Monday April 1,-2019
Hi Family,
Thanks so much for your interesting letters about what you are doing. We loved having Shane here Wed. into Thurs. Keep us updated. Glad Alicia is on the mend!
While at Chris & Kim's for dinner yesterday, and talking wedding with Seth and Aspen. I mentioned that while putting Amber, Christine, and Kylie in as new Westras in my phone, I went ahead and put Aspen in also. Then we had a good laugh as we realized she would be a Taylor, not a Westra, after their marriage! We played a couple new games we brought to see if they liked them.
We had the 5th Sunday lesson on Finances yesterday also. I thought they would have Lane Summerhays teach it or we have several financial planners in the ward, but they had Darrell Smith teach. We also had a "Linger Longer" after Church, in the cultural hall with veggies, fruits, and desserts. The RS organized it as people missed having as much time to visit with the new 2 hour block. Usually it is just the YSA wards that have that fun stuff after church. It was nice and I hope they do it again. They even had some gluten-free crackers and cookies, as we have several in the ward that need them.
D & D, have a great trip--nice you are visiting Wendy's family on the way. Scott's doctor appt. went well Sat. The doctor said he has done amazingly well and is 2 months ahead of most patients that had the shoulder replacement. He will start physical therapy after Disneyland. It was fun to be with D & D and the girls at the Black Bear Diner on Tues.
Jen & Gray, are you getting baby ducks this year or would your big ducks be mean to them? Seth & Aspen bought 2 baby ducks for Chris & Kim. They just have to be sure their 2 cats are kept away from them, as the cats eye them hungrily and try to go after them.
Chris had sent in a box of slides to a place to have them transferred to digital photos, so Dad is renaming them and it is bringing back lots of fond memories from his mission. Then Chris will put them in Dropbox. All of Netherlands so far. He just showed me a photo of how they went on dates in Holland back then. The couple are on bikes next to each other, and the guy has his arm around the girl's shoulder! Then Chris is mailing off the 2nd big batch of slides, after seeing that the company did a good job. Go Photo.
Chris & Conner worked here again on Fri. They finished getting rid of our compost pile in the street---working in the sleet, rain, and snow in order to do it for us.
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Rick, what will you do after an early retirement? Check it out thoroughly. We sure had trouble getting medical insurance for me when Dad retired, with me being 6 years younger, and not having a company to get it through. Easier right now with ObamaCare, but that could end. I was just re-listening to Suze Orman CDs. One on retirement yesterday (2011, I think). She said for you kids born the years you were, your full-retirement age (FRA) is 6, whereas mine and Dad's was 65, and your kids will be even late than yours.
She said if you retire early and take your Social Security at 62 1/2 (the earliest you can start), you will only get 70% of your Retirement benefits, and it would be locked in at that rate. If you retire at your full-retirement age, you would get 100%. If you wait to start taking it at age 70, you will get 125%. So she said to weigh it carefully before you make that decision. She said now that people are living longer, you have to have enough retirement money to last you into your 90's! And most of you will not have pensions to help. I guess Rick and Derek will. Suze Orman encourages people to work until age 70 in today's world, when people are healthier and live longer.
I'm glad information is readily available on the internet now. When Dad and I were making those decisions, we didn't know which to do, and no information out there easy to find. So check to see if things have changed since she wrote this information.
She said if both husband and wife have worked and earned S.S., one way is for the husband to put his off until age 70, if they can live without it, and the wife could take hers at 62 1/2 if they needed it. If the
husband would have a higher amount to receive. She said the SS Dept. sends you a letter a few months before each birthday stating how much you will be eligible to receive (which helps in planning). Our latest letters show $2,096.40 for Dad each month and $868.40 for me (after deductions for Medicare & drug coverage). Then we get $1,501 each month with Dad's Pension. SS gets slight inflation adjustments from time to time. Dad's pension does not, so its value is a little less each year as to purchasing power, because of inflation.
She said if the husband dies first, the wife can either switch to his SS monthly allotment or keep her own (whichever is larger). She can only get one or the other, not both. So if the husband had opted to not take his SS until age 70, and the wife took hers at age 62 1/2, if her husband died, she could drop hers, which she has benefited from receiving for a few years, and take over his SS at 125% (because he
waited til age 70 and so gets the higher amount). Or if the couple doesn't really need the money to live on, she could wait until age 70 also.
I only worked 1 year after we married, which isn't enough to quality for SS for myself. So when I started taking SS, I was entitled to about half of LaMar's.
Anyway, check out all the current rules before making a definite decision. Be sure you would have enough to live on if you each lived to age 95 or so. And have insurance to cover you until you can each get on Medicare at age 65. And you still need a supplement and a drug plan then, because Medicare only covers about 80% and doesn't cover everything. We pay about $900 a month for our supplemental insurance and our drug plan.
Some sources say people your age and younger should aim to have a million to a million and a half dollars to retire in a good position. Of course it also depends on how much you spend on your life style. And you never know how your health will be, physically and mentally. Care facilities are very expensive.
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