Tonik

It's official. I have informed the company I am retiring the end of April.

Tad heavier than 550 but the 24 FJR is looking pretty good to me for one up.

Goldwing.

Damn it. We will certainly be above the 44k limit I just found with Google. Time for more math.

It's the wife, although I am betting she will win and I get celebration sex.

Or if I draw down current investments while I wait to get SS I lose the income that money would get me.

Or if I draw down current investments while I wait to get SS I lose the income that money would get me.

Circling back on something @Tpoppa said which is 'collect social security as soon as you can in most cases' (paraphrasing). Check my math gang. If I retire and collect SS in May 2025 I will get 3010 per month 15 months until I get to full retirement age I collect 45,150 at the 3010 rate. But I am locked into 3010 for life. If I wait until full retirement age I collect 3349 which is a difference of 339 per month. 45,150 / 339 = 133 months at full to recoup the 45k I would get if I take it early. 133 months / 12 = 11 years to recoup. If my math is right, it would be stupid to wait, I should take it right away....right?

We met with our financial dude last night. It's on sometime this spring. One of the things I learned that helped is the Social Security rules on income while you collect. It is advertised as 23,400 per year. After you go over they take back 1 dollar for every 2 dollars you earn. My concern was if I retire mid-year I would be over and ineligible for Social Security until the following year. It does not work like that, it is more like a monthly limit. So the first month my income goes to zero I can collect SS. FWIW, once you hit your full retirement age (67 for most of you) you can make as much as you want.

What we worked towards was a retirement fund that we could pull money out of, add it to our 2 Social Securities and my partial State retirement and have the same or greater income and never zero out the retirement fund. So the money that we pull out has to be an amount that is generated from the investments growth without touching the principle, based on average performance over the last 30 years. If I retire now and do the above we actually die with more money in the investments than we start with. You cushion the down markets by putting 3 years of withdrawals in very safe liquid holdings. So let's say you are pulling 50k a year. You put 150k in the safe fund. If the market tanks you pull from that until the market recovers, then you replenish it. That way you never have to pull from the main fund and take the loss. What is holding me back is my current income is pretty insane, and I don't have to work hard at all. So the longer I work the better it gets. Debbie already retired so I guess I am the sugar mama.

Jesus, what happened to us. We used to be about bikes, hookers and blow. Now it's Medicare and wtf to do with our time.

While not retired yet I have been loading up on hobbies. Big into Pickleball, on a few leagues. That has turned into new friendships and things to do with them. Also hardcore into airsoft. It is a blast shooting people with a high powered bb gun.

The way healthcare is paid for in this country is bullshit.