You can retire at 62 and can consider it as early retirement, but it come with a penalty. You can also retire in the years between the earliest retirement dates and full retirement and get a bit more money with each passing year. Suppose you create a financial plan based upon the three-legged financial stool of personal savings, part-time income (by having retirement part time jobs), and getting Social Security Income (Social Security benefits). As your planned-for retirement date approaches, (more…)

In 1999 the Social Security Administration (SSA) began mailing Social Security statements annually to all adults 25 and over about three months prior to their birthdays. In the statement, you receive an estimate of your benefits under the most current laws, and a record of your social security statement of earnings upon which your benefits are based. If you do not have this statement, you need to get one. Call 800-772-1213 or go to www.ssa.gov and request a statement order form. Because this is sensitive personal information, it is not available online. You have to mail a form to the SSAand wait for a response in four to six weeks. (more…)

The day has finally arrived, you have work for years and now you have to decide if it is the time for an early departure from your company, or continue to work for a few years. The advantages and disadvantages of early retirement are quite simple to understand, to the disappointment of many people. Early retirement advantages are quite simple: you can stop working! The disadvantages or cons of early retirements are a bit more complicated. (more…)

The thought of retire early may be an illusion for some and a punishment for others. Everything is, as the saying goes, depending on how you look at it. First, is it the decision whether retirement is voluntary or forced? Often when companies offer their employee early retirement is not really such an offer since the other option is to be fired. (more…)

For as long as man has left any record of his hopes and aspirations he has expressed his desire for a long life. But as people live longer and more and more of them retire from work what is their potential for living a good life? Can the retirement years be as satisfying as the working years? This is the question facing millions of Americans, and it may be the question which prompted you to take part in a retirement preparation program. (more…)

After my parents moved to Florida in the mid-1980s, Mom and Dad would send us the job ads from the Sunday newspaper. In one letter, Mom circled an ad that she thought was perfect. “Look at this one,” she wrote. “It pays $401,000.” On closer inspection, we realized the job offered a 401k retirement savings plan, not a $401,000 salary. (more…)

If you have never considered full time RV living, it is one of the best ways to retire early… think again. A lot of people do it, they enjoy the lifestyle, and it can be a very frugal way of retirement living. We RVed for 6 years for 6 to 22 month stretches at a time. (more…)