We are thinking about retirement … in a few years!
Posted By RichC on December 15, 2021
As Christmas cards arrive and the 15th of December hits, it is time to start winding down my business year and thinking about 2022 
(BTW, we mailed our cards this week). One thing I have noticed this year is that more cards are from people who are now retired or are retiring. Hm … does that mean that Brenda and I are getting close to that age too?
The answer would be yes we’re getting close, but we are still a couple of years from it. Although, once upon a time, I thought that we would retire early and go sailing, yet ambition, health, securing our future and the desire to be closer to family are a bit different now.
I can remember when building Consolidated Printing and Publishing Co that I thought about early retirement and what it might cost to make it a reality. Back then I was paying $220 per month per employee for a Chamber of Commerce sponsor group heath plan (do-able in early retirement) … although I was probably grumbling at that! Back then our out-of-pocket costs were low and deductibles affordable, even for the just out-of-vocational school graduates that I was hiring as graphic artists or to run presses and bindery equipment. Fast forward 20 years and nearly all plans available to small business and even larger businesses are HSA high-deductible plans costing a lot more and covering a lot less.
When Brenda and I last considered early retirement, our monthly premiums were quoted at $1200/month for each of us and that was for a $10K per 
year deductible two years ago. Even the non-health insurance “shared expenses” plan by Medi-Share was substantial and couldn’t guarantee medical bills would get paid.
So for us, thinking of an early retirement was/is not do-able or fiscally sensible. It is no wonder so many either go without insurance coverage (won’t do that) or continue to work until Medicare is available at age 65 (of course even then the Part B premiums look to be pretty high and rising). So while our health holds and we can still work, 
Brenda and I will push off retirement a bit longer. For those reading this who are a bit younger than me and have some kind of government health benefit with a retirement pension … weigh things carefully before leaving to go to what might seem to be greener pastures .
This brings me to those retired or contemplating it and paying for Medicare Part B and the taxes on benefits … inflation is going to take another big bite. Sure the largest Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) in decades of 5.9% will be coming to Social Security recipients next year, but inflation is growing even faster with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) at 6.8% and yesterday’s Producer Price Index (PPI) even higher at 9.6% … these are numbers not seen for 40 years! So hold on to your wallet, we may be in for an interesting few years.
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