One bedroom down would be fine for me. We prefer sleeping upstairs. I just want a master down for when my knees give out. And by getting “away from that” 2 posts up, I meant snow, not tractors. Tractors are fine! I just don’t want 5100 sf and mowing 8-9 acres a week.
“Just a bedroom on the main floor will do. Put the other bedrooms up - the foootprint will be much more manageable.”
That’s what my folks did. Wide hallways and doorways downstairs, too, in case they are ever wheelchair bound.
We have no bathroom on the main level. That’s the first obstacle, esp since it will soon preclude our dads from visiting.I would be amenable to converting the 16x20 screened back porch to a BR/bath and then building a new porch beyond that, but that’s overimproving in this neighborhood.
DH is having a canary about having to get an electrician to replace a kitchen overhead light. I want to get recessed lights, he wants to replace with another 48" florescent fixture (yuck). He can’t visualize a MBA reno, so we sit and do nothing.
2,000 sq.ft completely tricked out, uber high quality, is the common retirement sweet spot where we live. The homes are designed for couples who love to cook and entertain with open floor plans, massive kitchens, two masters, rolling walls of glass to the outdoors, solar powered, single-level detached homes with a ton of layouts and options that are lock-and-leave for those who love to travel or who want to escape the summer heat. No stepping down here, just downsizing while upscaling. The club facilities rival any resort: PGA course and pro shop, full-service spa, four restaurants, four pools, tennis courts, classes, fitness facility with all the toys, etc. That niche has been filled in AZ; there are many communities like this here and many are not age-restricted, so you don’t get that “senior” vibe. The best part for us was that we could monetize our old house in the north and move into what seems like Shangri-La for a fraction of the cost but still be within an easy drive of all our old friends and haunts. Now, if we just had something resembling fall and a real body of water…
A side note… ladies, don’t let your husbands get into karaoke in retirement… 
^^Yeah, as soon as I heard him say he was a Navy pilot, I knew what to expect. I guarantee you he was singing the same way 50-60 years ago in the Officer’s club. Those guys are nuts, though you’d have to be to land on a carrier! 
H and I had been managing our own investments - company 401k (investment choices within), IRAs, Roth IRAs, etc. Then I finally found the right investment manager for us. We began in 2013, and a goal was the get to a risk % we were comfortable with. We also were not keen about bonds for our own selection process (however the investment funds Don uses are 80% stock and 20% high yield bonds), and we have gotten into some quality annuities which have had very good returns for us and helped lower our risk. Neither of us have a work annuity at retirement.
I still manage H’s sizable company 401k (we were able to shift some money into investments with our manager Don before and then after H turned 59.5), while our investment manager Don looks over and gives me feedback on H’s 401k. With H’s 401k, this year I am using 4 fund categories available on our fund selection (mutual funds HBLTX, MEIJX, JGVRX, and VSEIX), each with 20 or 30% of investment $$. 1/1 to 9/30/17, our return was 14.52%. First qtr 5.13%, 2nd qtr 4.32%, and 3rd qtr 4.43%. In prior year, we were only in 2 of the funds. Realized these 4 funds would be better for even more diversification of portfolio and higher potential gains.
The S & P 50 is at a 78 risk. Our current portfolio is at a risk of 48. Don has a risk analyzing tool, and we answer questions to determine a risk range for us.
Let me give an example by talking about one annuity we have purchased. It is with Allianz. The initial purchase was 9-2013, $75,000. The guaranteed income from that last year was $3841/month; this year is is $4386/month and will continue to increase based on the contract schedule. We have 3 annuities.
With H’s 401k, the account balance in 2016 went up the same amount as H’s income that year; this year we have increased the account balance in 9 month what H will earn in 2017. However as we all know, the market will not stay ‘bull’ forever.
At this point, we are ‘tweeking’ our holdings in our semi-annual meeting with Don. We also attend the ‘state of the market’ meetings Don has for current and potential clients. Always learning new things.
It does take time to learn and understand things. For example, the Allianz annual statement - the information presented can be confusing. W/O Don’s guidance (the contract is understandable if you take the time to digest it) and how the investment has played out,
This last meeting Don showed us The Portfolio Efficiency Horizon, where risk is the horizontal axis and return is the vertical axis; with a 45 degree line, how you want to stay above (where you have higher return for the risk).
We are continuing to learn.
We also have decided, that while we live in our area, we will stay in our home until we decide to relocate. As others have said, we have not found it to be advantageous to downsize when we have low taxes and don’t need to pull equity out with the downsizing. I am convincing H on some home improvements that will be advantageous when we do want to sell - and things I want to do to improve out QOL here.
Totally agree on surprises with dental changes. H and I have pretty good teeth at this point, but I use a tooth pick all the time now as I have more space between teeth and gums. A good friend is a dental hygienist, and she says this is common even with the best cared for teeth/gums. To give encouragement though, I was amazed with a 94 year old patient that had great teeth! She was quite proud of them too, which she should be. I met a 80 year old man that bragged he had all his own teeth (they looked good too).
Wait a minute – you bought an annuity for $75,000, and you will receive $4,386 or more each month ***for the rest of your life?? *** Where do I sign up?
I am beginning to think the fancy financial theories like the efficient frontier are like a house of cards. Not sure how useful they are in generating wealth. My cynical side thinks they are all made up to attract investors but don’t do much else. You can sell your services better if armed with fancy equations. It also protects you somewhat if you mess up clients portfolio since it was all done by the book. How can anyone talk about risks without first outlining the time frame? I understand in the efficient frontier, the time frame is one year. Why shoud it be one year? Why not three or ten or longer or shorter? Does keeping it to one year is somehow optimal in growing your wealth?
Yeah, VH, I’m thinking that $4300 is per YEAR. I used to do lump sum determinations for traditional pensions, and the lump on a $3000/mo benefit is at LEAST $500k. $4300 divided by $75,000 is 17 months of payments. $75,000 divided by 4% distribution rate per year is $3000. Even if the annuity start date is age 70, these numbers don’t make sense. You’d need a 7-fold return after expenses to get into that kind of monthly payout.
Something is very off about this.
I was alarmed to read the article about TIAA in the newspaper this morning… I thought the guy I talked with said that he was working in a fiduciary capacity with my inherited accounts. I need someone to really look at my accounts but frankly, I don’t trust any of them! Not my City deferred compensation folks, or TIAA or my credit union. I am trying to figure out where to turn for some good tax advice and someone to look at all the accounts and suggest ways for them to be more balanced. DH and I have defined benefit pensions, though these will not increase with inflation. We will also qualify for social security. I have kept the Roth and other accounts aggressive, since I consider the pensions to be the equivalent of safe fixed income… Any suggestions who I should turn to for advice, and/or HOW to find this person?
“Let me give an example by talking about one annuity we have purchased. It is with Allianz. The initial purchase was 9-2013, $75,000. The guaranteed income from that last year was $3841/month; this year is is $4386/month and will continue to increase based on the contract schedule”
those numbers are impossible. What they mean is that the total amount of the initial purchase [75000] will have been paid back to you in 2 years. No investment vehicle that Allianz could have put 75000 into in 2013 could return payout amounts like that.
but if Allianz was stupid enough to offers such an equity, I’ll take bets on how long it will actually be paid out before the company pulls the plug on it.
Yup. Something does not compute. Does the “initial purchase” mean that you’ve paid substantially more into this annuity than $75k?
@SOSConcern : Come back! We need you!!
@ countingdown you are right - that increase is based on a year. just getting excited about our guaranteed income off our 3 annuities in addition to our financial gains…
@veryhappy @menloparkmom @BunsenBurner
and Allianz did pull the plug on this product - current investors have their contracts (like us). Someone at Allianz put together a product that was not so very beneficial to Allianz…
Holy cow. You are very lucky you got into this.
I am unfamiliar with annuities, however nowadays, it does seem likely that getting over a guaranteed 2% return on anything is unusual.
@SOSConcern, do you know what your investment manager’s commission is? I’m curious because sometimes annuities pay huge commissions and those are the sorts of details that tend to get buried in contracts.
MOST of the time annuities pay huge commissions to the agent ! that is why most are considered a bad investment[ from the standpoint of the client, not the agent]
The agent makes money upfront. The ones that are really bad ‘churn’ - and that is something state insurance agencies try to protect against.