My Retirement Checklist

[Talent312]

My retirement date is 4/30 (DW already retired). Financially, we'll be fine, but the steps I've had to take to line it up and the pile of forms has been incredible. Retirement gurus focus on the money and rarely get into the nuts and bolts.

So, I made a little checklist, unique to my situation:

1. Get Health Insurance for Spouse. DW is losing my employee group coverage. It took a few months dealing with state-employment agencies, but I finally got the forms for delayed enrollment in Medicare Part B. She starts 5/1. She also enrolled in a drug plan (Humana-Walmart). We'll visit the Medigap issue later.

2. Deal with Lump-Sum Payments. I set up a Rollover IRA to take my accumulated deferred retirement funds. I decided against letting the state invest them for me. That'd be like keeping a 401k with a former employer. I prefer a self-directed IRA.

3. Pay-Off Home Mortgage. It might have been smarter to keep it with only 3.125% interest, but the extra cash-flow is a nice cushion to have.

4. Notify State Retirement Agency. Like an HR dept, but for the entire state workforce. Gave them my term date and requested forms to start my pension and direct the lump-sum payment (to TD Ameritrade).

5. Visit My HR office. Submitted my resignation and had them validate the state retirement forms, which were in turn, submitted to the state retirement agency.

6. Contact TD Ameritrade. Needed them to sign off on the rollover payment form.

7. Check into My Retirement Health Plan. Too young for Medicare, I could go on Obama-Care (for now) or private, but instead I plan to stay on the state's employee/retiree plan. My premium goes from $30 (employee) to ~$550/month (retiree). They said we're covered thru May by my April paycheck. So, I don't need to switch until 6/1.

8. File for Social Security. The customary advice is to wait. But I calculated that it would take so long for the higher benefit to outweigh the payments I'd miss in the meantime, that it's not worth it to me.

9. Still to Do: Pick a Medigap Policy for DW (she wants Plan F), submit my health insurance forms and file tax-withholding forms for my pension & social security.

-------------------------
I said: "Maybe I should'a kept working." My colleague: "No."

====================
[Edited to Make It More Generic.]

 

[WinniWoman]

Good start. I bet you will be adding to this list as time goes by. My husband is about 3 years away from retirement. I am 5- ugh. When I think of all the practicals and the logistics involved I get overwhelmed. On top of the fact that we will want to sell our home and move out of state with virtually no help- just the two of us. The mail, changing banks. updating our address and phone numbers and getting new doctors and, well- I could go on and on- holy cow- I hate working but this doesn't sound like much fun either. LOL!

I am still trying to find a fee only financial planner to assist us and can't find one within a reasonable driving distance- up to one hour. And I keep procrastinating with updating the estate planning because of minimal time and energy available to handle it while we are working.

Like they say, the devil is in the details.

 

[x3 skier]

Retired 20 years ago. Only item on my checklist (besides the Govt paperwork) was throw away / donate all my ties and suits except one for special occasions (and that expired 10 years ago).

Cheers

 

[Sugarcubesea]

I'm about 12 years away from retirement and that just seems so so long from now... I hope I make it, as I'm dead tired now...LOL

 

[Talent312]

I'm about 12 years away from retirement and that just seems so so long from now...

That is a long-time to wait, but you'll make it...
The trick, I think, is to plan on how to make it happen and adjust as needed.
Just keep your eyes on the prize, and the time will pass quickly.

--------------------
I just remembered to add that we paid off our mortgage.
Didn't need to, actually, but the extra cushion in our cash-flow is nice.

.

 

[VacationForever]

One more thing... depending on your income level - if it was high prior to your retirement, your spouse's Medicare Part B may get a reprieve by applying for a reduction due to your retirement. My husband was paying the max bracket until our retirement last year. This year's Medicare Part B + D premium (from Medicare) was $504.80 (428.60+76.20), because Medicare uses 2015 income to calculate 2017 premiums. Since we stopped working, our income for this year is close to zero. We put in an application a month ago to show the lack of income. We just received a letter dropping my husband's Medicare Part B to $134 (with no D premium). Makes us pretty happy.

 

[tompalm]

My retirement date is 4/30 (DW already retired). Financially, we'll be fine, but the steps I've had to take to line it up and the pile of forms has been incredible. Retirement gurus focus on the money and rarely get into the nuts and bolts.

So, I made a little checklist, unique to my situation:

1. Enroll DW in Medicare Part B. She'll lose my state-group coverage. After months of wrangling forms for delayed enrollment, she starts 5/1. We also enrolled her in a drug plan (Humana-Walmart). We'll visit the Medigap issue later.

2. Set-up Rollover IRA. Our state retirement agency offers to invest my accumulated deferred retirement funds for me. Sorry, I prefer TD Ameritrade.

3. Paid-Off Home Mortgage. Didn't need to, but the extra cash-flow is nice.

4. Called my state retirement agency. Gave my term date and asked for forms needed to start my pension and direct the pay-out of my deferred retirement accumulations.

5. Visited my HR office. Two weeks later, submitted my resignation and had them validate the state retirement forms.

6. Contacted TD Ameritrade. Needed them to sign off on the pay-out form.

7. Called my state health benefits agency. Too young for Medicare, I plan to stay on state employee/retiree plan. My premium goes from $30 (employee) to ~$550/month (retiree). They said we'll be covered for May by my last paycheck and do not need to make the switch until 6/1.

8. Filed for Social Security. The customary advice is to wait. But I calculated that it would take so long for the higher benefit to outweigh the payments I'd miss in the meantime that it's not worth it to me.

9. Still to Do: Pick a Medigap Policy for DW (she wants Plan F), submit my health insurance forms and file tax-withholding forms for my pension & social security.

-------------------------
I said, "Maybe I should'a kept working." My colleague: "No."

.

You are an overachiever and will get bored with retirement. I hope you find a part time job or some volunteer work. One day the airline I worked for shut down and I was out of work at the age of 54. I looked around at starting a new career, but it wasn't easy, so I retired without any planning. I found there is plenty of time to do all those things you already did while being retired. I think you should add a few things on your to do list like, golf on Wednesday, Movies on Tuesdays, cards on Saturdays, etc.... Congrats and have fun.

 

[WinniWoman]

I'm about 12 years away from retirement and that just seems so so long from now... I hope I make it, as I'm dead tired now...LOL

Me, too. I don't see me lasting for another 5 years. Now in my early 60's I am really feeling I need to move on in my life and I am losing patience with work getting in the way. I am feeling a real loss of time and life energy now. Work takes up too much of a huge chunk of each day. 5 days of just work and sleep and work and sleep. Weekends playing catch up for errands and chores and other responsibilities and then start all over again on Monday. It has all gotten so old. If it wasn't for the need for health insurance and Social Security I would be retired by now for sure.

Sigh......

 

[Talent312]

One more thing... depending on your income level - if it was high prior to your retirement, your spouse's Medicare Part B may get a reprieve by applying for a reduction due to your retirement...

Good to know. We expect an enrollment letter from Medicare any day now.
Her being on my health policy shielded us from this part for ~ 5 years.

I've got a lengthy list of deferred-maintenance projects to work on at the house.
It goes from changing light-bulbs to remodelling the kitchen, but 1st, we'll travel.

.

 

[Sugarcubesea]

That is a long-time to wait, but you'll make it...
The trick, I think, is to plan what you need to get there and adjust as needed.
You just need to keep your eyes on the prize, and the time will pass quickly.

I remembered one thing: We paid off the mortgage on our house.
We didn't need to, actually, but the extra cushion in our cash-flow is comforting.

.

I've been planning and adjusting like crazy and yes its a very long time to go... The company I worked for for the bulk of my years, went bankrupt and my pension went to the pension board and they will only pay me out 10% of what I was entitled to. But this little mess happening, this added a few years on to my working career. I'm trying to save the max each year and I already max out my H.S.A. account...

 

[rapmarks]

This made me recall the year before we retired, the state came up with a new multiplier for retirement but it would cost us thirty thousand dollars. In five years we would have received enough extra to break even. Paying out of our paychecks saved taxes , so we paid off the mortgage, and for a six month period made 1970 take home pay deducting five thousand a month from our paycheck. we called it practice for living on retirement income.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[klpca]

I like seeing your checklist. According to my husband, we have 8 years to go (we'll see, lol). 2016 was not the best year for us. My husband's company closed their CA office and offered to move everyone to a different location out of state. Although it was tempting, he took his severance and looked for another job. During this time, he was also battling stage 3 cancer. Not knowing how long he would be unemployed, we took drastic measures with our budget (I even sold 3 timeshares ). He ultimately found another job and his cancer is in remission - hopefully cured - but we are still living on the lower budget in preparation for retirement.

 

[bogey21]

9. Still to Do: Pick a Medigap Policy for DW (she wants Plan F), submit my health insurance forms and file tax-withholding forms for my pension & social security.

If DW is healthy, consider a High Deductible Plan F. When I did this at age 80 the difference between Regular Plan F and the High Deductible was almost $300 per month (a little South of $3,600 per year). My deductible is something like $1,850. Note that many companies don't offer the High Deductible. I got it with Bankers Life.

George

 

[capjak]

I also recommend this forum and checklist:
http://www.early-retirement.org/for...-answer-before-asking-can-i-retire-69999.html

 

[sts1732]

35 yrs. of machining, retired 3yrs.ago, tried the part time job, wife retires next yr, kids are grown. Gonna start using more points, and using the "for rent" section on TUG and borrow from kids inheritance(their idea) and get to know my wife again.

 

[Passepartout]

Jeez, Talent, you mean we're gonna have to put up with even MORE of you on TUG? Take more cruises. The $.75/minute internet will give us some peace and quiet. (Kidding). Congrats, and welcome to the voluntarily unemployed.

Jim

 

[ronparise]

I avoided most of that stuff, or better stated I avoided doing it all at once. I havent retired and don't intend to. I gave up suits and ties 20 years ago but still work every day. Thank god for the Internet machine. Some days I don't even put on pants

 

[ronparise]

If DW is healthy, consider a High Deductible Plan F. When I did this at age 80 the difference between Regular Plan F and the High Deductible was almost $300 per month (a little South of $3,600 per year). My deductible is something like $1,850. Note that many companies don't offer the High Deductible. I got it with Bankers Life.

George

I do the high deductible too. And switched from bankers to save even more

 

[VacationForever]

Thank god for the Internet machine. Some days I don't even put on pants

Make sure that Webcam is turned off...

 

[vacationhopeful]

Make sure that Webcam is turned off...

My cheap laptop has no webcam .... and I dress in clean clothes.

 

[dsmrp]

You are an overachiever and will get bored with retirement. I hope you find a part time job or some volunteer work. One day the airline I worked for shut down and I was out of work at the age of 54. I looked around at starting a new career, but it wasn't easy, so I retired without any planning. I found there is plenty of time to do all those things you already did while being retired. I think you should add a few things on your to do list like, golf on Wednesday, Movies on Tuesdays, cards on Saturdays, etc.... Congrats and have fun.

Congrats Talent! When I look at your list, prepping for retirement is a project. I'm still in the workday rut, and hope I'll not get stuck in the inertia of working another month or two just cause I haven't gotten all my ducks in a row LOL.
Unfortunately I have to work at least 6 more years in order to qualify for my state employee retirement health plan, that is, if I still have a job by then . And who knows what Medicare will be like by then too

I think what TomPalm is referring to is Parkinson's law. My paraphrasing is "work expands to fill the time available"

 

[Born2Travel]

Yes, it is a project! I think the idea of having to face that checklist kept me working longer than I would have if it was easy to retire. Finally did it about 5 years ago and haven't regretted it for a minute. You'll be surprised how your time fills up!!

 

[Talent312]

If DW is healthy, consider a High Deductible Plan F. When I did this at age 80 the difference between Regular Plan F and the High Deductible was almost $300 per month...

The net savings on that is impressive.
The low bidder for Plan F for her is BCBS-Florida at ~$210/month.
So far, the lowest High-F premium I can find seems to be ~$85/month.
That's a significant difference, but the deductible exceeds the savings.

.

 

[amycurl]

Aww, retirement, how cute! As a Gen Xer, I truly doubt that anyone in my generation and below will ever really be able to retire.....maybe if they worked for a public entity, but even then, it's pretty iffy....

 

[John Cummings]

I retired over 10 years ago. I have had a financial planner from long before I retired. He is fee only and is also a good friend. I have known him, his brother, and father for several years. He is an independent. I have no financial problems at all. That part runs very smoothly and has for the last 10 years. I did take a hit in 2009. My financial planner also does our taxes for free. He charges very little to manage our investments. We talk on the phone at least once a week. I am pretty knowledgeable about investments. The big advantage he has given me is his knowledge and access to financial products that I am not aware of.

The biggest job I had when I retired was consolidating all my IRAs, SEPs, etc. I had many. Other than that the only planning we did was deciding where we wanted to live. We have lived in California, Oregon, Washington, SE Florida, Arizona, California ( both North and South ), Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela. We have also spent a lot of time in Nevada ( North and South ), Texas, Tennessee, New York, and the mid-west. It didn't take us long to narrow it down to California. Our second choice was Arizona around Phoenix. We are very happy here so we definitely made the right choice.

I took my SS at full retirement age and my wife took spousal SS at 63. She has always been a homemaker and a very good one. We have been married for 52+ years.