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  #1  
Old 10-23-2019, 04:41 AM
Murphy Slaw Murphy Slaw is online now
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Default Retirement For Dummies...

What's Medicare Part Z ?

Can you retire at 62, keep your insurance, make money on the side, still eat cookies?

I'm getting close, but haven't done much research and need to catch up.

What's the best resource?

This is starting to look like retirement is going to become a full time job...
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Old 10-23-2019, 04:43 AM
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This is starting to look like retirement is going to become a full time job...
It is, and it's the best job you'll ever have....
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Old 10-23-2019, 04:54 AM
Silly Moustache Silly Moustache is offline
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Retirement ? Ain't what you think - its a really busy time!
Yesterday, I had to go get my hearing aids adjusted then go to the Doc's surgery for a blood test, then go to the gym, and as it was sunny go for a rare countryside stroll with the current Mrs M then home to check my guitars out for today, then get onto Quora to put the world to rights.

Today I have a rehearsal in an hour or so (assuming I can find my specs and my watch ... and my car) and later I have a committee meeting.

I don't like days with more than three things to do!
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Old 10-23-2019, 07:04 AM
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Originally Posted by Murphy Slaw View Post
What's Medicare Part Z ?

Can you retire at 62, keep your insurance, make money on the side, still eat cookies?

I'm getting close, but haven't done much research and need to catch up.

What's the best resource?

This is starting to look like retirement is going to become a full time job...
If you are asking about retiring at 62 then you have several years to learn about Medicare because you have to be 65 to get it.

At 62 you get a lesser amount of SS then if you wait to your full retirement age. You should keep your insurance as you can't get Medicare until you are 65. I believe you have a limited amount of money you can make before they lower your amount of SS. That is if you retire at 62. If you retire at your full retirement age you can make all the money you want with no repercussions.

The most difficult part of retiring is learning about the systems you will be dealing with. I never found a good all around source. Everything you read on the subject ends up feeling like a legal document. Difficult reading as the info is all inclusive CYA. Plus some of the choices you are going to make are for the rest of your life. There are repercussions if you chose the wrong insurance. It's pay now or pay later as in medical costs. Or you can't travel and get insurance medical care. Taking less SS may work today but if you live 15 or 20 years it may turn out not to be enough to cover your life style. Don't even get me started about learning to invest and manage a 401k/IRA.
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Old 10-23-2019, 07:05 AM
DCCougar DCCougar is offline
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What's Medicare Part Z ?
I have no idea. I know Part A (hospitalization) is free, and Part B (office visits) has premiums.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Murphy Slaw View Post
Can you retire at 62
Sure, but at a reduced monthly social security payout. The longer you work and pay into the system, the greater the monthly payout when you do retire.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Murphy Slaw View Post
Can you... keep your insurance
Yeah, but it's expensive, isn't it? I'm retired, have free Medicare Part A, but I'm still on Mrs. Cougar's health insurance, which becomes the "primary" insurance.

I'm no expert, but I believe Medicare only becomes available at age 66. As I understand it, it typically covers 80% of medical costs. Many (most?) folks pay for a "supplemental" insurance (hundreds of companies want to sell you theirs), and then you're pretty much 100% covered. My dad had a major surgery and extended hospital stay some time back. $100,000 in medical bills. He had a supplemental and paid nothing.

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Originally Posted by Murphy Slaw View Post
Can you... make money on the side
Yeah. You can be receiving social security AND continue to work - part time or whatever. If you continue to pay into SS, the following year's monthly payments will be a bit higher.

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Originally Posted by Murphy Slaw View Post
Can you.... still eat cookies?
You may have to cut down on the cookies if you're pre-diabetic. Too much regular sugar intake can make you diabetic. Who knew?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Murphy Slaw View Post
I'm getting close, but haven't done much research and need to catch up.
What's the best resource?
Jeez, I don't know. There are tons of resources on the internet. I've even gone down to the local social security office and talked to them a couple times.

Congrats on getting close to retirement! Working full time your whole life, then stopping all work can be a bit of a shock. I kept working part time for a while after retirement age, then quit altogether. Now I've got too much to do getting this house ready to sell.
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Old 10-23-2019, 08:08 AM
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If you have a financial advisor that you trust it would probably be a good conversation to initiate with them.

They know the ins and outs pretty well.

Mine is one of my clients and I pick his brain during our workouts sometimes.
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Old 10-23-2019, 08:17 AM
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You should set up an account at ssa.gov and get a current statement on your expected benefits at 62, full retirement (probably 67) and waiting until 70.

To be clear, you can "retire" at any age, but barring disability, you cannot collect SS before 62 and you can't sign up for Medicare before 65. And, those ages are *today* and subject to change (not wanting to start that discussion, please).

Yes, you need to talk to a financial adviser, and do some legwork to understand your current cash flow, and what you'd have to spend if you stopped/reduced working, how you'd make up the gap, and projections/plans for the future, including that weird calculus of answering the "So, when do you plan to die?" question.

The sooner you get some real numbers down on paper, the sooner you'll be able to have a plan. Good luck.
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Old 10-23-2019, 01:10 PM
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I turned 65 yesterday, so I just went through a lot of this...

As stated, you can begin collecting social security at age 62 (subject to change in the future, of course). However, for every two dollars you earn outside of SS, you lose one dollar of SS benefits. I quit looking at the amount where you begin losing SS dollars a while ago since I had no intention of retiring.

The above is true until you reach what SS calls "full retirement age." A bit of a misnomer. For me, that age is 66. The younger youe are than me, the longer you may have to wait. A co-worker who is 63 says his full retirement age is 66 and 4 months. It simply means that you will not lose any SS money no matter how much your other earnings are. But, you can get a higher payout if you awit beyond your "full retirement age."

For every year past 66 I wait, I earn an additional 8% in monthly/annual SS payout. So, I believe if I request SS at age 70, I will get an additional 32% over what I would have received if I applied at age 66. The trick is knowing how long you are going to live. There is a crossover point where you will earn more lifetime SS dollars if you wait till 70, but if you die before that crossover age, you lose the game.

As stated by a few folks, Medicare doesn't start for the average person until age 65. You have a 90 day (I think) window before your 65th birthday to apply via the Social Security web site. There are 3 key components to Medicare...
  • Medicare Part A - applies to hospitalization and some major health occurrences. Does not cover routine doctor visits, vision, dental, prescriptions or much of anything else
  • Medicare Part B - this covers routine doctor visits and some other incidental medical things, but not vision, dental, et al.
  • Mediare Part D - Prescriptions.
  • Medicare Part C is kind of all parts A, B and C combined.

Note that nothing in Medicare covers hearing, vision or dental. of course, no one age 65 or older ever has issues with these things.

I should note that Medicare Part A is free (as noted earlier), Medicare Part B is not. The web site makes a strong point to mention that if you don't sign up for Part B at age 65, there is a "penalty" payment due when you do sign up. They don't state how much that penalty might be, but I think it is based on how much later than age 65 you sign up. I signed up for it. about a month later I received letters from SSA explaining what my monthly fee will be. I had sticker shock when I saw the amount. It is based on yearly income... I guess the adage - you can pay me now or you can pay me later applies here.

Sorry for the long-winded post... It is a complex issue. And, I could have misspoken here, but this is my understanding. One thing that confused me was ALL THE MAIL I got for Supplemental Medicare coverage. I had stacks of it... then I realized that if i continue to have healthcare coverage from my employer, I don't need Medicare supplement. I already have it.
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Old 10-23-2019, 02:10 PM
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As stated, you can begin collecting social security at age 62 (subject to change in the future, of course). However, for every two dollars you earn outside of SS, you lose one dollar of SS benefits.


Collecting at 62,
You can individually earn up to approximately $ 17-18,000 before this formula kicks in ( I forget the figure for the current year). They "up" the amount by a little bit each year to match cost of living or other factors. Once full retirement age is reached, this goes away and you can earn whatever amount your circumstances provide.
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Old 10-23-2019, 03:23 PM
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I retired at 60 and funded my retirement until I reached 66 this year. The key to all of this, in my personal opinion, all comes down to always spending less than you earn throughout your life so you would be prepared to start making retirement choices. That gives you the freedom to make all the other choices.

You do have to learn about the various financial aspects being discussed in this thread, but since I am no expert (I learned what I needed to know for my situation, not anybody else's), I can only suggest that you get solid advice from somebody you trust rather than well-meaning internet friends. The advice in my first paragraph is nothing more than common sense, rather than some informed advice.

Tony
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Old 10-23-2019, 03:56 PM
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I retired at 60 and funded my retirement until I reached 66 this year. The key to all of this, in my personal opinion, all comes down to always spending less than you earn throughout your life so you would be prepared to start making retirement choices. That gives you the freedom to make all the other choices.

You do have to learn about the various financial aspects being discussed in this thread, but since I am no expert (I learned what I needed to know for my situation, not anybody else's), I can only suggest that you get solid advice from somebody you trust rather than well-meaning internet friends. The advice in my first paragraph is nothing more than common sense, rather than some informed advice.

Tony
Well stated, Tony!!!
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Old 10-23-2019, 04:06 PM
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Thanks Rodger and Tony, and to all others who contributed. I am starting to learn the ins and outs because I turn 60 soon.

The plan is to work at least part time for another 3-4 years (self-employed and like what I do). But I plan to take SS as soon as possible at age 62. I will apparently only get 73% of the full monthly benefit compared to waiting until 66 or even 70. Since family history suggests that I probably won't make it much past 70, the math works in my favor here - more money now to retire on in my few remaining years, versus potentially bigger checks later when I am unlikely to be here. And we've verified that my decision won't affect my spouse's survivor benefits, so she can wait until later to start. She will likely live far longer than me, coming from a family where the women routinely get to 90.

We are meeting with our financial planner next week and will review all of this again. Plus we have always saved aggressively all these years as if SS was not going to be there at, so it is a bonus. The big issue for us is bridging medical insurance until Medicare kicks in at 65.
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Old 10-23-2019, 04:08 PM
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I retired at 60 and funded my retirement until I reached 66 this year. The key to all of this, in my personal opinion, all comes down to always spending less than you earn throughout your life so you would be prepared to start making retirement choices. That gives you the freedom to make all the other choices.

Tony
Similar to Tony, I retired at 59. It'll be 10 years in January. I wholeheartedly support his general guidance. All I can think to add is to make sure you retire toward something, not away from something.
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Old 10-23-2019, 04:48 PM
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Wonderful discussion so far, so many of us are approaching this decision including myself. I had set a target date for next May, but have already decided that this may not be realistic and may have to stretch it out until the end of the year. Some of this is because I am self employed and with quarterly taxes due Jan. 15th, April 15th (along with any taxes owed from the year before) and then again June 15th, I feel I need work just to get past all of this and retire with a little money in my bank account beyond my savings.

I actually just set up an appt. to speak with my financial guy in 2 weeks. In the meantime my homework is to sit down and budget all my fixed monthly expenses that I can plan on having once I stop working. At that point we can look at what I can draw per month from my retirement and decide on when to take SS. I find like so many of you that the biggest unknown and costly expense is health insurance. Being self employed and having to pay it all is not a great thing. I would have several years before medicare is an option. I HATE to think that insurance alone would keep me from retirement. I have been doing what I do for 33 years now and I think that is enough to have earned a break.

I do know one thing, I am going to do more and spend more in the front half of my retirement and try to die with a penny left. So many are afraid to travel or have fun for fear of running out of money, but what is the point to get too old to do anything like travel etc. and have a gazillion bucks left at the end. My kids will be fine with my life insurance policies, the money I have saved was so I could enjoy myself when I stopped working!
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Old 10-23-2019, 06:07 PM
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The Medicare Supplement Plan G (also referred to as Medigap Plan G), is the second most comprehensive Plan that you can choose. The Plan G will pay all of the copays, deductibles, and co-insurance that original Medicare does not pay except for the Medicare Part B Deductible. For 2019 the Medicare Part B Deductible is only $185.00. So once you have paid the first $185.00 of your Doctor bills, you will have no more out of pocket costs for the remainder of the year.
With a Plan G, you will be able to go to any Hospital, Doctor or Provider that accepts Medicare. You will not need any referrals to see a Doctor.


I went with a no charge insurance broker and have Plan A, B, D and G
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