Retirement Age, Life After?

Managing your TSP and alternate investment options after retirement or separation from service.

Moderator: Aitrus

crondanet5
Posts: 4330
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 8:51 pm

Re: Retirement Age, Life After?

Post by crondanet5 »

Pay close attention to your health. Find a good doctor who orders a lot of blood work as that will signal possible problems. I also believe in making your home a "come to" location rather than a "leave" location. Triple pane windows dramatically block noise. Central air conditioning keeps it a refuge. Get the right kitchen equipment to cook your gourmet meals. Make the views from your windows more appealing. Right now I am enjoying a dozen hummingbirds flocking to three feeders. Yesterday some young turkeys wandered across the front lawn. One flower I find particularly rewarding is the Zinnia. There are 125 of them out there, The view is lovely. Buy Zinnias rather than trying to grow from seed. A great resource to investigate is your local library. They offer many programs to expand your horizon and skills. Do you have a will? Designated health care advocate? How will you manage your money to make it grow in retirement? How about long term care health insurance? My LTHC administrator related to me the last 50 claims he processed were all due to onset of Alzheimer's Disease. The thing I don't like about going places is the thought someone occupied my space yesterday, and tomorrow it will be filled by someone else. Many tourist locations are beginning to restrict the number of daily visitors. Choose wisely. BTW, I do recommend the RISD art museum. Their VanGogh painting is stunning.

marco75
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Oct 07, 2017 6:17 am

Re: Retirement Age, Life After?

Post by marco75 »

Take a cruise. And get a balcony room. It's well worth the money.

Regularguy
Posts: 191
Joined: Tue Sep 24, 2013 11:39 am

Re: Retirement Age, Life After?

Post by Regularguy »

evilanne wrote:As of today I've been retired for 1 year. Current age: 52
Wow that's fantastic! What was your secret :-) :lol:

crondanet5
Posts: 4330
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 8:51 pm

Re: Retirement Age, Life After?

Post by crondanet5 »

evilanne watch your heart. You are in the age group that is susceptible to heart attacks. Discuss with your doctor.

Kal1981
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun Jun 28, 2020 8:12 pm

Re: Retirement Age, Life After?

Post by Kal1981 »

Has anyone ever considered working beyond retirement eligible age? Not for financial reasons but to keep busy, be intellectually challenged, be purposeful, and maintain a social network. I have a co-worker whose is 72, retired military (Colonel/O6) and has no plans to retire.

crondanet5
Posts: 4330
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 8:51 pm

Re: Retirement Age, Life After?

Post by crondanet5 »

According to morbidity tables he has 9 years to live. Would you spend it making money for somebody else?

User avatar
mjedlin66
Site Admin
Posts: 1569
Joined: Wed Oct 02, 2013 7:51 pm

Re: Retirement Age, Life After?

Post by mjedlin66 »

Kal1981 wrote:Has anyone ever considered working beyond retirement eligible age? Not for financial reasons but to keep busy, be intellectually challenged, be purposeful, and maintain a social network. I have a co-worker whose is 72, retired military (Colonel/O6) and has no plans to retire.
Addressed individually:
1. Yes, I've considered the need to keep busy.
2. My job is so-so in the "intellectually challenging" arena. But I am confident that my busy mind would keep me challenged even if I didn't come to work. I always have a stake in 10 different fires.
3. Purposeful- I don't feel that what I do for the government is super purposeful.
4. Social Network - Yes, that is a big concern of mine with retiring early. And the pandemic has probably shown a lot of people that sitting at home all day every day REALLY sucks. There are social alternatives, but you must go looking for them. Churches usually do a great job of providing a social circle, but I'm not religious so that's out. But I could get involved in the community, substitute teach at the high school, work for the boy scouts, there's LOTS of possibilities. I wouldn't even mind working at an auto parts store again, although advancement in technology and the EV revolution are going to kill auto parts stores.
Owner/creator of TSPcalc.com - "Know your numbers"

crondanet5
Posts: 4330
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 8:51 pm

Re: Retirement Age, Life After?

Post by crondanet5 »

mj do you have a long term health care plan?

bsmith123
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Dec 10, 2020 4:06 am

Re: Retirement Age, Life After?

Post by bsmith123 »

In the work I do people move overseas pcs and back, our agency is small so i know someone everywhere. The work requires a physical aspect and I worked outdoors most my life so being physically capable is a concern.

The routine, the comfort of pulling in a paycheck, social life at work is nice ---but in my military career and now in civil service Ive always had to turn pages, Retirement is just another chapter

Coming up on a 40 year work life I think about retirement often

I think as long as you can do it without serious financial issues then 60-65 is a fine time to make the leap

crondanet5
Posts: 4330
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 8:51 pm

Re: Retirement Age, Life After?

Post by crondanet5 »

I suggest working until you can apply for Social Security Benefit. Then when you are eligible to join Medicare they automatically withdraw it from your monthly benefit. If you are not receiving the SS Benefit you pay 3 months in advance.

User avatar
Aitrus
Moderator
Posts: 2391
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2012 5:03 pm

Re: Retirement Age, Life After?

Post by Aitrus »

I'll follow MJ's model to provide my thoughts.

1 - Yes, I've thought about the need to keep busy after retirement, but I plan to retire at my MRA with 39 years of service. I plan to follow my father-in-law's advice: "Retire as soon as you can afford to. You will regret every day spent working when you didn't have to." I can understand why some people want to keep working, either for financial reasons or because it's a central part of their identify, but that's not me.

2 - My current job is not difficult or intellectually challenging, it's just man-hour intensive. Because I'm efficient I end up experiencing mission creep - slowly accumulating more and more duties and responsibilities over the years without any increase in pay scale. I'm hoping to change that with the move to a new job, which was one of the reasons I finally decided to get my BS recently.

3 - Purposefulness is something I create and decide for myself, not what others decide for me. For my working lifetime up to this point, my purpose was to provide a roof, food, and future for my wife and children. I've worked my butt off over the years to provide for my family and get my kids started off right in life without any debt. As a kid I never dreamed I would be where I'm at today, so I consider my purpose very well fulfilled at this point. What's coming next is still in the works, but the outlook looks bright.

4 - Social network: I've loved teleworking, and staying at home for weeks at a time doesn't bother me. I've actually preferred it because I've been able to get more done in less time due to not being bothered by other people randomly walking into the office. I grew up in Alaska, so I learned early on how to entertain myself. Outside of my work, family, and in-laws I don't really see or talk to anybody outside my home. I'll chat with the neighbors if I happen to run into them, but I don't go out of my way to do so. I just don't have the need to be constantly socially connected like everybody else does. Even at work I mostly keep to myself and do my job, I don't spend hours socializing and gossiping like so many others do.

5 - Plans for keeping busy post retirement include a smattering of things. Riding and camping on my motorcycle for as long as I can physically do it. Working my way through my "Lifetime To-Read" list. Playing my way through my "Video games to play before I die" list. Becoming more competitive in chess. Since I've decided to get my Master's in Adult Education, I'll be applying to teach a class or two online with a college as an adjunct professor (not that I'll need the money, it's just something to help keep me occupied).
Seasonal Musings 2022: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=19005
Recommended Reading: http://tspcenter.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=13474
"It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters" Epictetus

VAmanBulls
Posts: 250
Joined: Wed Jul 24, 2019 8:37 am

Re: Retirement Age, Life After?

Post by VAmanBulls »

I'm with you Aitrus. I'm not going to retire from life at my MRA, but I do plan to check out of my over 30 years (at that time) with the federal government. I'll be fishing for redfish off the Carolina coast, under an umbrella with with a drink on the beach, camping, hunting or traveling. Y'all come by for some Frogmore Stew.

Kal1981
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun Jun 28, 2020 8:12 pm

Re: Retirement Age, Life After?

Post by Kal1981 »

Wow, thanks for the varied perspectives. I need to reflect on a number of areas, you all brought up; from making a purpose for myself to regret not retiring when I can.

User avatar
Scarfinger
Posts: 810
Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2012 12:00 am

Re: Retirement Age, Life After?

Post by Scarfinger »

I heard (I did not verify) that the average American needs $47,000 in retirement. I also heard (I did not verify) that the average Federal Employee retires at age 62 with 20 years is service. In general getting $1500 x3. 1500 in pension, 1500 in social security and 1500 in TSP for a yearly total of $54,000. I thought these were probably very generalized but interesting numbers.
I am just an average Joe. I have no clue to what the market will do.
TimboSlice wrote: "People really need to stop overthinking this."
Paul Merriman 2 fund strat: (age - 25) x2.5 = TDF + balance into S fund or variation of

cartmedl
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2012 9:49 am

Re: Retirement Age, Life After?

Post by cartmedl »

Aitrus wrote: Thu Dec 10, 2020 11:06 am
3 - Purposefulness is something I create and decide for myself, not what others decide for me. For my working lifetime up to this point, my purpose was to provide a roof, food, and future for my wife and children. I've worked my butt off over the years to provide for my family and get my kids started off right in life without any debt. As a kid I never dreamed I would be where I'm at today, so I consider my purpose very well fulfilled at this point. What's coming next is still in the works, but the outlook looks bright.
Aitrus - I have to say that your comment here changed my perspective. As much negativity that creeps into my mind about things that I have not done right, wish I could do over, etc. its not been all bad. I have provided well for my family: a happy wife, a good home, private schools for my kids, and now keeping them debt-free in college. Although I feel like a TSP failure, I am not without optimism that I'll be happy in retirement. Thanks for that post as it lifts my spirits today.

Post Reply

Fund Prices2024-03-27

FundPriceDayYTD
G $18.14 0.01% 1.00%
F $19.09 0.26% -0.68%
C $82.11 0.87% 10.42%
S $82.19 1.48% 6.61%
I $42.68 0.56% 6.21%
L2065 $16.38 0.84% 8.36%
L2060 $16.38 0.84% 8.36%
L2055 $16.39 0.84% 8.36%
L2050 $32.73 0.71% 6.94%
L2045 $14.91 0.67% 6.56%
L2040 $54.37 0.63% 6.20%
L2035 $14.34 0.58% 5.77%
L2030 $47.66 0.53% 5.35%
L2025 $13.14 0.31% 3.40%
Linc $25.60 0.24% 2.79%

Live Charts

Pending Allocations

Under development. For now, you may view Pending Allocations by going to "fantasy TSP" and selecting "Leaderboard sort" of "Pending Allocations".