I don’t remember if anyone has commented on AARP’s retirement calculator, but here is the link:
that calculator gives approx the same $ results as others, which is good . 
I found that calculator a little limited - no place to input non-retirement account savings (just added them in to the retirement account number), no place to indicate expenses, etc. They are all estimates anyway but the lack of many inputs makes this one “rougher” than some others, IMO.
^ @doschicos, non-retirement assets are very different to tax-deferred retirement assets. You do not own your tax-deferred assets, you co-own them with the government (that’s true of the non-retirement assets also, but much less so). “Simple” calculators are okay, but quickly cross the line into simplistic.
ESPlanner might be overly complicated, and it’s costly, but I trust the results. The new ESPlanner light thing (MaxiFi) is okay, but I prefer to control a fair amount of the inputs, and even ESPlanner doesn’t let me define a portfolio that I want to use (a variant of Liability Matching Portfolio).
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Can someone tell me if those retirement calculators are ‘per person’ rather than for a couple?
The retirement calculators vary greatly and you have to read what they say. Some are for one and some are for two people. We have tried a few over the years. The easiest thing for me to understand is how much we spend vs how much income we bring in, now and projected forward.
Anyone on this thread looking at Medicare enrollment and supplemental insurance secondary to Medicare? We aren’t walking that journey yet, but I wonder how easy the enrollment is and how clearly things are spelled out.
I don’t post much on this thread but have followed along with great interest. I had posted on here last spring that we had sold our “big house” and 95% of its contents. We have been living in an apartment for the last nine months. It mimics the size of our 2-BR, 2-BA condo in Florida at 935 sq ft. We had gone from 4,300 sq ft to 3,450 sq ft with our next most recent move four and a half years ago. I have been on a minimalist kick for the last year and a half. We absolutely have not missed the space or the “stuff.” We are taking the plunge and Dh is retiring on January 31st! He is not sure if or to what extent he will continue to work. He will be taking some time to ponder any next steps. We have no debt and are (thankfully) well-positioned financially. Our only Ds graduates in June. While hurricanes are a concern (we are on the Gulf side on the intracoastal, across the street from the beach), the income tax-free status is appealing. I am a Florida native. We have many years to go before Medicare so, as many others, healthcare insurance costs are the big unknown. We are able to take COBRA notwithstanding the change in states, so fiddle-dee-dee, I’ll worry about that tomorrow. Our living costs are much less with so much less to maintain, and we have run numbers with inflation (forget the rate Dh used) factored-in. We fully expect to pay $1,500 - $2,000 per month (or more! Who knows where this is going) when we have to do something else for health insurance. It will be, by far, the largest expense we have.
I know a major downsize and moving out-of-state move isn’t for everyone. It may not be for us either,mbut we are ready to try.
@Hoggirl Thank you for that post, nice timing for my reading! We sold our house and have to be out mid-Jan. We will be downsizing significantly and renting until at least summer. I’ve never rented, nor have I lived in town for 25 years. I’m nervous, but I am really looking forward to the (hopefully) freeing feeling of much less maintenance and “stuff”.
@sryrstress - congratulations on the sale of your home! It’s all very hectic, and I’m sure your move will be even more so over the holidays. I was really ruthless with the purge. We had a living estate sale. We got rid of almost all our furniture. The few things we brought to this apartment will go to Goodwill when we head to Florida. We do have a storage unit there. It’s a 5x10 unit, but our goal is to get down to a 5x5 once we relocate. About 25% of what we have stored belongs to ds. Not sure if or when we’ll ever get it to him since we will be living on opposite coasts. But, I’m not sure we can ever get to a point of no storage unit at all, and as a college student, he wasn’t in a position to take it. I’m sure it would be harder in your situation figuring out what to keep and what to purge. I hope it goes well for you and you have a lovely new adventure! I bet you love smaller scale living! We just did. It want to pay to maintain space that might be used a couple of times a year. Good luck!
Less stuff is great. We are down to one car we share (yay, a plugin!) and a truck that is only used for what trucks are supposed to be used - occasional HD and yard debris dump runs. We had a bunch of recent immigrants come through our old house to clear out the furniture that we were not taking with us to the new digs. They did it for free. No more lawn mowing, but there is some yardwork to keep Mr. B happy.
Good luck to all downsizing.
@SOSConcern My wife just signed up for Medicare, parts A and B. Her birthday is in December, so she becomes eligible Dec 1 !! It was easy for her to sign up online for A and B. She was billed for 3 months, and paid it, because we won’t start social security for a few years. She will continue to pay quarterly until she starts ss; then they deduct your Medicare premium from your ss check. She is still researching supplements. This is hard because every company that offers a plan markets their own plan, whether it is United Healthcare or Blue Cross or AARP. This is one of those situations where I think it might be worthwhile to contact an independent agent to get an impartial view. One thing we learned that surprised us was that all of the supplement plans like Plan G and Plan N are the same because the benefits are mandated by law, but the costs are different, so it seems to me you can shop for these plans solely on price. She is still shopping and learning - haven’t figured it all out yet.
Your Dept of Health, Office on Aging should have a SHIP specialist to help you sort out Medicare supplements and medigap policies. They have “no dog in the fight” and can walk you through your options.
I went to an agent, prepared with a list of the medications I take. I was prepared to use AARP, but the agent pointed out that United American gives a discount for women. That was info I wouldn’t have known about. We completed the application n line, and I was out the door in an hour.
We also used a broker when DH became eligible. He was very good, very clear, and didn’t steer us to anything. He just explained it all.
Good to know about how to proceed through with choosing a supplement, and the ease of getting enrolled with Medicare.
When my mom became Medicare eligible, and needed to select a Medicare supplement, I had heard about the info the Gov’t had put together, and brother then looked at her medications and coverage with the various supplemental policies. If one takes the time to investigate based on their current situation, it is very helpful to saving money.
As they say “you don’t know what you don’t know”. With my BD in Oct, it sounds like I would be eligible Oct 1 the year I turn 65. H eligible June that same year.
My mom had died on Nov 1, 2010, and brother said if she had died during Oct we would have needed to repay SS for her Oct benefit. I imagine this still holds true.
I never heard (or thought) about how the dying part works, but I do know that if you are born on the first of a month (like I am) your Medicare and Social Security eligibility both start the previous month.
I believe the way it works is the the SS benefit is not earned unless the person lives the entire month, so the payout on 10-31 is actually for the OCT 1-31 that just happened.
Yes, my mother passed away on the last day of the month and we did indeed have to pay back the check.