‘I don’t want to die on the sales floor’: I’m 67 and earn $19.50 an hour at a big-box store. When can I finally retire?

I read the letter from the reader who claims to love that he's still working (" I'm 71 and still working. I earn $108,000 a year. Am I doing the right thing? "). He doesn't mind it, anyway, and he earns a nice salary. It's nice for this gentleman that he seems to love his six-figure job and doesn't want to give it up, but a job is a burden for many other older people, me included.

I've worked at a big-box store for 14 years, mostly in the gardening and lumber departments. I make $19.50 an hour and work about 34 hours a week, so I take home roughly $2,300 a month after taxes. I'm a widower. My wife died three years ago, and I've been managing our money alone ever since, which she always did better than I do.

I started taking Social Security at 66 and receive $2,410 a month. I have $214,000 in my 401(k) from a previous job, mostly in target-date funds, and about $31,000 in savings. My house is worth around $340,000 and I still owe $58,000 on it, with a payment of $1,150 a month. I have no credit-card debt, and my car is paid off.

One of the reasons I kept working as long as this is that I'm on the company's health-insurance plan, which costs $190 a month. I have Medicare, but I've kept the employer coverage as a supplement because I'm afraid of gaps. Some days I stand on concrete for eight hours, and last winter I slipped on ice in the parking lot and was out for two weeks.

My daughter lives in Ohio and keeps telling me to "just retire already," but she doesn't see my bank statements. My son thinks I should sell the house and rent a place near him in Charlotte, N.C., but I've lived in this town for 40 years, and my wife is buried here. I also have friends here, even though many others have died or moved away.

I've read that I should be able to withdraw 4% a year from my investments, which on my numbers would be about $700 a month. Between that and Social Security, I'd have roughly $3,100 a month, against roughly $3,400 in expenses. Does that mean I should keep working a few more years? Do I sell my house? Or find some kind of part-time job?

I don't want to run out of money at 85, but I also don't want to die on the sales floor.