When To Retire

Recent changes in law will soon make the new retirement age for full Social Security benefits, 67 years old. The two reasons given for this change are: the strain on funds due to the Baby Boomers starting to hit 65 years old around now, and the fact that in general we Americans are now living longer than ever.

When we look at that on paper, the reality is that for an average man who finishes college at 22 and works until he is 67, he will have worked for 45 years of his life. If he retires and lives to the ripe old age of 97, that is 30 years of benefits, and if he is healthy, he will have plenty time to enjoy the later years of his life. But the reality is that most men don’t live anywhere near that long, and most, by the time they are 67, are suffering some sort of health issues. Obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol are the most common issue affecting men at this age and older, and can limit the enjoyment of the retirement years in a multitude of ways.

In my family, the recent loss of my uncle lead me to the realization that ALL the male relatives in the generation preceding mine have now passed. Of the eight men including uncles by blood and marriage and my father, three of them died of disease before age 67, three died in their 70’s and two in their 80’s. So much for the retirement years...

My oldest brother recently announced that he will be retiring early and my first reaction was “GOOD” because at 62 he will still have plenty time to enjoy his retirement years in good health. Here is a link that shows you how your Social Security benefits pay if you retire early: http://ssa.gov/pubs/retirechart.htm

All this pondering of the lack of longevity in my family amidst a clan of widows, and concern over the men in ill health, has lead me to think about what can be done. Here is what I came up with: #1 I want to believe that we can all count on Social Security when we retire so I will hold my breath on that one as a basic cost of living contribution to our life in retirement. #2 To a certain extent we do have control over our health, so the effort put in now to be healthy could mean future payoff in retirement years. #3 The biggest thing that I think we all need to consider is how we will supplement the meager Social Security income and going one step further, maybe even retire earlier than age 67. My solution to that dilemma is simple - financial planning. Probably less than 1% of us knows how to do that, but that is what the pros are for. The link in my title is an example of someone with an excellent reputation in this area who can help any of us with this task. Even those with modest incomes can and need to have some sort of plan for their future retirement.

My own father worked very physically hard his whole life, and died at age 75, but I am glad to say that he retired at age 60 when he physically had to, and enjoyed many years of retirement, doing the things he wanted to and reaping the fruits of his labor financially. Although I am not sure that I will retire at 60, I do know that I will follow his example of planning carefully for my retirement years.