As Americans increasingly rely on Social Security and other retirement income to get by, high medical expenses could throw years of retirement planning out of balance.
AdvertisementRetiring early to be his wife's caretakerPapalia had a goal to retire in 2015 at age 65 so he could receive Social Security benefits and have enough saved that money wouldn't be a huge issue.
However, in 2010, he retired to care for his wife full-time, taking a buyout from his company that lasted until 2014.
Marie's medical care was expensive, and they also cared for two dogs, both of whom had costly medical issues.
Scraping by and making sacrificesPapalia receives $2,132 a month in Social Security before taxes and insurance and $1,900 from his pension, while Marie gets $1,113 a month from Social Security.
Persons:
—, Robert Papalia, Marie, They're, Papalia, they're, wouldn't, She's, they've, We're, it's, he's
Organizations:
Service, Business, BI, Social Security, Social, Security
Locations:
Burlington , New Jersey, New Jersey, Pennsylvania
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