Retirement Plans?

[RedWolf]

How old are you? What do you do for a living? What is your goal/end game plan?

I just turned 60. Selling 3 properties that I have held for 10+ years for straight up cash. I have a strong salary, strong 401k (ex took half but I doubled down after that) and investments. Also two life insurance policies. I work for a Fortune 200 company as a Director in Tech (Data Centers, Hyperscalers, High Density Compute). I work remotely and can work anywhere in the world as long as I want.

The cost to maintain a reasonable lifestyle here in the US is crazy compared to many countries. Like not feasible for 20+ years of retirement. The cost of living, healthcare, etc. from a financial perspective is unreasonable. Basically I am taking my money to the Dominican Republic and buying 2 or 3 places. My young wife is finishing her medical internship and will be a Dominican doctor. My Spanish is very strong but not 100% fluent.

Interested to hear what others are thinking or planning for.

This is not political so please keep that out.

 

[Chris]

I’ll contribute to this next week when I return from New Orleans and have more time. Quick start- I retired 2 months prior to my 62 birthday and haven’t worked an hour since over the past 5 years.

 

[Boone]

I am probably 3-4 years from retirement. I cannot wait. I have been working full-time with essentially no break for 41 years. I am in healthcare and have worked in the same community healthcare system since I got out of the Marine Corps in 1993, most of that time as an administrator.

We paid our small ranch home off a number of years of years ago. My retirement assets basically consist of a moderately-sized Merrill Lynch account with stocks/bonds inherited from my parents, and a 403b account I have been maxing out for decades. I could retire now and be in better shape than the vast majority of the folks I know, but that is less about my net worth than that my wife and I do not have expensive tastes, have no grand retirement plans like building a dream home, or traveling. So we should be fine.

We do have some debt, but I will pay that off prior to retirement.

My biggest challenge is that I have not taken the time (yet) to learn the minutiae of day-to-day financial management of assets post-retirement (moving from a salaried life with a predictable paycheck every two weeks to living off of previous investments, and how that all works). I have a lot to learn on that front before I hang it up for good.

Great idea for a thread btw...

 

[RedWolf]

I forgot to add that my SS is maxed out. $3k-$4k a month in the DR will go a very long way.

 

[Chris]

One thing that I will add now for those approaching the precipice of retirement…optional, voluntary spending drops significantly. I used to buy everything and anything I wanted to without much consideration. Now I am more discerning and thoughtful about my purchasing decisions but in no way do I feel that I am doing without. I’m just doing without shit I never really needed in the first place.

 

[Professor_Nutter_Butter]

35. In communications. At the rate everything is going, I guess my retirement will just be when I die.

 

[HOF44]

I’m 60 and plan to retire at 65. We have a house in Northern VA on 3/4 acres that is paid off and we will sell and move somewhere cheaper. Both have moderate 401k’s. I will have a small retirement plus SS. Wife retired last year and we are not touching her 401k now. Just using SS.

My biggest fear in retirement is healthcare.

 

[Boone]

I’m 60 and plan to retire at 65. We have a house in Northern VA on 3/4 acres that is paid off and we will sell and move somewhere cheaper. Both have moderate 401k’s. I will have a small retirement plus SS. Wife retired last year and we are not touching her 401k now. Just using SS.

My biggest fear in retirement is healthcare.

My plan is for healthcare is Medicare and 'rub some dirt on it'...

 

[HOF44]

My plan is for healthcare is Medicare and 'rub some dirt on it'...

My sister has been retired a few years. She is on Medicare with some supplemental plan and says it’s pretty good and not terribly expensive. So i have some hope!

 

[Boone]

One piece of advice from someone who works in healthcare - be wary of these 'Medicare Advantage' plans you see advertised on TV... they promise you the moon, but what they don't tell you is that unlike traditional Medicare which just about every hospital, nursing home, inpatient rehab center, etc... in America will accept and which requires no 'pre-approval' from insurance, Managed Medicare companies routinely deny access to services without justification. We have patients who need rehab on my unit who have had strokes, hip fractures, even lower limb amputations, and even though these patient types qualify for rehab according to traditional Medicare, companies like Humana, UHC, BCBS, will deny approval. It's crazy but we see it on a daily basis. Be very careful what you sign up for.

 

[HOF44]

Thanks for the heads up. So when you sign up with these you could lose services that Medicare includes. I had thought they were only for supplemental services Medicare didn’t cover.

 

[Boone]

I'm not saying Medicare Advantage plans don't have their benefits, they may offer low premiums and offer expanded services. But what they don't tell you is that they will frequently DENY those services. Need an MRI or surgery? Maybe they'll approve it, maybe not. Need post-acute care services? Maybe they'll approve but often they will not. They do it routinely. It's so bad that Medicare itself is investigating these companies. Personally, I will go with traditional Medicare which typically pays for 80% of services, and I'll add a supplement to cover the other 20%. As long as I generally qualify for medical services, it will covered and there is no 'gatekeeper' to refuse to allow what my physician is saying is appropriate.

 

[HOF44]

I'm not saying Medicare Advantage plans don't have their benefits, they may offer low premiums and offer expanded services. But what they don't tell you is that they will frequently DENY those services. Need an MRI or surgery? Maybe they'll approve it, maybe not. Need post-acute care services? Maybe they'll approve but often they will not. They do it routinely. It's so bad that Medicare itself is investigating these companies. Personally, I will go with traditional Medicare which typically pays for 80% of services, and I'll add a supplement to cover the other 20%. As long as I generally qualify for medical services, it will covered and there is no 'gatekeeper' to refuse to allow what my physician is saying is appropriate.

Covering the 20% was mainly what I was referring to. Not instead of Medicare. I have so much to learn on the post retirement health coverage front.

 

[RedWolf]

Healthcare here in the states is such a joke and a complete rip off.

 

[RedWolf]

My plan is for healthcare is Medicare and 'rub some dirt on it'...

I know this witch doctor in "el campo" who practices Santeria...bring your own rooster.

 

[SkinsOrlando]

Wtf is retirement, social security is bankrupt before I get close , luckily I'm hoping my tik tok takes off of me just becoming a grumpy middle aged man. So far I have no followers but I'm sure it'll pick up eventually after the past 2 years. You'd think working in finance I'd have a better plan, then ask yourself, have you met me??

 

[HOF44]

Covering the 20% was mainly what I was referring to. Not instead of Medicare. I have so much to learn on the post retirement health coverage front.

Are these the plans referred to as Medigap? And are B through N?

 

[ImDatGuy]

Thanks for the heads up. So when you sign up with these you could lose services that Medicare includes. I had thought they were only for supplemental services Medicare didn’t cover.

Managed Medicare plans are required to cover what Medicare coveres. They basically replace traditional Medicare plans, but can also have restrictions in place, like requiring a prior authorization for services that would typically be covered by traditional Medicare. Medicare Supplement plans are the plans that would pick up the coinsurance/Part B deductible from Medicare.

 

[ImDatGuy]

Are these the plans referred to as Medigap? And are B through N?

Correct, those would be Medigap plans, also referred to as Medicare Supplement plans. If I'm not mistaken, Plan F is the best one, unless that has changed.

 

[Boone]

Managed Medicare plans are required to cover what Medicare coveres. They basically replace traditional Medicare plans, but can also have restrictions in place, like requiring a prior authorization for services that would typically be covered by traditional Medicare. Medicare Supplement plans are the plans that would pick up the coinsurance/Part B deductible from Medicare.

Yep. Thanks for clarifying that. On the Managed Medicare plans - the problem is, being 'required to cover what Medicare covers' and 'covering what Medicare covers' are completely different things. The fatal flaw in all this is that Medicare Advantage companies are incentivized to deny access. They literally make billions denying services to patients that they would receive had they not signed up for these plans. It's so bad that Medicare itself is investigating improper service denials by these companies, sometimes at exponentially high rates.

We see major Medicare Advantage plans denying nearly 100% of requests for Inpatient Rehab stays for patients with medical issues Medicare pre-defines as qualifying conditions. They do it knowingly, consistently, and in total disregard to the impact on the patients and their families. Frequently, non-medical staff are issuing the denials routinely, requiring physican appeals on our end of the equation.

It is absolutely shameful, and probably in some cases criminal.