Early Retirement:
Prepare for the Unexpected
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Permanent vacation--that's
the goal of many people who are considering early
retirement. Time to travel. Time to spend with
family and friends. Time to follow up on personal
interests, whatever they may be. And plenty of income with
no money worries.
It is the "no money
worries" part that sometimes creates unpleasant surprises
for early retirees. (And by early retirees we mean people
who retire in their fifties.) |
Creeping (or galloping)
inflation can
crimp your style
One issue to keep in mind
if you are retiring early is that in 15-18 years the cost of
everything will double. That has been the pattern
for decades and is not likely to change anytime
soon. So what may seem to be ample funds for your lifestyle
at 55, may be far too little money at 65 or 70.
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Staggering health insurance costs
for early retirees
Be
prepared to spend $500 to $800 a month per person for health
insurance--if you can find a company that will provide insurance
to you at all--until you are age 65 when you can sign up for Medicare and
Medigap insurance.
Some people have taken part time jobs just for the health care
benefits.
Too bored for words
After a
couple of years of travel and seemingly endless hours and days
for personal interests, it is not unusual for early retirees to
find themselves missing the challenges of the work world.
They miss the workplace camaraderie and social network--not to mention the respect an early
retiree commanded in his/her last job. The solution: go
back to work.
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A
Real Life Retirement:
A
stock broker, Elaine, retired in her mid-fifties and decided she
wanted travel to be her new Number One Priority. She
contacted several airlines and one of them hired her for their
security department as a wand lady--the person that uses a
detection wand on people going through airport
security. The pay was abysmal but the incredibly cheap
travel was fabulous! In the training classes
she found out that she was only one among many retirees who wanted a job with the airlines for the
travel benefits. Better yet, Elaine got health
insurance benefits--a big issue with early
retirees. Because she was an empty nester, she was
more than willing to work the 5 p.m. to midnight shift.
"Better than 20 years of getting up at 4 a.m. as a
stockbroker," she said. TSA now handles most of
this security work, but Elaine moved up to being a reservation
agent--still working the evening shift. Still
flying all over the planet. |
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Your feedback and
comments are welcome. If you have experiences or
ideas to share, please send
feedback now.
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NOTE: All names
on this site have been changed to protect individual
privacy. The stories are real, the names are not. |
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25%
The percentage Social Security
currently reduces benefits for people who retire at 62
instead of their full retirement age. |
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