Hey everyone, I’m new here and about a year into retirement. I’m still figuring out what works best for managing my spending and tracking those big-ticket items that pop up, like healthcare and travel. I’ve been reading about these AI-powered financial “coaches” that are supposed to help with retirement planning—basically, they can answer your questions, track expenses, and offer advice on things like tax-efficient withdrawals.

Not sure if it’s worth checking out, but I wonder if having something that’s available 24/7 would help with budgeting or adjusting for any unexpected expenses. Has anyone here used one of these tools, or would you even consider it? I’ve always liked keeping my retirement stuff organized myself, but who knows—maybe an extra bit of support could help me feel more prepared?

Would love to know if anyone’s tried something like this or interested in that, or if you think it’s better to keep it simple. Appreciate any thoughts!

Hi folks! If you’re or were a member of AARP, what are the pros and cons of the membership?

I hope this is the right place to ask for advice. I’m not really sure who to ask or where to go for advice.

To give a little bit of context, my mom just retired from her nursing job due to her health. (She has copd) she has 3 children, including me and she has 3 grandchildren. My brother and sister are both in their 40s and busy with their jobs, kids and lives. Her grandchildren are all teenagers and are also busy most of the time with school, work etc. I am 26 and my boyfriend and I live with her currently but we are in the process of building out a camper van to travel full time. She is also divorced and single. She has been divorced for over 15 years. Of course, just like most people, family comes around a lot less than they used to. With all of that being said, soon she will be living the retired life and living alone. She has worked her whole life, she has never lived alone and she has never had this much free time in her life.

She has voiced her concerns to me many times. She feels lost, depressed, lonely and she feels like no one needs her anymore. She has lost sense of purpose. She is only 63 years old, she has so much life ahead of her. So many new experiences ahead of her, so much opportunity and room for new doors to open. She finally has the time to focus on herself, on her own wishes and dreams, on her own interests. She has taken care of everyone else her whole life and now it’s her turn to take care of herself. This is what I am trying to make her realize. I try my best to provide her with comfort and reassurance but there has to be more I can do. She would never ever want me to feel this way but between you and I… I feel guilty. I encouraged her to retire in the first place because her health couldn’t keep up and she kept finding herself sick in the hospital. I’m also the one choosing to fly from the nest and follow my dreams. I almost feel like it’s my fault she feels this way and that she’s in this situation. I blame myself. I feel like I’m abandoning her. If it weren’t for me and my boyfriend she wouldn’t get out of the house much now and I’m worried that when we leave she will spiral and feel even more alone and lost than now.

If you’re retired.. What do you do in your free time? How do you find new hobbies and interests? How can I help her make friends? How do I find activities or groups she can get involved in to meet people? How do I get her involved in a community and keep her apart of society? How do I help her find purpose? I’m looking to see how people in a similar position came to terms with it and found a solution.

Routine is important as well, she has always had a steady routine. Any advice on how to keep her in a day to day routine? One that helps her feel good, energetic, happy and productive?

I also want to add, she does have a great family that loves her VERY much. She does have friends who also love her very much. I think part of the problem is her making an effort to see people and make plans. Maybe she feels like a burden? Maybe it’s shyness or low self-esteem? I’m not sure what it is.

Also, she’s now on social security and she’s making significantly less than she was before. Is there anything any of you do to bring in some extra money? Any side hustles or anything of that nature?

All advice or words of encouragement would be so greatly appreciated. I plan to share all of your responses with her.

Helo,

How much money would I need to retire in a 3rd world country. I am from switzerland. So I have some money.

Some recommendation would be nice. I would dislike being somewhere with lots of people. Having internet would be optional. Books are good enough.

Thanks for any recommendations..

Have been very lucky in life. Have a good life, pretty good job, that has paid really well. But it has come at a cost of needing the job to be prioritized always. I have reached FI, but haven’t been able to walk away from the job, and prioritize other things in life- life self care, family, travel, and fun things I can do with $$. Partly it is because the job I have is way too good, pays tons of money and I see way too many people willing to give an arm and a leg to get this job. I don’t think I have any shot of getting this job back, if I walk away. I tried doing less at work, but I am scared to not be thought competent and pushed out involuntarily. Also, have found it hard to discuss this openly with friends / family, because they are working hard for FI and I am concerned they might feel that I am trying to show off my FI /wealth.

The only part that bothers me about the job, is that it gives little personal freedom and needs both feet in most of the time. And I feel I am getting old and cannot take good health for granted. Also, I have no immediate plans on what I will do when I retire, just that I will have the freedom to make choices and decide then. I am close to 50 right now.

Debating if I should take the help of a shrink/life coach, because I am struggling with my choice of not quitting, whenever work gets hard. Am I stuck with golden handcuffs in a loop?

Apologies, if you find this obnoxious. I know how hard people work and struggle to have hopes of FI. Mine is a super first world problem. Sometimes I feel, maybe I should work a few more years and use the $$ to give more. But not in equilibrium and cannot decide.

Hello Folks!

 This is the first time I am posting on this sub and looking for some advice.

 Both my wife and I will turn 62 next year and we have been working since we were 18 years old. My wife has already retired at the age of 60 when her firm offered her separation package which was a year's worth of wages. She is participating in the firm's health insurance plan which costs roughly $500/month. If I decide to retire, I too have a similar option from my job which will cost roughly the same amount.

 I have calculated my retirement expenses which include $1000/month for miscellaneous and entertainment and $1000/month for above-mentioned medical expenses. If I stick to the plan, I would still be left with roughly $700 surplus each month.

 In calculating the expenses, I have included only the social security and pension incomes, not any withdrawals from our 401K plans which currently has balance of nearly $2.2 million. In addition to that I have roughly $275,000 in cash.

 My house is paid off. The only other major bill I have is nearly $45,000 in car payment which we bought last month for my wife at 0% financing for 36 months. Also, my house needs updating/cosmetic work which might end up costing roughly 50k to 75k. But it is not urgent and I can get the updates done at my own pace.

 My job is fairly easy since I have been at the same firm for 26 years. But lately I have started to experience problems with my back and shoulders because of the use of keyboard and sitting in front a computer for decades. Also, I am bored to death and do not enjoy the job anymore. My wife keeps on telling me to retire so we can travel and do things which we always wanted to do, but I keep on going back to the expenses spreadsheet and getting confused and making myself more nervous each time.

 Since I am so nervous about running out of money in our old age and always doubting myself, any advice/encouragement as to if I should keep on working or pull the plug next year would be greatly appreciated.

I've been retired a couple of years now, my wife about a year. We recently bought a new car. In talking with our insurance guy, he recommends we get a Personal Liability Umbrella Policy. It would cover us should something happen for which we would be liable--say, we are involved in a car accident that causes someone a lot of personal injury. $1,000,000 coverage for $202/year. It would protect a big chunk of what we've saved for retirement.

What do you all think? Worthwhile?

Thanks!

We'd like to find an affordable, great place to spend our summers during retirement. We are active seniors that enjoy outdoor activities but still want to be near good healthcare/hospitals. We're not interested in baking in Florida.

Where would you suggest that we look?

I'm curious on how everyone retires when you get to that age especially if you have a little to no 401k. I have a few coworker's retiring soon and it's got me thinking about retirement i still have 25 to 30 years left before I retire. How does one retires when you have very little in a 401k. Hows is social security calculated to determine your monthly amount you live on. My house should be paid off long before I retire. I put money in a 401k every pay but it seems like there's always an emergency and I need cash

They are not stopping naturally ....

WTF!

In US. I have done a few jobs since 2012. Most of them were odd jobs but I also worked for the university and for the public sector. I just dont know how many years. How can I find out, how many years I have of service that counts for pension? I dont think I can contact the organization I used to work for. They dont exist anymore. They used to receive a grant from the state to run. However they stopped receiving it and they dont exist anymore. So how can I find out about this information. Thank you.

As the title says, we have been working towards creating passive income streams and less focused on stuffing away retirement savings. Our passive income is in real estate investing where we are part of multiple LLC's that build/own apartment buildings. The money can gets reinvested into new buildings every few years and we secure another monthly income each time that happens. We have put most of our cash into this instead of a 401k or an IRA. (We do have those, just not as much in there). I feel like what we are doing is outside of the box but is going to work just the same. Tell me I'm wrong?

Consider this hypothetical…

Your wife is 20 years younger. She is your beneficiary to your IRA and your 401K. Her significantly younger age drastically impacts your RMD...as in makes the RMD much much smaller. Your plan is for her to retire very young so that you can travel together for your retirement and this requires you to have lots of extra funds left over when you die to keep her funded long after you are gone. (This is obviously the purpose of the much smaller RMDs when a spouse beneficiary is significantly younger.)

furthermore, you plan to fund your retirement almost entirely by brokerage or mutual funds and to leave the IRA and 401k virtually untouched for her to utilize after you are dead. Also Social Security will be delayed until age 70 in order to maximize spousal benefits.

Now lets say something unexpected happens. You have been enjoying your retirement travels together and your very small RMDs have kicked in, which are very small due to her very young, comparatively, age. Plan is going well, she will be in excellent financial shape for decades after you are dead. In fact she will have lots of extra funds to leave to someone of her choosing when eventually she passes on.

Then she dies unexpectedly, at a young age, just a few short years after your RMDs had started. all your money plans are now completely turned upside down. None of your financial planning now makes any sense whatsoever. Instantly all your strategies have become exactly the wrong strategies.

What happens to your RMDs?

do they continue on as though she is still the spousal beneficiary? Or do they immediately jump up to a huge RMD based on you having no spouse and no beneficiary?

Where do we move next?

Were a young healthy well off 69 and 67 former New Yorkers now living in Indian Wells. CA. And, after four years, we're finding it kind of meh. (Won't go into the reasons in detail, but we've found it dead much of the year because of the summer heat and the reality that it is mostly a touristy, weekend get away or second- home community, rather than a year-around place.)

What we do: tennis, Pilates, horses, zen meditation, eat out, music (not country or cover bands) and art. Like beaches and cities more than mountains. Seaside village towns like Edmonds, WA, (now too expensive) or Stonington, CT (too cold in winter) are nice. We're also well-educated liberals, so a red neck, Trumpian locale won't do. We're open to Europe and have lived abroad before. But visas are problematic for settling long-term.

The spike in home prices makes this search doubly difficult.

I know, I know, high-class problems and whining. Sorry if I offend or make your eyes roll. Seriously.

I want to ask questions mostly about elder care. Who will take care of me when i'm old ( cooking, cleaning, bathing, administering medicine. About what insurances i should look into. About how to make my retirement money last until death. Who should i ask for free?

I'm very concerned about retirement. I don't think I want children so I'll have to rely on my money to take care of me when I get old. I know I need to invest and I'm starting to invest in a Roth IRA. But I am concerned about who will actually be taking care of me when I'm too old to function. I don't even want to touch a nursing home. I've looked at long term health insurance and homcare plan and they can cost up $60000 a year in Nebraska. Even if I had a million dollars in retirement, that still wouldn't last me that long. What should I do? What kind of insurances do I look into? What should I look into for old age care? How do I make my money last? What should I invest in the most?

I would like to retire my father and wanted to see who else has done it. Gifting him money has tax implications. Is opening a credit card and letting him put all expenses on it the best way? Money is a non-issue for me. Thanks!

I know it is typically not the thing to try to do regarding timing the stock market entry and exit however, I exited market right around start of COVID and stayed out until late 2023. I’m still working but plan to retire in less than a year. I got back in Market towards end of 2023 and just exited again this week. I’ve worked 35 years and always rode the ups and downs as when it was down, I’m buying on sale and market on average is always going to go up over time. But, now that I’m close to retiring, and won’t be ‘buying’ anymore, I feel myself getting more conservative. Anyone else follow an expert that gives advice on timing market? My brother who retired from NASA a few years back follows a guy but he is so pessimistic about the stock market he would have you keeping your money under your mattress. I follow various sources and make my own decisions and have done pretty well the last four years with this approach but would love to have an expert that utilizes this strategy. So do you all have anyone that you have used giving advice on timing market?

Thanks

If your portfolio didn’t or just barely kept up with inflation for the year how did you adjust your withdrawals? Also do you rely on the published inflation data?

Hi everyone! Like the title says, I’m trying to manage my retirement expectations, so any inside/advice is welcome.

I (52M) am planning on retiring at 62. That would give me 26 years at my NY state job. I currently make just under 70k, and will be around 80k top of grade at retirement (3+ years).

I started a Deferred Comp 2 years ago, and have since bumped it up to 18% DC 1% Roth

The numbers look a little like $3.5-4k monthly in ERS pension (100% joint).

I’d hold off until 67 for max about Social Security at 2.3k monthly.

Here’s where it gets murky.

The Plan:

Pay off all debt, aside from mortgage.

I retire at 62. My Domestic Partner (37F) will retire shortly thereafter, we’re thinking between 48-50.

She makes more than me, was in ERS but switched to VDC. Also has DC and Roth accounts.

Until she retires, expenses are kind of baselined anyway. I’m not going to travel without her and plan on just hiking and home improvement stuff (esp if we decide to sell). So in that regard I’m not really dipping too heavily into my DC / Roth. I’d hop on her insurance until 65.

That way, when she retires there are both our pensions and a multitude of VDC/Roth/DC to draw from, then she can draw from her ERS pension at 65, and we can take Social Security when we hit 67 respectively.

My biggest question is should I bump my DC up a couple points? Or is this a solid plan as is?

There are a ton of moving parts but being able to spend 20+ years just together, living life, would be grand. If it matters, yeah we’re both active and in great health.

Thanks!

Work, Retire, Repeat: The Uncertainty of Retirement in the New Economy [56:05]

New School economic professor Teresa Ghilarducci offered her thoughts on how to make retirement in the U.S. attainable for more Americans. She was interviewed by Washington Post economics correspondent Abha Bhattarai.

I get paid every two weeks. The company takes out money for health insurance. I don’t know if they take it out to cover the next couple of weeks or month or it’s in the rear. I’ve seen some talk about trying to maximize insurance coverage before you leave by leaving on a date to target maximizing insurance coverage. I will be 63 1/2 years old when I retire so obviously I need to pay insurance until I reach 65, but just trying to squeeze that last month if possible. Any help or tips would be appreciated.

I’m 57 and contemplating retirement (now or within 2 years) - definitely before age 65 and want a better understanding of what to budget for insurance pre Medicare. If I were to retire tomorrow, what would it cost to replace my company ppo that covers my wife and I and my two kids (22, 23 not yet gainful)? I’ve estimated a monthly premium of ~2k. I’d that reality? TIA.

If I should pull the trigger. I’ve been with same company for almost 35 years. I have planned to retire at 59.5 for a while now. We will be debt free, and financially be fine. But, I hate leaving anything ‘on the table’. If I stayed until 62, we would get health insurance for us both (wife is 54). We can afford the premiums. My struggle is do I leave 2.5 years before I would get coverage while we are both healthy or work another couple of years and leave with insurance. Recently a good friend of mine, same age, got diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and is rapidly declining. That has been weighing on me as well and makes me want to leave sooner rather than later and start traveling like we have planned for years.

Anyone else had similar situation and how did you finally decide? Thanks!