OT: Retirement plans

[RUinPinehurst]

Question for the people in NC;
A relative has a home on the outer banks and while it's at risk of hurricane wind damage, the flood risk is low where they are (Corolla). It seems the coastal areas of the mainland are more susceptible to flooding when severe storms go inland and fill rivers that drain toward the coast. Is this accurate and if so, is it true for the Wilmington area?

Always have a flood policy in place. Always. You'll likely find best success by bundling all of your insurance policies via a single company and then leverage that bundle to get your federal flood policy written by that company.

Take a look at NC on a map. Note the shape of the coastline. It was shaped by the elements. Now it looks like a super-exposed shelf. Regardless of where your home is on the islands (and inland for miles), flood insurance is essential. Especially so if your property is financed.

I had a home on Topsail Island for a decade. Five major storms in that period. My home was new and designed for it. Fran devastated the island. My home had minimal damage. Then the dynamic was "how do you enjoy your place when all around you is torn apart"? I still remember the post-storm visit. Not a fun memory.

 

[RUinPinehurst]

Most of my funds were up 500-800% over the past decade. Buy and hold investors can easily deal with a down year. :)

Well lah-dee-dah.... You, sir, are in "high cotton" as they say down east in North Cackalacky. ;)

 

[RUinPinehurst]

It does get easier. If you have 100K and make 10% return in a year you made 10K in interest, but if you have $1MM and made a 10% return it's 100K in interest alone. So getting from 0 to your first million will take longer than getting from 1 -2 million all things being equal.

Charlie Munger famously stated the first $100k is the toughest part. Adjusted for inflation, more likely now $200k.

Footnote: Charlie inherited $$$$. Not to take anything away from his own ability to make $. I'm a big fan. That said, generational wealth is significant in the US.

 

[T2Kplus20]

Well lah-dee-dah.... You, sir, are in "high cotton" as they say down east in North Cackalacky. ;)

Sorry to those that were 135% cash over the past decade. 😁

 

[Rutgers1976]

Thanks for this.

@MrsScrew please evaluate and generate a report and visit itinerary for my review.

We've been in the Wilmington area a couple of times and like it a lot. When and if we do a 2nd home, it'll be somewhere between there and Myrtle. More likely in the Wilmington neck of the woods.

 

[RU Cheese]

Question for the people in NC;
A relative has a home on the outer banks and while it's at risk of hurricane wind damage, the flood risk is low where they are (Corolla). It seems the coastal areas of the mainland are more susceptible to flooding when severe storms go inland and fill rivers that drain toward the coast. Is this accurate and if so, is it true for the Wilmington area?

I'd say that's somewhat correct. It's quite common most of the flooding damage comes from the sound side (both for mainland and islands), and it's also correct that Corollas geography minimizes the storm surge flooding you always see further south on Hatteras island. All that said, it depends entirely on the houses location.

(Parents have owned on Corolla for 20 years)

 

[yesrutgers01]

Ants in your pants but want to live in a city? What do you do in spare time for recreation and entertainment?

For me, have to be near trails, water, rivers or beaches for outdoor activities, hiking, mountain biking, boating, etc.

My wife and I considered this for quite a time once the kids got out of the house. Wanted to live in the city for 2-3 years. And there is plenty to do and just like it is very easy for us in the suburbs to get into the city it is just as easy for them to get out to the country as well.
But then city pricing got way too crazy and we got large dogs.

 

[RUScrew85]

NC is NJ. You need to keep going south.

Yeah I know. Wife won't co-operate. If it were up to me we'd be in TX, Utah, Montana, WY.

 

[Knight Shift]

Yeah I know. Wife won't co-operate. If it were up to me we'd be in TX, Utah, Montana, WY.

Cuba is lovely, I hear. 😁

Northern Florida around Jacksonville, particularly up by the Georgia border (Amelia Island) and northern Georgia are pretty nice. We stayed at a friend's on Amelia Island, and it had a very laid back feeling.

 

[robcac26]

Shack it all depends. I do know this. I met up with about 20 former co-workers last summer; all retired except for me as I am younger than all of them. All of them retired between 57 and 62. Some retired recently and some as many as 13 years ago. Every single one of them are enjoying retirement and many look like they haven’t aged. The people who have a plan on what they will do in retirement, will enjoy it. The ones that have little or no plan may not enjoy it. I have been in the same line of work for 36 years and am getting tired of it. For people who still enjoy their line on work, working longer has a lot of merit. But for me, when I look back on life, I don’t think a will wish that I spent more years staring at my work computer 9 hours a day. I have a plan to get out at 59 later this year…..if I get bored, and want to work, I will do it….. but on my own terms.

Yeah I don't mind my job, but every single day I can think of a long list of things I'd rather do than go to work. I've never woken up on a day off wishing I had work that day. The world has so much to see and do, the last thing I'd want to do is spend more of my limited amount of time in this world at work.

Of course none of that is guaranteed. People upgrade instead of downsize, some folks hardly see raises, and I know of 30 year olds still living with their parents because… I have no idea.

I know some people like that too, and while I never went back after moving into my dorm freshman year, the ones who played it right got a huge head start on saving while they had no housing expenses.

 

[koleszar]

+1
I know DE looks good on paper.....low taxes, close to NJ/family, but.....

My brother is retiring to Lewes Beach, Delaware in a few years they bought a house there. And he's going to fit right in with that skit.

 

[koleszar]

The worst thing for me is the horrific traffic and inconsiderate driving.

This I thought about with the plan to stay in NJ. But being retired you can now tailor your shopping or errands around high traffic times. Driving at 10 am is pretty much a breeze when everyone's at work or school. Every day's a Saturday or Sunday so you can avoid those completely and relax at home.

 

[RUScrew85]

Cuba is lovely, I hear. 😁

Northern Florida around Jacksonville, particularly up by the Georgia border (Amelia Island) and northern Georgia are pretty nice. We stayed at a friend's on Amelia Island, and it had a very laid back feeling.

Cuba - you mean the NJ of the Caribbean? 😆

 

[letitrip2]

Charlie Munger famously stated the first $100k is the toughest part. Adjusted for inflation, more likely now $200k.

Footnote: Charlie inherited $$$$. Not to take anything away from his own ability to make $. I'm a big fan. That said, generational wealth is significant in the US.

Good old Charlie - the same guy who said Tesla would go bankrupt and could never compete with the real automakers.

 

[SkilletHead2]

I turn 72 in 10 days and still working. The uni offered a buyout package a couple months ago, so I took it. Will be full time for another 7 months, then going to half time for two years (I'm on sabbatical leave right now). I really enjoy being a prof and the uni wants me to hang around to bring junior faculty along.

Moms Skillethead retired last year at 66 (also a prof). We're in the South Island of New Zealand and plan on retiring here. We buy a low level of health insurance to augment the government plan. Property taxes are very low in NZ as teachers and police are federally paid.

We live on 38 acres overlooking the ocean in a house we designed. We'll stay here for the next 5-10 years and then might downscale. The one thing I want to do more of is travel. We travelled a lot before COVID and want to get back to that.

 

[bethlehemfan]

I turn 72 in 10 days and still working. The uni offered a buyout package a couple months ago, so I took it. Will be full time for another 7 months, then going to half time for two years (I'm on sabbatical leave right now). I really enjoy being a prof and the uni wants me to hang around to bring junior faculty along.

Moms Skillethead retired last year at 66 (also a prof). We're in the South Island of New Zealand and plan on retiring here. We buy a low level of health insurance to augment the government plan. Property taxes are very low in NZ as teachers and police are federally paid.

We live on 38 acres overlooking the ocean in a house we designed. We'll stay here for the next 5-10 years and then might downscale. The one thing I want to do more of is travel. We travelled a lot before COVID and want to get back to that.

Sounds awesome. Enjoy!

 

[miketd1]

I know some people like that too, and while I never went back after moving into my dorm freshman year, the ones who played it right got a huge head start on saving while they had no housing expenses.

20s, I totally agree with you.

Being in your 30s and still living with your parents is stretching it. At least take a year or two and live on your own. View the time/cost to do so as an investment in yourself, because it’ll reveal blind spots and weaknesses that you didn’t know you had.

 

[Scarlet4Shore]

Reading this thread can be a little depressing, as it seems like everyone my age is already retired or close to retired. I'm a PT. Turned 50 last year. Was hoping to retire at 55, but not sure with recent market events. There is no pension in my line of work, just my 401K. Biggest issue will be health insurance until I reach Medicare age. I've already had surgery on each shoulder and each hip. Don't know how much longer my body will hold up. Already live at the shore, so don't need a shore house. I know I want to travel. Who knows what the future holds?

 

[robcac26]

20s, I totally agree with you.

Being in your 30s and still living with your parents is stretching it. At least take a year or two and live on your own. View the time/cost to do so as an investment in yourself, because it’ll reveal blind spots and weaknesses that you didn’t know you had.

Oh I'm just saying it's great for early savings, but that's really all it's good for. I couldn't imagine not being on my own anymore after graduating, let alone in my 30s.

 

[miketd1]

Reading this thread can be a little depressing, as it seems like everyone my age is already retired or close to retired. I'm a PT. Turned 50 last year. Was hoping to retire at 55, but not sure with recent market events. There is no pension in my line of work, just my 401K. Biggest issue will be health insurance until I reach Medicare age. I've already had surgery on each shoulder and each hip. Don't know how much longer my body will hold up. Already live at the shore, so don't need a shore house. I know I want to travel. Who knows what the future holds?

I find that people who contribute to finance threads skew towards those who have their ducks in a row.

Admitting you don’t takes takes some courage and you’re likely to stay silent or click out of the post.

Fear not, I know quite a few retirees who aren’t millionaires. It’s not ideal, but it’s certainly doable, especially if you have loved ones who don’t mind helping.

 

[Scarlet4Shore]

I find that people who contribute to finance threads skew towards those who have their ducks in a row.

Admitting you don’t takes takes some courage and you’re likely to stay silent or click out of the post.

Fear not, I know quite a few retirees who aren’t millionaires. It’s not ideal, but it’s certainly doable, especially if you have loved ones who don’t mind helping.

It's not that I don't have my ducks in a row. My house is almost paid off. I don't have kids. I'm just afraid I'm going to outlive my money. There are no bonuses to look forward to, and the pay is OK. I love what I do. It's just beating me up, which is why health insurance is my biggest concern.

 

[ru109]

Who makes 10% return in today's market? See people over estimate their returns, especially those who have never experienced a bear market. We estimate 3-5%, and if we do better, that is a gift.

I was just using 10% to make the math easy. That being said the average rage of return for the S&P for the last 10 years is 13.9 % , 11.9% when adjusted for inflation. That being said we use 6% as our rate or return for the same reason you do. I'd rather underestimate then over estimate.

 

[vkj91]

It's not that I don't have my ducks in a row. My house is almost paid off. I don't have kids. I'm just afraid I'm going to outlive my money. There are no bonuses to look forward to, and the pay is OK. I love what I do. It's just beating me up, which is why health insurance is my biggest concern.

PT Is the kind of job you can always fine per diem work and do it while traveling. You can “retire” and still work enough to covers some costs.

 

[RUevolution36]

I use 7% in our calculations, which is perfectly reasonable. That's a good conservative # for equity-based portfolios. If you are using a significant amount of bonds and other fixed income allocations, then you should adjust downwards.

My portfolio over the past 20+ years has averaged 8%

 

[T2Kplus20]

My portfolio over the past 20+ years has averaged 8%

I've only tracked it since 2011, so we are well over 10%. However, I tried to factor in some of the down years of the previous decade.

 

[RUevolution36]

I've only tracked it since 2011, so we are well over 10%. However, I tried to factor in some of the down years of the previous decade.

2007-2008 was not good. Nor was 2001. This year not off to the greatest start.

 

[e5fdny]

I'm about to retire this summer, after serving as a Director of Instructional Technology at a school district in NY. As you can imagine, dealing with COVID, for anyone who works in education, was brutal. I do love most of my work and all of my work colleagues, but I want to do a job where I'm not working on projects, answering emails for hours after work, and going to late night Board meetings.

Unlike NJ, the NY public pension system is financially solvent because politicians are not allowed to touch it, so I'm fortunate in that regard. I have a few projects that I hope to complete, including a book about Rutgers that will definitely impress all of you! I'm also planning to do some educational technology consulting, write about edtech, and also do some adjunct work. The key is for me to stay active in my field, but scale things back so I have time to relax on most nights and weekends. I hope that I can pull that off.

Scarlet Jerry

This is true.

 

[RU to the Core]

My dad who is retired always tells me how lucky he is that his health insurance is all covered bc of his profession. $2,600 a month in ACA! Wtf. Now I know what he’s talking about. I’m too young to look into getting educated on all of this but what I’ve learned from this thread is that health care 1) can suck you dry, 2) you’re not as rich as you think you are if you have to pay a bill like that and 3) I need to factor this wacky healthcare thing into my own math.

 

[RC1991]

I turn 72 in 10 days and still working. The uni offered a buyout package a couple months ago, so I took it. Will be full time for another 7 months, then going to half time for two years (I'm on sabbatical leave right now). I really enjoy being a prof and the uni wants me to hang around to bring junior faculty along.

Moms Skillethead retired last year at 66 (also a prof). We're in the South Island of New Zealand and plan on retiring here. We buy a low level of health insurance to augment the government plan. Property taxes are very low in NZ as teachers and police are federally paid.

We live on 38 acres overlooking the ocean in a house we designed. We'll stay here for the next 5-10 years and then might downscale. The one thing I want to do more of is travel. We travelled a lot before COVID and want to get back to that.

Would love to retire there. Saw a property listed a while back that was a small winery. Couldn’t quite convince the wife of a career change quite yet. Though our daughter will be off to college after next year so we will see! 😀

 

[SkilletHead2]

Would love to retire there. Saw a property listed a while back that was a small winery. Couldn’t quite convince the wife of a career change quite yet. Though our daughter will be off to college after next year so we will see! 😀

Grape growing is great down here. Pinot noir and pinot gris are the two big wines down here. There are hundreds of wineries. Wine tasting is a huge pasttime.

It's a bit difficult to get permanent residence down here after age 55, so if you're going to do it, you might want to look into it now. NZ is a truly beautiful place and people are super nice.

 

[T2Kplus20]

Would love to retire there. Saw a property listed a while back that was a small winery. Couldn’t quite convince the wife of a career change quite yet. Though our daughter will be off to college after next year so we will see! 😀

Unless you are a big LotR fan, avoid NZ especially in COVID times. The island was stupidly locked down for a long time only to experience the mother of all surges. The leadership has no idea what they are doing.

 

[RU848789]

Unless you are a big LotR fan, avoid NZ especially in COVID times. The island was stupidly locked down for a long time only to experience the mother of all surges. The leadership has no idea what they are doing.

You have zero idea what you're talking about. By locking out international travelers (they weren't "locked down" much at all during the first 12-16 months of the pandemic, since they had no cases) and instituting distancing/masking and strong testing/tracing/isolating, they prevented almost all cases and deaths until the country was close to fully vaccinated, and despite their recent surge, which is mostly over, NZ is still at about 1/20th the level of deaths per capita as the US (and most other countries in Europe and NA/SA) - and if the virus hadn't mutated to omicron, which is over 10X more infectious than the original SARS-CoV-2 strain, they probably would have had near zero deaths. I thought they had incredible leadership during the pandemic.

 

[RU848789]

For sure. My wife and I pay $2600 monthly for ACA, plus $33 for vision, and $80 for dental. 'Merica!

Ouch - is that post-retirement (assuming you had health benefits at work), but pre-Medicare (Medicare should be far less than that, even with supplemental options)? Fortunately, our Company sponsored retiree health care is "only" about $800 per month for my wife and I, since I retired 2 years ago and should stay at that number until we're 65 in about 5 years.

 

[SkilletHead2]

Unless you are a big LotR fan, avoid NZ especially in COVID times. The island was stupidly locked down for a long time only to experience the mother of all surges. The leadership has no idea what they are doing.

You never seem to tire of spreading misinformation. Spectacularly so. And you inject yourself into threads in order to demonstrate just how stupid a post you can make. Really incredible.

For anyone interested in the truth:

NZ has had one of the best COVID responses of any nation in the world because we have had great leadership and a population generally willing to look out for one another (but admittedly with a small number of idiots). And the numbers back that claim up. With the initial variant, and then Delta, NZ chose to keep COVID out and to get vaxxed. And we did so. Amazingly well. Up to the Omicron variant, we had only a couple thousand cases total, and under 30 deaths total. We briefly locked down when the virus was initially spreading and got it completely under control in a matter of weeks. For almost all of COVID, NZ has been open for business, but not permitting international travel. Auckland has been shut down for longer than anywhere else because that is where international flights land (carrying returning NZers, who were permitted to come home), and so they got outbreaks more often than the rest of the country. We played the intial phase of COVID cautiously, and successfully.

When Omicron came, we realized that we could not keep COVID out forever, and so we shifted plans. We decided that we would get as many people double vaxxed, and then boosted as possible, in order to keep hospitalizations and deaths down. We are 95% double-vaxxed and 62% boosted. The goal became to keep Omicron from overwhelming the health system and having a lot of deaths, but at the same time realizing that an Omicron wave was inevitable.

And that has worked well, also. We hit 1000 people total in hospital at our peak, and are now back down to 368. So, very successful at managing the peak. We are at 812 deaths total. We count anybody who tests positive for COVID as a COVID death and keep an honest count. The vaccine kept people out of hospital even as cases rose. And now we are past the peak and heading down.

For comparison's sake, we are a country of 5 million, compared to 330 million in the US. About 1/66 the population of the US. So, at the end of the day, take the death rate in NZ and compare it to the US. The total deaths in US is 996,000. In NZ it is 812. So multiply 812 by 66 and you get 53,592. That would be the comparison to the US number of 996,000. US has had roughly 19 TIMES as many deaths as NZ. That's the notion of leadership that "has no idea what they are doing."

And the truly amazing thing is that we did this without Clorox or horse dope or really bright lights!

NZ is, btw, now open for international travel. There is more Omicron down here per capita than in the US because we started getting the Omicron wave well after US. But, we are well on the downslope, and if you are vaxxed and boosted, little chance that you will get a serious case. I'd honestly wait a bit as we are headed into winter (although skiing is fantastic down here), but come summer, NZ would be an incredible place to visit.


This link will provide the hard data to back up what I'm saying here:

Coronavirus tracked: Latest Covid-19 vaccination and case numbers

Live graphs of vaccine progress, cases, deaths and the spread of Covid-19 in New Zealand and around the world.

interactives.stuff.co.nz

 

[RU848789]

Been thinking lately about retirement. If things pan out I have ~10-12 more years, if not it could be 18-20. What are everyone’s plans for retirement? Target age, destination, to do list, places you want to see/go, etc?

In a perfect world, I'd move out of NJ and down to Florida (Tallahassee), and also have a summer place in New England (coastal CT/RI, or Mass). From September - May, I'd really like to be active with FSU boosters, volunteer for worthy causes (Ukraine supplies, etc.), and attend many different sporting events (football, soccer, basketball, baseball, softball for sure, and lacrosse, wrestling and men's soccer if they were ever added).

From June - August, I'd love to live up in New England on or near the coast, or on one of the lakes in Central Mass. Having a boat/wave runner would be great, and going to Red Sox games, eating quality seafood and grilling out / relaxing would be on the docuet.

I've been thinking about retirement since I was a kid as my grandparents moved down to Florida to retire, and we'd go down there for the summer. I don't really enjoy working, but wouldn't mind doing some consulting work or a low stress sales position while in retirement/semi-retirement.

What say you? What are everyone's plans? I always like to get input from this board, as many good ideas come across and it's interesting to see and hear everyone's perspectives.

Retired in Jan-2020 at 57, but then consulted part-time for about 16 months with my old area at Merck, although I stopped that last summer, as I felt I had worked enough, and once fully vaccinated we wanted to have more fun. I enjoyed my work and most of the folks I worked with, but I wasn't one of those folks who lived to work, so I'm certainly not missing it yet, as I have a lot of hobbies, including, of course, going to all of the RU football home games and most of the hoops home games, which is one of the reasons I'll never move out of NJ - that and the fact we love NJ and wouldn't really waant to live anywhere else (especially with our son living here and likely staying in the area as he and his very serious GF love it here too). Could never live where it doesn't snow either, unlike many retirees. Have thought about a 2nd home at the Shore or maybe in New England, but we're not people who like taking care of stuff, which is why we'll likely stick to traveling. Not sure my wife will go for the idea of renting in NYC for a few months or a year, but I'd love to do that (we both love NYC).

Have become quite addicted to disc golf over the past year - something I used to play a lot in the 80s, but mostly stopped for 30 years (replaced somewhat by ball golf and a lot more work, lol) and my wife and I enjoy lots of day trips in the area and eating well in restaurants and both do volunteer work. I also play a lot of poker (and our monthly crew played weekly on-line throughout COVID and I also like playing in the casinos) and still enjoy going to see bands and I want to get back into weekly soccer, plus I spend a lot of time on social media (FB and various message boards) doing COVID science and weather posting, mostly. Haven't traveled much yet (have a lot of destinations on the list), due to my wife's COVID concerns, but hope to remedy that soon. We're pretty comfortable, financially - should be able to maintain my pre-retirement income for the foreseeable future, while likely not spending down on our decent level of retirement assets: we saved a ton, were thrifty, never had debt, and was fortunate enough to work at a company with a very generous defined benefit pension plan and I always put the absolute max I could in my 401K and just watched it grow. Now we just need to stay healthy for at least a few years...

 

[miketd1]

It's not that I don't have my ducks in a row. My house is almost paid off. I don't have kids. I'm just afraid I'm going to outlive my money. There are no bonuses to look forward to, and the pay is OK. I love what I do. It's just beating me up, which is why health insurance is my biggest concern.

Kids are crazy expensive. If I subtract just the schooling expense (along with daycare and college fund), retirement in my 50s would have been a very real possibility and I don’t think I make as much as you do.

I hear you on the health issue thing though. Rehabbing my foot and knee would have been financially catastrophic (impossible?) without good insurance. Those darn PT sessions.

 

[JayDogSmooth]

Retired in Jan-2020 at 57, but then consulted part-time for about 16 months with my old area at Merck, although I stopped that last summer, as I felt I had worked enough, and once fully vaccinated we wanted to have more fun. I enjoyed my work and most of the folks I worked with, but I wasn't one of those folks who lived to work, so I'm certainly not missing it yet, as I have a lot of hobbies, including, of course, going to all of the RU football home games and most of the hoops home games, which is one of the reasons I'll never move out of NJ - that and the fact we love NJ and wouldn't really waant to live anywhere else (especially with our son living here and likely staying in the area as he and his very serious GF love it here too). Could never live where it doesn't snow either, unlike many retirees. Have thought about a 2nd home at the Shore or maybe in New England, but we're not people who like taking care of stuff, which is why we'll likely stick to traveling. Not sure my wife will go for the idea of renting in NYC for a few months or a year, but I'd love to do that (we both love NYC).

Have become quite addicted to disc golf over the past year - something I used to play a lot in the 80s, but mostly stopped for 30 years (replaced somewhat by ball golf and a lot more work, lol) and my wife and I enjoy lots of day trips in the area and eating well in restaurants and both do volunteer work. I also play a lot of poker (and our monthly crew played weekly on-line throughout COVID and I also like playing in the casinos) and still enjoy going to see bands and I want to get back into weekly soccer, plus I spend a lot of time on social media (FB and various message boards) doing COVID science and weather posting, mostly. Haven't traveled much yet (have a lot of destinations on the list), due to my wife's COVID concerns, but hope to remedy that soon. We're pretty comfortable, financially - should be able to maintain my pre-retirement income for the foreseeable future, while likely not spending down on our decent level of retirement assets: we saved a ton, were thrifty, never had debt, and was fortunate enough to work at a company with a very generous defined benefit pension plan and I always put the absolute max I could in my 401K and just watched it grow. Now we just need to stay healthy for at least a few years...

Great post #'s, I think a few things are key. Slow & steady wins the race (working and savings), having priorities lines up (wanting to stay in NJ and near your son), while also having many hobbies (both individually and together with your wife).

I could never sit around all day during retirement and watch tv/do nothing - I'd rather be working and making money / be around people and be productive if that was the case. Need to have hobbies/interests/passions - that's what makes life worth living IMO

 

[RUinPinehurst]

Ouch - is that post-retirement (assuming you had health benefits at work), but pre-Medicare (Medicare should be far less than that, even with supplemental options)? Fortunately, our Company sponsored retiree health care is "only" about $800 per month for my wife and I, since I retired 2 years ago and should stay at that number until we're 65 in about 5 years.

Affirmative. Post-Retirement and Pre-Medicare. Via the ACA and BCBS of NC. We opt for the "best" coverage offered. Three years til Medicare for me. Five for the Mrs.

My insurance/ACA in action rant: after digging two drainage ditches, repairing a third, then splitting firewood over a full day, I experienced a "pinched nerve." Horrible pain after a day or so at upper right back and right arm, including numbness at right index finger. After three days, I see an Ortho specialist. Diagnosed a C6-C7 pinched nerve. Said, per the insurance industry, "conservative treatment" for six weeks, which translated to pain meds, steroid pack/s, PT. While immediate relief could be administered via an MRI and an epidural injection, insurance would only approve that after the six weeks of "conservative treatment." So a known fix, but insurance says suffer for weeks because of the costs associated with the fix. I checked and the actual "cash" cost of MRI is $1000 and epidural is $500-600. Insurance wouldn't approve that $1500-$1600 expense, although they got my auto-pay of $2600 for the month. Unbelievable. Hardly any sleep and constant pain for the first two weeks. Then some relief for the next three-week phase. I'm at nine weeks now, and have gradually improved. Still lingering intermittent arm pain and index finger numbness. Hoping for full recovery in a few more weeks.

Our healthcare "system" is broken.

 

[yesrutgers01]

Affirmative. Post-Retirement and Pre-Medicare. Via the ACA and BCBS of NC. We opt for the "best" coverage offered. Three years til Medicare for me. Five for the Mrs.

My insurance/ACA in action rant: after digging two drainage ditches, repairing a third, then splitting firewood over a full day, I experienced a "pinched nerve." Horrible pain after a day or so at upper right back and right arm, including numbness at right index finger. After three days, I see an Ortho specialist. Diagnosed a C6-C7 pinched nerve. Said, per the insurance industry, "conservative treatment" for six weeks, which translated to pain meds, steroid pack/s, PT. While immediate relief could be administered via an MRI and an epidural injection, insurance would only approve that after the six weeks of "conservative treatment." So a known fix, but insurance says suffer for weeks because of the costs associated with the fix. I checked and the actual "cash" cost of MRI is $1000 and epidural is $500-600. Insurance wouldn't approve that $1500-$1600 expense, although they got my auto-pay of $2600 for the month. Unbelievable. Hardly any sleep and constant pain for the first two weeks. Then some relief for the next three-week phase. I'm at nine weeks now, and have gradually improved. Still lingering intermittent arm pain and index finger numbness. Hoping for full recovery in a few more weeks.

Our healthcare "system" is broken.

Curious where you get that epidural price from. Is that just the actual shot itself? Does not include anesthesia, facility, etc…
I recently had 4 in my back and 1 in my SI…luckily thru workers comp but each one was much closer to $1800.
And what sucked for me- none of them worked.

 

[yesrutgers01]

Question for those in the know. I will most likely work until 65 or maybe a couple years longer.?When are you eligible for Medicare? 65?
And how is the cost/coverage?