<p>Congrats tsdad! Can you move into my neighborhood. A retiree who doesn’t discuss politics? Now that would be refreshing ;)</p>
<p>I would be the opposite. If I ever retire, I will spend half of the day watching C-SPAN, and the other half calling my representatives. I plan to get to know all their legislative aides. </p>
<p>congrats tsdad!!</p>
<p>We are targeting $2.5M for the retirement fund. </p>
<p>I know I won’t be retiring within the next 8 years, because my youngest is just finishing 8th grade. 
</p>
<p>I love my job and love being on campus every day, so I don’t know if retiring will happen right away for me even when D is finished with college and the target $$$ are there.</p>
<p>Congrats, tsdad! What, Madison cured you of having political persuasions? Do you have any regrets at this point about working far into what many consider retirement years? </p>
<p>Congrats tsdad! And welcome to the club!!</p>
<p>Congrats to all of you who have made it and are about to!! yay!</p>
<p>I don’t see anything negative about discussing politics as one gets older, I think that will keep me on my toes and sharper as I age. Have to be more informed to argue. Then again, I know it really gets some people’s blood pressure up, but I enjoy discussing differences of opinion with other people. It is so boring when everyone is the same, and blah, blah, blah. So many people just spend their time discussing their health ailments as they get older. So boring!</p>
<p>Sounds like a plan, tsdad! Enjoy!</p>
<p>I came to Washington to do good and all I did was well.</p>
<p>
Between the two of you or each of you individually? I ran the numbers a few months ago. Unfortunately by the time I teach (state retirement) long enough to retire without reduced benefits (and to qualify for retiree medical) my meager SS benefit will be long gone and my top dollar spousal SS benefits will be reduced to zero. I remember many teachers retiring 8 or 9 years ago before the GPO so they could still get spousal SS.</p>
<p>No regrets about working into my 70s. The position at UW was a dream job but alas not a dream salary; much much less then the Feds but the medical coverage was better as were other benefits. Our sojourn in Madison made me eligible for Social Security and had a major impact on my wife’s Social Security benefits. We also wound up with two extra pensions and the ability to make other investments. We like being so close to Chicago and being able to afford our place in River North.</p>
<p>Most importantly was the growth in my abilities in my post 60 years that I never could have accomplished in the government. I was given responsibility, used it well, and was treated as someone who knew what he was talking about. </p>
<p>We loved living in Madison one of the coolest places in the country. Unfortunately it really seems to be one the coolest places in the country. Standing on the corner of Wilson and Hamilton waiting for the bus when it’s -14° out and the wind comes whipping up off of Lake Monona is not anything I want to have to do again; ever, ever again. My wife fell on the ice and had a badly separated shoulder this winter and I slipped on the ice three times.</p>
<p>On Wisconsin. </p>
<p>I take it you retired from the Federal government and took a teaching job at UW? It sounds like it all worked out beautifully! I can certainly understand being tired of the cold. It sounds like last winter was the last straw!</p>
<p>Not teaching–administrative. I am a special assistant to the provost and assistant director of the office for equity and diversity. I was never so cold in my life as I was last winter. My wife had a winter coat from Land’s End that made her look like a walking sleeping bag. </p>
<p>Well…last winter had just TOO MANY cold snaps hovering around zero! It was not a happy winter around here!!</p>
<p>Congrats to tsdad, thumper1 and all other recent retirees. I hope my dh will join the club sooner rather than later.</p>
<p>@Torveaux: I whole heartedly agree with you about not being tied to a schedule in retirement. I’m also looking forward to being able to get immersed in some hobbies & projects with dh, something we haven’t done for too long.</p>
<p>@arisamp: When dh & I look at our retirement savings, we only count 401K/IRA funds, investment accounts, money market, etc. and not tangibles such as cars, our house, etc. I don’t know if others do the same. Even though we expect to downsize considerably, I plan to use a large percentage of the proceeds from the sale of our current home to pay for the next because we’ll add features that aren’t standard in most new construction houses to make our lives easier and more comfortable. Whatever’s leftover may go into a gift fund. Anyway, I don’t ever count cars or any other depreciating asset when figuring our net worth. As for the % figures you asked about, I think it depends on the “expert” being quoted. None of those rules seem to fit our situation, so we ignore them and instead have estimated projected expenses after looking at both our current actual expenditures and the cost of living where we hope to retire. </p>
<p>“When dh & I look at our retirement savings, we only count 401K/IRA funds, investment accounts, money market, etc. and not tangibles such as cars, our house, etc. I don’t know if others do the same”</p>
<p>We do count our house in, when we look at net worth and retirement. There’s just too much money in it to ignore it, and we figure it is definitely a possibility we’ll sell it for retirement. But my husband estimates it low, figuring after realtors fees and excise tax, that is a more realistic value.</p>
<p>Silpat, we did that…sold the house we’d lived in for 22 years (mortgage was paid off) and used the proceeds to build our retirement house in a different area of our state. Like you, we wanted certain features in a new home that would allow us to still be comfortable here as we get older. </p>
<p>PackMom, no mortgage here, either. It’s nice to see that someone else has achieved the dream already. </p>
<p>We built a retirement-ready house once, then ended up moving. At least I’ve done some of the research and know many of the features we want. Due to allergies and other health concerns, indoor air quality has taken on greater importance. Since we plan to stay in the south, a whole house ventilating dehumidifier is very important in addition to the AprilAire filtration we already have. We’ll build a one story house again with 36" wide interior doors and will adapt ADA recommendations to suit us. Japanese bidet seat toilets are a must, too; I can’t wait to see what Lixil introduces through American Standard. Then we’ll splurge on some fun things like an outdoor kitchen.</p>