# Countdown to retirement **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 25, 2023, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653 "2023-03-25T17:37:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 32
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2023, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/621 "2023-12-22T17:53:06Z")
We could do that here, though there are other forums that already do this very well. I suggest looking at the [Bogleheads forum](https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/index.php), or the [early retirement](https://www.early-retirement.org/forums) forum. I imagine that there are other places as well. But I would not mind sharing information here, in general terms. Bogleheads does have [a format](https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6212) for how people share information, it might be a good idea to look at that and perhaps adopt some convention for talking about portfolios here. ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2023, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/622 "2023-12-22T17:56:12Z")
Thanks, Mr. Otto. I am familiar with many of the review/discussion forums, and I subscribe to Seeking Alpha as well as a few others. And those are good. But they are strangers; I have a sense of “trust” (for some definition of that word) in the folks here. What I mean is: the SDMB is a known-quantity, and I have decades of experience here that allows me to weight various folks’ opinion; at other boards, pretty much not. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2023, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/623 "2023-12-22T18:29:28Z")
There have been a few threads in the past on this topic, but I’d be interested in this general thread idea as well. With the same caveats and for the same reasons as our OP. Privacy is and will be an issue, but we know each other well enough to have some idea of who to listen to and who to ignore. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/624 "2024-01-31T15:24:14Z")
This seems like as good a place as any to ask this question: how do I find out about low-fee index funds? I have some money that I want to just park in a S&P 500 index fund and leave it there for years. If it were money coming from another retirement fund, I could just move it into my TSP account, which charges very low fees. But they can’t take this money, so I want something that would be the equivalent of TSP’s fund that mimics the S&P 500, just outside of any official retirement account. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/625 "2024-01-31T15:39:05Z")
From [NerdWallet](https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/investing/sp-500-index-fund) ## What’s the best S&P 500 index fund? The best S&P 500 index fund for you will depend on its minimum investment, costs and how closely it aligns to the S&P 500 market index. | Index fund | Minimum investment | Expense ratio | | --- | --- | --- | | Vanguard 500 Index Fund - Admiral Shares (VFIAX) | $3,000. | 0.04%. | | Schwab S&P 500 Index Fund (SWPPX) | No minimum. | 0.02%. | | Fidelity 500 Index Fund (FXAIX) | No minimum. | 0.015%. | | Fidelity Zero Large Cap Index (FNILX) | No minimum. | 0.0%. | | T. Rowe Price Equity Index 500 Fund (PREIX) | $2,500. | 0.20%. | ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/626 "2024-01-31T15:41:49Z")
And if you want to compare mutual fund returns, here is a handy tool: > **[Fund Comparison Tool - MarketWatch](https://www.marketwatch.com/tools/fund-comparison?tickers=&filter=returns)** > > Use the Fund Comparison Tool, on MarketWatch, to compare mutual funds and ETFs. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/627 "2024-01-31T20:32:46Z")
Thanks! Not only was the main page helpful, but it had a number of links to further information. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/628 "2024-04-29T14:19:00Z")
I’m a few days away from giving one month’s notice and the last few months have been sort of surreal. On paper it would look as though I was being “quiet fired” as apparently my immediate co-workers in my section are very busy while I have had since Christmas, literally no work assigned to me except for a couple of one-week panics. Outside of that, though, everything is very normal (eg no avoidance by colleagues or weird, stilted, awkward conversations etc). My job has been of a “feast-or-famine” variety, with four or five months of balls-to-the-wall effort followed by 20 hours of work crammed into 40 hours. Right now the only work I am doing is resurrecting stuff I did and used 20 years ago in my military career (it is very salient to much of the work we do) and serve as a living knowledge bank for my colleagues. So, on my own initiative and without any sort of outside supervision, monitoring or even knowledge, I have been putting together and delivering presentations and workshops for a few of my younger, pure civilian colleagues/counterparts so that they can have as much understanding of this stuff as possible once I’m gone. Realistically, however, I think that I could probably have spent the last four months napping on the couch at home and nobody would have known. So I’m genuinely curious to hear the response to my giving notice. Will my boss say something like “I’ve been expecting this as you are now 65 and a month really isn’t necessary”, or something like “Velomont, are you sure? We have some major projects coming down the pipe (and we actually do). Is there anything we can do the convince you to stay?” I honestly don’t know. My company isn’t shy about laying people off, and they’re not some sort of make-work charity organization but, my god they’ve treated me well. I often wonder if I’m a one-trick pony but my one trick, unbeknownst to me, is so valuable to them that they’re willing to pay me a very generous salary just to have me sitting here doing what I want. Anyway, not ranting at all, just perplexed at the way this significant time in my work life is proceeding. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/629 "2024-04-29T14:30:08Z")
What a strange situation, but not a bad one to be in. Keep us updated! ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/630 "2024-04-29T15:17:10Z")
> [@velomont](#): > > I’m a few days away from giving one month’s notice and the last few months have been sort of surreal. Nice! I turn 65 in just over 3 months. No plans to retire for a bit yet, but if the project I’m on winds up, I’ve decided that I’ll stick a fork in it at that point. I don’t think I will make it to full retirement age, which is 2 years from now. From a financial standpoint, in theory we should be OK even if we don’t downsize / move to some place cheaper. However there are a few bills I’d like to get paid down first. Plus, the longer we work, the less we need to dip into savings and/or start taking the not-yet-FRA-discounted Social Security. I realized the other day that in a couple more days, I could in theory sign up for Medicare. I won’t, because as long as either my husband or I still have jobs, we’ll be covered there, so there’s no penalty. I’ve started getting lots of Medicare-related junk mail; my husband usually picks up the mail, so I never even see it. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/631 "2024-04-29T15:28:02Z")
Congrats, @volomont. This is an exciting time for you. I retired just over a year ago. I remember feeling weirdly nervous about telling my co-workers, many of whom I was - still am - good friends with. They were, without exception, extremely supportive. I texted them all this past April 1 and said I was ready to come back. Only one of them didn’t realize the date of my text. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/632 "2024-04-29T15:36:18Z")
> [@velomont](#): > > 20 hours of work crammed into 40 hours. This made me laugh, as it was an extremely accurate description of my last 90 days of work. The difference was that everybody in the company knew I was retiring at the end of the year, so I was asked to document many of the processes that I had developed and performed over the years. Left alone to do this, I took a LOT of time to write down what I had been asked to write down. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/633 "2024-04-29T15:37:31Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > What a strange situation, but not a bad one to be in. It truly is. > [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > I could in theory sign up for Medicare. I hope that works out for you. Fortunately I’m in Canada so that’s not an issue for me. > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Congrats, @volomont. This is an exciting time for you. And thank you very much. It really is. Since Xmas we’ve been tied up with selling a house, finding an apartment, and moving. This has really caused me to take a hit on physical fitness and I’ve been really sedentary the last few months. I’m now starting to renew my old efforts and I’ll be spending lots of time noodling on my guitars and riding my bikes. ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/634 "2024-04-29T16:15:30Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > could in theory sign up for Medicare. I won’t, because as long as either my husband or I still have I’m 66 and was working when I turned 65. I think you DO want to sign up for **Part A** which is hospitalization; there is no premium for it. For Part B and D, correct that if you have coverage through work then you can delay. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/635 "2024-04-29T16:21:03Z")
I think that depends - from [Medicare](https://www.medicare.gov/supplements-other-insurance/how-medicare-works-with-other-insurance) > If the employer has less than 20 employees and isn’t part of a multi-employer or multiple employer group health plan, then Medicare pays first, and the group health plan pays second. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/636 "2024-04-29T16:22:19Z")
> [@Raza](#): > > I’m 66 and was working when I turned 65. I think you DO want to sign up for **Part A** which is hospitalization; there is no premium for it. > > For Part B and D, correct that if you have coverage through work then you can delay. Ah - good to know. I’ll check into this. A friend who turns 65 a couple months after I do clarified one misunderstanding I’d had ; I thought you had up to 6 months after turning 65 to sign up for B / D without penalty; she said it’s 3 months before and 3 months after turning 65. Coulda been a BIG whoopsie for me. ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/637 "2024-04-29T16:44:51Z")
There is a whopping mega thread started by @JohnT that goes into great detail on the nuances: > [@America's Elder Crisis, Medicare Edition](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-elder-crisis-medicare-edition/937146/292): > > When I first went on Medicare, right after I retired, they computed the Part B cost based on my work income and it was high. It eventually went down though. My gain would be a lot more than $500K, not that I’m complaining. The tax on the excess is a lot more of a worry than Part B, not that I’m complaining. On the bright side, the 6% reduces your gain. We have a lot of geezers like me in our neighborhood for this very reason, and my old boss who has renewed his real estate license confirms t… ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/638 "2024-04-29T16:47:17Z")
> [@Raza](#): > > There is a whopping mega thread started by @JohnT that goes into great detail on the nuances: Oooooh yeah. I’ve read through that, and will be rereading it, and have recommended it to friends and family members. Very, very useful info. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/639 "2024-04-29T17:47:42Z")
> [@Raza](#): > > I’m 66 and was working when I turned 65. I think you DO want to sign up for **Part A** which is hospitalization; there is no premium for it. That may not be true, after all. I’ve been doing some reading on my company’s intranet page regarding retirement, and they mention a couple of factors: 1. You cannot contribute to an HSA if you have Medicare (my coverage is through my spouse, and HE’s the one with the HSA, so maybe it wouldn’t matter). 2. if I’ve got coverage through my spouse’s work, that coverage becomes secondary to Medicare. 3. You may need to enroll in Medicare Part B before your secondary coverage will pay. I’ll want to fact-check all of those before doing any signup! ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/640 "2024-04-29T19:42:04Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > … she said it’s 3 months before and 3 months after turning 65. Coulda been a BIG whoopsie for me. Not quite. If you’re still working and have coverage when you turn 65, the window for B/D (or C) is based on the month in which you lose coverage. So it’s the three months before, the month itself, and the three months after. If you miss that window you’re subject to surcharges and eligibility determination. Be aware that if you wait till after 65 you’ll have to provide proof from your employer(s) that you had continuous coverage during the interim. It doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense to pay the premiums if you still have employer coverage, but you can sign up in advance with a future activation date once you know it. In fact, I’d kinda recomment doing so in case there’s a paperwork glitch in the matrix (happened to me). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653.md?page=31) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653.md?page=33)