We use 95, too.
@Pizzagirl while I am mandatory at 57 my issue is whether or not to set aside a supplement (a portion of my pension which is set aside that my hubby will receive if I die before he does) for my hubby because we are 16 years apart. His sweet momma is 86 and his grandmother lived to 99.
When I retire he will be 66 (pension and Medicare eligible). Leaving him a supplement reduces my monthly pension by $234 a month. If I pass before him he will receive 1) life insurance, 2) social security death benefits and 3) 401k balance. If I leave a supplement then he will be covered by my medical coverage (which I’ll take into retirement) and his Medicare. If I leave no supplement and die before him, he will only have Medicare…and who the heck knows if that (or social security) will be around.
As I’m typing this I just recalled that we both have long term care health insurance in addition to our health insurance…maybe I just answered my own question.
I use 100, cuz why not shoot high? There is a product called “longevity insurance” which is a sort of annuity that will kick in if you live past a certain age, I think it is 85. Sounds worth looking into.
Happyface, if you decline the survivor benefit for your DH, he has to sign off on it. It’s not just your decision.
I’m a pension administrator. Had a client once who decided to retire so she could take care of her ailing husband who was 15 years older than her. They declined the spouse’s survivor benefit, despite being advised not to do so. Three weeks after she retired, she passed away suddenly. They never got a penny of the pension she earned from 35 years of being a nursing assistant. It was the saddest thing I had encountered in my career. That survivor pension would have come in handy for helping with his medical bills and home health aides.
@Countingdown Thanks for that but I am fully aware of the requirement and don’t believe I said I would be making the decision on my own. My husband and I are jointly discussing the decision.
Post Updated to use my inside voice :">
No need to shout.
@MotherofDragons It’s not in my nature to shout…just wanted to make it crystal clear that I’m not attempting to circumvent any policy.
My biggest financial risk is that I live forever, so I don’t like projections where I run out of money before age 120.
I think much depends upon the percentage cut you take for the survivor benefit. At my company, it’s a big hit to choise the survivor benefit, so most people don’t take it, but buy a healthy life insurance policy for much less. However, we don’t get medical benefits (I don’t think) after Medicare, so I’d have to figure out how beneficial that was, in HappyFaces situation.
Happyface, I wasn’t implying that you were trying to do an end run around your DH. A lot of people (even intelligent, financially savvy CC members) don’t realize that by law, spousal consent is required to waive survivor benefits.
Survivor pension benefits is a topic that comes up regularly on retirement threads here as we all try to figure out what works for our personal situations. There are a number of CCers who work in benefits/investments/law who try to help clarify some of these issues as they arise on these threads.
Heck, my DAD wanted to waive survivor benefits from his military pension to get an extra $150/mo. My mom didn’t have any other benefits than SS, had very little work history, and no personal savings. Thank goodness he called me before they signed the papers.
The big CC retirement thread (how much do I need to retire) is loaded with things to consider and good advice. I have learned a ton about wills and estate planning there.
How long has the waiving of the survivor benefit clause been in the rules? A friend was surprised to find out just recently that spouse waived survivor benefits … contrary to what had been discussed at time of retirement almost 25 years ago.
I think it’s been in place for a good 30 years or so, but others might know better.
H and I wanted me to get survivor benefits. He had 45 years at his workplace and a nice pension with COLA. The current benefit is reduced by 10%, but it lets us both sleep better at night, knowing I will get 55% of his pension as a survivor benefit. Due to H’s current age, I think life insurance would be pretty costly now.
I am significantly younger than H and my family lives a very long time. My great uncle lived past age 100! Both my folks are still alive and fairly healthy in their 80s/90s.
I don’t think either of us are going to get survivor’s benefits. We have the same job, same pension, retiring at the same time, are the same age (though my husband occasionally refers to people as being my age—6 months older, which does not go over well :-O), and are both healthy and hope to live a long time. It’s just a very significant cut, the other person will be left well off anyways. I can see doing it particularly if one person is in bad health, a lot older, or the other person depends upon that pension to get by, or if it wasn’t much of a decrease. It sounds like HImom’s situation is very clear cut.
I have attended a couple of retirement seminars lately, and the speakers have suggested really checking out the cost of insurance vs the reduction amount. I know my uncle, who was a government senior executive, chose life insurance instead of the survivor benefit, and he was in HR. My husband and I are in very similar situations regarding our jobs (we don’t do the same thing though). I suspect insurance will work better for us too.
@1214mom That is part of our dilemma as well because the life insurance payout will be hefty (even when split between my hubby and daughter). Not only that, the social security benefits which will be paid to him if he outlives me are much more than the retirement supplement I could leave him.
My next question is whether or not to leave money in my government 401k…the administrative expenses at close to nothing in comparison to others.
One thing at a time I guess…we are taking our daughter to DC to start school at The George Washington University! She helped us out by earning a Presidential Academic Scholarship LOL :))
I get 100% survivorship for my wife’s pension. It is reduced to .91 of what she would have gotten if we didn’t do this.
“My next question is whether or not to leave money in my government 401k…the administrative expenses at close to nothing in comparison to others.”
The other thing to consider is how good - or bad - your range of investment options are staying put vs. taking it elsewhere.
And on a light hearted note, for those who have extra money laying around and are having trouble deciding where to retire - consider living aboard a cruise ship! For a mere $175k per year, this could be you! 
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cruise-ship-living-retiring-to-a-life-at-sea/
Note: My parents, who are retired and have taken a number of Crystal Cruises, have met this woman and say she is a lovely person. As the article says, the staff just loves her! I believe the ship she’s on is the one that is traversing the Northwest passage so at least on this trip she gets to see something different.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/08/crystal-serenity-luxury-cruise-arctic-northwest-passage/
I am regularly floored by my teacher friends who don’t understand their spousal benefits under SS vs their Texas non-covered service. I feel like shouting - You Will Not not get the SS spousal benefits that you think you wil get. The double dipping that existed until about 15 years ago has been eliminated (and rightly so, despite the fact that I won’t get the $ I would have if I had been 20 years older and retired back then)
Go to the social security website and do the calculator.