In my example I’m assuming all else stays the same. I haven’t thought about when to collect SS as part of this example.
Jackson is beautiful, the elk preserve/refuge is cool, (I don’t know if the mangy moose or silver dollar bars are still there but that is causing a flashback) and flying into/out of their airport, between the teton mountains, is intense.
What percentage of your retirement income would that $4000 per year be?
Perhaps we should talk Jackson Wyoming in the WINTER folks! Cold, cold, cold, and dare I mention, cold?
Obviously, the Jackson home owner has a condo in HI.
4K a year, that depends. I think we lose about $2500 per year for every year we retire before 60 (and after 57). That wouldn’t be a driving factor as far as continuing to work. Even if it was 4K.
More important is having to pay for health care (which I just found out is 24K/yr to keep our same plan), and the big decrease in income. And of course, the, “What will I do,” factor, and job satisfaction.
The skiing at Jackson Hole is fabulous!
I wouldn’t think $4K would be material enough to change two years of my life, butratt I love what I do and hence would work regardless.
I would be someplace else for Jackson winters though my kids would undoubtedly love to ski there if we had a house there. But I think the issues raised about health care and airport probably rule it out as a place for the next phase.
$4000 is approximately $167 per pay period (assuming being paid 2x per month) which when you break that down doesn’t seem like a lot.
But it depends on a lot. $167 could be your food budget or your electric bill. An extra $4000 could pay for a very nice weeks vacation. Or an improvement to the house. $4000 more in an emergency fund or to go to a new car if that’s your thing.
We have some of the same dilemma. When to plan retirement as H has a pension. Should he waits until his birthday which is in September and gives him another year of service. Or retire at the beginning of the summer which gives him a summer of no work before the long winter. It’s approximately $3000 more a year, every year for 3 more months of work.
I don’t know what he will decide. We have some financial goals that need to be met and if they are accomplished, then the decision may be easier. He will retire at 62, has retiree health benefits but will not be at full retirement age for SS.
I suggest he stay until September, @deb922, but do sone sort of planned surgery or medical procedure at the beginning of summer. That’s pretty common in my industry, get the medical things done before you retire, particularly if you need to stretch out the time before you retire. If he’s critically needed in his job, maybe not much of an option, but if he’s replaceable, something to consider.
Laughing about @Sybylla comment. My old tennis partner now winters in Hawaii and summers in Jackson Hole. I know the used to rent when they were first considering the idea. I lost track of her so not sure if they bought or are renting. They also are skiers.
Great idea to contemplate @busdriver11
makes no sense to me to work for 9 months and then quit three months prior to another pay bump, deb.
I agree @bluebayou. I’m hoping he makes the decision to stay until his birthday month. Right now he’s hanging on but there are days it’s really hard.
Can he put a good bit of his vacation into the summer?
Unless there are extenuating circumstances, 3 months for 3K every year seems like an easy decision.
I don’t want to be one of those people who keeps saying “1 more year,” but I also don’t want to find out at 90 that I should have worked those extra couple of years to continue building the nest egg. I worry about a financial market decline right after retirement also.
Nobody ever said, on their deathbed, “I wish I had spent more time at the office”.
Time is precious, and fleeting. I think most of us will have trouble getting out of save mode and into spend mode, but at some point you have to decide what’s more important, time or money.
So much depends on what ones finances look like. The value of time vs money can be challenging to quantify.
For H, if he kept working longer than he did without retiring, both his income and pension would have decreased.
He did work as a contractor for 6 months after he retired as a favor to his boss and former coworkers but decided that was enough. It helped pay for one of our kid’s unexpected extra year of private college. It also allowed us to pay off our mortgage and build our emergency fund before full retirement.
Now that he’s fully retired, we are much more flexible in our plans and he’s able to happily accompany me on nearly all trips.
On the other hand… there are a lot of retirees saying that the high medical costs are eating into their fun money. It needs to be a balance, each family different.
Those who had heavily subsidized employer medical insurance need to account for the cost of such (ACA plans before 65, Medicare premiums and supplement or Advantage after, plus copayments and deductibles) when planning retirement spending needs.