60+ year old thread.

Good morning, everyone!! Today is the last of my working career! of course, I'm on vacation so...... I will truly miss the college, but I'm looking forward to this next chapter. Stay safe!!

 

Congratulations Mark! Enjoy your time.
Even though I don't know Dr. Murray but it seems to me that Lackawanna is in good hands.
She has come a long way from driving for UPS...very impressive!

 

Congratulations Mark. You are now free to be busier than you ever thought you would be. The good news is you will be doing things you really enjoy doing.

 

51 years ago today I woke up to my first day of USMC boot camp. Life was changed forever for the better I might add ! SEMPER FI!

 

Good morning all, off to the dealership in Denver for my wife's the 4-runner's annual service. 2.5 hour drive one way. At least I get out of the house for a while.

Last day of vacation Col @Devious6 , enjoy and congrats on another successful career, not many get a chance to have two productive and successful careers in a life time - well done.

Be safe everyone - we will get through this blip in our world, it will just take time and patience

 

51 years ago next month for me. Inducted into the Army and was at Ft. Bragg NC. I have no regrets, I learned a lot of life lessons in the service both good and bad. If everyone is forced to spend time in a third world country there would be a lot less whining about crap you have no control over.

 

Congrats! And you stay safe also.

I was eligible to retire more than 3 weeks ago for my second retirement but figure will go another 5 years it is a lot more money in the end game. Hard to believe I retired from the Navy 25 years ago, Great Grandma Thomas was right life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer to the end you get the faster it goes.

When I was back "home" on recruiting duty in the 80's used to run applicants to MEPS in your neck of the woods and have them on deck by 0600. That was a long run from Potter and Tioga Counties, but still a cake walk. Except for playing dodge ball with the deer and the government vehicle at O'dark thirty.

Almost nap lunch time.

 

Congratulations Mark. The best thing about retirement is now you can do things when ypi want (unless the missus has a plan) instead of when it has ti be done. Enjoy and relax with a refreshing one.

Thanks for your service and welcome to the porch. Great place to hang out and enjoy the posts. Ooh-Rah Marine!

 

Thanks, everyone!! We ran the numbers on taking social security now or later -I have to live past 85 before I start losing money. Neither of my parents made it that long so I'm playing the odds and enjoying life now.

My folks put a last tribute video together for me and posted it today. Enjoy if you'd like to.

 

Outstanding

 

I for one started early too , might pass away sooner then later and don't won't
leave anything on the table

 

Good morning, all!! The life of a retiree officially began at 00:01 this morning. Funny, I don't feel any different, yet.

 

Good morning all, I too took the early SS once I realized everything we had on the books for 2020 went south (canceled). What I didn't know until I talked to someone at the SS office - you can draw and keep working and still reach your 70 yr old max. If you stop working which stops adding to the SS & MC then what you get at your retirement date is what you get. However, if you continue to work and pay SS & MC the benefits will continue to grow until 70 then that is the cap.

 

Congratulations and the happiest of retired life to you Colonel!

 

Your SS benefit goes up 8% every year (no matter what amount you get) you wait to start withdrawing. My wife started taking hers at 62 (she had no other retirement plan income) , I waited till I retired from my job at 66. In retrospect I feel I could have waited until 71 (max). There are pros and cons both ways - every individual's situation is different

 

I may have not been clear, my apologizes. You are correct every individual's situation is different. Because I am self-employed and am still drawing a minimum paycheck each month I chose to file for SS when I turned 66. The SS amount and what I draw from my business is taxable but the SS grows so my SS continues to go up each year I continue working - up to 70. For me waiting didn't make any sense seeing I can still reach my projected max at age 70 by continuing to work and pay taxes. Yes, the monthly SS amount is now taxable but I was able to lower my monthly paycheck so I can extend the life of my business well into 2021 in hopes things turn around. But again, this may not apply to everyone - I did a lot of calculating and talking with the SS office to make sure I made the best decision for my situation.

 

I hope SS isn’t anyone’s only retirement income. I ran the numbers and figured how long it would take to make up the difference between the age of retirement from 65 to 70.

Then took a good hard look at my age and health. Plus family history. I started SS at 66. I had planned to work another year because I really liked what I did.

Then along comes Covid. I had to isolate for safety. After a couple of months I just decided to call it quits. No regrets. One of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Honestly, I should have done it earlier.

 

To Be honest, I am not doing well not being busy (business wise) - but I will adjust as I am staying busy around here. I do have a substantial retirement package set-a-side but did not want to tap into that until I fully stop my business. Which may be sooner than originally planned (thank you COVID), I to like what I do (did) but we shall see. Maybe I will adjust and choose not to go back.

 

Morning all:
IT'S OFFICIAL, Mark is now retired, congratulations!
As others are saying, every person who goes on pension is in their own situation as for finances.
It's nice to be able to quit working upon reaching 62, but if your only income is from SS that could become a problem down the road if you are fortunate to live for another 20 years or more.
Wives of fellow steelworkers are finding that out the hard way when their husbands die, they end up with very little of his pension even if he gave up some of it so they would get more. In most cases they end up with his higher SS and maybe $125-250 a month from his pension, after they get done paying normal living expenses there isn't too much left over, if anything, for any emergency purchases or repairs.

 

One of the reasons I cashed out of my pension and rolled over my 401k into a new account. We would get screwed if either of us died, she would lose out whatever the pension was paying me and I would lose what the pension was paying her if she was to go first. Retired at 61 (she was laid off @ 59 due to covid) and SS is still years away.