you have insurance figured out, I think free years are priceless. The one thing you cannot buy back is time.

Billionaires would give up most of their wealth for ten more years of life on their deathbed.

[Valuethinker]

So my question is what is a year of healthy retirement worth? I am a 55 years old and now eligible for retirement from the fire department with almost 30 years of service. It seems like a bit of a no brainer to retire why I am still healthy and can do all the activities that I love. If I retire in 6 months I will get a 125k pension which also gets a 3% COLA every year. However we are completely on our own for medical benefits once we retire. 400k in a 457/401k plan. We still owe 300k on our primary residence and will need to tap into the retirement savings to pay the mortgage. Or I can keep working for a few more years to insure I don’t use the retirement accounts until needed. So getting back to the original question. Is it worth retiring and using those retirement funds to pay off our only debt in order to gain a few years of healthy retirement?

You need to have a careful financial plan.

You have more than enough income to retire. Firefighters often die young due to a host of issues, I believe.

I would say working more years is pretty marginal with a pension like that. But you do need to know what you might do in retirement - how you will keep busy and occupied and contributing.

"You retire from a job, but you retire to something else". You need to have some good ideas on what that something else will be.

[HipCoyote]

So my question is what is a year of healthy retirement worth? I am a 55 years old and now eligible for retirement from the fire department with almost 30 years of service. It seems like a bit of a no brainer to retire why I am still healthy and can do all the activities that I love. If I retire in 6 months I will get a 125k pension which also gets a 3% COLA every year. However we are completely on our own for medical benefits once we retire. 400k in a 457/401k plan. We still owe 300k on our primary residence and will need to tap into the retirement savings to pay the mortgage. Or I can keep working for a few more years to insure I don’t use the retirement accounts until needed. So getting back to the original question. Is it worth retiring and using those retirement funds to pay off our only debt in order to gain a few years of healthy retirement?

I also retired from public safety....the blue side. I guess that makes us cousins. Thank you for your service. There are additional questions I would want to answer:

* If you stay longer, would that increase your pension base? If so, by how much?
* What are you doing now? A firefighter kicking doors is one thing, a fire inspector is quite another. 55 is not old but its old to be humping in tanks of O2 into fires dragging hoses. I was 56 when I retired, but was in management. I "thought" I could push a black and white around, but it is a young man's and woman's game.
* Do you like your job? Being a firefighter in NYC is one thing, doing it in a rural community could be another. (Just asking.)
* If you retire what are you going to do? Looking back, I enjoyed retiring but missed it terribly. It was a two edged sword for sure. If it weren't for nasty drive I had every day, I could have stayed longer. (Not kidding...I have dreams nearly every night about my job. Only now, after 10 years, have I fully transitioned to not yearning for those days. My wife, also a retied cop, retired and never looked back. Which one are you?)
* What will SS look like? In my case it is zero.
*What will expenses be for a typical year...$125 K coming in, mortgage and medical expenses going out. Where is the $125 k going if you need to tap into it to pay the mortgage? $400 k is not a massive amount / cushion to handle med expenses now and a potential long term med care in the future.
*When you do retire, does unused sick pay get paid to you or can it be placed into a tax advantaged account, up to max amounts?
* You say use retirement funds to pay off debt. Taking funds out of a 457 means those funds are counted as income, unless you utilized the Roth option available in some plans. I don't recommend paying off dept all at once or you will get slammed on taxes.
* Kids? Grand kids? We traveled extensively when first retired, but those little grand kids have a way of altering plans.

Suggestions:

*What ever you do, get a complete physical before retiring. As noted, firefighters often were exposed to chems that can cause cancer and other issues.

You asked a question that only you can answer.

[phunhog]

So my question is what is a year of healthy retirement worth? I am a 55 years old and now eligible for retirement from the fire department with almost 30 years of service. It seems like a bit of a no brainer to retire why I am still healthy and can do all the activities that I love. If I retire in 6 months I will get a 125k pension which also gets a 3% COLA every year. However we are completely on our own for medical benefits once we retire. 400k in a 457/401k plan. We still owe 300k on our primary residence and will need to tap into the retirement savings to pay the mortgage. Or I can keep working for a few more years to insure I don’t use the retirement accounts until needed. So getting back to the original question. Is it worth retiring and using those retirement funds to pay off our only debt in order to gain a few years of healthy retirement?

I also retired from public safety....the blue side. I guess that makes us cousins. Thank you for your service. There are additional questions I would want to answer:

* If you stay longer, would that increase your pension base? If so, by how much?
* What are you doing now? A firefighter kicking doors is one thing, a fire inspector is quite another. 55 is not old but its old to be humping in tanks of O2 into fires dragging hoses. I was 56 when I retired, but was in management. I "thought" I could push a black and white around, but it is a young man's and woman's game.
* Do you like your job? Being a firefighter in NYC is one thing, doing it in a rural community could be another. (Just asking.)
* If you retire what are you going to do? Looking back, I enjoyed retiring but missed it terribly. It was a two edged sword for sure. If it weren't for nasty drive I had every day, I could have stayed longer. (Not kidding...I have dreams nearly every night about my job. Only now, after 10 years, have I fully transitioned to not yearning for those days. My wife, also a retied cop, retired and never looked back. Which one are you?)
* What will SS look like? In my case it is zero.
*What will expenses be for a typical year...$125 K coming in, mortgage and medical expenses going out. Where is the $125 k going if you need to tap into it to pay the mortgage? $400 k is not a massive amount / cushion to handle med expenses now and a potential long term med care in the future.
*When you do retire, does unused sick pay get paid to you or can it be placed into a tax advantaged account, up to max amounts?
* You say use retirement funds to pay off debt. Taking funds out of a 457 means those funds are counted as income, unless you utilized the Roth option available in some plans. I don't recommend paying off dept all at once or you will get slammed on taxes.
* Kids? Grand kids? We traveled extensively when first retired, but those little grand kids have a way of altering plans.

Suggestions:

*What ever you do, get a complete physical before retiring. As noted, firefighters often were exposed to chems that can cause cancer and other issues.

You asked a question that only you can answer.

Thanks for your reply….since you’re retired from a public safety job I think you get it.
Yes staying longer increases my pension base but every year I stay is one less year of retirement. Especially since it is a year of healthy retirement in my mid 50’s.
I am an engineer…I drive the fire engine. Greatest job in the world but ultimately it’s a younger man’s game. Plus there is a part of me who thinks I am being selfish if I don’t retire. There is some young person out there who would kill to have my job. I have had a fantastic career (over 32 years) but honestly I don’t really care if I run another emergency call. I’ve seen enough death and destruction…I don’t need to see that anymore.
My pension also has a built in 3% COLA so it’s easy to see how much I will be making in 10, 20, 30 years from now. Like you I won’t get any SS benefits.
Here’s why I want to use the 400k+ in my 457/401k to pay the mortgage in retirement. Which only has 5.5 years left. I feel like for the last 32 years and especially the last 5-10 years I have been days of my life for money. If I were to use it now that would provide the greatest gift of all ….time.

[Wiggums]

I left my job knowing it would open the doors for another person. We retired at 56. Obviously, I agree with this line of thought. Time has gone by quickly since retirement.

[savings_maxer]

...........

[AlohaBill]

I have been retired since about 56, that’s about 17 years now. I have been living with diabetes (uncontrolled) since I was 49. I have found that every year my health has been a compromise. These last 5 years have been punctuated with life saving operations. I’m still here, still walking around (albeit with a cane), still driving my red leather Mazda 6, still picking up my grandchildren at school and planning on a Honolulu visit in a couple of months. I still enjoy life and am amused by what comes around the corner.
As I slow down, I’m greatful to have a loving wife and good health insurance and 4 wonderful sons. We probably over saved but that makes for a clear conscience that my wife will be taken care of.
The thought of the go-go years to slow go years to no go years has crept up seemingly very quickly. I wonder how did I get here. However, I have had a very exciting and interesting life so I spend a lot of time reminiscing. I can still go to Disneyland/Disneyworld (each time with covid) by using go carts.
I have the health that I have now and I have learned to live with it. I think every year I can get around is a plus. I will not go gently into that good night. Good luck to you in your journey; it’s a quick one.

[delamer]

So you would need to make withdrawals from your $400K savings to cover your expenses while you are still carrying the mortgage (another 5.5 years) if you retire on $125,000?

But once the mortgage is gone, then you won’t need to draw down your savings to cover your expenses?

[Parkinglotracer]

1 year of good health in retirement is priceless. I had two pickleball buddies about 70 sick this week - one died of a stroke and another diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. There is no amount of money that will equal what they are going thru. Once you have enough go do whatever you want to do before you die. If you want to amass more wealth before you die that is a choice too. Just don’t complain when it doesn’t turn out the way you hoped if you delay.

[phunhog]

So you would need to make withdrawals from your $400K savings to cover your expenses while you are still carrying the mortgage (another 5.5 years) if you retire on $125,000?

But once the mortgage is gone, then you won’t need to draw down your savings to cover your expenses?

Exactly!! Using various calculators a safe return (4%) will have no problems generating enough cash flow. I would rather use the money now then wait until my 70’s .

[yankees60]

Around the time I was in my mid-60s I realized that I no longer needed to work for the $$$$$.

But I kept doing so for a few reasons.

One is that I live a semi-hermit life. Two of my social outlets are playing softball and basketball. I thought that at some point I'm going to have to stop. If I was also not working then when would I ever see anyone given my preference to be a homebody?

The other was the challenge of work. I kept getting better and better at all the work I was doing. Plus, as the finance director of a non-profit, in the 12 years I was there I did just about all my work in one elaborate Excel spreadsheet with about 350 worksheets in it. Many of those worksheets fed one another. It kept getting bigger and more elaborate each year. I knew that once I left that job I'd never again create something so large and intricate.

I was getting nervous about 2021 as I'd then be turning 70, finally collecting Social Security. More of my Social Security would be taxes due to income from that job. I would only view it as an additional tax on the wages from that job. It was something on my mind as to what was I going to do when the time arrived?

But in May 2020, unrelated to Covid, I decided in a brief few days that I no longer wanted to continue the job and was not going to look for another.

I have retained my one side client for whom I work for about 300 hours a year. That has provided me that continued type of challenge as I continued to also get better in that work.

What did I do with all that time no longer spent (about 32 hours a week) at the job I left?

I dove into all things into my house that I'd neglected because work hours caused them to be neglected.

Have made great progress on several fronts and still attacking many areas of my house.

I also spent tons of time on my own personal finance, which has offered lots of challenge.

Finally, I am STILL playing basketball and softball!

There seems to be in this forum a great emphasis on retiring early.

Retiring was never on my mind. At this point though I've not taken on another job I still get a healthy income from that one business client.

[celia]

We traveled a lot in our first three years of retirement, but then our 4 parents started to have health issues. I soon learned that a phone call from my dad needing a ride to urgent care meant that the day was shot, as far as what I had planned.

Ten years later, all of them had died and now my generation is becoming "needy" and starting to fade into the sunset. It's a good thing I like cemeteries (for genealogy purposes) because I've been visiting them a lot recently.

(We both come from large families.)

[PoppyA]

What’s your side gig & can that pay for your health insurance?

[delamer]

So you would need to make withdrawals from your $400K savings to cover your expenses while you are still carrying the mortgage (another 5.5 years) if you retire on $125,000?

But once the mortgage is gone, then you won’t need to draw down your savings to cover your expenses?

Exactly!! Using various calculators a safe return (4%) will have no problems generating enough cash flow. I would rather use the money now then wait until my 70’s .

What do you project your savings balsnce will be once the mortgage is paid off?

Will you or your spouse be eligible for Social Security?

[Grump99]

Priceless.

[phunhog]

So you would need to make withdrawals from your $400K savings to cover your expenses while you are still carrying the mortgage (another 5.5 years) if you retire on $125,000?

But once the mortgage is gone, then you won’t need to draw down your savings to cover your expenses?

Exactly!! Using various calculators a safe return (4%) will have no problems generating enough cash flow. I would rather use the money now then wait until my 70’s .

What do you project your savings balsnce will be once the mortgage is paid off?

Will you or your spouse be eligible for Social Security?

Approximately 250k assuming a 4% ROI. My spouse will be eligible for both SS and a small govt pension in 9 years.

[delamer]

So you would need to make withdrawals from your $400K savings to cover your expenses while you are still carrying the mortgage (another 5.5 years) if you retire on $125,000?

But once the mortgage is gone, then you won’t need to draw down your savings to cover your expenses?

Exactly!! Using various calculators a safe return (4%) will have no problems generating enough cash flow. I would rather use the money now then wait until my 70’s .

What do you project your savings balsnce will be once the mortgage is paid off?

Will you or your spouse be eligible for Social Security?

Approximately 250k assuming a 4% ROI. My spouse will be eligible for both SS and a small govt pension in 9 years.

You’ll have one significant pension, one Social Security, plus another small pension. While $250,000 isn’t a huge nest egg, it’s probably sufficient given your income sources.

My one concern in your position is whether your spouse would be financially secure if you die prematurely.

Best wishes.

[AdmiralJJ]

This is the question that gets asked far too little on all the financial forums.

I see too many who wait until they are compromised with their health before they retire. T

What does it cost NOT to retire when you are financially able to do so?

Sounds to me like you have plenty of money. Far, far, more than most in absolute terms.

[1moreyr]

i have two points and they are predicated on whether you have enough money. i will leave that to all the other advice. (it appears yes)

1. I love motorcycle touring with my wife. She is no longer capable of riding the motorcycle but I am. It's not the same alone so i gave it up. Sometimes it isn't your health that messes things up. I always believed my health was going to be the issue. It wasn't.
Someone else mentioned this with aging parents another thing that can put a big wrinkle in retirement plans if you wait too long.

2. imagine you are on your deathbed at 90 years old. The grim reaper shows up and says that he will give you back your 55th year of life to live with all it's health and vigor but you need to cut him a check. What would you pay for that? My answer is anything I could. The reality is you are making that deal in reverse by staying. it just doesn't feel that way.


if you need income, you will find it. it may not be as much as you make now, but you don't need it. Hell, I'd be a walmart greeter for 2 days a week if it meant i could still have 5 off. (i don't need to )

if you have the means to retire, enjoy life do it. I look at the house as an asset. If I need to sell it to pay for a continuing care facility or when I can't keep it up, so be it.

[Circle the Wagons]

i have two points and they are predicated on whether you have enough money. i will leave that to all the other advice. (it appears yes)

1. I love motorcycle touring with my wife. She is no longer capable of riding the motorcycle but I am. It's not the same alone so i gave it up. Sometimes it isn't your health that messes things up. I always believed my health was going to be the issue. It wasn't.
Someone else mentioned this with aging parents another thing that can put a big wrinkle in retirement plans if you wait too long.

2. imagine you are on your deathbed at 90 years old. The grim reaper shows up and says that he will give you back your 55th year of life to live with all it's health and vigor but you need to cut him a check. What would you pay for that? My answer is anything I could. The reality is you are making that deal in reverse by staying. it just doesn't feel that way.


if you need income, you will find it. it may not be as much as you make now, but you don't need it. Hell, I'd be a walmart greeter for 2 days a week if it meant i could still have 5 off. (i don't need to )

if you have the means to retire, enjoy life do it. I look at the house as an asset. If I need to sell it to pay for a continuing care facility or when I can't keep it up, so be it.

Come on now.

55th year of life vs. death

... isn't the same tradeoff decision as ...

55th year of life while working vs. 55th year of life while retired

[1moreyr]

i have two points and they are predicated on whether you have enough money. i will leave that to all the other advice. (it appears yes)

1. I love motorcycle touring with my wife. She is no longer capable of riding the motorcycle but I am. It's not the same alone so i gave it up. Sometimes it isn't your health that messes things up. I always believed my health was going to be the issue. It wasn't.
Someone else mentioned this with aging parents another thing that can put a big wrinkle in retirement plans if you wait too long.

2. imagine you are on your deathbed at 90 years old. The grim reaper shows up and says that he will give you back your 55th year of life to live with all it's health and vigor but you need to cut him a check. What would you pay for that? My answer is anything I could. The reality is you are making that deal in reverse by staying. it just doesn't feel that way.


if you need income, you will find it. it may not be as much as you make now, but you don't need it. Hell, I'd be a walmart greeter for 2 days a week if it meant i could still have 5 off. (i don't need to )

if you have the means to retire, enjoy life do it. I look at the house as an asset. If I need to sell it to pay for a continuing care facility or when I can't keep it up, so be it.

Come on now.

55th year of life vs. death

... isn't the same tradeoff decision as ...

55th year of life while working vs. 55th year of life while retired

It is the same if you never die.... Life is finite.

you will only have so many years and you will have fewer good years with the physical health to do whatever you want. if you don't see it that way or think you will live forever keep working.

You get one choice on how you spend every year of your life. Will you regret working 50-60 hours a week for 48-49 weeks a year (or whatever your vacation plan) or would you prefer to have that year to yourself?

I retired at 56 and haven't looked back. Every day is a gift and I get to use them the way I want.

My main point is that people easily choose to work "one more year" without thinking about the value of each finite year of life. Another poster talked about getting cancer and losing the ability to travel in retirement.. People don't usually consider the fragility of life when they compare a 55th year of life vs a 55th year of retirement. It's real.

[AlaskaTeach]

A couple of thoughts, coming from someone who is keenly interested in getting my pension started so I can enjoy a free health insurance premium for life, and the wife's insurance premium is charged at half the amount a regular employee pays:

Your wife will still work? I would strongly recommend you getting on her health insurance policy. If that is reasonably affordable, you are gold. You can keep your mortgage as long as you want. You could even pay down the mortgage at a faster rate than planned if you got an easy job completely unrelated to the fire dept. Imagine paying off the mortgage in 3 years?

The other possible suggestion is for you to get a job in retirement that provides health insurance that will almost certainly be less than the insurance premium charged to you if you are on your wife's plan.

[Circle the Wagons]

i have two points and they are predicated on whether you have enough money. i will leave that to all the other advice. (it appears yes)

1. I love motorcycle touring with my wife. She is no longer capable of riding the motorcycle but I am. It's not the same alone so i gave it up. Sometimes it isn't your health that messes things up. I always believed my health was going to be the issue. It wasn't.
Someone else mentioned this with aging parents another thing that can put a big wrinkle in retirement plans if you wait too long.

2. imagine you are on your deathbed at 90 years old. The grim reaper shows up and says that he will give you back your 55th year of life to live with all it's health and vigor but you need to cut him a check. What would you pay for that? My answer is anything I could. The reality is you are making that deal in reverse by staying. it just doesn't feel that way.


if you need income, you will find it. it may not be as much as you make now, but you don't need it. Hell, I'd be a walmart greeter for 2 days a week if it meant i could still have 5 off. (i don't need to )

if you have the means to retire, enjoy life do it. I look at the house as an asset. If I need to sell it to pay for a continuing care facility or when I can't keep it up, so be it.

Come on now.

55th year of life vs. death

... isn't the same tradeoff decision as ...

55th year of life while working vs. 55th year of life while retired

It is the same if you never die.... Life is finite.

you will only have so many years and you will have fewer good years with the physical health to do whatever you want. if you don't see it that way or think you will live forever keep working.

You get one choice on how you spend every year of your life. Will you regret working 50-60 hours a week for 48-49 weeks a year (or whatever your vacation plan) or would you prefer to have that year to yourself?

I retired at 56 and haven't looked back. Every day is a gift and I get to use them the way I want.

My main point is that people easily choose to work "one more year" without thinking about the value of each finite year of life. Another poster talked about getting cancer and losing the ability to travel in retirement.. People don't usually consider the fragility of life when they compare a 55th year of life vs a 55th year of retirement. It's real.

Your main point is valid to consider. Grim reaper analogy isn't. The alternative to a marginal year of early retirement isn't death ... at least, I don't hate my job quite that much.

[mhadden1]

If I retire in 6 months I will get a 125k pension which also gets a 3% COLA every year. However we are completely on our own for medical benefits once we retire. 400k in a 457/401k plan. We still owe 300k on our primary residence and will need to tap into the retirement savings to pay the mortgage.

Your strong pension is a tailwind for you, but also a headwind in that I think it prevents much of an ACA subsidy. And, drawing down your retirement savings right now is also a big headwind. The other thing is, depending on how the retirement funds are invested, a bad market could give you sequence of returns problems. In short, I think I would work a few more years, save hard, reduce the mortgage, and revisit the issue. Remember, every year worked is one year closer to Medicare, SS, and delays savings drawdown. There is probably a sweet spot for you, if you think hard about it. Good luck!

[surfinagin]

Before retiring early to enjoy good health, consider what you're going to do in retirement to enjoy that good health.
Some spend countless hours crunching retirement #'s, then 3-6mos after early retirement their project list is done and they don't know what to do with themselves.
Important to think about, to have a plan to avoid social isolation and really enjoy the extra years of good health you're retiring for.

[JBTX]

There isn’t enough info here to really make recommendations.

Ultimately you have some savings, and you have a mortgage balance slightly less. I would set those off to the side. Whether you pay it off now or over 5.5 years is really not that relevant, and whether I did so would depend on what the mortgage rate is. If the mortgage wasn’t too high I’d probably keep just for a few more years of liquidity.

Will you pension cover all expenses, excluding the mortgage? We don’t have any information here.

One risk, although seemingly unlikely is if there were persistent inflation over 3% that would eat into the real value of your pension. Otherwise You have a great pension but at the same time are totally reliant on it with no backup plans best I can tell.

[Skip Towne]

I just started reading Boglehead guru Christine Benz' new book "how to Retire". Recently heard the BH podcast on the book - I highly recommend them both. A lot of perspective there shines on your situation.

You make a great argument for leaving firefighting and taking the pension now. But I didn't see anything about your next chapter. Why not get a new gig - part-time or flexible as you need it thta completely is fun and free of pressure. Something that aligns with any hobby or new adventure that sparks an interest will be fun and give you a reason to wake up in the morning.

Learn to live on just your pension, Throw all that from the salary from the new gig towards the mortgage - and you solve 3 problems once -
- you move on from the force before its too late
- you keep busy
- you actively pay down the mortgage

[1moreyr]

i have two points and they are predicated on whether you have enough money. i will leave that to all the other advice. (it appears yes)

1. I love motorcycle touring with my wife. She is no longer capable of riding the motorcycle but I am. It's not the same alone so i gave it up. Sometimes it isn't your health that messes things up. I always believed my health was going to be the issue. It wasn't.
Someone else mentioned this with aging parents another thing that can put a big wrinkle in retirement plans if you wait too long.

2. imagine you are on your deathbed at 90 years old. The grim reaper shows up and says that he will give you back your 55th year of life to live with all it's health and vigor but you need to cut him a check. What would you pay for that? My answer is anything I could. The reality is you are making that deal in reverse by staying. it just doesn't feel that way.


if you need income, you will find it. it may not be as much as you make now, but you don't need it. Hell, I'd be a walmart greeter for 2 days a week if it meant i could still have 5 off. (i don't need to )

if you have the means to retire, enjoy life do it. I look at the house as an asset. If I need to sell it to pay for a continuing care facility or when I can't keep it up, so be it.

Come on now.

55th year of life vs. death

... isn't the same tradeoff decision as ...

55th year of life while working vs. 55th year of life while retired

It is the same if you never die.... Life is finite.

you will only have so many years and you will have fewer good years with the physical health to do whatever you want. if you don't see it that way or think you will live forever keep working.

You get one choice on how you spend every year of your life. Will you regret working 50-60 hours a week for 48-49 weeks a year (or whatever your vacation plan) or would you prefer to have that year to yourself?

I retired at 56 and haven't looked back. Every day is a gift and I get to use them the way I want.

My main point is that people easily choose to work "one more year" without thinking about the value of each finite year of life. Another poster talked about getting cancer and losing the ability to travel in retirement.. People don't usually consider the fragility of life when they compare a 55th year of life vs a 55th year of retirement. It's real.

Your main point is valid to consider. Grim reaper analogy isn't. The alternative to a marginal year of early retirement isn't death ... at least, I don't hate my job quite that much.

we can agree to disagree but you are taking the analogy wrong.. the question is at the end of your life will you want that year back? will you regret working too long? Are you working because you need to or have to?

the first line of my post stated "assuming you have the money to retire" which precludes a marginal year of retirement.

6 months before I retired,,,,,, and on the eve of a 6 week bucket list trip i had wanted to do for a decade,,,,, I discovered a tumor that was 9 inches long and 3 inches wide in my left thigh. I got to think about just that. Did I work too long?

Thankfully it turned out to be benign.

by the way, i never said i hated my job. I actually loved it. I have just enjoyed this phase so much more.

Thanks for your perspective, we all come at this from different places.

[Circle the Wagons]

i have two points and they are predicated on whether you have enough money. i will leave that to all the other advice. (it appears yes)

1. I love motorcycle touring with my wife. She is no longer capable of riding the motorcycle but I am. It's not the same alone so i gave it up. Sometimes it isn't your health that messes things up. I always believed my health was going to be the issue. It wasn't.
Someone else mentioned this with aging parents another thing that can put a big wrinkle in retirement plans if you wait too long.

2. imagine you are on your deathbed at 90 years old. The grim reaper shows up and says that he will give you back your 55th year of life to live with all it's health and vigor but you need to cut him a check. What would you pay for that? My answer is anything I could. The reality is you are making that deal in reverse by staying. it just doesn't feel that way.


if you need income, you will find it. it may not be as much as you make now, but you don't need it. Hell, I'd be a walmart greeter for 2 days a week if it meant i could still have 5 off. (i don't need to )

if you have the means to retire, enjoy life do it. I look at the house as an asset. If I need to sell it to pay for a continuing care facility or when I can't keep it up, so be it.

Come on now.

55th year of life vs. death

... isn't the same tradeoff decision as ...

55th year of life while working vs. 55th year of life while retired

It is the same if you never die.... Life is finite.

you will only have so many years and you will have fewer good years with the physical health to do whatever you want. if you don't see it that way or think you will live forever keep working.

You get one choice on how you spend every year of your life. Will you regret working 50-60 hours a week for 48-49 weeks a year (or whatever your vacation plan) or would you prefer to have that year to yourself?

I retired at 56 and haven't looked back. Every day is a gift and I get to use them the way I want.

My main point is that people easily choose to work "one more year" without thinking about the value of each finite year of life. Another poster talked about getting cancer and losing the ability to travel in retirement.. People don't usually consider the fragility of life when they compare a 55th year of life vs a 55th year of retirement. It's real.

Your main point is valid to consider. Grim reaper analogy isn't. The alternative to a marginal year of early retirement isn't death ... at least, I don't hate my job quite that much.

we can agree to disagree but you are taking the analogy wrong.. the question is at the end of your life will you want that year back? will you regret working too long? Are you working because you need to or have to?

the first line of my post stated "assuming you have the money to retire" which precludes a marginal year of retirement.

6 months before I retired,,,,,, and on the eve of a 6 week bucket list trip i had wanted to do for a decade,,,,, I discovered a tumor that was 9 inches long and 3 inches wide in my left thigh. I got to think about just that. Did I work too long?

Thankfully it turned out to be benign.

by the way, i never said i hated my job. I actually loved it. I have just enjoyed this phase so much more.

Thanks for your perspective, we all come at this from different places.

Thank you for sharing. It certainly helps to remind folks that if you've been lucky in health so far, you can't assume that won't change.

It's notable that the BH community, despite the frugality and safety in investing ethos, still has meaningful voices out there fighting excessive OMY thinking.

[yankees60]

Come on now.

55th year of life vs. death

... isn't the same tradeoff decision as ...

55th year of life while working vs. 55th year of life while retired

It is the same if you never die.... Life is finite.

you will only have so many years and you will have fewer good years with the physical health to do whatever you want. if you don't see it that way or think you will live forever keep working.

You get one choice on how you spend every year of your life. Will you regret working 50-60 hours a week for 48-49 weeks a year (or whatever your vacation plan) or would you prefer to have that year to yourself?

I retired at 56 and haven't looked back. Every day is a gift and I get to use them the way I want.

My main point is that people easily choose to work "one more year" without thinking about the value of each finite year of life. Another poster talked about getting cancer and losing the ability to travel in retirement.. People don't usually consider the fragility of life when they compare a 55th year of life vs a 55th year of retirement. It's real.

Your main point is valid to consider. Grim reaper analogy isn't. The alternative to a marginal year of early retirement isn't death ... at least, I don't hate my job quite that much.

we can agree to disagree but you are taking the analogy wrong.. the question is at the end of your life will you want that year back? will you regret working too long? Are you working because you need to or have to?

the first line of my post stated "assuming you have the money to retire" which precludes a marginal year of retirement.

6 months before I retired,,,,,, and on the eve of a 6 week bucket list trip i had wanted to do for a decade,,,,, I discovered a tumor that was 9 inches long and 3 inches wide in my left thigh. I got to think about just that. Did I work too long?

Thankfully it turned out to be benign.

by the way, i never said i hated my job. I actually loved it. I have just enjoyed this phase so much more.

Thanks for your perspective, we all come at this from different places.

Thank you for sharing. It certainly helps to remind folks that if you've been lucky in health so far, you can't assume that won't change.

It's notable that the BH community, despite the frugality and safety in investing ethos, still has meaningful voices out there fighting excessive OMY thinking.

OMY????

[mhadden1]

[quote=yankees60 post_id=8063308 time=1728063224 user_id=20298
OMY????
[/quote]

Work "One More Year" I think.

[Claudia Whitten]

[Topic is now in Personal Finance (Not Investing) - mod mkc]

So my question is what is a year of healthy retirement worth? I am a 55 years old and now eligible for retirement from the fire department with almost 30 years of service. It seems like a bit of a no brainer to retire why I am still healthy and can do all the activities that I love. If I retire in 6 months I will get a 125k pension which also gets a 3% COLA every year. However we are completely on our own for medical benefits once we retire. 400k in a 457/401k plan. We still owe 300k on our primary residence and will need to tap into the retirement savings to pay the mortgage. Or I can keep working for a few more years to insure I don’t use the retirement accounts until needed. So getting back to the original question. Is it worth retiring and using those retirement funds to pay off our only debt in order to gain a few years of healthy retirement?

Sounds to me like you should continue working a while. While you're working, figure out what you're going to do in retirement. Giving up your job of 30+ years means losing an identity, work colleagues, something to do every day, a way to contribute, not to mention a paycheck.

For some people, one or more of those things is a big deal, and losing them can lead to bad health in a number of ways.

[yankees60]

[quote=yankees60 post_id=8063308 time=1728063224 user_id=20298
OMY????

Work "One More Year" I think.
[/quote]

Exhibit A. as to why I have a strong aversion to acronyms and try to never use them myself.

[mhadden1]

[quote=yankees60 post_id=8063308 time=1728063224 user_id=20298
OMY????

Work "One More Year" I think.

Exhibit A. as to why I have a strong aversion to acronyms and try to never use them myself.
[/quote]

Bogleheads is definitely replete with them. YMMV. HAND!

[yankees60]

[quote=yankees60 post_id=8063308 time=1728063224 user_id=20298
OMY????

Work "One More Year" I think.

Exhibit A. as to why I have a strong aversion to acronyms and try to never use them myself.

Bogleheads is definitely replete with them. YMMV. HAND!
[/quote]

I definitely know what the 1st 1 means. But the second 1? I'd look it up on the acronyms page But That's way too time consuming on an amazon fire tablet.

[dogagility]

From a pure math perspective, the upper bound for the value of one year is very likely much less than the value of an entire life. Here's the EPA's value of a statistical life: https://www.epa.gov/environmental-econo ... -valuation