Retirement Life

The retirement age to draw Social Security is 67 years old right now and there are indications that the age will increase, and the amount paid out will decrease to about 75/80% of what it is presently.  That means is someone gets $2,000 each month, that will be reduced to $1,600 each month.

In some cases, a person can also retire (but not draw SS) at 55 years of age if they have worked a one company for 20-25 years.

So, what is retirement life like, when one retires at 67 like I did?

Retirement varies upon these factors:

• geographical location
• physical health
• amount of savings
• current amount of debt

There are other factors but those are the main ones.

East TN is one of the cheapest places in the US to live but, if you are in poor health, have minimal savings, and still have debt to pay off, your retirement is not going to be very enjoyable.

The best I can offer is my own situation.

• My wife and I are debt free
• My wife and I have minor to serious health issues
• My wife and I live in East TN
• My wife and I have savings to last for twenty-five years (when we both will be 95 years old)

With this said, we go out to eat once a week, have two - seven day vacations (April/Sept), have two reliable vehicles, own our own home, and have absolutely not debt that we don't pay off at the end of the month.

I am 76 and she is 71 and we have been retired since 2015.

We both have hobbies that keep us busy all day long so that we are never bored.  We both sleep until 8/9:00am each day unless our cats decide to wake us earlier.  We each have several doctor appointments each month and neither of us have any need to spend money on any additional clothes.

Our neighbors are all very friendly and supportive and have offered to help out anytime we are in need of anything.  Right now, one of our neighbors is in Florida for the winter and we are taking care of their Koi pond.

As far as our retirement goes, we have everything we need and lack for nothing.  However, we do not have a grand lifestyle but a simple one.  The past 8 years have been very relaxing and enjoyable with absolutely no stress at all in our lives.  We are not in the best of health, but our health is better than most people our age.

In 5 years, when I turn 80 years of age, I doubt that we will be taking any vacations unless we fly somewhere and use taxis for transportation.