Let's talk retirement

[Nacho Z]

On 12/12/2024 at 3:31 PM, TransAmMike said:

I've avoided responding to this topic(heck I don't know why) but this is what I have to say.

Been retired now a little over ten years.  I stayed active and was doing just fine in spite of being in my 70's, until.....I got diverticulitis and had colin surgery needing the dreaded poop bag. Luckily I was able to have reversal surgery to go back to normal.   Been downhill for me since then.  Anyway, at least I still have modelling to keep me busy, but physically I ain't worth a cr@p. 😄😊

I’m sorry to see that you are having health issues, Mike.  Your case is like I said in my previous post.  I’m in good health but that can all change in one doctor’s visit.  An unfortunate fact of life is we just don’t bounce back as well as we did in our younger days.  I wish you well and improved health, Mike.

[Nacho Z]

On 12/13/2024 at 4:09 PM, Kromolly said:

Very timely subject for me.  I've been away from the forum and the hobby for a few years as we prepared for retirement.  We retired earlier this year, sold our home on the left coast and moved to the northern plains.  This was a big undertaking.  We had house projects to finish, work to do on the new place 1,400 miles away, and a lot of stuff to move.  My wife and I moved everything ourselves, just the two of us, five semi loads over two years.  We retired to a beautiful old farmstead with acreage.  We both stay busy with multiple hobbies.  We will be gardening and canning, raising chickens, maintaining property, and enjoying peace and solitude.  We haven't had TV in at least 5 years and don't want it.  It's a tremendous time waster.  We have plenty to keep us busy.  Absolutely no regrets about retiring and wish we could have done it sooner.

That sounds amazing, Roy!  It also sounds like quite the undertaking!  I was born and raised in North Dakota and that is what I think of when I read northern plains.  I absolutely agree with you about the TV.  I have said it elsewhere in this thread, I truly don’t watch much TV.  Mostly the local news and weather and then one of the 30 minute national news broadcasts.  I do watch racing and football when our University team is playing.  We also catch a few NFL games.  That is it.  It sounds like you have a wonderful retirement strategy.  Peace and solitude, physically active, and hopefully stress free.  My best to you!

[bobss396]

19 hours ago, Nacho Z said:

I’m sorry to see that you are having health issues, Mike.  Your case is like I said in my previous post.  I’m in good health but that can all change in one doctor’s visit.  An unfortunate fact of life is we just don’t bounce back as well as we did in our younger days.  I wish you well and improved health, Mike.

Going back to 2012, 1 annual check-up can = 6 months of doctor visits. 

I have been using my heart doctor quite a bit, I had a falling out with my primary care doctor during the Covid days. 

I need the "up periscope" test done, my ENT saw signs if acid reflux, although I feel fine. Many years back I was constantly plagued with crippling heartburn. These days, I may get it 2x a year.

I have to be careful to take my morning medications AFTER I eat, or else I'm running to the head.

My dad had diverticulitis big time. My last "up periscope" test showed I had signs of it. I recall him having issues with food when he was barely 50 years old, maybe even younger. Everything my mom cooked was bland, zero spices. One guy I know had surgery last year for it and he is under 50. He was prone to serious infections and they removed 18" of his plumbing.

[Kromolly]

On 12/15/2024 at 9:20 AM, Nacho Z said:

That sounds amazing, Roy!  It also sounds like quite the undertaking!  I was born and raised in North Dakota and that is what I think of when I read northern plains.  I absolutely agree with you about the TV.  I have said it elsewhere in this thread, I truly don’t watch much TV.  Mostly the local news and weather and then one of the 30 minute national news broadcasts.  I do watch racing and football when our University team is playing.  We also catch a few NFL games.  That is it.  It sounds like you have a wonderful retirement strategy.  Peace and solitude, physically active, and hopefully stress free.  My best to you!

Well that's it, my witness protection cover is blown.  🤣  Yep, North Dakota.  It's a state with a lot of out-migration that, as I understanded it, is due mostly to the demise of the family farm and the harsh winter climate.  Our attitude was that we have plenty of hobbies that can be done in heated spaces including heated shop buildings already on the property.  We really enjoyed the long warm summer this year.  Winter will be equally long, probably longer.  The people around us are polite and kind.  There's a refreshing sense of community that I'm not yet accustomed to.  Great to hear from someone who grew up in this legendary state! 

[James2]

On the other hand, I have no plan to retire. I just turned 64 and every morning wake up well before the alarm, make coffee, get dressed and go to work. Not saying I wouldn't retire just don't have the plan (need) to....

[Bills72sj]

8 hours ago, James2 said:

On the other hand, I have no plan to retire. I just turned 64 and every morning wake up well before the alarm, make coffee, get dressed and go to work. Not saying I wouldn't retire just don't have the plan (need) to....

Same age. Similar routine. If I was not happily married I could retire now. However, aging women are expensive. So I shall keep on working. I like the challenge.

[bobss396]

18 hours ago, James2 said:

On the other hand, I have no plan to retire. I just turned 64 and every morning wake up well before the alarm, make coffee, get dressed and go to work. Not saying I wouldn't retire just don't have the plan (need) to....

You are among the lucky. My job got 2x more stressful after I turned 60. Likely contributed to my heart attack in 2016. 

I got to the point where I KNEW it was time to plot my escape. You will know when you get there.

[RSchnell]

That's part of my retirement plan is to relocate like some of y'all have done. I'm 8th generation Florida native and this constant influx of people has ruined what used to make Florida so nice. You don't smell the orange blossoms in the summer & you don't smell the packing houses in the winter because there is no citrus left.  My family owned numerous groves & as a kid we used to ride horses all day through the groves, even hog hunting on horseback(they will destroy a grove if you let them). Come back to the barn for a supper of smoked mullet. I felt lucky to have been part of "Old Florida".

Everything is getting plowed over for subdivisions. The roads are crowded and the people have gotten more rude. Been looking at southern Georgia or Alabama. Some little small town where I can drive a Model A as a daily driver if I wanted to. Like I did down here 30 yrs ago before the place got to crowded!

[Ace-Garageguy]

7 minutes ago, RSchnell said:

...this constant influx of people has ruined what used to make (place your location here) so nice...

Everything is getting plowed over for subdivisions. The roads are crowded and the people have gotten more rude...

Same thing's happened here, and is beginning to take over the place I'm in out in AZ.

The county I'm in here in GA was mostly farms when I arrived. 5 minutes, you were out of town and into sparsely traveled but well maintained rural roads, real sports car country.

Now it takes two hours to get out of the urban sprawl, and driving anything interesting is just begging to have some texting moron or uninsured newcomer destroy it...as has happened to several folks I know.

Too many stupid people ruin everything.

[imarriedawitch]

Retired in 2011 at 55 years old when I reached my 90 factor. Good job, union wages, 99% indoors and no heavy lifting with all the unsupervised OT you could wish for. With only being 55 I wasn't obligated to go but new technology was coming into the department that would reduce the staff from 6 down to 3 so they really, really needed me to go so they had to buy me out on top of my full pension.

[RSchnell]

9 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Same thing's happened here, and is beginning to take over the place I'm in out in AZ.

The county I'm in here in GA was mostly farms when I arrived. 5 minutes, you were out of town and into sparsely traveled but well maintained rural roads, real sports car country.

Now it takes two hours to get out of the urban sprawl, and driving anything interesting is just begging to have some texting moron or uninsured newcomer destroy it...as has happened to several folks I know.

Too many stupid people ruin everything.

I grew up right smack between Tampa & Orlando. They are just about connected to each other by development now. Moved to the east coast to fulfill one of my bucket list jobs(I can now say my paint work is going to space!), but now that I'm working remote I keep thinking the move is going to happen sooner than later. It's time to find a place where there's no snowbirds, tourists, etc. They get more rude & entitled every year. 

[Bills72sj]

12 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Same thing's happened here, and is beginning to take over the place I'm in out in AZ.

The county I'm in here in GA was mostly farms when I arrived. 5 minutes, you were out of town and into sparsely traveled but well maintained rural roads, real sports car country.

Now it takes two hours to get out of the urban sprawl, and driving anything interesting is just begging to have some texting moron or uninsured newcomer destroy it...as has happened to several folks I know.

Too many stupid people ruin everything.

I feel sorry for you. I live in Salem, Oregon. I frequently take my car out to the back roads in my county yes 5-10 minutes away from my house. No, traffic, twisty with lots of hills with farms and forest. Heck, I can even exceed triple digits in many of the farming areas in the valley.

[bobss396]

We were down in Miami a few years back. I ran into someone from Long Island and he had the usual wise crack about the Long Island Expressway traffic.

I asked him if he teleported or took a helicopter to the beach... all I got was crickets.

I have never seen traffic as bad as South Florida has. Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach.. all 10x worse than any traffic outside of midtown Manhattan. 

My friends on the Florida west coast call the east coast the "insane" coast. They were always trying to get me to move down by them.

[89AKurt]

Thought I would dredge up this thread, since my neighbor who is just a couple years older than me is in the hospital.  He went to Alaska to hunt, made the almost fatal error of getting Carbon Monoxide poisoning.  I'm helping watch their place since he can't be transported until middle of this month, am going over soon to pet their dogs.  He was *this close* to retiring, now this.  So I'm slacking off while I still can.  But if you love doing your work and it's helping people, by all means continue.

[Nacho Z]

6 hours ago, 89AKurt said:

Thought I would dredge up this thread, since my neighbor who is just a couple years older than me is in the hospital.  He went to Alaska to hunt, made the almost fatal error of getting Carbon Monoxide poisoning.  I'm helping watch their place since he can't be transported until middle of this month, am going over soon to pet their dogs.  He was *this close* to retiring, now this.  So I'm slacking off while I still can.  But if you love doing your work and it's helping people, by all means continue.

Sorry to hear about your friend, Kurt.  I’m glad to see it wasn’t fatal.  The older I get the more stories I hear about folks who recently retired, or like your friend, close to retirement, who have passed away.  Too many of those stories hit too close to home.

[Dave Ambrose]

I can add my experience -- I "retired" almost 2.5 years ago. I'm busier than ever, but at good things. Have gotten back to astronomy and telescope making, but am still working on SCUBA diving (found an underwater film festival instead). All the tasks that piled up over a couple of long illnesses are now on the to-do list. Could be worse tho. I might not be here, and they're on someone else's to-do list. 

My experience with Medicare has been great, but I'm not on an Advantage plan.  

I'll second the vote to take care of yourself. physical conditioning is very important. Don't skip the weights. I'm 70, and feeling much better through a combination of physical therapy and just general workouts. Gyms are all included in Medicare. 

I'm finally getting to build out the garage in the way I've wanted it for a while. That's my current adventure. 

[bluestringer]

Retirement?  I highly recommend it. 

[Volzfan59]

I retired from my career (law enforcement) in 2013 at 53. Figured that 30+ years was enough, plus the stress and PTSD were killing me. Went to work part time at Bass Pro Shops as I love bass fishing. It was the perfect retirement gig for me. Gave that job up at 59 and started fishing…….a lot. Started  drawing my social security at 62. I’m 66 now. Between that, my pension and my wife’s income (nurse) were fine. She might retire next year. As far as boredom goes, it hasn’t been a problem for me. Bought an old farmhouse a couple of years ago, pretty much gutted and remodeled the whole thing. Finally finished in June and moved in. Going to start on the barn when it cools down. Not fishing much anymore, might be a little burnt out. As far as modeling goes, I’m in my shop as much as I want, Monday through Friday until around 3:00 PM. I reserve my evening’s and weekends to spend time with my beautiful wife. I am hoping to start traveling a good bit when she retires. It’s mainly for her. I’ve been all over the eastern United States. She’s not traveled much at all. There’s places that she needs to see.

 

I do recommend not just laying around. Walk or get a bicycle, anything to keep moving. For me, it’s walking or bike riding outside. I hate indoor stationary bikes, inclines, etc. Before retirement, I ran two to three miles everyday. Due to arthritis in my knees and hips running is no longer a thing. The orthopedic surgeon that my wife works for told me to get a bike or start walking. I second what @Dave Ambrose said, my experience with Medicare has been great so far. Heck, my experience with the Social Security Administration has been great. 
 

Overall, I highly recommend retirement, but I was ready. Even though I had made it to Lieutenant and pretty much had it made, I hated putting on my uniform and going to work. My wife on the hand loves her job and isn’t really looking forward to retirement.

Edited Tuesday at 03:09 PM by Volzfan59

[Zen]

Question for you retired ones ............. I'm 64 turning 65 in March, don't plan on retiring any time soon but have been getting overwhelmed with all the Medicare info/junk I have been receiving in the mail. I understand that I need to sign up for it soon but why is everyone so interested in me that I'm going on 65? Are they all trying to sell me insurance or what?

[Rodent]

3 hours ago, Zen said:

Question for you retired ones ............. I'm 64 turning 65 in March, don't plan on retiring any time soon but have been getting overwhelmed with all the Medicare info/junk I have been receiving in the mail. I understand that I need to sign up for it soon but why is everyone so interested in me that I'm going on 65? Are they all trying to sell me insurance or what?

You have to sign up for Part "A". What you do with "B" depends on whether or not your employer is furnishing you health insurance. If they are, you typically would decline "B" and answer some questions about your employer supplied plan. You have to either accept or decline "B", you can't just ignore it if you don't need it.

I believe that you can sign up 3 months before your birthday or up to 3 months after.

[ChrisBcritter]

What if you already have health insurance through an HMO? I only pay the price of a new kit per month for it and my prescriptions are covered. Just turned 65 in July and I need to do the Medicare thing in the next couple weeks.

[Rodent]

35 minutes ago, ChrisBcritter said:

What if you already have health insurance through an HMO? I only pay the price of a new kit per month for it and my prescriptions are covered. Just turned 65 in July and I need to do the Medicare thing in the next couple weeks.

I have group healthcare through my employer and I signed up for A and declined B. If you are paying your own healthcare premiums completely out of pocket, I don't know. I remember that they asked some specific questions about my current plan.

Spouse is retired and has A and B ($555/quarter) and is covered by a "senior" plan through the previous employer (school district).

[bobss396]

This is the time for supplement plan enrollment. I took one right after I retired, a BCBS plan under Anthem. At work, some of us used a broker that did right by us.

Yeah, buckle up for the mailings, text messages and spam calls. I need to come up with some new & creative swear words and phrases.

[Zen]

So, the supplement plan is what they all are trying to sell you?

I'm planning on working for a few more years and have health insurance thru work currently. So basically, it's sign up for A hold off on the others if one has health insurance from the employer? 

 

[Rodent]

1 hour ago, Zen said:

I'm planning on working for a few more years and have health insurance thru work currently. So basically, it's sign up for A hold off on the others if one has health insurance from the employer? 

 

This is my scenario. Once the government "opens", you can probably schedule a callback appointment to ask questions.