The Retirement Light Is On: You Are Now Free to Roam About the Cabin

I have always enjoyed travel. It’s something I’ve been looking forward to in retirement, so I saved lots of points with my favorite hotel chain and am hopefully near a point to be able to do that. I find many retirees are in the same mindset. I received an email this month that sparked an idea: So many retirees across the country have homes with empty rooms. Whether they’re single or their families are grown and gone, retirees who live alone often have plenty of space that may be waiting to be utilized. While some retirees enjoy the solitude, many are looking for people to talk to or spend some time with.

There are so many travel programs out there that help people rent rooms or private residences for short stays. What about retirees with empty rooms who offer them up to other retirees? What about a travel program designed specifically for retirees? What about group trips to places abroad for retirees? (I remember the Department organized trips to many countries years ago and people raved about those!) I think I could get behind some of these ideas and try to make them happen. Over the next few months, I will do some research on these thoughts and get back to you. To match a retiree on a fixed income who wants to travel to Montana with a retiree who has an empty room for a few days may be a good thing.

If you are reading this and have feedback for me, please let me know. I would love to put something together that would benefit all of us in retirement and provide some level of trust on both sides of the transaction.

I also received a few emails on the Social Security Windfall Elimination Provision. At the time of writing this article, there is a provision attempting to make its way from Texas that may give some relief. It won’t erase it entirely, but will provide a more fair calculation. With a Republican Senate and president, the chances of passing this provision into law are slim, but at least it’s being talked about at a bit higher level and has some bipartisan support — that is a start!

I wish all of you a great fall, and thanks again for the emails. Some were pretty funny and many were thought-provoking, to say the least. Thank you for giving me some things to work on!