Older nurses-what's your advice on working towards retirement?

1 Ok so I worked full time for 6 yrs then stayed home with my kids for nine years, and have been working part time for the past 8 yrs. We're getting by financially just fine with no big debts. My husband has a decent retirement but I have very little. I'm wondering,however, if I should return to full time now. Part time works great for my family. I'd like to stay part time forever if I could. However, there's a part of me saying I need to work full time to fully protect myself. I do know that when I do work full time hours occasionally I'm exhausted. Is that something you get used to or just live with? Is there anyone that's been there done that who could give me advice?
I think it depends largely on your survivor's benefits. My dad's was very modest and mom lost half when we lost him. If you do it, commit the extra money to retirement otherwise it will be too easy to absorb it for other non tangible expenses.

A financial advisor would be far better able to evaluate where you are in the case of retirement than anyone here. See one and get your lifestyle quantified, investments tallied and survivor benefits of both your husband's pension (if there is one) and life insurance policies as well as what your projected social security income might be, if you live in the USA. It is good you are thinking about it and may have merit to return full time, but someone more qualified is going to be able to give you a sound picture of where you are, where you want to be at that time and what it will take to get there. Good luck!

Seeing a financial planner is a great help. I would suggest becoming vested in a job with a traditional pension, which is called a Defined Benefit Retirement plan. This could be a county, state or federal position, such as working for the VA, in corrections or State psychiatric facility.Some unionized hospitals also have the Defined Benefit Retirement plan in the contract, in addition to the 403b.

How much you make is kinda important, but how much you spend is even more important . Working part and spending full time = broke retirement plan

Definitely speak with a financial planner. There are various retirement planning calculators online that you might also find helpful.

The government jobs also match as high as 100% of the first 8% of your annual income that you allocate in the 401k plan. That is an automatic 100% return on your investment.Compare that to the hospital 403b plan. Some employers will not match your contribution for two years and even then it is only 25% of the first 4%.

One key detail is how old you want to work until For example the difference between retiring at the minimum age to college social security vs max (I think like 70.5?) is HUGE. If youre willing to wait until the max age to collect social security your monthly social security check will be SIGNIFICANTLY larger. And the extra 7~ years or so of not withdrawing from your retirement accounts (since youd still be working till 70 or whatever) means much more money available when you retire.So I guess a key question is how long do you want/plan on working ?

Quote from mhy12784And the extra 7~ years or so of not withdrawing from your retirement accounts (since youd still be working till 70 or whatever) means much more money available when you retire.

Agree with all of the above regarding getting a consult with a financial advisor. If your husband has a good retirement fund and part time works out best for you and your family, what makes you feel like you need to work FT? That sounds to me like you have some doubts about your marriage in the long term.If that's not the case, then can you put most, if not all of your part time income into your retirement fund?

Make sure you have a signed "Right of Survivorship" to your husband's retirement.People often assume any benefits automatically go to them if a spouse passes away, and this is not always the case.I have a friend whose husband was retired from the Post Office. He had great retirement income. He died unexpectedly, and she got none of it- because she did not have a signed Right of Survivorship.

Quote from Blue_MoonOk so I worked full time for 6 yrs then stayed home with my kids for nine years, and have been working part time for the past 8 yrs. We're getting by financially just fine with no big debts. My husband has a decent retirement but I have very little. I'm wondering,however, if I should return to full time now. Part time works great for my family. I'd like to stay part time forever if I could. However, there's a part of me saying I need to work full time to fully protect myself. I do know that when I do work full time hours occasionally I'm exhausted. Is that something you get used to or just live with? Is there anyone that's been there done that who could give me advice?

Thank you for all the advice! I wasn't sure where to even begin so this helps a lot. I do know if something happens to my husband the rest of his retirement will go to me. He set it up that way years ago. I just need to find out exactly how many years that would last. I'm not worried about our relationship or him dipping into anything, I just don't want to be poor or a burden to my kids if he dies before me which statistics show there's a good chance of that happening. As hard as it is for me to work full time (I have some health issues that cause joint pain and fatigue), I'd rather work full time now then later if need be. Like someone else said, as tired and sore as we are now it's only going to get worse. I'm just want to be prepared now for all the contingencies of the future. Thanks!