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[hughver]

I retired in1995 from an upper management position in a large cooperation. My advice is be financially stable, a house mortage is a killer in retirement. Join a social club that focuses on a subject that interest you. Your interest and new friends will keep you from being bored. In my case it was a yacht club. Travel! make a list of all the places that you've gone to that you liked but did not have time to fully enjoy. Pick one or two a year and revisit, staying longer. A good way to do that is to acquire an RV. I purchased a used 40'diesel motor home. We stayed busy and met a lot of new friends along the way. My last move was to move into an active adult living environment. Our community has more things going on than you can shake a stick at. I don't do much anymore but my wife plays pickle ball and bridge (she has become a bronze life master since moving here), hikes etc. I think golf may be next for her. AZ is a little hot in the summer but we try to return to the NW in the summer or travel to somewhere cooler. Here we have access to all that a big city has to offer (Phoenix/Scottsdale) but have the solitude of a near country atmosphere. NO REGRETS! (Other than selling my boat)

[urnmor]

I know I need health insurance but for now I see it as a waste of money

Again just my opinion: it may be a waste of money however when you do need it your policy may not cover existing conditions.  So again IMO I would get it.  by the way it is not only COVID, cancer etc that may bite U in the A-- it could be your ticker, an accident auto or otherwise. 

In any case I am sure the decision you make will work for you.  Bottom line: Life is too short not to enjoy it.

[02ebz06]

I know I need health insurance but for now I see it as a waste of money

Again just my opinion: it may be a waste of money however when you do need it your policy may not cover existing conditions.  So again IMO I would get it.  by the way it is not only COVID, cancer etc that may bite U in the A-- it could be your ticker, an accident auto or otherwise. 

In any case I am sure the decision you make will work for you.  Bottom line: Life is too short not to enjoy it.

Agree 100%.   Insurance is something you pay and hope you never have to use.

[Darwin]

  Bottom line: Life is too short not to enjoy it.

Every time I turn on the TV or radio and hear of a famous person dying at an early age it makes me think...   We don't get a do over...

[hughver]

I know I need health insurance but for now I see it as a waste of money

Again just my opinion: it may be a waste of money however when you do need it your policy may not cover existing conditions.  So again IMO I would get it.  by the way it is not only COVID, cancer etc that may bite U in the A-- it could be your ticker, an accident auto or otherwise. 

In any case I am sure the decision you make will work for you.  Bottom line: Life is too short not to enjoy it.

I have Medicare and an AARP UHC supplement part F. cost is not that bad and I have lots of medical problems. No deductible or co-pays for Medicare part A or B. I also have AARP UHC supplement for Medicare part D drugs). My open-heart bypass surgery cost me zero out of pocket.

[Bentley]

This kind of stuff seems to me to be the most important data you can get!

I have Medicare and an AARP UHC supplement part F. cost is not that bad and I have lots of medical problems. No deductible or co-pays for Medicare part A or B. I also have AARP UHC supplement for Medicare part D drugs). My open-heart bypass surgery cost me zero out of pocket.

[hughver]

Medicare Advantage plan cost a lot less but restricts doctors to in-network only. none of my specialist are in the network,

[urnmor]

I have found this thread to be very interesting.  I also note that the age of respondents to be quite varied.  I probably fall in the older age group at 77.  so I suspect our age has played a role in our responses.  I know if I was in my sixties my responses may have been different especially when it comes to minor aches and pains.

[yorkdude]

Talk about perfect timing.

[Bar-B-Lew]

Anyone use Fidelity Retirement Analysis Score to assess the financial readiness of your plan?  Or use something similar?  Any thoughts on pros and cons of using a financial adviser?  % of investment fee basis vs pay as needed basis?

I've been using Fidelity Score and not using a financial adviser for my planning on curious on what others are doing or have done.  We've been keeping pretty good account of our spending for the last 3 years so have a good handle on where the money is going and whether we think it will be similar going forward and using the tool to provide the inflation aspects.  I don't think I want to spend the money that I have been quoted for a financial advisor based on % of investment $ with them.  But, I also don't know what I don't know. I have been talked with 3 advisors a year before Covid to try to learn more from them, but have not talked to anyone since then.  I have no pension so I will have to live off of investments and social security.

[urnmor]

Anyone use Fidelity Retirement Analysis Score to assess the financial readiness of your plan?  Or use something similar?  Any thoughts on pros and cons of using a financial adviser?  % of investment fee basis vs pay as needed basis?

I've been using Fidelity Score and not using a financial adviser for my planning on curious on what others are doing or have done.  We've been keeping pretty good account of our spending for the last 3 years so have a good handle on where the money is going and whether we think it will be similar going forward and using the tool to provide the inflation aspects.  I don't think I want to spend the money that I have been quoted for a financial advisor based on % of investment $ with them.  But, I also don't know what I don't know. I have been talked with 3 advisors a year before Covid to try to learn more from them, but have not talked to anyone since then.  I have no pension so I will have to live off of investments and social security.

I have been with my advisor since 2006 and I let him do the recommendations on our 401k etc.  Since I am retired I am  conservative in my investments with a split between bonds and stocks. 

[JoeGrilling]

I "got" retired at age 62 due to corporate downsizing.  My company provided COBRA at no cost to me until I was 63 and a year severance.  They allowed me to pay for COBRA for another year.  My wife is a therapist with a private practice so she took over the health care payments for tax purposes.  I felt like I hit the promised land when Medicare time came around.  My COBRA was expensive but no where near what ACA was costing us for way lower benefits.  About the time my wife turned 65 our last child was off the payroll so we no longer had to deal with ACA.  She plans to work to 70.

I felt fortunate to have had almost eight years of retirement so far.  Lots of projects around the house to do.  Most are fun projects.  You need these to keep your brain working.  My uncle was a high level manager at Ford Motor Company.  He wanted to retire at 65.  His company encouraged him to work until he was 69.  He died from an illness six months later.  We all have an expiration date.

[bregent]

I just retired last month at age 63.  I've had a few financial advisers over the years, but after calculating how much more I would have had if I had just invested in a few index funds, I probably could have retired 5 years earlier. I fired the last one and now do it myself.  I use Personal Capitals free retirement and spending tools to help calculate my retirement plan.   
Another good tool to help determine which accounts to draw upon in retirement is the free Optimal Retirement Planner - https://www.i-orp.com/GlidPath/extended.html

My wife is still working so we're on her health plan, but I looked into the ACA Plans, and here in California they are very affordable. I can get a very good PPO plan for about the same premium I was paying in my employee health plan.

[Hank D Thoreau]

I retired in January, not long before the lockdown.

I am goal driven, but I make sure I had goals outside of work. I was a bit more limited during the pandemic, but hiking and scrambling up mountains was safe. I set a goal to hike 1,000 miles during my 65 year old year.

I made it in 10 months, along with 217,000 feet of elevation gain. Next was completing 200 Southern California Peaks (which I started as a pre-teen), which I did the end of September. Now, I am focusing on 1,000 miles in the 2021 calendar year.

I have about 67 miles to do in December. I should be able to make it. I finished November with 102. My mileage is down from earlier in the year, but the miles have been much more rugged.

I am also building up my guitar song repertoire and learning blues piano. That gives me something to work on when I am at home.

I found that I adapted very quickly, and it did not take long for my work focus to shift to my personal outside of work goals.

I am still waiting to start travelling. We had set some travel goals before retirement that we had to put on hold. That is why it is important to have something in reserve.

I was doing a lot of indoor climbing training prior to the pandemic. I was working on getting my outdoor climbing confidence back (age related decrease in strength and agility). That plan had to go on hold.

I was a competitive archer and expected to be competing now, but I am so busy with my current activities that I have not had time to train. That's one more thing I can get back to.

I think keeping busy is key. My dad was successful at retirement. He started taking outdoor classes and going to Elder Hostels, which is now call Road Scholars.

He was an amateur photographer (aerial photographer during WWII) and used retirement to get more seriously into it.

As far as medical, we went with an Advantage plan because we live in an area with large medical networks. All of our PPO doctors were covered by the Advantage plan.

I think if you don't have a large network then they can be a disadvantage.

Something to keep in mind about medical insurance, if you think it is a waste of money. Medical issues can cause you to lose your house if you are not covered.

People complain about high co-pays, which can be a bummer, but the most important financial issue with medical insurance is covering the stuff that can bankrupt you, not the things that cost a lot, will hurt, but you can manage.

You never know when you will be diagnosed with a serious illness or have an accident.

[Darwin]

I have interviewed a few financial advisors and they are more knowledgeable than I am on the subject but I have a problem paying them up to 3% on money I made and giving them power of attorney over my accounts.  Considering 6% growth is generally considered conservative I refuse to give away half for a few hours of work each year.  Some do provide services for an hourly fee, that seems more reasonable to me.  I spoke with a VP from Personal Capital last week.  The conversation/sales pitch was high level and I walked away thinking it was a waste of time.  Fidelity has good calculators that can help inform.  I also use free template from https://www.vertex42.com/ExcelTemplates/  (Admins feel free to delete the link if it's against policy )