South Florida, a senior enclave, sees more people ‘unretiring’ due to living costs

High school graduate here and I retired at 59 and at 72 I’m debt free and have been for a decade. Wife retired from USPS 2 years ago and with our pensions, investments, 401K’s and SS we have more money than at any time in our lives! We don’t owe anyone a dime! One doesn’t have to have a sheepskin on the wall or a white collar around your neck or a house on the golf course and a Volvo in the garage to be successful! Truth be known, a huge percentage of those folks are in debt up to their eyeballs and miserable! My wife and I worked our asses off for 50 years, raised 2 sons who are successful and have great supportive hard working spouses. Quote:
“ I’m a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work the more luck I seem to have”: Thomas Jefferson.
What are these pension things you speak of?
 
Yes, but does putting your retirement fund in a Roth for 2 or 3 decades outweigh the possible financial gains of deferred tax input $$$? That is the question. Over the past 2 decades I've been to retirement planning sessions with both scenarios recommended either/or.

Someone please predict the future and tell me the answer. I chose to do some of each, but the lesser amount in the Roth.

What bothers me is that if your spouse dies, you might get put into a higher tax bracket filing single. Am I missing something here?

Yikes, we are way off topic.
There are a variety of calculators to answer that question.

The answer of course, is, “It depends”.

You know a lot more about your current and future income, so nobody here can answer that question, but the answer exists.
 
There are a variety of calculators to answer that question.

The answer of course, is, “It depends”.

You know a lot more about your current and future income, so nobody here can answer that question, but the answer exists.
I look at it this way. Financial planners that are compensated with commissions from selling products or by a percentage of assets under management have a vested interest in encouraging clients to maintain as large of an account as possible. They make more money with clients that invest the larger pre tax amount (taxable IRA) vs. a smaller amount post tax (Roth IRA).
Back to the original question about the future. I consulted my Magic 8 Ball and it told me that taxes are going way up, and we will have periods of high inflation during my retirement years. The Magic 8 Ball never lies. Put more into the Roth. I know I wish I did.
 
High school graduate here and I retired at 59 and at 72 I’m debt free and have been for a decade. Wife retired from USPS 2 years ago and with our pensions, investments, 401K’s and SS we have more money than at any time in our lives! We don’t owe anyone a dime! One doesn’t have to have a sheepskin on the wall or a white collar around your neck or a house on the golf course and a Volvo in the garage to be successful! Truth be known, a huge percentage of those folks are in debt up to their eyeballs and miserable! My wife and I worked our asses off for 50 years, raised 2 sons who are successful and have great supportive hard working spouses. Quote:
“ I’m a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work the more luck I seem to have”: Thomas Jefferson.
One can make bank these days with certain blue collar skills. The only reason that I'm able to retire and afford stuff is because I got lucky with a stock.
 
I gather that some of us who have enjoyed good fortune would rather attribute that to our own hard work and personal acumen.
Reality is that some among us may have acumen but never catch a break.
I'm not discounting the value of work and learning, but we should all recognize and admit the critical importance of having things break our way. Working toward a goal will set one up for success, but one still has to be in the right place at the right time.
I concede this and wonder why some others don't.
I was certainly in the right place at the right time and had enough income to accumulate a nest egg.
Not everyone is so blessed.
 
Wow, I’m reading the last two pages of posts!
Let me add something here!

Your life and your life only is your responsibility. If you didn’t make it, struggling to make it or made it with great success. It’s all you’re doing and no one is responsible except for yourself.
So whatever you do, don’t expect other people to fix your problems or share in your success.
Your life is free to what you make it.

Case closed is what I can say. Simple stuff no one else is responsible for your actions and your lack of success or your great success.
Keep your hands out of my pocket and I’ll keep my hands out of yours. Stand up and be an adult. Your life is what you made of it.

It might sound crude or cruel to some people, but this is the Animal Kingdom and no higher authority is in charge of the income and money I make from my hard labor to choose and give to other people.
 
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Yes, but does putting your retirement fund in a Roth for 2 or 3 decades outweigh the possible financial gains of deferred tax input $$$? That is the question. Over the past 2 decades I've been to retirement planning sessions with both scenarios recommended either/or.

Someone please predict the future and tell me the answer. I chose to do some of each, but the lesser amount in the Roth.

What bothers me is that if your spouse dies, you might get put into a higher tax bracket filing single. Am I missing something here?

Yikes, we are way off topic.
One has to take into account lack of RMD requirement for Roths as well.
 
I gather that some of us who have enjoyed good fortune would rather attribute that to our own hard work and personal acumen.
Reality is that some among us may have acumen but never catch a break.
I'm not discounting the value of work and learning, but we should all recognize and admit the critical importance of having things break our way. Working toward a goal will set one up for success, but one still has to be in the right place at the right time.
I concede this and wonder why some others don't.
I was certainly in the right place at the right time and had enough income to accumulate a nest egg.
Not everyone is so blessed.
Are you trying to infer that the people who were just a couple years from retirement in 2019 and had their 401K and home values double in a couple years - weren't necessarily financial geniuses?
 
I gather that some of us who have enjoyed good fortune would rather attribute that to our own hard work and personal acumen.
Reality is that some among us may have acumen but never catch a break.
I'm not discounting the value of work and learning, but we should all recognize and admit the critical importance of having things break our way. Working toward a goal will set one up for success, but one still has to be in the right place at the right time.
I concede this and wonder why some others don't.
I was certainly in the right place at the right time and had enough income to accumulate a nest egg.
Not everyone is so blessed.

I will admit I’ve been at the right place at the right time and lucky to get doors opened for me.

I did have to work hard and prove myself…… not expect people 20 years older than me roll out the red carpet for me cause I was very #SPECIAL.

I’m at the very end of my career and teaching the youngins all I know. I tell them to write everything down cause you will definitely benefit from my knowledge and career guidance.

# No BULL or FLUFF
R rated, not safe for management to hear the truth, not in Employee Manual or HR Manual.

I give them advice as if I were talking to myself 30 years ago (time machine scenario).
 
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I gather that some of us who have enjoyed good fortune would rather attribute that to our own hard work and personal acumen.
Reality is that some among us may have acumen but never catch a break.
I'm not discounting the value of work and learning, but we should all recognize and admit the critical importance of having things break our way. Working toward a goal will set one up for success, but one still has to be in the right place at the right time.
I concede this and wonder why some others don't.
I was certainly in the right place at the right time and had enough income to accumulate a nest egg.
Not everyone is so blessed.

Sometimes one has to put themselves "at the right place at the right time". But yea-sometimes it's luck. Sometimes it's hard work. As in the case of myself-it was both luck and hard work
 
Example of my # No BULL or FLUFF advice….

I asked an apprentice at my employer (28 year old male, no kids, single) if they offered him:
A full-time, $70,000 starting with a $5000 sign on bonus and $5000 moving expenses would he take a job let’s say in (take your pick)…..
Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Las Vegas, Tucson, Charlotte, Orlando / Daytona, Tampa / St Pete, Jacksonville, Miami, Ocala / Gainesville, Tallahassee / Pensacola, Huntsville AL, SE USA, ….etc….

Would you take the job ?

His response was that he had to think about it…..

I kind of yelled at him and said
“Think about what ????”
“Right now you don’t have a pot to piss in.”

Your apprenticeship ends in a few weeks and you have to get very serious about trying to find something permanent even if you have to move away and 2 years later come back to Florida.
I also said it’s much easier to get hired full-time if you’re already on the payroll than if you leave cause apprenticeship ended and you try to come back.

He didn’t take my advice, apprenticeship ended and he never applied for any openings.
Now he is desperately applying for open positions that are in some of the cities / regions I listed above.

This is a perfect example of my high quality, no bull, no fluff advice.

I can’t post my rules for success on BITOG cause I will get banned. 🤐
 
Wow, I’m reading the last two pages of posts!
Let me add something here!

Your life and your life only is your responsibility. If you didn’t make it, struggling to make it or made it with great success. It’s all you’re doing and no one is responsible except for yourself.
So whatever you do, don’t expect other people to fix your problems or share in your success.
Your life is free to what you make it.

Case closed is what I can say. Simple stuff no one else is responsible for your actions and your lack of success or your great success.
Keep your hands out of my pocket and I’ll keep my hands out of yours. Stand up and be an adult. Your life is what you made of it.

It might sound crude or cruel to some people, but this is the Animal Kingdom and no higher authority is in charge of the income and money I make from my hard labor to choose and give to other people.
This is where my father in law and me don't see eye to eye. He thinks people that don't need it, shouldn't take their social security benefits. This way the government can give more to those that need it more.
 
Didn’t used to be for sure not even close. But teachers in CA and WA are nicely compensated and have a FAT retirement!
Even experienced teachers in SC can't afford to rent a 1 bedroom apartment in any of the 5 South Carolina metro's on a teachers salary.

HR encourages new hire teachers to sign up for the optional 403b instead of the state pension as well. Once that selection is made it can never be undone.
 
Even experienced teachers in SC can't afford to rent a 1 bedroom apartment in any of the 5 South Carolina metro's on a teachers salary.

HR encourages new hire teachers to sign up for the optional 403b instead of the state pension as well. Once that selection is made it can never be undone.
Those areas need to allocate property taxes better. Something most reasonable people don't mind spending tax $ on. Like fire, police and roads. It's the crazy stuff, drugs, needles, handouts, free junk for otherwise able men -heck Oregon is voting on a "free" salary for all residents.
 
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