What would it mean to our economy if people like me could retire...

[SHRED]

...and "get out of the way"?


And furthermore...if I can't retire then who can?

I suspect there are many others in similar situations.

Here is my scenario:

Townhome in north county coastal San Diego, CA is paid off and ready to rent ($2,000 to $2,500 per month).
I have twenty years in at work and I am 55 so retirement is available at about 54% of pay.
I have another 457 retirement account about $55K in it and the wife will have, in two years, a retirement of $1,000 per month for 10 years.
We also have a CD at around $100K gaining minimal interest at around 2% plus other funds in Roths and conventional IRAs totaling around $60K.
We want to hit the road in our RV for a long while.
Can't retire though. No retirement health plan at work. Health insurance way too costly (preexisting condition).

Fortunately or unfortunately I have lived frugally and acquired too much to risk without insurance.


---

[NYC_SKP]

1. Yes, indeed. Imagine if we had comprehensive care for all, not just in early retirement, but...

For all people, workers, children.

Small businesses (and large) would THRIVE having had that cost lifted, the rest of us could sigh a breath of relief, and you and I could retire early and enjoy life.

How to pay for it?

Here's how, the two red bits on the right of the graph below:

[Curmudgeoness]

12. Good lord! I didn't think I would ever stop scrolling.

But what is worse than the LONG red line for the 1% is the positive lines for the 20-90% groups. This sort of thinking is impossible to comprehend. Excuse me while I go lay down---I'm feeling nauseous.

[TBF]

2. I agree - and I expect we will be in the same boat in 20 years.

But the very wealthy don't care about any of that - all they care about is their own investments. It is so sad to watch so many low-income folks buy into an economic system that is so against them. The cognitive dissonance is amazing. Universal health care would be a big help for sure, and people are even rallying against that.

[SHRED]

4. I am hoping on the State exchange pools...

...expected in 2014.

But I still do not know if they will be affordable for a couple like us in our income and asset range.
My retirement, should I retire now, would be around $26 to 30K per year.
It's just a shame that even with what we have (which I consider lower middle) we are forced to remain in the work pool because of health insurance.

I swear they want us to work until we drop dead.

---

[eridani]

19. Your age is the critical factor. Insurance companies are allowed to

--charge older people 3x as much as younger people for the same coverage.

[grasswire]

3. if there were medicare for all, you could n/t

[SHRED]

5. We couldn't even get Lieberman to vote for...

...55+ Medicare.

[spooky3]

6. I think you're making a very important point - for the whole economy.

I know a lot of other people who are postponing retirement due to health care access/costs. No one is more at risk than people in your age group.

If they could retire, they would not only be much happier, but also jobs would open up for unemployed people who also need those jobs.

[SHRED]

7. thank you

That is exactly my point.

[Freddie]

8. At my school district

(I'm payroll/benefits) most of our teachers are in their 50s and I'd venture that ALL of them would retire now if they could get affordable health insurance.
Our state allows retired teachers to COBRA up to age 65 (no 18 month limit) at full price, which is about $1800 per month for husband/wife plan. They hear that and decide to not retire.

[SHRED]

9. exactly

I could retire under the umbrella of my employer but insurance ranges from $1700 to $1900 for Kaizer to Anthem...for us per month.

Not doable.


--

[nichomachus]

10. I'll tell you what it would mean

It would mean that the one percent couldn't force the rest of us into serf status, having people battle each other for crap jobs at minimum wage with no benefits, so the one percent can get richer. That's why things are the way they are.

The one percent doesn't want the economy to get better. Once you realize that, everything else becomes clear.

[teewrex]

11. My economic stimulus plan -

give everyone 55 and over $1,000,000 tax free and medicare in order to retire. Opens jobs for the younger crowd, puts money in the hands of those who will spend it. Much better than giving it to the banks and the already rich.

[Yavin4]

16. That's Not A Bad Idea

Although, I would not give a $1,000,000 check. Instead, I would extend Social Security to people under 55 and increase the benefits. That would open up a lot of jobs for the young and the unemployed.

[Curmudgeoness]

13. I know the feeling.

I am counting years and it is getting closer----too fast when I think of aging. But to wait until Medicare kicks in is the only option. I cannot imagine what the situation would be if there was no Medicare at any age.

We do have to make it possible for some of us to retire, opening up all those jobs. I know many people (and I may end up being one of them if just a few things go wrong) who are working even after Social Security/Medicare age because of problems with the value of investments and those stupid 401(k) plans that "replaced" defined-benefit plans.

I feel your pain, and I am older than you are. Just a hint: it gets more disheartening the older you get.

[SHRED]

14. If push came to shove...and it might

I could pay the exorbitant premiums with my house rental.

That would be against every grain in my body almost however I'd be free from work and if we lived in an RV we could manage.
Only problem is, and it's a big one, that we could never live here again and we would either have to keep renting the place or sell it.

I hate our country's love of war and it's divisiveness regarding caring for each other with pooled governmental programs.

[ErikJ]

15. Retire to almost any other country

and get on their health care system. Google this - expat retire early health care system

[Scuba]

17. There are many of us in exactly the same position. Medicare for All would be a jobs boom...

... as replacements would be needed for those retiring.

[Egalitarian Thug]

18. Isn't it odd how a few unsophisticated rubes on a message board don't seem to have any problem

coming up with great ideas to solve supposedly intractable problems, while the "very serious people" that claim superior capacity to runs things, can't even seem to comprehend what is right in front of them?

[SHRED]

20. The "serious" people running things have different incentives apparently