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Laws can change. Towns and cities can go bankrupt. We may even see states go bankrupt.</p>
<p>As I contemplated retirement, the BIGGEST issue I had was how to deal with my health insurance. I could have stayed on my previous plan as a full pay for $775 a month…just for me…and then we had to factor in DH (who was on my plan also). I chose NOT to do that. Luckily my husband has coverage at his work and we are now on his insurance plan. It’s fine…not terrific but fine and we are grateful to have that option. If both of us had been contemplating retirement, this ONE cost would have led us to rethink the decision…it would have been $1400 or so for both of us to stay on the plan we had as full pays. The other choice would have been to look for coverage with another vendor…we did, and it was very costly too.</p>
<p>I know a number of folks who have deferred retirement solely because of the health insurance issue.</p>
<p>Prime farm land is a nice hedge for inflation sceario as land price will keep up with inflation, but I am start to noticing a buble in this field also.</p>
<p>"Laws can change. Towns and cities can go bankrupt. We may even see states go bankrupt. "</p>
<p>First the state will raise taxes as they have a legal obligation to pay it. Secondly, the Federal government will not let any state go bankrupt.</p>
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<p>Any idea how to invest in this short of buying and running a farm? My last name is not McDonald and I am not Old so I don’t plan on spending time with chickens but I sure would like to profit from some one else’s hard work. Ain’t that the American way?</p>
<p>Average farm ground by me is selling at $7500-8000/acre. Even with current grain prices, I don’t see how anyone can pencil that out. It’s selling though. A decade ago I bought 2 rental houses and an 100 acre farm. Houses have been a nightmare with dealing with renters and the houses are worth ~70% of their cost. Renting farmground is easy and it’s worth 4x what I paid. Wish I had a lot more ground :)</p>
<p>A food co-op in our area has been investing in local land & farmers.
[PCC</a> Farmland Trust](<a href=“http://www.pccfarmlandtrust.org/]PCC”>http://www.pccfarmlandtrust.org/)
But independent investors can do so as well.
[Consumers</a> are buying into organic farms - Chicago Tribune](<a href=“Consumers are buying into organic farms”>Consumers are buying into organic farms)</p>
<p>[Slow</a> Money: Investment strategies appropriate to the realities of the 21st century - Slow Money](<a href=“http://www.slowmoney.org/]Slow”>http://www.slowmoney.org/)</p>
<p>My plan is not to let my DH retire. ;)</p>
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<p>Rent to someone else to farm. Or you can plant pine trees, but this is an investment for your children & grandchildren. Timber prices have been so low since 2008 that it isn’t worth putting it out to bid for many folks.</p>
<p>It seems to me acreage prices are as low as I have ever known them to be. But it also seems to me land is something that has some intrinsic value. maybe. I would rather own land than stocks or have a whole lot of cash in the bank. </p>
<p>When you own land, you usually also have the mineral rights which can sometimes turn out to be a good investment. But again, maybe for a generation down the line.</p>
<p>edit: you can lease to a hunting club</p>
<p>Please be especially careful buying farmland. Assumptions can turn a good investment into “Why did we think this was a good idea?” alh is correct, renting tillable ground is easy. But mineral rights may or may not go with the ground. And some counties have been tightening zoning regs on some ordinary transactions … like subdividing for a single house development. In my FIL’s case, it think the county rule was “One house lot subdivision OK for a direct relative, otherwise minimum lot size is 40 acres.” (And I thought Napa Valley was the only place with 40-acre zoning.)</p>
<p>re: Post #46</p>
<p>I stand corrected. Boysx3’s scenario appears to be correct … it seems you can collect your own benefit until spouse retires, and then claim the spousal benefit when the spouse begins collecting his/her (full) benefit:</p>
<p>[Social</a> Security Spouse Benefit – Called A Social Security Spousal Benefit](<a href=“http://moneyover55.about.com/od/socialsecuritybenefits/a/socialsecurityspousebenefit.htm]Social”>Social Security Spousal Benefits: What You Need to Know)</p>
<p><a href=“And%20I%20thought%20Napa%20Valley%20was%20the%20only%20place%20with%2040-acre%20zoning.”>quote</a>
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<p>Where my inlaws live / farm, the minimum lot size for a new house is 80 acres in some cases.</p>
<p>I’m not sure it’s legally possible for a state to declare bankruptcy, since they have unlimited authority to tax. I can find out.</p>
<p>"… the minimum lot size for a new house is 80 acres in some cases."</p>
<p>When FIL sold his “retirement” farm … 34 acres tillable plus a contiguous 6 acre homesite … he was able to sell the parts separately ONLY because his property was “grandfathered in” when the new zoning regs were put in place a decade ago.</p>
<p>States can not declare bankruptcy. Also if you look critical at every States budget they are actually flush with cash to pay all of their constitutionally required bills plus debt payments and operating costs what they are short on is the money used to build their political power base.</p>
<p>That’s really cynical.</p>
<p>Not that I disagree.</p>
<p>No, they can’t declare bankruptcy. What they CAN do however is defer contributions to pension plans, and/or borrow money from those plans to cover annual budget shortfalls. No one really knows how big the contribution deficit is. In Connecticut, $25 Billion seems to be a popular estimate of the state’s underfunding. (What was Everett Dirksen’s quote? “A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money.”)</p>
<p>NJ is considered one of the States with the most dire finances. Total budget $30 billion. I am rounding. Operating budget plus debt payments $7 billion. Income tax collections $11 billion. Since the income tax is constitutionally required to fund schools I take that off the table although you could make the case some of those funds could be used to make teachers pension payments. In this case I will not do that. That leaves $12 billion. This year the State was to make a $3 billion dollar pension payment after missing 90% of their payments over the last 17 years. That leaves $9 billion of discretionary funds to allocate. Far from bankrupt.</p>
<p>Also the State is free to make cuts to the operating budget if they wanted.</p>
<p>So tom1944…when were colas retroactively dropped from pensions?</p>
<p>What’s to stop Connecticut (or any other state) from passing a law making the “free” health care insurance now require a 50% contribution to the premiums? Or even make it so miserable no one would want it?</p>
<p>What’s to stop states from passing a law capping pensions, or requiring that you wait until 65, or lowering the highest amount to a more normal 50-60% instead of 80%, or increasing the employee contribution to make it fully funded without state contribution? </p>
<p>Some very large percentage of that $9 billion is Medicaid and transportation, which is not really discretionary.</p>