With a paid off, modest house in a moderate to low cost of living area with moderate to low property taxes, it’s still entirely possible to retire reasonably comfortably with the proceeds from Social Security alone, and even that being based upon lifetime earnings that were just as moderate as everything else.
My mom hasn’t touched the retirement accounts my dad scrimped and sacrificed to save, other than required distributions. She gives those to my sister and me. Those investments have taken a bit of a beating despite the both of us, my mother and I, attempting to beat the inevitable back in late 2007 and early 2008 by trying to set things up in other, more stable investments.
Obama’s gambit back in August, of using the fear of SS checks not being sent out backfired with her. She’s still Democrat, voted for him in fact, but that really rattled her. She can’t stand him now. Look at the approval ratings for back then, he really damaged himself with seniors by doing that.
All I know for myself personally at this point, though, is that “retirement” as it has been understood likely isn’t going to be in the cards for me or for the majority of people my age and younger. There is no certainty, incomes are falling, costs including taxation are rising. No end in sight, either. Looks like we’re heading back into scary times along the lines of 2008 again. The fundamental problems have not been addressed. Throwing money at it by the truckload just papered it over for the time being.
I was right on track for semi-retirement at 50 until 07-08. My formerly very successful small business was done in by bad debt, customer bankruptcies and mergers. Now, it’s looking like I’ll be fortunate to be able to merely go part time in my dotage. I’m trying to regain my footing by opening an e-commerce business in addition to having gone to work for one of the few former customers to thrive. If that succeeds, maybe my old age will be less of a grind. If it or some other effort doesn’t, I’ll be working in some capacity until I drop.
I’m far from alone in being in this predicament.
It sounds like you’ve planned as well as is humanly possible. Seems like monkey wrenches have been tossed into everyone’s plans to some degree. (People who work for a living, of course.)
Best of luck to you!