Retirees, Those Soon To Be and the Hobby

MNCW posted:

 

I'd be interested if many people moved after retiring? Moving is one of my least favorite things especially after accumulating lots of train stuff. I had a bit of skin cancer earlier this year and got a good bill of health after that. Heat and the sun (Florida) do not interest me as much as cool weather and a good dry basement. Hoping to move from the Lower Hudson Valley of New York State to mid to upper or even Western New York. Property taxes are 1/3 less in many of these places and people seem to be quite a bit friendlier. Property taxes get lower in NY when you hit 65, too. 

Thanks for all the great stories and advice. Hope it continues and we can keep updating how things progress. 

Tom 

Western New York is pretty friendly and you can still get good pizza and other ethnic food despite what the downstate boys claim. As for property taxes, Monroe County (Rochester) has some of the highest if not the highest taxes per assessed valuation in the nation. Home prices tend to be lower as a result but that is offset by the high taxes.  

Lots of plusses here including many train clubs and good shows. You would be more than welcome here. Just be aware of the total cost of home ownership.

Pete

Tom lives in the lower Hudson Valley where housing costs are dramatically higher than in Western/Central Upstate NY (Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester). School taxes are the biggest real estate issue in NY State, and they are just as high, if not higher, in the NYC metro area. Here's what Zillow has to say about the most expensive city in Upstate NY (Rochester), as Norton notes.

"The median list price per square foot in Monroe County is $100, which is higher than the Rochester Metro average of $99. The median price of homes currently listed in Monroe County is $144,900. The median rent price in Monroe County is $1,250, which is lower than the Rochester Metro median of $1,272."

Thus even with the higher school taxes compared with national figures, housing in Western NY state metro areas is less expensive than in almost any other urban area in the United States, based upon national figures.

Hey, The only thing better would be if you guys are offering to pack me up whenever I move! 

Thanks for the info.

Tom 

Tom,  if you prefer rural life, you can be 20-30 minutes from a university medical center and live on a farm .

Landsteiner posted:

 Go on a European trip as one of my sons recently did and there are plenty of people in their 80s on the tour. 

We've taken 5 trips with Viking...4 river cruises in Europe, and 1 on the Baltic Sea covering 8 countries. Viking caters to those 55 and older, but most seem to be in the 65-80 range (I'm 75). These are mainly well-traveled, active people (lots of walking tours to go on). However, they are not inexpensive.

Other friends have moved to from the city to country to take advantage of lower costs and get a bigger home.  They didn't count on, however, that more health problems come with aging.  The country hospital is fine if you have the flu or a broken leg.  If you need sophisticated cancer or heart care, however, the country hospital is not adequate.  Some friends have to drive  3 or 4 hours to see a specialist.  One friend needed a knee replacement.  They have to spend several nights in a hotel in the city far from their home to get this done.  Physical therapy is also a long drive from the their home and it needs to be done a couple of times a week.  

I've been retired for several years. My wife is still working. We've talked on and off about relocating after retirement. But we've come to realize that our town has very good resources for older folks. And our house is located in a walkable area. How many suburban folks can walk to their local public library, bank, post office, and a small grocery store?  Plus we have a decent medical community /services to which we have some enduring relationships.
So we are staying put as long as we can.

MNCW posted:

Lee, Sounds like they are used to the lifestyle they have been living for all these years and don't want to change. Hopefully, they are happy and in good health. Since they have each other that's a good thing. My parents were like that, too. 

Tom 

Some older folks just have all the "stuff" they ever wanted, traveled to the places they wanted to see, and now have money because they don't want to buy anything else and stay home, happy.

Some folks have wondered if they have "enough" $$$ on which to retire.  I was in the same boat years ago; I thought I'd be down-sized (wasn't) and I had nowhere near enough assets.  Out of the blue CNN Money online published a story about "Reality Retirement" vs "Traditional Retirement."  Traditional is pushed by the brokers, etc., advising you to take only 3-4% out each year, and to add inflation for every year, such that if you were going to start out taking $20K/year, by the time you were 90, you'd need $150K (my dreamt-up numbers).

Reality asserts that EVERY year you will spend less than the previous year. Some things go up like medical care, but others go 'way down.  I started thinking, then recalled my own parent's spend profiles as well as my inlaws.  Also, I had the good fortune of previously retired execs coming into our offices for consultation work, so I asked them, and THEY confirmed the spend profiles as well.  Google "reality retirement" and/or look for a PDF file by Todd Bernicke. The paper backs up the assertions with hard data from Dept of Commerce, Labor, etc.

I retired 6 years ago, and so far, my spend profile matches Bernicke's almost exactly.  Just before I retired, I took my excel s/sheets to my Fidelity guy asking what he thought of it.  He told me that he had several other clients doing the exact same thing, and as long as I was disciplined, it should work out well.

The original article also noted the 3 phases of retirement "go-go", "slow-go", and "no-go."  You get the picture. The whole issue was that all these folks were saving money for "later" (as P51 said), while younger retirees (I started at 57) had all this energy, so why not ENJOY life?

I'm not associated with any brokerage or advisement firm, or nuthin.  I'm just a retired aerospace SW guy.

Reality asserts that EVERY year you will spend less than the previous year.

Depends on how you spend your money while working.
The cost of living and taxes continue to rise.
Homes and cars need maintenance.
Cars need to be replaced.
And so on.

C W Burfle posted:

Reality asserts that EVERY year you will spend less than the previous year.

Depends on how you spend your money while working.
The cost of living and taxes continue to rise.
Homes and cars need maintenance.
Cars need to be replaced.
And so on.

I would agree. On a good year my property taxes go up 2% each year. I am lucky (again, not retired yet) if my salary goes up that much. Over the last 5 years of my working, I think we had raises of 0%, 0%, 0%, 2% and 2%.

Tom 

We had a wonderful system where I worked. They had a woman who hosted meetings with the people that were getting close to retirement. Her best advise was don't move soon after retiring. If you're thinking of moving rent a place in the location and see what it's really like to live there. We waited four years to move. We knew we wanted to live in Kauai and didn't want to get too settled where we lived or we would never move. Friends always seemed to talk of moving to some wonderful place but never did.  After a few years they stayed were they always lived. Both my wife and I had the idea that it's good to change. We had lived in the Bay Area most of our lives. Change keeps you young. We rented homes on the island two times. We found we love Kauai as a "drop" vacation but to live there was just a little too quiet. I had done a lot of filming on Maui so we tried that and loved it. It's not easy moving to a place like this. You don't know anyone and everything is different. We made tons of friends and love it here. Are worries were groundless. We saved an amazing $11,000 per year on property taxes from the bay area. We have a bigger house and view. There are lots of breaks for retired folks here also. I know it sounds silly but we are going on vacation soon...to Kauai.

Russ love your place, hows the trout fishing? Don

Don, the eagles seem to be way better at it than I am!   

Fishing in the area is outstanding, my river joins a world class fly fishing river just two miles from the house (try 30 inch plus trout)! 

More tourists today, so more time at the train park!  Russ

I have to say we miss trout fishing. We do keep our Explorer loaded with fishing gear. No fishing license required and no limit. We do either have to look up what we caught or ask a Hawaiian if they are good to eat. This is a goat fish, we can eat them. Don

Don, Now you're just rubbing it in!  

Tom 

At my age, retirement is not an option.  I've been saving since 23, yet I'll be working until I'm on the wrong side of the grass

Good thing I love the things I do for work!  Of course I started this hobby at 6 and never left.  I've had more years enjoying than most and for that I truly feel blessed.  Best hobby ever.

MNCW/TOM

It was my pleasure to serve our country, it's shown me things and provided me with things I only could imagine when I was younger, I kinda wished I could go back, it took a while to adjust to the civilian way of things.  I'll be around for a while, GOD willing and don't worry I'll try to step up on my communication with the FORUM, train layouts in the early stages do command a lot of time.  Thanks and take care.   MARSHELANGELO

Yes, the thought of full retirement sounds fantastic, getting up anytime one wants sounds so good, even traveling anytime, anywhere, (if finances permit), is a dream come true....So, I plan to work a three day week for one more year, the hours I choose, and possibly mid 2018, (if all the BTO engines come in), I will retire. I have a lot of finishing touches on my layout to do, lots of lights and accessories to complete...Then, there is honey Do projects, wow, lots of those.....So, my finances are in order, my health is good for being 72, my wife wants to travel, I have 6 sons and 10 grand children to visit, it's simply close to saying, it's time.....This is a Fun thread, Happy Railroading....

I have been retired full time for 18 yrs. Tried the part time thing and nobody really wants you except as peons doing drudge work.  My only advice is to be prepared for changes to plans and life circumstances.  I hope it works for everyone.

Kerrigan posted:

MNCW posted:

Lee, Sounds like they are used to the lifestyle they have been living for all these years and don't want to change. Hopefully, they are happy and in good health. Since they have each other that's a good thing. My parents were like that, too. 

Tom 

Some older folks just have all the "stuff" they ever wanted, traveled to the places they wanted to see, and now have money because they don't want to buy anything else and stay home, happy.

...and then there's my parents.

They think that now they're in their 80s, they can't go anywhere, like its against the law or something.

Just the other day on the phone with them, Dad talked about how much he'd wanted a 32 Ford hot rod. I reminded him he could afford it, but it fell on deaf ears.

They will never get on an airliner to ever visit us again (the second and final time ever was in 2005), or anyone else by air, ever again. That has been made very clear to me in the past.

It does pain me to know that there is ZERO chance they'll ever see my layout in person, for that reason.

Greg, Retirement was strange for me also at first. I remember sitting on a nice sunny day and just reading a book most of the day. I felt guilty. You are a first rate guy and will do just fine. I only spent three years in the army from 1965 to 68. Stay with this forum and enjoy your life. Don

scale rail posted:

We had a wonderful system where I worked. They had a woman who hosted meetings with the people that were getting close to retirement. Her best advise was don't move soon after retiring. If you're thinking of moving rent a place in the location and see what it's really like to live there. We waited four years to move. We knew we wanted to live in Kauai and didn't want to get too settled where we lived or we would never move. Friends always seemed to talk of moving to some wonderful place but never did.  After a few years they stayed were they always lived. Both my wife and I had the idea that it's good to change. We had lived in the Bay Area most of our lives. Change keeps you young. We rented homes on the island two times. We found we love Kauai as a "drop" vacation but to live there was just a little too quiet. I had done a lot of filming on Maui so we tried that and loved it. It's not easy moving to a place like this. You don't know anyone and everything is different. We made tons of friends and love it here. Are worries were groundless. We saved an amazing $11,000 per year on property taxes from the bay area. We have a bigger house and view. There are lots of breaks for retired folks here also. I know it sounds silly but we are going on vacation soon...to Kauai.

Russ love your place, hows the trout fishing? Don

Don, hope you have a great vacation on Kauai. We love it there, my in-laws have a condo there and we visit them there every other year. You're right about it being quiet, but that's one of the things we love about it. 

John 

scale rail posted:

Greg, Retirement was strange for me also at first. I remember sitting on a nice sunny day and just reading a book most of the day. I felt guilty. 

I was pushed out with a retirement "package" when our company (Scott Paper) was sold. At first, I would look at people going to work in the morning, and feel "left-out". A few months later, I felt sorry for them.

Joe,

Your situation reminds me a bit of mine.  This time two years ago, I was making the decision whether to take an early out package.  We decided to take it, though I still needed to work longer.  Here I ended up coming back as a contractor at the same company working on a special ongoing project.  It's been 2 years, with no end in sight.  It is kind of nice not having to work on up to a dozen projects at a time and no real deadlines.  I usually drive the half hour into the office, but if I have something else going on, I can work on the computer at home.  It is those days I feel the 'semi-retired' feeling.  Yes I do feel sorry for the folks I used to work with and the two guys 1000 miles away who are picking up the work I used to do.

incidently, yesterday marked 41 years since I started working in telecommunications.  A lot has changed 

MNCW posted:

I was wondering how much train related stuff retirees get to do once they are retired...like what's your "Train To Do List" like? 

 

For those soon to retire, any big plans?

 

I need 7.5 years if all goes well. Seems like 750 years sometimes!

 

Tom 

Hi Tom!

Great questions.

I was wondering how much train related stuff retirees get to do once they are retired...like what's your "Train To Do List" like?

Well, I think it's still too early for me to tell on that one.  I've been officially retired since April 28 when my better half retired.  I think you're aware that we built a new house in the Pittsburgh area and then moved into it.  Getting the house established and set-up has consumed most of my time.  I've done a lot of work but none of it has been directly train related.  I'm trying to get the workshop into shape so that I can actually start building the layout. 

My "Train To Do List" makes the Twelve Labors of Hercules look like a trip to the local supermarket. 

For those soon to retire, any big plans?

Huge plans.  Is there any other way to dream but big?    Like my father always told me "Your eyes are bigger than your stomach".  LOL  I have huge plans not just for my own layout but for the layout at the Weirton Area Museum and Cultural Center.  That effort is also under way (detailed planning phase). 

George

I semi-retiremented until my wife of 43 years died from ovarian caner last June. My daughter moved back in in July and that helped. I work about 20 hours a week at the "Depot" which has helped. I now take about 1/3rd of the kitchen counter for train stuff. I have thought about selling and renting but have 3 dogs and a cat. I'm stuck which is OK.  And a main floor laundry in a 1500 sq ft. home single story home built in 1979. You are right about repairs. Property taxes just increased my value $20,000 ( I appealed and won a reduction) Look out in 2 more years.

Living in northwestern Iowa, I have a 5 hour drive to Caboose Stop Hobbies which is the closest 2 rail store I have, 8 hours to Chicago.

DIck

G3750 posted:

MNCW posted:

I was wondering how much train related stuff retirees get to do once they are retired...like what's your "Train To Do List" like? 

 

For those soon to retire, any big plans?

 

I need 7.5 years if all goes well. Seems like 750 years sometimes!

 

Tom 

Hi Tom!

Great questions.

I was wondering how much train related stuff retirees get to do once they are retired...like what's your "Train To Do List" like?

Well, I think it's still too early for me to tell on that one.  I've been officially retired since April 28 when my better half retired.  I think you're aware that we built a new house in the Pittsburgh area and then moved into it.  Getting the house established and set-up has consumed most of my time.  I've done a lot of work but none of it has been directly train related.  I'm trying to get the workshop into shape so that I can actually start building the layout. 

My "Train To Do List" makes the Twelve Labors of Hercules look like a trip to the local supermarket. 

For those soon to retire, any big plans?

Huge plans.  Is there any other way to dream but big?    Like my father always told me "Your eyes are bigger than your stomach".  LOL  I have huge plans not just for my own layout but for the layout at the Weirton Area Museum and Cultural Center.  That effort is also under way (detailed planning phase). 

George

George,

   Glad to see things are moving along with the new house. Congrats on your official retirement status. Judging by your last layout, i'm sure your next one will be even more spectacular.

Tom 

CBQer posted:

I semi-retiremented until my wife of 43 years died from ovarian caner last June. My daughter moved back in in July and that helped. I work about 20 hours a week at the "Depot" which has helped. I now take about 1/3rd of the kitchen counter for train stuff. I have thought about selling and renting but have 3 dogs and a cat. I'm stuck which is OK.  And a main floor laundry in a 1500 sq ft. home single story home built in 1979. You are right about repairs. Property taxes just increased my value $20,000 ( I appealed and won a reduction) Look out in 2 more years.

Living in northwestern Iowa, I have a 5 hour drive to Caboose Stop Hobbies which is the closest 2 rail store I have, 8 hours to Chicago.

DIck

Still catching up on some of these comments from earlier today since my work frowns on these things during work! 

Dick...two things. I noticed in your bio that you are a Vietnam Vet. Thank you for your service. I think I mentioned elsewhere that my dad was in the Army for nearly 50 years from prior to WWII to around 1980 and was a Master Sergeant. 

Sorry to hear that your wife passed away. If train stores are too far from you, does eBay help at all? I know some people knock it, but I've overall had good experiences. Glad you have a section of the counter for yourself. Trains are great therapy! 

Tom 

Mark Boyce posted:

Joe,

Your situation reminds me a bit of mine.  This time two years ago, I was making the decision whether to take an early out package.  We decided to take it, though I still needed to work longer.  Here I ended up coming back as a contractor at the same company working on a special ongoing project.  It's been 2 years, with no end in sight.  It is kind of nice not having to work on up to a dozen projects at a time and no real deadlines.  I usually drive the half hour into the office, but if I have something else going on, I can work on the computer at home.  It is those days I feel the 'semi-retired' feeling.  Yes I do feel sorry for the folks I used to work with and the two guys 1000 miles away who are picking up the work I used to do.

incidently, yesterday marked 41 years since I started working in telecommunications.  A lot has changed 

Mark,

  You were one of the people I was interested in hearing from again. I think in an earlier post you said you were on track to leave around when I am supposed to, but I see you said you got an early option...good for you! Hope you have more train time now that you are semi-retired.

Tom 

Tom,

I got the early option, we banked and invested the severance money, and I am collecting two small pensions a month.  Next year I will be 62, so we will see what SSA tells me I could get.  Both the credit union and my financial advisers said some folks are happily surprised.  Time will tell.

In the meantime, my pay from working 40 hours is about the same as my old salary was.  I am using the pensions for insurance and putting into my IRA what I was putting into my 401K.  I can take off work any time, but it is almost always for health care needs of my parents, aunt, and my wife.  This year in particular is that way.  Those of us who have parents who were young when we were born (mine were 25 and 26) can still be in their 80s when we are thinking of retiring.  My parents were young when their parents passed on (they were in their 20s when each of their fathers passed and 30s when their mothers passed).  We on the other hand were mid 30s before we had any children.  All that to say, train time has gone to elder care instead.  Well, that is fitting and proper.

As to moving, as long as parents are still living and daughters are still in the area, we won't be going anywhere, unless we move in with my mother-in-law across the road to care for her. (Her idea, not ours)  She is only 20 years older than me.

I retired in April 2016 at age 58 and have never looked back, nor have worked since. Company provided me with the golden parachute and took me exactly 3 seconds to say yes, I will take the package. Screw this BS, I am not working for this corporation any longer enduring their BS. Company changed over the years from spending lavishly on the employees to having us work for Wall Street bottom line figures. No need to do work until I get bored which will not happen anytime soon. We just moved so have plenty to do with the house and with the trains.

Mark Boyce posted:

Tom,

I got the early option, we banked and invested the severance money, and I am collecting two small pensions a month.  Next year I will be 62, so we will see what SSA tells me I could get.  Both the credit union and my financial advisers said some folks are happily surprised.  Time will tell.

Hi Mark, Are you implying that the SSA sometimes underestimates the monthly benefits amounts? If yes, I had never heard that before, but that would be nice.

Tom  

Ted Bertiger posted:

I retired in April 2016 at age 58 and have never looked back, nor have worked since. Company provided me with the golden parachute and took me exactly 3 seconds to say yes, I will take the package. Screw this BS, I am not working for this corporation any longer enduring their BS. Company changed over the years from spending lavishly on the employees to having us work for Wall Street bottom line figures. No need to do work until I get bored which will not happy anytime soon. We just moved so have plenty to do with the house and with the trains.

Hi Ted,

So you lived in NJ before you moved, right? Did you stay in NJ or go elsewhere? I think I mentioned, moving is one of my least favorite things. Anyway, good luck unpacking and keep those trains safe! 

From when I started the topic in 2015, there were a few folks who originally posted and were on the verge of retiring or who had recently (again, in 2015) retired:

• AMFLYER-planned on being done 
• SIRT-hoped for 2 years 
• QUICKCASEY-retiring then and hoping for a dry basement!
• PAULG-needed 115 days more
• NCT-needed 1 year
• RTRAINCOLLECTOR-retired 1 year prior
• KUNDE- retired in Jan. 2015
• BO1N106- retired June 2015

It would be nice to know how things worked out for them. I think we all hope things worked out well, financially, health-wise and train-wise. 

Tom 

Hi Mark, Are you implying that the SSA sometimes underestimates the monthly benefits amounts? If yes, I had never heard that before, but that would be nice.

There is a tool on the SSA web site that will project your social security benefits based on your real data. You have to input some personal identification information, and make some choices
Check for yourself, I believe this to be a legitimate tool, provided by the US government. (link below)

SSA Estimator

Thanks C.W. Yes, I know about that, I believe that is the same info that we all used to get when we all used to get a mailing around the time of our birthday each year that was called the benefit letter or something like that...and it would list all the earnings you had for the last 20 or 30 years, or so.

I wasn't sure if Mark was saying those estimates are on the low side and your actual benefit amount could be higher, for whatever reason, like maybe one's earnings are slightly higher than the old income info they were using to calculate off of.  Just hoping to be pleasantly surprised!  

Tom  

I wasn't sure if Mark was saying those estimates are on the low side and your actual benefit amount could be higher, for whatever reason, like maybe one's earnings are slightly higher than the old income info they were using to calculate off of.  Just hoping to be pleasantly surprised!

I guess I would rather have the estimate a bit low than a bit high.
The estimator has the user input their projected salary for the years between the estimate and actual retirement.

I mention the estimator because there may be some folks who are not familiar with it.

One of the other things folks might like from the SS website is a chart that tells you based on what year you want to collect, what percent of the maximum benefit you can receive (based on what year you were born). 

For example, for those born in 1960 or later:

https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/1960.html

Tom 

MNCW posted:

Mark Boyce posted:

Tom,

I got the early option, we banked and invested the severance money, and I am collecting two small pensions a month.  Next year I will be 62, so we will see what SSA tells me I could get.  Both the credit union and my financial advisers said some folks are happily surprised.  Time will tell.

Hi Mark, Are you implying that the SSA sometimes underestimates the monthly benefits amounts? If yes, I had never heard that before, but that would be nice.

Tom  

Tom,

Yes, that is a good way to put it, I think.  Under what conditions and how often it happens, I have no idea.  Both advisors said to make an appointment with your local Social Security office at least 3 months before your 62nd birthday, and they can make a more realistic determination for you.  Then you have a better idea of when you will want to start collecting.

In my opinion, one of the biggest challenges of today's retired is where to SAFELY put the savings you have. Back in the "old days", a 1-year CD was a good choice. In 1985, a 1-year paid 11% interest. However, that has been plunging ever since: 1990 8.5%, 2000 5.1%, 2010 .81%, 2016 .27%.

In short, for a decent return today of 3%, your money will be at risk.

Tom and C. W.,

thank you for the links to the online tools.  I have gone to tha SSA Web site and made online accounts for my wife and myself to print out the annual forms they used to send in the mail, but I don't remember looking at these links.

Joe,

As my sister and I have been learning what accounts our parents have the last few months, we discovered they had a CD for 1% that just happened to mature last month.  We got that money out of there.  For the time being we are using it to pay for their personal care home until we get a determination on assistance based on Dad being a war veteran.  They would never share any of their finances with us until Mom couldn't handle it any more and Dad dumped it on us to figure it out.  I don't intend on doing that to our daughters.

Oh I forgot to add, I agree that I would rather have low estimates too.  Hopefully the online tools can give a ballpark idea, and when the time comes the folks at the local office can find something that entitles us to a little more.  If not, we will plan accordingly.