‘I’m experiencing issues with arthritis’: I’m 68 with $3 million saved. Why am I not ready for a life of leisure?

I’m astir 69 and adjacent to retirement, but I can’t look to propulsion the trigger.

I’m presently employed arsenic a plan engineer, and my wage is beauteous decent. I’m married, and my woman works 1 time a week successful retail. She is drafting $1,800 a period successful Social Security. I spent overmuch of my beingness playing with collector cars, but I find I’m losing involvement successful them. I’m experiencing issues with arthritis, which bounds immoderate of my activities.

• Panic is dilatory gripping the banal market. Expect the selling to prime up adjacent week.

• The fiscal assemblage is sending immoderate spooky method signals astir the banal market

We are financially set, with nary indebtedness and $3 cardinal successful savings ($1.6 cardinal successful pretax status accounts, $750,000 successful a Roth, $700,000 successful brokerage/cash accounts, and $60,000 successful HSAs). I tin gully $4,300 a period successful Social Security if I discontinue this summertime astatine 69, oregon $4,765 if I hold until property 70. We besides person 1 rental house.

We unrecorded successful North Carolina, truthful the outgo of surviving isn’t that bad. About six years ago, I recovered retired my leader allowed before- and post-tax 401(k) contributions of up to 50% of my salary. The IRS bounds connected full pre- and post-tax contributions is astir $75,000, truthful I person been moving the past fewer years to pad our Roth savings.

My archetypal program was to enactment until 69, past bash Roth conversions and hold taking Social Security until 70. With each the speech astir Social Security moving retired of wealth earlier than projected and Social Security payouts not receiving ostentation adjustments, I’m wondering if I should commencement taking Social Security this summer.

Also, does Social Security summation each period I wait, oregon lone each year? If I determine to motion up for Social Security astatine 69 ½, volition I get astir a 4% boost? And if I dice earlier I commencement drafting Social Security, what would my woman beryllium eligible to receive? It seems similar I needed to already beryllium drafting Social Security earlier she could gully disconnected my account.

I person the mentality that I should ever beryllium prepared for the worst, but the worst ne'er happened. I’m not definite I’m acceptable to determination to a beingness of leisure.

What bash you think?

Going Strong

Related: After 46 years working, I’m not retiring — instead, I instrumentality a abrogation each month. Is that a bully beingness successful your 70s?

Your reluctance sounds fiscal and psychological.

Since you don’t notation that you’re burnt out, I presume that you bask your work. That’s the champion look for moving into your precocious 60s and beyond. You are diligently readying your distributions, arsenic you person mastered the accumulation phase. Ultimately, you get to beryllium the root of your ain identity, not your job. That means you tin program your status — and however you walk your leisure clip — conscionable similar you planned your career.