parent update
It seems my father won't be retiring till the end of 2009. That is a serious bummer as my dad is going to be 67 this June and he's already pretty tuckered out. However, this does give them time to figure out where they want to settle down, how much Medicare will cover for my mother, and how to handle their various payouts. I'm impressed because my dad is far better prepared than I'd imagined. For a family that was always poor, nearly lost our house, had one bankruptcy and 2 failed businesses, my dad seems to be rocking retirement.
My dad tells me they are currently getting social security in the form of disability payments for my mother and retirement benefits for him. He decided it made better sense to start taking his social security now and investing it. They're also getting disability payments for my mom from Met Life. Both forms of disability will be paid out for another 10 years. They are also going to get a couple of hundred a month from Coca-Cola as part of a pension plan. On top of that, they have a decent sized IRA, a similarly sized annuity, and a matched 401(k).
The plan is to live off the payments from these various sources, trying to live frugally under the amount (I suggested trying to save a portion of the payout into a Roth IRA as there is no mandatory payout like IRAs and 401ks and they can take it out tax free--so they have something for when disability runs out), use the 401k to buy a house, and then save the IRA/Annuities for my mom's illness. My dad also has long term care insurance for himself--which is great.
The idea is to live somewhere inexpensive with a PH center nearby. They don't pursue expensive hobbies or lifestyles, so I think they can live modestly without too much difficulty. The scary expenses are my mother's medical bills--with the Medicare donut hole we're talking $18K out of pocket per year potentially. But, I know Jeff and I are willing to chip in and so is my sister and her hubbie. So, I feel a lot better about my parent's future. Once my dad retires, they can relax and cruise around--something they both LOVE.
My dad tells me they are currently getting social security in the form of disability payments for my mother and retirement benefits for him. He decided it made better sense to start taking his social security now and investing it. They're also getting disability payments for my mom from Met Life. Both forms of disability will be paid out for another 10 years. They are also going to get a couple of hundred a month from Coca-Cola as part of a pension plan. On top of that, they have a decent sized IRA, a similarly sized annuity, and a matched 401(k).
The plan is to live off the payments from these various sources, trying to live frugally under the amount (I suggested trying to save a portion of the payout into a Roth IRA as there is no mandatory payout like IRAs and 401ks and they can take it out tax free--so they have something for when disability runs out), use the 401k to buy a house, and then save the IRA/Annuities for my mom's illness. My dad also has long term care insurance for himself--which is great.
The idea is to live somewhere inexpensive with a PH center nearby. They don't pursue expensive hobbies or lifestyles, so I think they can live modestly without too much difficulty. The scary expenses are my mother's medical bills--with the Medicare donut hole we're talking $18K out of pocket per year potentially. But, I know Jeff and I are willing to chip in and so is my sister and her hubbie. So, I feel a lot better about my parent's future. Once my dad retires, they can relax and cruise around--something they both LOVE.