I never gave the thought of retiring too much thought. I enjoyed working. I liked making money – it gave me more choices for vacations, buying new things, investing, etc. However, when I arrived in my 60’s I started to really think about this thing called retirement. What does retiring look like for me? It certainly does not look like my grandparents or even my parents type of retirement. It came up on me quick and I started to do a lot of thinking. Much like you’re thinking about this now perhaps. Retiring is something to make you pause and consider the options. That’s what this website is all about. A helpful area when retiring looms on the horizon.

Retiring for Me

I recently decided to move back to New Jersey (my home state) from Colorado. I missed the people, food, wildlife and beaches in New Jersey. I had made a commitment to myself in my 20’s to relocate towards the Cape May area for retirement as this location has everything I love right in a small, relaxed area. I did some quick searches from the confines of my condo in CO while ashes flowed overhead from fires in Arizona and California. “I have got to get out of here!” – every bone of my body screamed at me. It seems like I was destined to make a move.

Moving Closer to Retiring

By moving to South Jersey I had no idea that I had started the move to retiring. I gave up some clients (I’m a small business online marketing professional) and took the plunge and purchased a small home near Cape May, NJ. I had looked at renting but in a tourist area there are literally no rentals – just owners and Airbnb types of housing. I really pared down my working hours and began a new discovery of fun things to do down the shore.

Do you have a preferred location set for your retirement lifestyle? Is it a beach, city or mountain area? Everyone’s plans are different. Start by jotting down your thoughts in a small notebook. Great – you are now officially thinking of retiring!

Pensions, Buyouts, Benefits, Social Security – All Retiring Thoughts!

There is quite a bit to consider when thinking about retiring. I will caution you to really understand your needs first and not the “ideas of others” as they might not be in your situation. People giving advice might have 2 million in the bank and you do not. Friends might want you to stay near them so they discourage you moving to your dream spot (this goes against what you really desire). Everyone will drown you out with “don’t retire early – you will get way more money later!” types of conversations.

You’ve got to be strong enough to consider all the information and write down what your version of retiring really looks like – just for you. Remember, you have friends living in dual income households, or recently divorced friends just getting started with income generating jobs – everyone’s situation is different. In my case I am a single earner household with 2 great cats and I have lots of friends who visit me at the beach! So I considered things that were right for me (and you should too.)

Here’s a short list of some things you need to know about:

• When does my pension start? (If you have one – pensions are scarce these days!
• How much is in my IRA or 401K program and is it doing anything? Who has control over it?
• If I take SSA early what’s the cap on my earnings? When can I be free of capped earnings?
• Can I live on ____________ (capped earnings number for you)?
• How many years do I live on reduced earnings before I hit 67? Can I do this? _______ (# of years)
• I need to do the math on taking SSA at 62, and then at 67 maybe or later? Go to age 85.

Retiring Exercise Results

What do these answers tell you? Take a good look at the numbers and really think about your situation. Can you really stay the course with a business that is not giving raises and continually wants overtime without compensation? Is it worth it to stay? I say no, but your expenses may say otherwise.

A lot of these decisions include some unknowns:

• Can you survive on less money for a few years?
• Can local part-time work replace some of these long full-time days that include driving in traffic and having less personal time?
• Isn’t it time you slowed down?
• But what would you do with your free time? (This does worry folks)

What do the numbers say? In my case it was easy – I took social security at 62. I had just left a client that was calling me day and night (no boundaries) and I chased them every month for payment. It drove me nuts. I said goodbye and moved on. I replaced this clients’ wages with social security and that check arrives on time every month.

The fact that inflation is a real problem should be considered too. If I buy something today and it costs me $500, most likely that same item will cost me $580 later on. So am I really going to be “making more money” if I took SSA at 67? Nope. Do the math.

This blog post is one of many where I will discuss things that went through my mind in making these decisions. I urge you to think through your situation and not blindly follow some financial planner person who doesn’t know all your details. Anyone can sit behind a desk and point out that “you’ll make so much more if you wait” – thank you Capt. Obvious Financial Planner.

If you are new to this website SixtySomethingLife.com take a look at my Purpose page here: https://zis.cuj.temporary.site/website_45bedccf/purpose which provides some insight into the purpose of the website and sharing this important information.

If you need to check on your social security information please look that up here on the Government website: https://ssa.gov

Please note I am not an expert in Social Security issues. I am just a person like yourself who needed to find information about retiring and the details of SSA and decide what to do – having nobody to turn to I started a 3 ring binder of information and that turned into this website so I can share my information with you! -Jan Rossi

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