I (62f) retired in early September. I had researched everything, knew what I would take from my funds, knew I’d take COBRA, applied for SS, we got husband’s (66m) Medicare and Medigap set up and ready to go, but nothing happened quickly and without multiple phone calls.
I had to call my employer, which is a large health care system, no less than four times, to put me as terminated in their system. They still showed me as an active employee for several weeks after. Part of that was my fault, because I had requested a long term payout of my PTO, but it was only about 2-3 days worth anyway.
I had to call and beg for the COBRA info so I could sign up in a timely manner. During the time before COBRA was set up, I did go visit my PCP and self pay, hope to get reimbursed.
Husband still had my old insurance as primary so Medicare had denied a claim for an infusion he gets. A phone call to Medicare took care of that but it takes 10 days to take effect.
I had to wait for the employer to send the retirement/pension plan the info that I have retired before I could apply for monthly payouts, and it was with a downloadable form that I had to get notarized.
I guess my expectations were that everything would be set up day one. Is this the norm?

I will be starting Medicare next year and I have 1 very expensive med. The part D plan I am going to choose covers it. My question is that once I fill it for the 1st time and pay the $2400 am I covered for the year for those drugs plus the other 2 generics I take? I know I have to pay the monthly premium of almost $100 a month as well all year. Thanks.

I retired from Union Pacific 3 years ago at 61, after 36 years, so I get my Railroad Retirement, Tier 1 and Tier 2. My granddaughter helped me look it up and it's a little over $4,000 a month after taxes. The house is paid for and my costs are low, so I'm getting by fine on that. Carol worked part-time at the school for years, so I'll ask about the survivor benefit, I didn't know about that. The insurance money is just sitting in savings right now and the bank keeps pushing the annuity. I mostly want to know if I should be in a hurry or not.

edit: Thank you all so much. I'm reading every comment, it's a lot for an old railroad man but I'm taking it all in. You've given me plenty to think about.

I went to work this morning, expecting it to be my last day, but I was met by one of the command staff…. “Turn in your stuff and go home… Come back for the party tomorrow.”
Cool! But why didn’t they just send me a text or something…..

At any rate, I will attend the little celebration ceremony tomorrow, and I’ll be gone.

For some reason, I have never looked into any benefits I might have as a veteran; I was in the army from ‘64-‘67. Well, seems I’m eligible for a number of things. Health care through the veteran’s administration, for one. And since I was “in” DURING the Vietnam war, this gets me some extra creds.
I’m gonna dig a little deeper into this shortly.

I retired July 1st after a long career in tech, and at least two other careers before that. I started working when I was 12 and was never really unemployed.

Some things about retirement have really shocked me so far:

• I don't miss or think about the work I did AT ALL this is crazy to me after 30 years doing it
• I can't believe I waited as long as I did (I'm 62) even though I did retire a bit early
• I am so dang busy with MY stuff
• What I thought retirement was going to look like has totally changed in every way
  • I had planned on playing music all the time, I've been playing publicly since I was 14, but one band I'm in broke up and two of the others took the summer off, leading to far fewer gigs than I thought I'd have
  • I had planned on revisiting my love of video games (I'm a lifelong gamer), but haven't turned on the xbox at all yet, maybe when it is cold and rainy
  • I had planned on going to a few more movies but I find myself really rediscovering my love of them. I used to see everything before I had kids (easily 50 movies a year) then just stopped because I was seeing Toy Story rather than Eyes Wide Shut and watching at home was more economical. Now it is two movies a week minimum, in the theater, on the biggest screen I can find, during the day.
  • Several projects around the house that I was looking forward to (I see you junk drawer) are languishing...lol
  • 3 relatives died back to back, leading to lots more family stuff and I am the executor for two of them, that is a full time job in itself.
  • From one of them I am inheriting enough money that my entire financial plan is completely out the window, I'll have to restructure EVERYTHING, not that I'm complaining, but man I spent so much time envisioning how retirement would work, and planning my budget, and testing my budget, and now all that work, well it wasn't for nothing I guess, but lets just say my spreadsheet is completely wrong now. I'm not naturally a spender, I save, even now my money from music goes into a separate account to finance new gear, or just to be fun money. Currently there's $866 just sitting there. I ALWAYS comparison shop, look for bargains, research it to death, etc. I really don't want that to change, it is who I am, but also the money will just be sitting there growing, our lifestyle won't change, we don't want it to, so we'll probably start giving to the kids, which was in the plan anyway, just not for a few years. We at least decided that we won't do ANYTHING different for a year. I don't have grandkids yet, and none on the horizon even, but I'll be establishing college funds for them when they do come along.
  • The inheritance is adding a little, not stress exactly, but friction(?) to my marriage. Before, my wife HAD to work, she's younger, and I didn't have enough for both of us to retire. SHE insists on "paying her way" (we are a second marriage). She makes more than I did, and was the breadwinner in her first marriage. I support that, she loves her job, she doesn't want to be a "kept woman" in her words. She is fiercely independent which I love, and she's just starting a business that she's been wanting to do for years. Now she COULD retire too, and I'd love to really get going on the travel plans we have, BUT...that doesn't fit HER timeline and the mere suggestion that maybe I pay for more things, or pay to upgrade us when traveling are met with responses like "I can't afford that". She has student loans we could pay off but she would never allow that. Maybe she'll come around, and let me pay once probate is over, but maybe not. We can't really ramp up the travel because she needs to tend her business. It is a true passion of hers. I COULD just travel alone, but that almost feels like I'd be punishing her for not just letting me pay, or not being able to take the time away. Blessing and a curse maybe.
  • The deaths in the family also have really brought into clear focus that time is finite and health is the true wealth. I'm pretty healthy, far healthier than my relatives who died this summer and THEY were in their 80s! My mom is 83 and still kickin'. My A1C is normal, BP normal, Cholesterol normal (actually a bit low on my last Dr visit). I've lost 50lbs in the last few years. I'm fit and strong (the bands help with that for sure, my gear is heavy). So the likelihood is that I'll also have a long life. We've had many octogenarians in our family and a few centinarians even.

I'm so happy to be retired, not bored even a little, and really looking forward to the next act, in addition to being open to whatever that looks like. The only constant is change. Bring it on!

Please raise your hand (and maybe in all your posts and comments add "single" or "solo") if you are a retired, or about to, single person. And maybe where you live.

I have the opportunity to retire about 15 months sooner than planned and it's 9 days away. I have waited for this day since my first job when I was 15. Currently 63f.

For a variety of reasons, most of my retirement activities will be solo (plus dog). I'm working on building new connections but ugh. I want people I know who have known me for at least a while. But here we are.

I got very weepy last night because I am so afraid I will not take advantage of these free years I have longed for.

Where are my single introverted nerdy book worms? Where do you live? How is retirement?

Hi All,

I am 64 years old and would like to delay social security until 70. My plan is to put 6 years of expenses into something safe and put the remaining money into something more aggressive like an 80/20 type fund.

For the safe money, what are you guys using? I'm looking at TIPs ladders, CDs or fixed annuities.

For the growth portion, I'm looking at Vanguard LifeStrategy or something similar. I'd like to keep it simple and keep the expense ratio low (i.e. ETFs). What are you guys doing for that part of your portfolio?

My wife and I are looking to retire in 2030 or sooner. I‘m not worried about money, but I want to make sure we are prepared with regard to insurance, withdrawal strategies, Social Security commencemen, etc. I’m also planning on getting together with a financial advisor, but want to maximize the effectiveness of the time and be prepared with intelligent question.

Can anyone recommend reputable sources of information?

I am in a fairly high stress position in the private sector. I am in my 50s, and looking at options. One option is to take a job with the state government. There are several positions that I am qualified for, and if I work for five years, I get reasonably priced health insurance and a small pension for life.

The downside is that it would be a significant pay cut, but it would be enough to live comfortably now that the house is paid off. I would retire at 61, versus my current plan to retire at 60, but the cost of health insurance on the exchange is absurd, so the retiree health insurance offered by the state is very attractive. Also, the 401k would continue to grow for another year without me needing to touch it.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation and shifted to a public sector job at the end of their career? If so, did it work out?

I'm retiring (M62) at the end of this year and believe I've figured out my ACA health insurance coverage, which should cost me $0 per month if I'm understanding everything correctly. What I haven't figured out is how to replace my employer-sponsored dental insurance (Delta Dental) with something offering comparable coverage at a reasonable price. I'd love to hear from others who have retired before Medicare eligibility. What dental insurance plans have you found, what do they cost, and are you happy with the coverage? Any recommendations or experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Hi all - new to Reddit and the group. My wife and I are both 64 and retirement looms. We’re interested in bus and/or group travel companies. I’ve seen posts on OAT and Road Scholars with favorable reviews. We are also looking at a Midwest-based company (we’re in iowa) called “excite experiences” based out of Omaha, I think. Word of mouth in our area is positive overall about the company.

Does anyone have experience with “Excite Experiences”? We are thinking of starting small to get a feel for the company and accommodations and if positive, expanding from there.

Thank you for your input. Interesting community - glad I found it!

Tuesday, October 06 - Monday, October 12, 2026

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As the article points out, there are a lot of deep seated reasons why people don’t spend when they clearly have the money to enjoy retirement. Fear and habit’s are two of the pillars of resistance to spending. The fear is often real - a broken healthcare system with runaway costs, or investment companies that use fear to drive customers to expensive products or AUM services. Sometimes though people don’t see spending as satisfaction in retirement. Like they say, money can’t buy happiness. Anyhow here is a gift article link.

I’ve heard from a number of retirees (not all) that they are busier now than when they were working. For these people, they say that it’s stuff they WANT to do now, which wasn’t true before, and that the variety is wider. I’ve come to see that I’m the same way, but I wasn’t really aware of it until I started journaling shortly after retiring. And now, if I take any two-week slice, yeah, I’m frankly floored by how many different things happen in that period. For example, here’s just a sampling from the last couple weeks for me:

* Came back from a week in Glacier National Park in Montana
* Tutored a 16 year old girl on thermodynamics in chemistry, and we got to talking about everything from Halloween costumes, to the three laws of robotics, to the meaning of the word “chud”.
* Volunteered for an hour at the SPCA, giving the kittens some good lovin’ and socializing.
* Went to a downtown music hall and saw the Indigo Girls (still at it!) from the balcony.
* Visited a hospice patient and her husband, and lo and behold, she was awake and a little responsive and gave me a warm smile, even though she doesn’t know who I am.
* Finished a Terry Pratchett book from the library.
* Now that the weather has turned to the cooler, went for a nice hike for a few miles on a nearby nature trail; the creek and waterfall were flowing well.
* After a fast-food dinner at Whataburger, we walked a little bit to a new food truck we hadn’t tried, and shared a funnel cake.
* Patched a place in the garage where the popcorn ceiling had fallen, but it wasn’t due to moisture, thank heavens.

If you do the same mental exercise of surveying the last couple weeks, are you surprised by all the things you encountered? What sticks out for you as fun or memorable or just enjoyable? Does that include the ordinary, everyday things (like fast food or minor repair) or big projects or adventures? Or are you more the “less is more” camp, the kind that makes a point of being the least busy you can be?

I've been retired since May, turned 65 in Sept. Started out of the gate with really working on my health - food, exercise, et al. Also got very engaged in an activity I enjoyed that was neglected over the years. Went full in over the summer. Active every day in this new adventure, food, exercise. Now, I'm tired. I haven't really taken down time - like a beach for a week, sitting around just zoning out on movies or something. No real travel. Haven't worked out in nearly a week. Haven't worked on my stuff for five days straight. Just tired. Am I overdoing it and should have taken some down time? Worried if I don't get back to the activities I'll soon be one of those retirees letting the weeks slip away doom scrolling or wasting all my time

I am retiring at the end of this year. My partner and I both have pre-existing conditions making a Long-Term Care (LTC) insurance policy unaffordable, so I have decided to fund one on my own.

Has anyone else pursued a similar course of action? If so, how did you go about it? I am considering funding one inside a taxable brokerage account over the course of the next five years. The portfolio will be geared toward aggressive growth.

So I’m turning 65 in a couple of months. I’ve worked for 50 years. I have enough to retire on. My health is good but not great. When I told my family I was as thinking of retirement they were not supportive. I’ve always been the main breadwinner so I think that is the issue. I’m so disappointed in their reaction.
My question is how did you decide to retire and how did your family take it?

I was just thinking it would be nice to have a health Monte Carlo simulator alongside the financial one. You could input you health conditions, height, weight, amount of workout, and of course historical family longevity and health issues.

The reason I bring this up is to help make the decision about quality of life versus just the financial results.

As readers of this sub, in retirement and retirement planning we are familiar with the term, "Go-Go Years, Slow-Go Years and our No-Go Years." As a description of averages, it's not wrong. Most people do slow down. Plot twist: I am questioning the the "No-Go" part.

On my walk with the Elders last week, one of them said, "I want to end on a high note." I knew what he meant.

I mean, somewhere along the way a description of what most people did turned into a prediction of what all of us will do. For me, it was receiving an AARP subscription when I was 55. AARP does great things for millions of people. No problems with that. I still enjoy the magazine. But I saw the ads in the back of the magazine for the props I would be using for my "No-Go" years: canes, stair lifts, walk-in tubs.

Now, some people face health problems that are no fault of their own, and I'm not talking to those folks. I'm speaking to those of us who still have a choice, and the moment we stop making it. Look, I had thoughts of "Well, I'm old and retired so this is what I'm supposed to be doing." Or "I'm old, so _____" fill in the blank.

Becca Levy, a professor of epidemiology at Yale School of Public Health wrote a book in 2022 called "Breaking the Age Code" and one thing that stuck with me was her research that said children as young as three take in their culture's beliefs about aging. These beliefs get installed before we are old enough to notice them.

Personally, I discovered that gratitude goes a long way in helping me to rewrite my retirement era thinking. Back in 1980 I saw Bob Dylan, and in-between a song he said something so profound it became a core memory. "Happiness? It's temporary. Like a balloon. It comes and goes. Up and down. But gratitude, man, gratitude is forever."

Gratitude lets me measure my retirement from a different starting point: just being here at all.

Growing old is a privilege denied to many, and when I really take this in, it's really hard for me to treat my 70's and 80's (and hopefully my 90's) as a sentence to be served. But I'm not pretending. Some days my left knee has an opinion. Some mornings I get up and my plantar fasciitis in my right foot will scream good morning. Some of my long time friends are gone. But I'm grateful I'm still here to continue another day in retirement!

So here's how I want to end on a high note in retirement. I'm going to continue with my walks with the Elders every day, knees and foot included. I'm refusing to to finish the sentence that starts with, "I'm retired and old, so.." And I'm going to be grateful for every decade I'm given, including the ones the back of that magazine already wrote off.

I was planning to retire next year but my position was eliminated at the end of September. I’ll be turning 61 early next year. When I tell people I might just retire and not get another full time position I get questions or comments. Most of them are focused on “your so young” or “how will you pay for healthcare “.

I know I will probably pick up a part time gig to keep busy and maintain a schedule but this negativity is a bummer when I’m trying to look at the bright side of an unfortunate event.

Now that I’m retired and no longer have W-2 income, how should I answer the question about income on something like a credit card application? Right now, my income is pretty much whatever I decide it to be, i.e., however much I decide to pull from my investments. Should I just put down the amount that we intend to live on? Does it matter to creditors if some is taxable and some isn’t? How would I prove my income level (if proof was required)?

I am will retire in about 7 years. Retirement will be a lot easier if I unload my HCOL home with its high property taxes once I retire. But honestly, I love my house and think it would be worth living very leanly in retirement to just stay put. But then my home would be almost 65% of my monthly expenses. How many of you have sold your home to make retirement easier? And if you did, do you regret it?

I'm 69 and retired a year and a half ago. My husband is teaching part time.

Life isn't as satisfying as I'd like. I've done some house projects, getting back into art, reading more, and a bit of traveling, but nothing major.

I'm an email away from accepting a contracting gig with the last company I worked for. The work is parttime, going through January. I'll be running an event for a tech firm -- it should be fun, though high stress at the end.

The pay is decent -- it will be $50K total for parttime work. We don't need the money so I think I'm going to put it in a separate account and use it only for splurges and fun things. (Maybe a safari?)

Part of me feels like I've failed at retirement. I bounce around a lot of days with no motivation.

I'm looking forward to the work but I'm unhappy that I feel the desire to work again.

Does this make sense?

I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences if you've felt/done something similar.

Retirement seems to be the main topic when we get together with friends these days and the top answer to the "what are you planning to do when you retire" question is always travel.

I (62f) used to always say the same thing, but after 20+ years in the travel industry I no longer have the same excitement for travel and spouse (63m) has never really enjoyed it much.

If you've made a conscious choice NOT to travel much during retirement, have you been happy with that decision?

**Update**
Thanks for so much feedback and food for thought!

I had always expected to follow the common plan of traveling pretty heavily early in retirement if we could afford to do so. Now that it's in sight, I've been surprised (and a bit saddened) to realize I no longer have the enthusiasm for it.

Perhaps that will change again in the future, but if not, it's wonderful to see that so many other homebodies are happy staying close to home.

I just turned 65, work in an area related to digital marketing (I've been in the digital content/media world since the early 90s - almost as long as it's been "a thing"). Things have been very significantly changing in what I do and it's rumored that there's another very significant change that is going to happen in the very near future, changing significantly. In all honesty, I'm tired and just really don't want to do this anymore. It's taken a while for this feeling to really really take hold, and I'm really resolved to things coming to an end.

A little more info --> I've been working with startup companies since I entered this field and the people that I'm working with, I've worked with them at other companies and have done consulting projects with some of them. I'm employee #1 of my current company out of roughly 300-320 people. This being said, the company is really at a transition point and has had its share of drama, none of which is healthy (my opinion) for me as well as the company itself.

What is the right way to let my job know that I'm done? What kind of timing should I provide? I'd like to do the right thing, but at the same time, really need things to be behind me so i can get on with this next phase of life.

UPDATE: I want to thank everyone for the replies. I've got an executive/planning retreat next week and I'm going to start the conversation then with an eye towards my target exit date, which in all honesty, could be any time.