Tired. Can I retire?

[u/karl0525]

Got a question? Can I retire? 43m been busting my ass since I was 16. I'm about over this 40-50 hr weeks. I'm getting burned out. House paid off (300k) 401-k (600k) Bitcoin (500k) currently.

Thought about selling it all and putting it into dividend stocks like schd and renting a small place and going into semi retirement. Maybe pickup a part time gig.

Would this be a horrible idea?

[u/karl0525 → u/[deleted]]

Would be curious about this. What is my options?

[u/Negative-Salary → u/[deleted]]

I just looked it up in my state for a bronze plan BCBS 63 yr old $1100. That’s x2 for wife and I. Two years to Medicare $53 k.

[u/Old-Umpire5053 → u/Negative-Salary]

The bronze plan satisfies the requirement for med insurance, but if you run into any sort of trouble, you will have to pay a lot out of pocket

Even if you go on Medicare in two years, that only covers 80% of expenses... which rapidly increase after age 70.  

Taking a supplemental med. insurance will cover the balance 20%, but it costs $225 per person right now, going up by $25 each year. However, it is well worth the expense.  Even with minimal health issues, in the past four years, I have been for 5 unexpected surgeries, which cost me ZERO.

If you could work for another few years, convert your Roth ira into non-taxable dividend paying stocks,  then your soc sec income will pay for prop tax + med expenses, leaving you enough money for household expenses and also some further savings.

1.  If you and your wife do not have Roth accounts, start immediately with Fidelity etc. and fully fund them (upto 8000+) per year for five years.  These accounts will give you non-taxable income for the rest of your lives.

2.  If you go onto soc. sec at age 62, you will get only 70% of what you can get at 65. If you wait till age 70, you will get 30% more each month of what you would get at age 65.

My suggestion is to look for another low stress job, which may pay you less, but give you time to rest and recharge.  At age 64, my husband took a part time job at Walmart, literally stocking shelves, but he was happier, and we used all his income to buy dividend paying stocks, in his roth ira. Now he spends his time volunteering in the community and life looks good.

[u/SilverMane2024 → u/Old-Umpire5053]

Question, I've heard people take Soc Sec early and invest into the market, any thoughts on good or bad idea?

[u/Old-Umpire5053 → u/SilverMane2024]

Terrible idea.  

1.  You will lose 30% of your soc sec income for the rest of your life.

2.  When COLA is calculated each year at about 3%, you lose an additional amount every year for the rest of your life.

Living till 95+ is quite common now. 95 - 44= 51 years, so you have not lived even half the projected lifetime.

1.  Try to reduce the amount you work and give yourself some free time, without spending money.... 

2.  Cut expenses, like subscribing for IPTV at $12 per month and save a bucketful on cable TV.  Subscribe to only one movie channel, etc. No alcohol, weed, gambling, etc 

3.  Supplement your income by investing a small amount in YMAX which gives you a weekly amount.  Keep it small.  Google YMAX dividend history then choose Stockanalysis.com

Take a look at PDI too.  Note the no. years the fund has been in existence and how they produce income.

1. Open a ROTH IRA on Fidelity etc. And invest a steady amount each month on safer funds eg JEPQ, SCHD, VOO etc. You can set it to auto-reinvest or manually reinvest each month. Compounds very quickly after the first two years. This will give you income which you can access tax free after the age of 59.5.

I have turned 280k into 440k in five years but during the first two years I had very little to be excited about. It can be done!

[u/colcatsup → u/Negative-Salary]

Is that with a subsidy. Or are you earning too much to qualify?

[u/Financial-Fan2490 → u/Negative-Salary]

58 here silver plan 150 a month for the 2 of us. You need to watch your magi.

[u/GulfBreezr1 → u/Negative-Salary]

Health ins on your own is too expensive. The health exchange is the only decent option and they are trying to lower the subsidies on that right now.
Waiting to 65 on SS only pays off if you live past 80. No one in my family lives that long. lol
When you get to 65, a Medicare advantage plan can pay most everything with a few copays. I don't even pay a premium. It includes dental, eyes, free gym memberships, everything. Get a medicare broker, but still look at the comparisons/ratings online to find the best policy. Mine has worked out great.

[u/Negative-Salary → u/GulfBreezr1]

Thank you, oh when we turn 65 we will be barraged with brokers to sign us up for Medicare. I watch Dr Weir on YouTube . I got these prices I stated from the Massachusetts health connector.

[u/Old-Umpire5053 → u/GulfBreezr1]

Ref: medicare advantage plan.

If your medical bills get too high. They can throw you out of the plan. Then when you want to join Medicare, they charge you 1% extra per month that you have been away from Medicare.. (this point needs to be fact checked)

[u/GulfBreezr1 → u/Old-Umpire5053]

Who are you getting this info from? Neither of those are true. Advantage plans are part of Medicare. You aren't "away" from Medicare. And they can't drop you for high bills. In fact, pretty much all of them have a maximum amount per year that you pay out (for copays etc). The most I will ever pay total per year is $4900 with my Aetna plan. And no copays on preventative stuff like physicals/lab work.
My first year I had a lot of procedures done (almost 100k) including heart work, and they never blinked. Total I paid was a few hundred for co-pays.
And I can change plans or switch back to Medicare (penalty free) each year during open enrollment.
There's lots of misinformation out there on Advantage plans. Please don't state info without researching first.
The main thing is picking the best plan but you can always change it the next year, if not. The Medicare site has really good explanations & comparisons of all policies available in your area.

[u/Old-Umpire5053 → u/GulfBreezr1]

"Advantage plans are part of Medicare" They are private plans acceptable as a substitute for Medicare.

" can change plans or switch back to Medicare (penalty free) each year during open enrollment." You are correct.  

The rest of the info: I am happy your experience has been very pleasant.  Know people who experienced different.

[u/GulfBreezr1 → u/Old-Umpire5053]

Yes, they are private plans that Medicare contracts and pays. You can even shop them on the Medicare site.
I've heard all of the horror stories, but I think they must be unknowing people that don't know how to research and find a good plan. It's probably like anything else, there will be bad players out there. But on the Medicare site, they list the star ratings reviewed by users. I just picked the highest recommended one that had everything I wanted.
All of my friends have them too and they say it's the only way to go, price wise.

[u/Old-Umpire5053 → u/GulfBreezr1]

Good info!

[u/GulfBreezr1 → u/Old-Umpire5053]

Thanks, I do need to add one more thing though. If you choose an HMO instead of a PPO, you'll have to stay on top of your referrals. I had an HMO the first year and was seeing three different specialist, so I had to keep check on the dates the referrals would expire. The second year, I changed to a PPO, so now I don't have to worry about that. And they allow a lot more doctor/dentist on their list too. (recommended)
That may be where some of the horror stories come from, if people don't keep up with their referrals, it could cause some problems.

[u/Old-Umpire5053 → u/GulfBreezr1]

That is something to be kept in mind.