How young did you retire?

[joeychitwood]

I'm paying $2,000 a month for the worst health insurance policy BCBS can offer. $13,000 deductible for my spouse and I. The amount of retirement money I'm spending for catastrophic medical coverage is frightening, and it keeps going up drastically every year.

[Abdullah71601]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

I'm paying $2,000 a month for the worst health insurance policy BCBS can offer. $13,000 deductible for my spouse and I. The amount of retirement money I'm spending for catastrophic medical coverage is frightening, and it keeps going up drastically every year.

I think we have the same insurance, except I pay my employer for the priviledge of having the worst insurance coverage ever. When I took my ambulance ride to the ER last month insurance covered zero for the day. Not sure why they call it insurance if it’s designed not to payout. Should be honest and call it a Ponzi scheme that funds golf tournaments and executive perks.

I don’t know how someone can afford to retire early and be prepared for a catastrophic health issue.

[scarlet knight]

We are paying more for mediocre coverage.

There is something desperately wrong with the health care system in this country, whatever your political beliefs. We need an apolitical, rational repair devised by a non-political panel.

[Wools]

It's odd reading this thread, a mixture of despair as I'll be retiring (If I'm lucky to live that long!) when I'm 65+ but have the best healthcare in the world (Live in the UK with our beautiful NHS) so it's a mixed blessing!

I'm 33 at the moment and did not start contributing to a pension till I was 25 or so but was not a full time employee till then, working contract and minimum wage gigs till then.

Honestly, I think I would die bored if I retired now as I've jumped around careers wise and feel my mind is always looking for new adventures in technology so I would rather enjoy working, have a decent work life balance and keep saving if I have the good fortune of living till my 60's and my knees, hips and mind start needing a break! :)

[Art 1]

Originally Posted by scarlet knight

We are paying more for mediocre coverage.

There is something desperately wrong with the health care system in this country, whatever your political beliefs. We need an apolitical, rational repair devised by a non-political panel.

I'm not sure it's as polical as many people like to think. I too as a self employed person am paying a fortune for insurance that is useless. I split time between the US and Canada and should be covered under the Canadian plan very soon. I recently had a physical in Canada that incided a blood test, urine test and a chest x Ray that was completed in 90 mins at a cost of $140Cad. In the US it would have taken weeks and co pay would be a lot. What Abdullah is taking weeks to figure out would be days, at no expense. Some things I notice. Doctor parking lots in the US are full of Porsches, MB and Farraris. At least in Florida. I know many specialists here making a fortune. This isn't the case in Canada. Lawyers suing and defending doctors and hospitals in the US are making a fortune. Again, I know many of them. Not the case in Canada. I don't know what all this means, it's just what I have observed.

[rmlovett1]

Retired a little over a month ago, (49) sold my businesses and exited that life. Payed off all debt, moved to a new house and am enjoying so far. I will agree with others about the healthcare...now paying double what we were paying, vs when my company was paying for the same coverage

[sekesq]

Originally Posted by Floorguy

Retired at 51! Sold my house on Long Island and move down here! No more commuting, getting up at 3:30 am! No more stress and no more deadlines! And nope, I’ll never work again!

I also retired at 51 - sold my house in San Diego and moved to the other side of the world and it's awesome. I, too, will "never work again!"

[ejvette]

Sold my practice 4 years ago at 59 I work part time for the new management I never realized how much stress I was under until it was gone just waiting on my wife to retire now 2 more years. I may continue to work 3 months a year not sure yet but yes loving my semi retirement I highly recommend it! BTW my morning commute is about 4 minutes I live 1 mile from my office.

[Vivalas]

Some great different replies here, thanks everyone.
Seems that people are very different - some want to get out early and embrace retirement, others embrace and enjoy work.
Health care seems a big factor for you guys in the U.S.

I hope everyone is either where they want to be or getting there :-)

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by larsr

By the by, you know how much it takes for most to retire? 50% more than they have.

This is so true. I don't think I would ever have thought I had enough cash accumulated to retire if I hadn't been forced to quit. Even now I worry about health care costs, recessions or worse, and I wonder if I'll have enough saved up should I live longer than I expect.

[GoingPlaces]

Originally Posted by Art 1

I'm not sure it's as polical as many people like to think. I too as a self employed person am paying a fortune for insurance that is useless. I split time between the US and Canada and should be covered under the Canadian plan very soon. I recently had a physical in Canada that incided a blood test, urine test and a chest x Ray that was completed in 90 mins at a cost of $140Cad. In the US it would have taken weeks and co pay would be a lot. What Abdullah is taking weeks to figure out would be days, at no expense. Some things I notice. Doctor parking lots in the US are full of Porsches, MB and Farraris. At least in Florida. I know many specialists here making a fortune. This isn't the case in Canada. Lawyers suing and defending doctors and hospitals in the US are making a fortune. Again, I know many of them. Not the case in Canada. I don't know what all this means, it's just what I have observed.

I don't see Ferrari's in any of my area hospitals. Plastic surgeons and specialists I get but GP's and the like not anymore. Insurance companies cut back on payments and even put limits on how much time they can spend with each patient. I know many doc's that had very successful practices and had to make serious changes to their practices to keep up. The latest I see is the concierge element becoming more prevalent, my GP went this way. It costs me more money but he is able to provide the level of service any good doc should. Without the concierge he would have needed to double and tripe book. Healthcare is a serious issue that has had significant impact on our economy, shy of an overhaul it will only get more expensive.

[77T]

Originally Posted by Art 1

I'm not sure it's as polical as many people like to think. I too as a self employed person am paying a fortune for insurance that is useless. I split time between the US and Canada and should be covered under the Canadian plan very soon. I recently had a physical in Canada that incided a blood test, urine test and a chest x Ray that was completed in 90 mins at a cost of $140Cad. In the US it would have taken weeks and co pay would be a lot. What Abdullah is taking weeks to figure out would be days, at no expense. Some things I notice. Doctor parking lots in the US are full of Porsches, MB and Farraris. At least in Florida. I know many specialists here making a fortune. This isn't the case in Canada. Lawyers suing and defending doctors and hospitals in the US are making a fortune. Again, I know many of them. Not the case in Canada. I don't know what all this means, it's just what I have observed.

I think you’ve hit a good point that is worth considering outside of any political commentary. The amount of “awareness” fomented by big Pharma, plus the plethora of concerns about every sneeze or cough, has pushed the trend of over-treating most patients. This leads to crowded waiting rooms with people wanting a pill for every ache or pain in the neck.

As for the early retirement question - I did make that choice back in 2008. But the healthcare costs could be something nobody can predict. Fortunately my old company still pays for my premiums.


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[Runnin' Rebel]

I've continue my health insurance under a previous plan.

ER is a flat 350US at in network hospitals, which is all of them in town. No other fees
Free labs whenever
15US copay for general doctor
40 for specialized
0 for ground ambulance
500 for air ambulance
10 or 20US for 85% of pharmacy medicines. Generic, but reduced price for name brand. Not sure of the different between them

Dentist 2 free cleaning per year. All four molers ? were pulled at once. No charge. Free knock out drug. SWEET
3100 US - braces for child and me and wife which I'm doing now. Nice discount on Invisalign for me..
Free eye exams every 2 years. Although glasses are expensive but discounted a little bit

Free drug rehab if needed
Free physc evaluation lol

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by Runnin' Rebel

ER is a flat 350US at in network hospitals, which is all of them in town. No other fees
Free labs whenever
15US copay for general doctor
40 for specialized
0 for ground ambulance
500 for air ambulance
10 or 20US for 85% of pharmacy medicines. Generic, but reduced price for name brand. Not sure of the different between them
Dentist 2 free cleaning per year. All four molers ? were pulled at once. No charge. Free knock out drug. SWEET
3100 US - braces for child and me and wife which I'm doing now. Nice discount on Invisalign for me..
Free eye exams every 2 years. Although glasses are expensive but discounted a little bit
Free drug rehab if needed
Free physc evaluation lol

That plan would cost $10,000 a month in Minnesota.

[East Bay Rider]

It would be ideal if adult children could cover their senior citizen parents on their family insurance policy.
Probably a pipe dream but still a nice idea.

[teqp]

Originally Posted by Runnin' Rebel

I've continue my health insurance under a previous plan.

ER is a flat 350US at in network hospitals, which is all of them in town. No other fees
Free labs whenever
15US copay for general doctor
40 for specialized
0 for ground ambulance
500 for air ambulance
10 or 20US for 85% of pharmacy medicines. Generic, but reduced price for name brand. Not sure of the different between them

Dentist 2 free cleaning per year. All four molers ? were pulled at once. No charge. Free knock out drug. SWEET
3100 US - braces for child and me and wife which I'm doing now. Nice discount on Invisalign for me..
Free eye exams every 2 years. Although glasses are expensive but discounted a little bit

Free drug rehab if needed
Free physc evaluation lol

Hey Mark, are you guys hiring? looks like a nice plan.

[car_wash_guy]

I'm 42 and could retire now. I have passive income sufficient to sustain a comfortable life. I could sell everything and really be ok.

BUT...What the heck would I do? I get bored too easily and need something to do.

I'm content with my current situation. I'm pretty much 95% absentee. I have plenty of free time, but also have something to keep my mind and body occupied .

[joeychitwood]

I haven't been bored for five minutes in my six years of retirement so far. I found my job as an ER doc rewarding and challenging, but I didn't "enjoy" it. Spending twelve hours a day in a high state of alert waiting for something terrible to happen to someone else, then jumping in to intervene with sometimes only minutes to correct the situation was stressful and anxiety producing. Sleeping all night every night, being home with family and friends on nights, weekends and holidays is such a treat that I never take it for granted. Sitting and relaxing with a cup of coffee on the screen porch is wonderful. Watching an entire football or hockey game is wonderful. Biking, skiing, working in the woods, looking through the telescope, taking photographs and playing with my WRX is wonderful. Living in the present instead of watching the clock for shift-end is wonderful.

[Watchflair]

Originally Posted by GoingPlaces

I don't see Ferrari's in any of my area hospitals. Plastic surgeons and specialists I get but GP's and the like not anymore. Insurance companies cut back on payments and even put limits on how much time they can spend with each patient. I know many doc's that had very successful practices and had to make serious changes to their practices to keep up. The latest I see is the concierge element becoming more prevalent, my GP went this way. It costs me more money but he is able to provide the level of service any good doc should. Without the concierge he would have needed to double and tripe book. Healthcare is a serious issue that has had significant impact on our economy, shy of an overhaul it will only get more expensive.

That's because they drive something more conservative to work and keep the Ferrari in the garage for the weekend

[Watchflair]

On a more serious note is medicare in the US a viable option at 65 years old? Do you need additional insurance on top of it?

[1911dude]

51, sold my business and never thought about working again

[c.rod]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

I haven't been bored for five minutes in my six years of retirement so far. I found my job as an ER doc rewarding and challenging, but I didn't "enjoy" it. Spending twelve hours a day in a high state of alert waiting for something terrible to happen to someone else, then jumping in to intervene with sometimes only minutes to correct the situation was stressful and anxiety producing. Sleeping all night every night, being home with family and friends on nights, weekends and holidays is such a treat that I never take it for granted. Sitting and relaxing with a cup of coffee on the screen porch is wonderful. Watching an entire football or hockey game is wonderful. Biking, skiing, working in the woods, looking through the telescope, taking photographs and playing with my WRX is wonderful. Living in the present instead of watching the clock for shift-end is wonderful.

Im a trades based business owner. Ive got friends that are dentist’s with their own practice and a few doc’s. One was an ER. Im not sure if it was the same everywhere in the U.S. but man his schedule sucked. 12hrs like you mentioned and he was swing shift. So many days on night shift, switch to days and of course he didnt always get the days off in between etc. “Everyone” thinks docs are wealthy and have a great life. Money yes, wealthy ehh. It depends. When you factor in the hours a lot of them work that salary starts to take an hourly nosedive. I can tell you he was stressed out beyond belief, missed his kids activities and at the end of the day was somebodies Bi@#$. It seems to me all of that sucked the passion/fun part out of it for him. Don’t get me wrong, there are people working in worse conditions for pennies but still its not all glamour like TV would like you to believe.

One question for ya. Did you all convene at the local pub after work like on the tv shows? I keep telling my wife that is such BS unless its actually true?

[Chiboy]

We retired at 40. No kids, which completely changes the equation, and always lived comfortably but not extravagantly. Yes, I wore the same Rolex for 30 years!

That was 19 years ago. It took a while to find my groove, as of course I didn't have friends available during the day for the most part. I invest pretty actively, which keeps me busy and engaged, and work out or run most days and play a racquet sport 3-4 times a week. We were lucky, and both got tired of corporate jobs at the same time and left work within about a month of each other. Had no idea if this would work or not, but it's worked for long enough that there's way too big a hole in our resumés to think about going back.

Plus, I don't want to.

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by c.rod

One question for ya. Did you all convene at the local pub after work like on the tv shows? I keep telling my wife that is such BS unless its actually true?

We went home after work. We were too tired or drained to go out, and frankly, after spending so many hours together at work, we didn't really want to spend anymore time together after. Except once a year for the "Naughty Nurse Pontoon Party" I used to host.

[c.rod]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

We went home after work. We were too tired or drained to go out, and frankly, after spending so many hours together at work, we didn't really want to spend anymore time together after. Except once a year for the "Naughty Nurse Pontoon Party" I used to host.

Now THAT sounds like a great story

[topgear]

I am 38 this year and looking at my current balance sheet and future financial commitments from the family perspective, I hope I will never retire. Financial commitments aside, I do enjoy my work, the social aspect and the 'challenge'. As they say, perspective change with age, maybe I will sign a different tune when I am in my 50s.

[Dr. Robert]

After 2 costly divorces I’m going to have to work until I die making a sales pitch to my customer