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[C.Ann]

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[freckles and boo]

It sounds like if she is frugal she would be fine. Pensions aren't based on the market and neither is social security. I am only 41, but I already have a bum knee. If I were in her position I would go now. Life is unpredictable and you don't want to look back and regret what you didn't do. My husband's aunt is my role model in this regard. She went to China this year, she gets out with her girlfriends, she is having a stellar "widowhood". She is cramming as much life in as she can WHILE she can and I think it is great.

 

[C.Ann]

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[handicap18]

At that age I would think she wouldn't have most of her 401k in a high risk setting. She should have moved them to very low risk (at least most of it) a few years ago in anticipation of retiring soon. There for her risk over the last few months would not have been big at all.

The market is NOT going to get back to what it was 4-6 months ago. If you really want to know how much money your 401k "lost" in the stock market, look back at where it was 5 years ago which was about the time they really started doing all those crazy, lets-get-everybody-even-those-who-can't-afford-it mortages. It was because of all the preditory lenders that the stock market rose to where it was last year. Then they all got cought, foreclosures skyrocketed and the market is now correcting itself. If you currently have more money than you did 5 years ago, then you made out pretty good. The market NEVER should have gotten as high as it did, as quickly as it did.

At 70, if her pension from the post office is good and she's got the 401k and no bills. I would retire. Find an EASY part-time job for some extra spending money and to keep myself busy (even if it means standing at the front of the store and saying "Welcome to Wal-Mart"). They do some traveling, spend time with the grand kids and friends. Keep some investments to earn her some interest and extra money, but now its her time to enjoy the rest of her life.

 

[C.Ann]

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[Cheshire Figment]

Over the years, as a CPA with a private tax practice (outside my regular employment), I have found that many women, especially single, have been very worried about retirement. These have included Federal GS-15s and a woman who was a very senior manager with a National utility and over $400K in investments and only $50K mortgage on home.

It also included my late wife. Every one of them was able to get over the fear and retire. It took Judy about a year until she realized we could afford the retirement we had taken.

If she retires right now she will get her USPS pension, be at maximum for Social Security, and she will have to start drawing on the 401(k) and annuities within the next year. And if she has had health insurance for the last five years with USPS she will be able to carry it into retirement.

You might want to ask her to find out from her personnel office for an estimate of retirement income, look at her last Social Security estimate (which she should have gotten around April), and what the annuties will pay and what will be available from the 401(k).

Take all of this and run a draft income tax return for a full year using these numbers and show her how mch she will be getting.

I would think she is in a perfect condition to retire now.

 

[EthansMom]

I agree with the pps. It sounds like your friend could live off just the pension and social security for a while. While I wouldn't advise that she go hog wild with spending, she could probably afford to work only part time (as much to keep herself active as anything else) for just a few years.

It may be worthwhile for your friend to see a fee-based financial advisor to go over her income and expenses and lay out a plan of attack.

People who are frugal often have a hard time adjusting from the "save, save, invest" philosophy to the "spend" philosophy when retirement hits. While she is concerned about the money she has lost, your friend may actually have PLENTY of money on which to retire.... she's just so used to saving and investing that she's having a hard time with the idea of spending that money she's worked so long and hard to save. Again, a visit with a good financial advisor should shed some light on her actual situation.

 

[CowboyCO]

I have a friend in another state.. She just turned 70 in July and is currently working full-time for the US Postal Service (and has been for quite a few years).. She is a widow now, but when her DH passed away he really had their affairs in order.. (House has been paid for a long time ago..) She has annuities; 401K plan; significant savings (she is a very, very frugal person); pension coming of her own (not sure if she's able to collect on her DH's as well); and SS - when she decides to retire and begin collecting..

With the economy the way it is, obviously her various sources of money that would be available to her upon retirement have taken a huge hit.. In her last letter to me, she stated that her mind set has gone from "can retire any time I want" to "better not retire now"..

I know for younger people - who still have 15 to 20 years before they retire - the advice is to just "ride it out".. There's plenty of time for their situations to "correct" themselves..

In her case, 20 years from now she would be 90 - and when she does retire, she plans on traveling quite a bit.. (She's also a cancer survivor..)

Would it really make that big of a difference if she retired now? Can she regain all that she has lost in - let's say 5 years?

What would you do if you were in her situation? (No debt at all - not even car payments..) Would you go ahead and retire now - while you're still healthy - or continue to work full-time - waiting for the recovery of the money you have already lost.. And remember - "you" are currently 70 years old..

Just curious to hear what others have to say..

It good she will have her pension and SS, but if her 401K was still in stock-based mutual funds at age 70, then she made a huge mistake. As you approach retirement, you need to shift from higher risk (stocks) to lower risk (bonds, treasuries). If she can afford to not tap that for a few years, her value will likely come back to pre-bust levels, but it will take some time.

 

[C.Ann]

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[C.Ann]

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[Cheshire Figment]

OT - you said "late" wife? If so, I'm sorry for your loss.. Was she a poster here?

Her ID was JudySue. Check out this http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=674837

 

[Dan Murphy]

Her ID was JudySue. Check out this http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=674837

Mike, I so enjoyed meeting Judy Sue, once at Chef Mickey's, for a DIS meet. Her wonderful pin hat will always bring me a smile when I think back and recall times past there. She was one of a kind.

 

[Disney Doll]

I'm no help at all because I would have already been retired long before age 70!

 

[Micca]

I'd cash out & go to Vegas. But that's just me

 

[golfgal]

Have her sit down with a trustworthy financial planner that deals with people entering retirement age and make sure everything is in order. Some of her current plans could be set up for a lifetime annuity, others can be set up to draw on later, etc. There are so many things that can be done that chances are she CAN retire quite comfortably. Keep in mind that age group tends to worry more then necessary. I know my aunt is about that age and if she doesn't have $25,000, minimum, in her checking account she thinks she is heading for the poor house. She is very well set up for a lot of years and unless she lives to be 110 won't have to worry about money. We have tried to get her to get her checking account money into something better but she just can't. That is her comfort level. If her Dh was working with a planner already and she is still working with that person chances are her investments are fine as they would have been moved out of the most volatile markets.

 

[C.Ann]

Her ID was JudySue. Check out this http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=674837

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I'm so sorry to hear this - and it all happened so quickly! It sounds like you had a wonderful life together though..