A few thoughts to get the conversation rolling:
1. A lot of missing information necessary to give a full-informed opinion, family situation, dependents, any other debt, any changes you expect to make in retirement, etc....
2. You need to have a clear understanding of how much your expenses will be in retirement, and whether the 60% pension, combined with potential part-time work, will cover your expenses. Need some additional breathing room to put monthly payments toward the $18k loan to retire it in a certain period of time. Do you track your expenses to have a good idea how much you spend in a year?
3. Assuming that the 60% pension and part-time work cover your expenses, then it becomes a decision you have to make based on your own values. Which is worth more to you:
a) Retire now at age 56 and do what you want for the next 5 years at a reduced income level that will last for the rest of your life, or
b) Retire in 5 years at age 61, and have higher income in those 5 years, and for the rest of your life, but give up those 5 years of freedom between ages 56-61 at presumably a slightly better level of health than you will have at age 61.
4. Not sure I understand, but it sounds like you are considering the possibility that the economic situation might require the public body that you work for to downsize in the next year or two, at which point you could eagerly volunteer yourself and receive an additional lump sum buyout package to retire early (before age 61)? If so, then point 3 would need a third possible option c), retire at some point before age 61 with possibly a full 70% pension and a buyout package. This would again be a value judgement you have to make on whether the monetary expected value (cash value multiplied by the odds of it happening) you could receive in this situation balances against the extra years of freedom in good health. What sort of financial crash do you think would need to occur in order for an early buyout to happen?
5. Not sure what is meant by 'All benefits follow in this retirement plan negotiated.'
6. Have you read the thread on 'How much do you need to retire'? Probably some good ideas and points to think about in that thread.
7. I doubt that anyone (and hope that nobody) on this forum will have the nerve to say definitively one way or another what your decision should be, especially since there will be so many unknowns that won't be able to be communicated in this forum. At the end of the day, it is your decision based on your values, and we can only provide a few tips or ask a few questions that you may not have thought of.
1. A lot of missing information necessary to give a full-informed opinion, family situation, dependents, any other debt, any changes you expect to make in retirement, etc....
2. You need to have a clear understanding of how much your expenses will be in retirement, and whether the 60% pension, combined with potential part-time work, will cover your expenses. Need some additional breathing room to put monthly payments toward the $18k loan to retire it in a certain period of time. Do you track your expenses to have a good idea how much you spend in a year?
3. Assuming that the 60% pension and part-time work cover your expenses, then it becomes a decision you have to make based on your own values. Which is worth more to you:
a) Retire now at age 56 and do what you want for the next 5 years at a reduced income level that will last for the rest of your life, or
b) Retire in 5 years at age 61, and have higher income in those 5 years, and for the rest of your life, but give up those 5 years of freedom between ages 56-61 at presumably a slightly better level of health than you will have at age 61.
4. Not sure I understand, but it sounds like you are considering the possibility that the economic situation might require the public body that you work for to downsize in the next year or two, at which point you could eagerly volunteer yourself and receive an additional lump sum buyout package to retire early (before age 61)? If so, then point 3 would need a third possible option c), retire at some point before age 61 with possibly a full 70% pension and a buyout package. This would again be a value judgement you have to make on whether the monetary expected value (cash value multiplied by the odds of it happening) you could receive in this situation balances against the extra years of freedom in good health. What sort of financial crash do you think would need to occur in order for an early buyout to happen?
5. Not sure what is meant by 'All benefits follow in this retirement plan negotiated.'
6. Have you read the thread on 'How much do you need to retire'? Probably some good ideas and points to think about in that thread.
7. I doubt that anyone (and hope that nobody) on this forum will have the nerve to say definitively one way or another what your decision should be, especially since there will be so many unknowns that won't be able to be communicated in this forum. At the end of the day, it is your decision based on your values, and we can only provide a few tips or ask a few questions that you may not have thought of.
