Re: #15739
However, for those significantly younger, the political risk of reduced or eliminated Social Security (and Medicare) is greater than it is for those already in their 60s or 70s.
I agree. Our SS takes care of a good portion of our basic needs. One thing to remember is there will be medicare payment taken out of SS and one may have to pay taxes on it. $40K a year may come down close to $30K after that. It is still a lot of money to pretend that it is not there. Do people have such high income they ignore $50-80K a year?
We are meeting with our financial advisor at the end of September to discuss retirement strategies for DH. He will collect SS at some point. He also has three IRA/TSA accounts of various amounts. We will look at all of that as well as what Iâm currently collecting in pension money. My SS is only $230 a month (offset and windfall provisions)âŠand right now that pays my Medicare bill. I also have several retirement accounts which I have not yet tapped. The timing of all this will be part of the discussion with the FP.
I have about 18 months before I will need to take RMD from my accounts, and I know that might affect my Medicare premium. That will be taken into account as well.
I donât think people ignore it. In my case, I just plan for worst case scenarios so donât factor it in. Plus, itâs not near $80K per year.
Wow-- very popular discussion! So we live in a highest-cost part of the country and are moving to only kinda high cost part of the country for retirement. First we plan to be debt free including college for our three kids and our home paid off. To maintain the standard of living we are used to â which is fairly affluent-- we are looking at $150k/year before taxes. (sounds like a lot but the tax rates are very high and we plan to travel and entertain ourselves extensively while we still feel like it.) We can cover that from our pensions (yes, very lucky for have them!). My biggest worry is medical. It can drain you dry no matter how much you have saved. We plan to spend $2000/month on very good on health insurance coverage and hope that continues to be an option. But that price will go up over time. We will have a large amount of cash from the sale of our current home that can be invested and used for emergency high-cost items that might arise. But we are retiring âyoungâ (50 and 60) so it still seems risky even with a ton of savings and stable retirement income.
Husband will be receiving his first Social Security check next month. Heâs already on medicare, and quite thrilled. Weâre both working, and I may not start my SS until Iâm 70. We have a ways to go till real retirement, but the Social Security makes it more real. Gulp.
âWe plan to spend $2000/month on very good on health insurance coverage and hope that continues to be an option.â
@Techno13 Will you have access to employer insurance in your early retirement? Itâs easy to spend $2000 a month on very, very mediocre health insurance.
bc, the author does discuss SS in a connected article, but the analysis purposely excluded SS and other sources of income:
https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-money-need-to-retire-early-on-investment-income-2019-8
@doschicos I meant for two people. $50K - $80 for a coupe I thought wasnât too far fetched.
My SS will be quite modestâhopefully a bit more than my Medicare premiums. Perhaps it will also lay our portion of Hâs family insurance policy which we plan to have forever. It may also pay Hâs premium for Medicare. Whether or not it does, we are fine.
We donât have anywhere near $30-70k from SS, but we will be fine anyway. H will get no SS as he is drawing a fed govt pension, which he is very grateful for. I am currently planning to draw my SS when I turn 70, but who knows?
@Techno13 - Dh retired at 55 last year. We just rolled off our COBRA. I chose the âCadillacâ health insurance plan while dh chose the âHondaâ plan. We are paying $2,000 per month for the combined total. Had we both chosen the Cadillac plan we would be playing close to $2,500 per month now. I am hoping I can convince dh to up his plan for next year. Weâll see. He was the âworking person,â in our household, but I am not allowing his choice to exit corporate America early compromise my health care. I am DANG happy to be able to get what I can get now. I hope I can continue to get this level of coverage for the next ten years.
I donât give one iota about the SS. I can do without it. I cannot do without Medicare.
âI donât give one iota about the SS. I can do without it. I cannot do without Medicare.â
This.
@Hoggirl & @BunsenBurner â Agree with your sentiment about Medicare. I think of SS as something that may pay for my Medicare premiums. If it ends up being more than that, wonderful, but I do not feel comfortable banking on it 15+ years in the future.
Found this online (from Motley Fool) about max SS benefits payable in 2019 â they sourced the numbers from SSA:
age 62 $2,209
age 65 $2,757
age 70 $3,770
I would assume these numbers mean youâve had earnings in excess of the SS wage base every year for your highest 35 years of earnings. For 2019, that wage max is $132,900. These benefits are also before Medicare premiums and taxes (where applicable).
I donât get it. With SS $2757 per person, you could buy double triple Cadillac heath plan and still have something left over. And you donât care? I used to believe that that I donât care about SS. Since I started receiving it, I realized it is a tidy sum that comes in handy. It covers all my basics, bills, groceries. It doesnât pay our taxes. We have a huge tax bill. It is the single biggest spending. If we donât have that and downsize, I think SS can take care of my modest needs for the rest of my life. It is a good deal. I donât know where this âI donât care about SSâ comes from.
" With SS $2757 per person, you could buy double triple Cadillac heath plan and still have something left over."
Who is going to sell a triple Cadillac plan for so little to an old grandma with Alzheimerâs?
My SS is about $230 a month (due to the offset and windfall provisions). It pays for my Medicare billâŠwhich includes IRMMA because my husband is still working.
Itâs nice to have. But Medicare is even nicer to have.
How long the grandma lives with Alzeimers on average? Hoggirl up thread mentioned $2500 for double Cadillac. For a couple, SS pays about $5500. You save $3000 per month until you get Alzheimers. Your lifetime without Alzheimers is likely longer than with Alzheimers. Keep the money growing and use it when you are hit with Alzheimers. Donât get me wrong. I like Medicare, too although we are paying $1,000 per month for IRMMA this year. Just saying it sounds bit nonchalant to say I donât care about SS when SS payment is substantial and not to be ignored.
@Iglooo â The premium for the best plan sold via Access Health in CT is $2032 per month for a single 64 year old. $1300 deductible & $5000 out-of-pocket max. Assuming health care costs continue to rise as they have, I am more concerned by the loss of Medicare than the elimination of SS.
hog girls, unless you have health issues, I recommend looking into a high deductible plan with HSA. Run the numbers. (Its taken me two years to convince daâ wife that a $2500 deductible â saving $250/mo. in premiums â is a better deal than a Cadillac plan, most years.)