I had a mini panic attack yesterday (hyperbole) about my retirement planning. As soon as D17 makes her college choice next year, I’ll have to do a reassessment with my financial planner. I’m already planning to downsize our home when she goes off to college and generally cutting back on wasteful spending (cable, cell phone, unused theatre subscriptions, bulk buying for a small family, etc.) so that I can more aggressively save. We’re pretty frugal, but I can’t help but think of more cost cutting measures to increase my savings, which has not been at the level that I would have liked the past few years.
You didn’t give enough information.
Nobody needs to see your real numbers.
Does your pension have an inflation kicker?
Are you saving more than you spend?
Are you going to get social security?
An inheritance?
What kind of returns on your assets do you think you are likely to achieve?
How much is your net worth?
Are you going to downsize?
Are you trying to leave an inheritance?
When are you retiring? When are you going to die? Sorry. I think we all are dying.
Have you tried this calculator?
http://financialmentor.com/calculator/best-retirement-calculator
Does anybody know if turbotax calculates magi? I’m trying to get an estimate as to how much medicare B I will have to pay.
@dstark, I appreciate the questions. I’m really starting to pay more attention to retirement related information.
The expected (vs real) return is the scariest part of the equatin for me. Once you stop earning, and there’s a huge downturn, then what? That’s what keeps me up at night. Thanks for the calculator too. I’ll take a look.
You need to have a cushion to protect yourself in a downturn.
You need to have some cash or short term cds or notes so you don’t have to sell assets like stocks in a downturn.
Or…you kill yourself when your money gets tight. 
I’m joking and not joking.
I told my wife, if I am 80 or more and I have a stroke, I am permanently damaged and my care is going to be expensive, pull the plug. If I am younger than 80, use your discretion.
I am hoping my wife doesn’t needlessly kill me. Hopefully, we won’t be fighting right before I have a stroke.
@dstark, she needs to keep you around for your humor and the laughs you surely provide!
That’s where bonds and cash come in. I think we can tough it out if a downturn lasts less than 5 years.
@dstark, They are good questions: Let me see if what answers I can come up with:
Does your pension have an inflation kicker? No.
Are you saving more than you spend? Yes for now. But for about half a decade, no.
Are you going to get social security? Yes.
An inheritance? No.
What kind of returns on your assets do you think you are likely to achieve?We will be happy if it is 3% or more.
How much is your net worth? Wish I could have 11 times my last year income (but I know it is unlikely in my life time to achieve this, unless I either win a lottery or could manage to work the same or similar job I have now till I am 80 yo :))
Are you going to downsize? I want to do so because our house is too big for us. But we have not got around to do it yet.
Are you trying to leave an inheritance? No.
When are you retiring? In a year (or two, which is highly unlikely.)
When are you going to die? Hopefully in 20 years or before we run out of money.
Let me add another question here:
How likely will you need the financial support from your son or daughter? If I die too old, very likely. Hopefully this would not be the case.
@DocT - from what I can find out, MAGI for medicare is simply your AGI (line 37 on your 1040) + tax exempt bond interest (line 8b).
This is what I found. I don’t understand the IRA part, why isn’t a 401 or 403 on here also??
AGI without:
Any passive loss or passive income, or
Any rental losses (whether or not allowed by IRC § 469©(7)), or
IRA, taxable social security or
One-half of self-employment tax (IRC § 469(i)(3)(E)) or
Exclusion under 137 for adoption expenses or
Student loan interest.
Exclusion for income from US savings bonds (to pay higher education tuition and fees)
Qualified tuition expenses (tax years 2002 and later)
Tuition and fees deduction
Any overall loss from a PTP (publicly traded partnership)
@Doct,
I think you have to add in tax free interest if there is any.
Where is your link?
That list looks like what is used for calculating IRA contribution limits. There are a number of MAGIs used for different things, they are not all calculated the same.
The SSA says MAGI is “AGI + tax-exempt interest income”.
I just looked at my 2015 taxes and it shows the magi in form 8582
The IRS has no involvement with Medicare other than collecting the taxes, they have nothing to do with calculating premiums or administering the programs or setting benefits or whatever.
The MAGI computation for form 8582 (one of the most heinous tax forms there is, but I digress) has nothing to do with Medicare.
Like I said, there are many MAGIs that get used for different things. For example, ACA uses a MAGI to calculate premium tax credits that is different from the 8582 MAGI, and both are different than the Medicare part B MAGI. You are not going to find the Medicare MAGI definition in IRS documents, because the IRS has nothing to do with it.
Did you see the pdf from the Social Security Administration that I linked to above?
Honestly if one has some steady stream of money coming in for monthly expenses (some allocated, maybe some pension or annuity) and they are not spending down the ‘nest egg’ in a big way - and for us the big expenses have been the kids and things like cars and the house and insurance. Taxes always to consider.
One has to be as smart as one can be with investments and building up the investments. Taking care of one’s health (I had to laugh at the way pull the plug scenario was presented, but in a small way, hope it doesn’t come to that!)
I do think taking control does help put aside worry (when one is ‘doing something’) - so maybe be on a more frugal budget some period before retirement to see if one should/could retire and what the comfort zone is.
2016 is a crazy year but the markets are not crashing at this point. Fear and worry of unknown, but there is no way for certainty with investments that have some risk.
Funny the lottery came up. I guess the one has gotten big again after 14 times with no winner. Last time I drove the 20 minutes to buy tickets. Tomorrow may be a good day to go for a drive again. If I wasn’t lucky - but I have won $$ (in smaller amounts before; twice in a row won $4000 at an annual gala, so the $8000 paid for a very nice family vacation). I won’t have my 1 in 212 million chance if I don’t buy a ticket. Something to make my day happy - the possibility and the dream. I enter the HGTV home give away too - someone in our area won the last one.
Had a cancer support meeting - the guest speaker has beaten the odds during his short life (he is maybe 21, 22 now). His dad had colon cancer at age 33 (the kind affecting small intestine, very deadly) and died a few years later; this boy was actually sick first, had a rare form of liver cancer as a toddler (1995) and Children’s Hospital specialists said he had 0 chance of survival, but God had a different plan. He was the first to have a liver transplant after cancer at this Children’s Hospital. He has had so many years of continual treatments - he is smiling, still moving on. Near death more times than one can say, and he is in treatment even now.
Found out about another gal that has stage IV breast cancer - it has spread not only to her bones but her bone marrow. Her MIL told me she stopped to buy a dress, and then was overshadowed with the fears that maybe she will die before she has a chance to wear the dress (in my view, she got excited about the dress, don’t let fear take the joy away).
Just heard a pitiful statistic about a very low ‘average’ of retirement savings for people that are within 10 or 15 years of 65. There are huge numbers of people not prepared like the people on this thread.
Hope everyone can lighten up!
For me, it is irrelevant, the magi is the same in any of these cases and equals my agi
Who doubles checks your agi numbers and magi numbers? Social security workers? I am asking for my mother because I am way younger than you. 
@notrichenough was correct. I think it was page 5 of his link.
I have no idea as I haven’t yet applied for medicare. I’m still on my wife’s insurance until she retires in August. This stuff is way to complex. Now I’ve noticed that she can go with an hra instead of an hsa.
While I’m on the medicare kick, has anybody tried to reduce their medicare costs because they have retired and have less income than reported on their previous years income tax.