Buddy retired 5 years after his retirement date.

[1989]

Lets see in those 5 years...
-He made 50k more each of those years as compared to his pension = $250k ahead + appreciation.... If he put that excess ($4166 a month) in his 401k at 9% average return over the last 5 years = $316,573 ahead

-He saved $500 a month not paying for his own healthcare = $30k ahead

- He increased his average earnings for calculating his Social Security benifits... He knocked his early low earning years out and replaced them with his highest earning years gaining him an extra $800 a month extra to begin, and this benifit is indexed for inflation ($1675 more per month after 25 years at 3% inflation) so if he collects for 25 years....$371,000 extra

So for working 5 extra years he will have about $717,000 extra for retirement.

I think he did well.

What if he died last week?

 

[35years]

What if he died last week?

What if he is 55 and lives 40 years in retirement?

We can play the what if game either way.

My in laws outlived their assets. It is not pretty.

To each his own. I want a comfortable retirement.

 

[1989]

What if he is 55 and lives 40 years in retirement?

Then I want his life.

 

[Shiftless]

Lets see in those 5 years...

-He made 50k more each of those years as compared to his pension = $250k ahead + appreciation.... If he put that excess ($4166 a month) in his 401k at 9% average return over the last 5 years = $316,573 ahead

-He saved $500 a month not paying for his own healthcare = $30k ahead

- He increased his average earnings for calculating his Social Security benifits... He knocked his early low earning years out and replaced them with his highest earning years gaining him an extra $800 a month extra to begin, and this benifit is indexed for inflation ($1675 more per month after 25 years at 3% inflation) so if he collects for 25 years....$371,000 extra

His pension monthy benifit increased $500 to $1000 a month for the rest of his life..25 years= $150k to $300k

So for working 5 extra years he will have about $867,000 to 1 million + extra for retirement.

I think he did well.

Not what I heard? I heard he got some type of cancer or was it he got disabled and couldn't work? Either way, he never retired and worked till he literally puked. His wife left him cuz he was to old n grumpy! He said he was happy tho?

 

[olroadbeech]

Lets see in those 5 years...

-He made 50k more each of those years as compared to his pension = $250k ahead + appreciation.... If he put that excess ($4166 a month) in his 401k at 9% average return over the last 5 years = $316,573 ahead

-He saved $500 a month not paying for his own healthcare = $30k ahead

- He increased his average earnings for calculating his Social Security benifits... He knocked his early low earning years out and replaced them with his highest earning years gaining him an extra $800 a month extra to begin, and this benifit is indexed for inflation ($1675 more per month after 25 years at 3% inflation) so if he collects for 25 years....$371,000 extra

His pension monthy benifit increased $500 to $1000 a month for the rest of his life..25 years= $150k to $300k

So for working 5 extra years he will have about $867,000 to 1 million + extra for retirement.

I think he did well.

sorry but your math is way off. 1st. he can't put all that extra money in the 401k. healthcare for us is only $75. yes. his pension goes up maybe $500 a month. but he left 250k on the table by not retiring when could. it will take him 500 months to make that back. that is 40 years to break even.. same with social security. it takes 18 years to break even from collecting at 62 compared to 67.

plus he could have had another job if he wanted if he retired on time. collect 50k pension and then make 50-60-75k or more on top of that as long as it's not truck driving ( he was feeder ). maybe something more fun and less stress.

I have been retired 4 years. took a hobby and monetized it. first year made 20k only doing it a couple hours a day. next year 44k, next year a lot more. it has snowballed. I only work 2-3 -4 hours a day and don't even consider it work since it is a hobby. actually have turned down a ton of work so i can do other things.

i just don't understand why people work longer than they have to. most UPSers have careers of 30 plus years. if you haven't gotten your financial together by then, that's on you.

There are no guarantees you will live 25 years after you retire. live and enjoy in the now.

 

[Bob11B]

Some people enjoy working...my grandfather passed away at 89, he was retired military and a retired bus driver and worked as a crossing guard. This gave him a reason to wake up everyday, walk a mile and do the same in the afternoon. If he hadn’t kept working, no way he would have lived that long...also had well over a million in his bank account and his house he built for 30k sold for 1.3 million (Philadelphia)...its not always about money.

 

[olroadbeech]

Something I did not mention in my original post. It is not all about the money. I retired on time and am 10 times happier than anytime in my life. Working for UPS is stressful.

For the last 5 years every time my buddy called or emailed me or visited it was the same old thing. telling bad stories about work , almost all negative , about supervisors , about co-workers, about the union , etc ,etc etc. I told him to hang it up and BE HAPPY. he was worried so much about money.

yes, I was worried about money before retiring. It's scary going from 100k to less than half that. But we did our homework and planned ahead. Paid off house and all debt. Bought the big ticket items before retiring. Did all the numbers 100 times over.

You can not put a price tag on the happiness on being retired. Every day is like Saturday and after 4 years still jump out of bed in the morning knowing that we can do whatever we want.

The money part is really funny. We can get by with the pension alone and STILL have money left over at the end of the month. Then Social Security kicked in and that is all gravy. We haven't even touched the 401k in the last 4 years which has grown considerably without further contributions. Plus our hobby is going great guns and making us a ton. Something we would do for free. the money is the fun part.

The major side benny about being retired so young is not only the happiness but the health benefits. I'm healthier now 4 years later than I was when working. Getting plenty of sleep, working out more at the gym, eating better , etc. The doctor told me I had the heart of someone 35 years old.

The one really good thing I learned from UPS was the " 5 Seeing Habits ". You can apply these habits for life in general.

 

[rod]

Please everyone---WORK until you drop. Keep paying into SS and don't drain the pension fund. That's all I ask.

 

[olroadbeech]

Please everyone---WORK until you drop. Keep paying into SS and don't drain the pension fund. That's all I ask.

ya. i guess i should change my stance on this. you have the right idea. my goal is to collect the pension and social security for longer than I worked for UPS .

ya, keep working clowns.

 

[Shiftless]

I love Choices! I followed the path of my choice as I think most of us try to do. Problem is that life gets in the way, sometimes we didn't see thing's coming our way or could have predicted. So for some people, they get a pass. Others, not so much!

I got the same predictable responses from most drivers when we talked about retirement plans or the lack there of when I worked, which always amazed me? Then there were the other few who blew your mind on how planned they were to get to retirement. Again Choices!

Even the driver's that shuffle up to my door today dropping stuff off when we talk most really cant see that far down the future. Probably due to the fact it took them on average 5 years part time to get to start to drive intermittently and about the 8 to 10th year they made it to utility driver and or bid a route in my area. Drivers today are so beat to death from that elusive " If I can just get my own route" syndrome, things will work out. The on and off driving at the beginning of no "steady hours" which at the end of the week determines how fat your pay check is, doesn't help with seeding your retirement future.

2 centavo's? If you haven't started a planned retirement system? Its not to late! Don't be that guy at the end of life wondering where did I goof up?

 

[1989]

sorry but your math is way off. 1st. he can't put all that extra money in the 401k. healthcare for us is only $75. yes. his pension goes up maybe $500 a month. but he left 250k on the table by not retiring when could. it will take him 500 months to make that back. that is 40 years to break even.. same with social security. it takes 18 years to break even from collecting at 62 compared to 67.

plus he could have had another job if he wanted if he retired on time. collect 50k pension and then make 50-60-75k or more on top of that as long as it's not truck driving ( he was feeder ). maybe something more fun and less stress.

I have been retired 4 years. took a hobby and monetized it. first year made 20k only doing it a couple hours a day. next year 44k, next year a lot more. it has snowballed. I only work 2-3 -4 hours a day and don't even consider it work since it is a hobby. actually have turned down a ton of work so i can do other things.

i just don't understand why people work longer than they have to. most UPSers have careers of 30 plus years. if you haven't gotten your financial together by then, that's on you.

There are no guarantees you will live 25 years after you retire. live and enjoy in the now.

$500 a month for 5 years????? Your pension sucks. Feeders is stressful????

 

[Shiftless]

Feeders stressful?

Only when you are going thru the Central Valley of California in the Tule fog for hours on end!

Other than that, its like going to Disneyland and having it all to yourself and select buddies everyday with only E tickets in your hand!

ps: some experiences in feeder may vary.

 

[Brownslave688]

$500 a month for 5 years????? Your pension sucks. Feeders is stressful????

She claims to be in the western....

 

[BrownFlush]

I retired the day I could buy ins. and get the pension. 52. A tough cut in pay?
I looked at the real cut would be to continue to work.
Half the pay if I didn't work meant I was getting half the pay if I worked. I know it was a tard way to look at it but it would have been impossible for me to go to work at a place that was going to pay me not to show up.

 

[olroadbeech]

I retired the day I could buy ins. and get the pension. 52. A tough cut in pay?
I looked at the real cut would be to continue to work.
Half the pay if I didn't work meant I was getting half the pay if I worked. I know it was a tard way to look at it but it would have been impossible for me to go to work at a place that was going to pay me not to show up.

when you run the numbers and see how of your working dollars goes to taxes, gas, wear and tear on vehicles, food take out etc. many people should retire.

our taxes really dropped thru the floor and we get huge refunds now. that's a great way of looking at it. UPS pays us to stay home. LOL! I should call and thank them.

 

[ski or die]

when you run the numbers and see how of your working dollars goes to taxes, gas, wear and tear on vehicles, food take out etc. many people should retire.

our taxes really dropped thru the floor and we get huge refunds now. that's a great way of looking at it. UPS pays us to stay home. LOL! I should call and thank them.

I also looked at the wear and tear on my mind and body from all the stress from the job. That was worth more to me the cost savings.

 

[35years]

sorry but your math is way off. 1st. he can't put all that extra money in the 401k. healthcare for us is only $75. yes. his pension goes up maybe $500 a month. but he left 250k on the table by not retiring when could. it will take him 500 months to make that back. that is 40 years to break even.. same with social security. it takes 18 years to break even from collecting at 62 compared to 67.

I assure you my math is correct.

The $50k plus ayear that he made working cant all go into the 401k, but it could still be invested in the market which averaged 9+ % over the last 5 years.

Social security is based off your top 35 wage years. None of us made $110,000 at UPS 35 years ago. Your 18 years to break even doesnt take into account the increased benifit amount he will recieve every month for the rest of his life, which is also indexed automatically for inflation.

He didnt leave $250k on the table. He made $500k during those years as opposed to collecting 250k. He will be far better off financially because he worked those 5 years.

Look, there are many good reasons to retire early, but unless you have a job lined up that pays $60,000+ you will take a hit financially.

Each of us has to decide what is best for ourselves. Not everyone has a spouse with a pension. Not all of us are old enough to collect SS. Most of us would be paying far more than $75 for healthcare.

I know many retired drivers. Only one of them considered all of the financial ramifications of retiring early....More like "I am gettimg out as soon as I am elligable" without considering how much it will cost them Then they are forced to work as a school bus driver or something simular for peanuts.

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

I assure you my math is correct.

The $50k plus ayear that he made working cant all go into the 401k, but it could still be invested in the market which averaged 9+ % over the last 5 years.

Social security is based off your top 35 wage years. None of us made $110,000 at UPS 35 years ago. Your 18 years to break even doesnt take into account the increased benifit amount he will recieve every month for the rest of his life, which is also indexed automatically for inflation.

He didnt leave $250k on the table. He made $500k during those years as opposed to collecting 250k. He will be far better off financially because he worked those 5 years.

Look, there are many good reasons to retire early, but unless you have a job lined up that pays $60,000+ you will take a hit financially.

Each of us has to decide what is best for ourselves. Not everyone has a spouse with a pension. Not all of us are old enough to collect SS. Most of us would be paying far more than $75 for healthcare.

I know many retired drivers. Only one of them considered all of the financial ramifications of retiring early....More like "I am gettimg out as soon as I am elligable" without considering how much it will cost them Then they are forced to work as a school bus driver or something simular for peanuts.

And if you factor in all of his vacation, sick optional and paid holidays he had over 45 weeks off

 

[BrownFlush]

I assure you my math is correct.

The $50k plus ayear that he made working cant all go into the 401k, but it could still be invested in the market which averaged 9+ % over the last 5 years.

Social security is based off your top 35 wage years. None of us made $110,000 at UPS 35 years ago. Your 18 years to break even doesnt take into account the increased benifit amount he will recieve every month for the rest of his life, which is also indexed automatically for inflation.

He didnt leave $250k on the table. He made $500k during those years as opposed to collecting 250k. He will be far better off financially because he worked those 5 years.

Look, there are many good reasons to retire early, but unless you have a job lined up that pays $60,000+ you will take a hit financially.

Each of us has to decide what is best for ourselves. Not everyone has a spouse with a pension. Not all of us are old enough to collect SS. Most of us would be paying far more than $75 for healthcare.

I know many retired drivers. Only one of them considered all of the financial ramifications of retiring early....More like "I am gettimg out as soon as I am elligable" without considering how much it will cost them Then they are forced to work as a school bus driver or something simular for peanuts.

And if you factor in all of his vacation, sick optional and paid holidays he had over 45 weeks off

No man ever said on his deathbed " I'm glad I kept working when I should've and could've quit."

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

No man ever said on his deathbed " I'm glad I kept working when I should've and could've quit."

I agree but I know a few that retired too early and didn't save enough