My checklist:

1. House paid off:
2. Kid through college:
3. Health care for life:

nope,nope,nope

After working my butt off since 1964 I called it quits. Now the dusty bikes in the corner of my shed are seeing the light of day again. The fun of riding is back

Results are not as bad as I expected so easy resolution is available BUT the humorous part is that date #1 for procedure wife and I fly out to Seattle to begin her(our) long awaited Alaskan Cruise which includes a special dinner for our 45th anniversary and date #2 has us flying out to Oklahoma for grandson's graduation of his Army Advanced Training. Until that date of general anesthesia arrives I will stay vertical except for sleeping or swimming. Hoping the wind is at your SIX.

I retired in January this year. Its been really nice. I need to get out a bit more so I got a fun job that will get me off my rear, and I should still have time to put in 20 miles a day.

Me neither, I am a pensioner now but I work more than full-time, love what I do. Bu tI guess it's the old saying, 'choose a job you love and you'll never have to work a day in your life". I'll hang it up when the brain stops working correctly.

Congrats on the retirement! I am 3 weeks behind you Looking forward to a summer of hiking and biking with of course plenty of honey do's in the mix.

Congratulations to all of you who are enjoying your retirement. I am fast approaching my own this coming January. I am sure among us there are others that are in my situation and I would greatly appreciate any assistance or recommendation. My Wife is 8 years younger, I have a disabled son so she does not work and her medical insurance has always been with my employer. Where you have that gap between Medicare and leaving FTE benefits, what are your doing for medical insurance until Medicare kicks in? I'm finding it to be very expensive through my retirement benefit, over $1,000 /month. Any suggestions or experience would be greatly appreciated.

I know 3 dudes in the same boat but I only heard the figure for one-- well-above average earner for >20 years left full time employment in his 50s (pretty sure he banked plenty), wife never worked... the yearly cost for a medical plan covering both: 11k

The whole process of determining when to "pull the trigger" on retiring can get complicated, especially, if we don't have a good defined-benefit pension plan and we don't have paid retiree health benefits. I'm also in that place ... my spouse is about 3 1/2 years younger and has been on my benefit plan for health coverage. I'll be 65 soon but am still working. I won't have paid health insurance when I retire so that definitely is a big factor assessing expenses in retirement. Fortunately, my job is fairly low-pressure and I'm able to work at home so working a bit longer isn't an issue from a stress or work-life balance prospective.

Have you checked out the ACA Exchanges in your state? Admittedly, those plans can get very pricey, too, especially if you don't qualify for a subsidy and live in a high-cost state. But, depending on your retirement income, you may be able to qualify for a subsidy that makes it more attractive than your retiree plan (btw, if by 'retirement benefit', you mean COBRA, you've got a limited number of months you can use that anyway so you or your wife would still have a gap waiting for Medicare. In CT, we can go through the ACA portal and enter our expected income level to see what plans are available and the estimated cost. Does your state have a similar portal? If so, you could do a cost-benefit calculation compared to your retiree benefit

Alternatively, is working longer an option for you? That's the path I've chosen (not just for health benefit reasons, but that is a factor). But my situation may be very different so I know that may not be a great option for your situation.

Best of luck in whatever decision you choose!

Retirement is great. I retired after 47 years at IBM. I was 70 at the time, and turn 80 this year. In warm weather I ride approx 25 miles every other day, I think it is what keeps me in good health.

What did you do at IBM?

Retirement!Nicely written, [MENTION=465410]Cuyuna[/MENTION]. I too am in a "learned profession." I posted earlier on this thread:Since you mentioned that sense of professionalism, it’s a sticking point for me too. I spent several years in training, followed by decades of experience to get to my current level, but I’m sure decline is inevitable.

Also as you state, the profession is advancing (rapidly from the vantage of decades of practice) and while it is interesting and exciting, we are followed by newer colleagues who now take such advancements as routine.

We must be aware of the best interests of those we serve, and be glad we can enjoy the fruits of our productivity in retirement (IMO, FWIW).

My career has evolved to the point where, on a national level, I participate in those advances, create some of them, and am responsible for teaching and helping my newer colleagues to learn and use those professional advances. It's one of the more productive and enjoyable aspects of what I do. Doing what I do at the level that I do it...you don't get to fool people for very long. Ongoing peer evaluation, public evaluation, and self-evaluation are such an integral part of my profession that there will be no shortage of avenues making it clear that I'm no longer up to the job when that time comes, as it no doubt will some day. But not today, likely not tomorrow.

Again, well said, and no criticism intended, Dr. Smith.

I too want to practice for a while, and that's a drawback to retirement. I'm glad it's not mandatory for me, at least not by age, but younger colleagues are retiring, not too few with relief .

Medical insurance was my biggest unknown but now it seems to have been resolved for us.

FWIW, I went on Medicare at age 65 and my portion of Parts A&B is $134 a month. I got that coverage through United Healthcare and prescriptions are no cost to me. Plus they provide some over the counter medicines at no charge. I needed a private policy for my wife and had choices of going to the market or taking my former company's retiree coverage for spouses. I was unable to qualify for Marketplace coverage so we opted for my company's coverage which was still very expensive. However my physician suggested we look at this option (see link) which technically isn't insurance but does appear to provide coverage for "major healthcare expenses". Medishare acts similarly. These plans may not be for everyone but some might feel comfortable going in that direction.

Christian Healthcare Ministries: Home

Thanks for the post and link. Glad you found good options for you and your wife. I have heard of the kind of plan in your link ... not sure if it's the same one. Yes, it can be a good option in the right circumstances.

Forgive my bluntness and I don't want to start a flame war, but those Christian health-share plans have a lot of problems; please research very carefully before thinking of them instead of insurance.

As for the OP - he probably couldn't get coverage for his wife with such a plan because of her pre-existing cancer condition.