The “I want to retire soon” thread (5 Viewers)

[notoriousbill]

I'm 53 and thinking about retiring soon or, at least, taking some years off and working later on if I get too bored. I think I've saved enough to live off investment income perpetually although doing that might be tighter than ideal. I'm naturally frugal, though, so I'd probably be fine.

The biggest expense I still have to figure out is healthcare since I wouldn't have any until medicare. I'm healthy now but obviously I need some protection in case things change. I could use some advice on this. Someone mentioned in another thread that I could likely qualify for ACA subsidies in retirement since my income would go down so much. After the first retirement year, my income would be very low as it would just be investment income and the majority of that is tax sheltered. Is that correct that assets don't matter, only income? What is the best to get an idea on realistic hypothetical premiums?

If you wait to retire at 59.5 and have Roth IRAs/401ks, can't you draw on them during the gap between when you retire and Medicare age? It is my understanding, since drawing on a Roth is tax free and doesn't apply to income, you could qualify for low ACA insurance. Also, if you have an HSA, max it out now and use that savings to help pay for healthcare premiums during the gap years.

Just a thought...

 

[mr. furley]

and here's a regular guy's ( @regularguy ) perspective

there's no ****ing way i'm retiring early. maybe ever. shooting for 70, but even if that i'll need to do something to keep busy. just cannot see being idle daily. i need a routine. coffee, walk the dog, watch tv seems like a recipe for early death to me.

 

[NewlyRetired]

If you wait to retire at 59.5 and have Roth IRAs/401ks, can't you draw on them during the gap between when you retire and Medicare age? ...

You don't have to wait until 59.5 to withdraw with out penalty.

The government has a plan where you can with draw from your retirement account with out penalty if you follow specific withdrawal rules (known as substantially equal periodic payments).

For those interested, google "rule 72(t)". It can be very helpful to those that need to get to their retirement accounts before 59.5 and don't want to pay a penalty for doing so.

 

[NutterButter]

and here's a regular guy's ( @regularguy ) perspective

there's no ****ing way i'm retiring early. maybe ever. shooting for 70, but even if that i'll need to do something to keep busy. just cannot see being idle daily. i need a routine. coffee, walk the dog, watch tv seems like a recipe for early death to me.

Is that really how you envision retirement? No traveling? No other hobbies? No spending time with the grandkids? What's your current routine excluding anything kids related obviously.

 

[dgreen]

53.5 years old. FED GOV engineer in the FERS system. Minimum retirement age (MRA) is 57. I will be retiring in late June of 2027. Hanging on to reach retirement age in order to secure the subsidized Fed health benefits for life, and to avoid inflation potentially taking too bit of a bite out of my pension. I've really hit the wall this past year. I need to somehow get enthusiastic again or its going to be a long 3.5 years. Maybe take a leave of absense? Seniority and benefits still accrue as long as the absence isn't too long. But nah, I'll probably just keep my head down and grind it out. I'm a team player.

I’m 48 and also FERS. My plan is 57, too. I will have 34 years by then.

Nice. You'll be getting a payment of 34% of your final 3 year's average salary. 35% or so, actually, once you factor in unused sick leave. That payment number will begin being indexed for inflation (to a large extent) at age 62.

I'm not mentioning the possibility of you deferring your payments until age 60 or so, and instead collecting SRS from age 57 to 60. For that, I think you effectively have to leave the Fed health system, hopefully going on ACA, and then get reinstated once your annual payments begin at age 60. I forget all the details now. I'm just going to go ahead and begin immediate payments upon retirement rather than deal with the other options available.

I don't think you have to leave the health system to get the SRS. However, you are limited on how much outside income you can earn. So, you can't work a decent-paying job and collect SRS.

I think the question I have is whether you can defer taking your pension payments, rather than beginning pension payments immediately upon retirement, and still stay in the Fed health system (FEHB). As I understand it, the answer is No.

In other words (and ignoring SRS since it complicates the discussion): I retire at age 57. I'd rather wait to begin monthly retirement payments until age 62 because I incur a 5% reduction in payment for each year prior to age 62 that I begin receiving payments. If I start payment at age 57, my payment would be reduced by 25% since I was starting payments 5 years prior to age 62. Normally I'd prefer to wait until age 62 to avoid that hit. However as I understand it, if you are not receiving monthly retirement payments, you are booted from the FEHB system until such a time as you do begin payments. At that time you may choose to resume FEHB coverage, with its lovely premium subsidy.

Oh, got it. Sorry, I misunderstood. Yeah, I don't remember if you can keep health benefits without collecting your pension. Since you still need to contribute towards your health benefits through retirement, it would make sense that you need to be collecting your pension so that those premiums can be withdrawn from your paychecks.

 

[Brunell4MVP]

mid 50s. Of course. Every day I want to retire.

Everyone's situation is unique. But if your money is tied up in your house and retirement funds, plus you need to pay for healthcare ... well it's a hard road to retire early. You gotta have discretionary income that earns enough interest to live off of. We could certainly do it, but our lifestyle would have to change. I'm fine with living on the basics. Wife is not. Thus i will work until i die.

 

[NewlyRetired]

The one thing I worry about more than anything is boredom. No kids = no grandkids. But without pensions, we'll never have that carefree guaranteed income retirement either, so extensive yearly travel is probably out (we're not big on a lot of travel anyway). There are only so many home and garden projects you can do, so I could see us both continuing to work in some form for the long haul.

shooting for 70, but even if that i'll need to do something to keep busy. just cannot see being idle daily. i need a routine. coffee, walk the dog, watch tv seems like a recipe for early death to me.

If you guys get a chance, go back in the thread and read my post(#40) on this concern (it is the second biggest concern most have after health care).

 

[mr. furley]

and here's a regular guy's ( @regularguy ) perspective

there's no ****ing way i'm retiring early. maybe ever. shooting for 70, but even if that i'll need to do something to keep busy. just cannot see being idle daily. i need a routine. coffee, walk the dog, watch tv seems like a recipe for early death to me.

Is that really how you envision retirement? No traveling? No other hobbies? No spending time with the grandkids? What's your current routine excluding anything kids related obviously.

well, i'm hopeful to still be doing the things i enjoy at 70 but realistically i'm hard pressed to imagine my body holding up and being able to do those things at the same level.

of course the hope is i'll have grandkids, we'll see. but money is the biggest doubt for sure. i'd love to travel all over the world. not gonna be in a position to take multiple vacations per year. not to the places i dream of seeing. and even if i can, will long hours of physical activity be feasible at 70+?

we're all old enough to know older dudes who have retired. i also know lots of older guys who are semi-retired and some who won't retire. the guys who are semi or not-retired seem happiest to me. they are around people, they are out of the house, they feel productive and have a purpose.

the not-wealthy fellas i know who retired are not doing as well.

now, lots of variables there from physical well-being to mental well-being going in to retirement but on balance i'd say that guys who have some job are doing better overall. ymmv.

 

[PlayaHata]

60 with a healthy 401k and other investments, owe no one (mortgage free), just the normal bills (utilities, food, health). I often contemplate retirement but then the pay hits the bank account and I'm like "alright alright alright!" I'm in IT, the work is relatively easy (for me) and pays well, I work from home a lot so I get to watch TV in the background (Pro Football Talk on now), work out during the day, take the dogs out to play. Only downside is being on call 1 week a month but even that's not terrible and not nearly as bad as it used to be. I'll probably never quit working completely and when I hit 65 I'll probably go to work at Lowes or something part time.

Sounds very similar to me. I'm 52 but just paid off our mortgage last year and we are empty nesters with healthy retirement savings (knock on wood). I'm also in IT and get compensated well with great benefits and the job isn't super stressful most of the time, so my plan is to continue the status quo at least until my company does another reorg i.e. downsizing when they will inevitably offer early retirement packages. I'll at least consider calling it quits at that point. My wife is self-employed and does well so I could actually see myself working for her at some point at least part-time to take some of the burden off of her. She's a workaholic so I don't see her retiring anytime soon even though she certainly could.

 

[NewlyRetired]

One thing I never factored into a benefit of retirement was thinking about elder care.

For those that either want or expect to need to be able to provide some care to your elderly parents, do not underestimate how helpful it is to have your days free. Having free time to help your parents go to appointments or shopping (or any general needs they might have once they stop driving) is invaluable.

Wanting to provide hands on help and care to aging parents while you are still working can be very stressful.

 

[NutterButter]

and here's a regular guy's ( @regularguy ) perspective

there's no ****ing way i'm retiring early. maybe ever. shooting for 70, but even if that i'll need to do something to keep busy. just cannot see being idle daily. i need a routine. coffee, walk the dog, watch tv seems like a recipe for early death to me.

Is that really how you envision retirement? No traveling? No other hobbies? No spending time with the grandkids? What's your current routine excluding anything kids related obviously.

well, i'm hopeful to still be doing the things i enjoy at 70 but realistically i'm hard pressed to imagine my body holding up and being able to do those things at the same level.

of course the hope is i'll have grandkids, we'll see. but money is the biggest doubt for sure. i'd love to travel all over the world. not gonna be in a position to take multiple vacations per year. not to the places i dream of seeing. and even if i can, will long hours of physical activity be feasible at 70+?

we're all old enough to know older dudes who have retired. i also know lots of older guys who are semi-retired and some who won't retire. the guys who are semi or not-retired seem happiest to me. they are around people, they are out of the house, they feel productive and have a purpose.

the not-wealthy fellas i know who retired are not doing as well.

now, lots of variables there from physical well-being to mental well-being going in to retirement but on balance i'd say that guys who have some job are doing better overall. ymmv.

Gotcha. If money is a contributing factor to continuing to work and you at the very least have neutral feelings about your job, it makes sense to keep doing it. I agree that there at least a few benefits to working that I don't think people recognize enough; especially for men that seem less likely to have social ties outside of their jobs.

 

[mr. furley]

Besides healthcare, the second biggest question I always get is "what do I do all day"

The common answer you will hear from early retirees is "instead of waking up asking what do I "have" to do today, you wake up and say what do I "want" to do today"

For those that get bored easily or are afraid they won't have enough hobbies etc, I highly recommend looking into volunteering. There are endless (and I mean endless) opportunities to help others.

I have told this story often but I had a buddy who retired around the same time I did. He was a real hard core engineer, focused on his job, and saving and investing like crazy. He was very highly paid at the end. When he retired he wanted something different. So he found a place where adults needed help reading.

They hooked him up with a guy who was desperate to learn how to read as he wanted to get his drivers license to be able to get a job. He had been from a very poor up bringing and time where schools just pushed kids along whether they were learning or not.

Long story short, he helped the guy learn to read, the guy got his license and a job and turned his whole life around. My buddy said nothing working all those years and making tons of money gave him any feeling like he got when the guy told him the good news.

yeah, this is what i'll likely wind up doing. i'll raise my hand for about anything and do plan to volunteer my time post-retirement. that said, volunteering is sort of a replacement for working. just another routine that will fill a day. optional, of course, but like someone else said, i can only garden so many hours a day.


maybe it's a perspective difference. what i read here is "i'm hoping to retire at 55 - 59 and then i'll retire on the beach....", etc. and i respect that seemingly a lot of you have done well for yourselves and have that option + a lot of money to do as you please for 25-30 years post retirement. not all of us have that optionality.

would love one day to drop everything, buy a retirement home in the Caribbean, then fly back & forth at my whim. fly to see the kids/grandkids. fly to see family, etc. but that's extremely unlikely to happen barring a lottery win and/or tragic accident that nets me massive lawsuit winnings.


a lot of these types of threads tend to lean towards the opinions of the well-heeled. "i'll retire at 55 to my beach house, spend all day on my boat and take 4-5 international vacations a year" type comments.

there tend to be very few people commenting that see retirement as maybe not possible and/or maybe not some edenic experience. i'm not lined up for a big inheritance. i don't make 6 figures and sock away 35% of my paycheck in a retirement account. my wife doesn't work and put 100% of her pay towards retirement. we're work-a-day schlubs. my retirement will be spent carefully managing my money so i'm not living with my (potential) grandkid(s).

 

[Wildcat]

and here's a regular guy's ( @regularguy ) perspective

there's no ****ing way i'm retiring early. maybe ever. shooting for 70, but even if that i'll need to do something to keep busy. just cannot see being idle daily. i need a routine. coffee, walk the dog, watch tv seems like a recipe for early death to me.

I'm the opposite - working until 70 will be a recipe for early death for me.

 

[Sleestak]

Oh, got it. Sorry, I misunderstood. Yeah, I don't remember if you can keep health benefits without collecting your pension. Since you still need to contribute towards your health benefits through retirement, it would make sense that you need to be collecting your pension so that those premiums can be withdrawn from your paychecks.

It would be nice if I could pay the premiums out of pocket and postpone pension payments, rather than have to pay them through the retirement paychecks.

I mean, what do they do if a person has a very small pension that won't entirely cover premiums?

Why do they care where the monthly payment from me comes from? Seems like one of those annoying rules where it isn't clear what the rationale/benefit is. But enough of this - sorry for annoying the forum with FED minutiae.

 

[HellToupee]

Earlier this year I tapped out at 58. Was doing 60+ hours a week since covid. Took my fed pension annd FERS supplement and said adios.It wasn’t the plan but the grind got to me. My job went from being a babysitter in my fiefdom to doing every job in the building to cover a serious labor shortage .

 

[NutterButter]

I'm curious for the folks that are so fixated on early retirement, is it that you really dislike your job that much or is it more something in mind that your want to be doing that you can't be doing now? If the former, is there not another line of work that you can move into that you'd find more compatible to the life you'd like to live? For instance, you hate the commute which is where I was at during one point, is there not a wfh gig that maybe pays less, but give you better balance. If the latter and a lot of your free time is consumed by child responsibilities, does that change once they're no longer your day to day responsibility and you recapture that free time? Or maybe a combination of the two which was the case for me say 10 years ago. Or is it something else?

 

[matttyl]

I'm 53 and thinking about retiring soon or, at least, taking some years off and working later on if I get too bored. I think I've saved enough to live off investment income perpetually although doing that might be tighter than ideal. I'm naturally frugal, though, so I'd probably be fine.

The biggest expense I still have to figure out is healthcare since I wouldn't have any until medicare. I'm healthy now but obviously I need some protection in case things change. I could use some advice on this. Someone mentioned in another thread that I could likely qualify for ACA subsidies in retirement since my income would go down so much. After the first retirement year, my income would be very low as it would just be investment income and the majority of that is tax sheltered. Is that correct that assets don't matter, only income? What is the best to get an idea on realistic hypothetical premiums?

If you wait to retire at 59.5 and have Roth IRAs/401ks, can't you draw on them during the gap between when you retire and Medicare age? It is my understanding, since drawing on a Roth is tax free and doesn't apply to income, you could qualify for low ACA insurance. Also, if you have an HSA, max it out now and use that savings to help pay for healthcare premiums during the gap years.

Just a thought...

You can’t pay for healthcare premiums from an HSA. You can pay for COBRA premiums if you accept cobra from a now prior employer, though. You can also pay Medicare premiums once you turn 65, but you can’t pay for regular private health insurance premiums.

 

[Mitchie]

and here's a regular guy's ( @regularguy ) perspective

there's no ****ing way i'm retiring early. maybe ever. shooting for 70, but even if that i'll need to do something to keep busy. just cannot see being idle daily. i need a routine. coffee, walk the dog, watch tv seems like a recipe for early death to me.

Is that really how you envision retirement? No traveling? No other hobbies? No spending time with the grandkids? What's your current routine excluding anything kids related obviously.

well, i'm hopeful to still be doing the things i enjoy at 70 but realistically i'm hard pressed to imagine my body holding up and being able to do those things at the same level.

of course the hope is i'll have grandkids, we'll see. but money is the biggest doubt for sure. i'd love to travel all over the world. not gonna be in a position to take multiple vacations per year. not to the places i dream of seeing. and even if i can, will long hours of physical activity be feasible at 70+?

we're all old enough to know older dudes who have retired. i also know lots of older guys who are semi-retired and some who won't retire. the guys who are semi or not-retired seem happiest to me. they are around people, they are out of the house, they feel productive and have a purpose.

the not-wealthy fellas i know who retired are not doing as well.

now, lots of variables there from physical well-being to mental well-being going in to retirement but on balance i'd say that guys who have some job are doing better overall. ymmv.

Gotcha. If money is a contributing factor to continuing to work and you at the very least have neutral feelings about your job, it makes sense to keep doing it. I agree that there at least a few benefits to working that I don't think people recognize enough; especially for men that seem less likely to have social ties outside of their jobs.

I'm a bit of an introvert and this is one reason I don't have a strong desire to stop working. I happen to sorta like my job for the most part, isn't overly stressful and get paid pretty well.

 

[belljr]

I'm only staying until 65 because I flipped over late. I was 44 when I flipped from contractor.

I came in at 40. Of course, the military pension helps more than the civ.

Screw you and your accrued service I mean than thank you for your service.....

Im still bitter they didn't count my prior 8 of civ

 

[guru_007]

I'm curious for the folks that are so fixated on early retirement, is it that you really dislike your job that much or is it more something in mind that your want to be doing that you can't be doing now?

Pretty sure you mentioned that you are wfh, but what people don't realize is that the VAST majority of people cannot wfh. Something like 80-85% of the economy is in service or manufacturing of some sort. Uber drivers can't work from home. Restaurant servers. Construction workers, and so on and so on and so on. People on this message board talking about wfh and 4 day work weeks are living in a bubble, imho and cannot realize what hundreds of millions of people need to do to provide for their families.
That said, I could wfh and my wife does wfh like 40-50% of the time so I'm not bashing, I'm just saying.
Do I dislike my job that much? I love my job. I dislike a lot of the bs that goes with my job however, such as unrealistic clients, vendors who fail to live up to promises, interpersonal issues with staff and so on.
I don't want to have to wake up early and deal with traffic 4-5 days per week.
I do want to be able to do what I want to do every single day at my leisure.
I do want to do a lot of traveling. I do have a lot of other things I'd like to explore while I'm still relatively youngish.
In my 50's I can still do a lot of things. I'm still in good health, fit, and pretty active.
I imagine in my 60's and 70's this will decline. After that, who knows, but no way to I want to retire at 65 or so with only maybe a handful of active years to build a garden, explore foreign countries by foot without too much fear. I can still drive a lot, maybe get an RV and take 6 months to go around the country, and so on and so on and so on.
My parents have been retired 20+ years so I've seen the decline in their mobility, slight decline in mental states, and ffs I cringe when my father asks me to borrow the keys to my car when he visits as his driving is meh.

Plus, I think the biggest thing (for me at least) is to have a spouse on the same page as you. My wife likes working quite a bit more than me, but she too has a lot of interests she wants to pursue and wants to go on adventures with me (no idea why) while we can. If we weren't on the same page, well, I would need to reevaluate, but for now, I'm good with never working again. if I won the lottery I'd certainly not continue to work another day.

 

[matttyl]

43, wife 39. One and done with kids, and they are now 8, in 2nd grade. Plan is to be able to retire in 15 years when kid graduates from a 4 year college (if they go that route). We aggressively put money in qualified retirement accounts and want to continue doing so annually until that time to give us that ability as no pensions and who knows what social security will be at that time.

My FIL retired and was almost immediately diagnosed with esophageal cancer - died within 4 months. My father retired just maybe 2 years ago now - his cancer is back and aggressive - and he easily could have retired a decade ago if he wanted. I don’t want to work “too late”, I’d like to be able to actually retire and enjoy life for a while.

So another piece - I’m a life and health insurance agent. I realize that if our country does move away from private medical insurance to some socialized system (and it was looking that way in Obamas 2nd term), my income could be heavily impacted. Just going to keep it going as long as I can and take advantage of whatever tax breaks I can in the meantime.

 

[arrow1]

We are a largely middle aged group of men. Anyone looking to push up their retirement date? I’ve been a nurse for nearly 20 years. At 52, I’m constantly playing with the numbers trying to figure out a way to retire in the next 3-4 years. Healthcare has changed so much in the 20 years I’ve done it. I’m not naive to it always being a business but it’s right in your face now. I just don’t want to do it any longer. Anyone else looking to get out of the pressure of the rat race soon? what industry are you in and why?

Same exact boat as you, but I'm 54 in a month. I'm thinking about doing an on-line Psych NP program to get away from the bedside and up my earnings for the home stretch. I'm hoping maybe a new mental challenge will cure the burnout I'm feeling. Or, at least, make me a nicer nest egg.

We may need a separate healthcare workers contemplating retirement thread.

I'm 51, wife is 50, and we're both on the cusp of retirement. As @fruity pebbles mentions, medicine is too business-like nowadays, and it's super gross.

We originally were shooting for 55, but I'm not sure my wife will make it. She dreads going into work, even though she's only part time. I can go a few more years, but not sure it's worthwhile.

Healthcare also. Age 58, been in practice 32 years.

 

[NutterButter]

I'm curious for the folks that are so fixated on early retirement, is it that you really dislike your job that much or is it more something in mind that your want to be doing that you can't be doing now?

Pretty sure you mentioned that you are wfh, but what people don't realize is that the VAST majority of people cannot wfh. Something like 80-85% of the economy is in service or manufacturing of some sort. Uber drivers can't work from home. Restaurant servers. Construction workers, and so on and so on and so on. People on this message board talking about wfh and 4 day work weeks are living in a bubble, imho and cannot realize what hundreds of millions of people need to do to provide for their families.
That said, I could wfh and my wife does wfh like 40-50% of the time so I'm not bashing, I'm just saying.
Do I dislike my job that much? I love my job. I dislike a lot of the bs that goes with my job however, such as unrealistic clients, vendors who fail to live up to promises, interpersonal issues with staff and so on.
I don't want to have to wake up early and deal with traffic 4-5 days per week.
I do want to be able to do what I want to do every single day at my leisure.
I do want to do a lot of traveling. I do have a lot of other things I'd like to explore while I'm still relatively youngish.
In my 50's I can still do a lot of things. I'm still in good health, fit, and pretty active.
I imagine in my 60's and 70's this will decline. After that, who knows, but no way to I want to retire at 65 or so with only maybe a handful of active years to build a garden, explore foreign countries by foot without too much fear. I can still drive a lot, maybe get an RV and take 6 months to go around the country, and so on and so on and so on.
My parents have been retired 20+ years so I've seen the decline in their mobility, slight decline in mental states, and ffs I cringe when my father asks me to borrow the keys to my car when he visits as his driving is meh.

Plus, I think the biggest thing (for me at least) is to have a spouse on the same page as you. My wife likes working quite a bit more than me, but she too has a lot of interests she wants to pursue and wants to go on adventures with me (no idea why) while we can. If we weren't on the same page, well, I would need to reevaluate, but for now, I'm good with never working again. if I won the lottery I'd certainly not continue to work another day.

I get that and a lot of my mindset depends on still having that ability which could certainly change which would then change my thinking. But at the moment that's not the case and I believe the majority of the people on this board are white collar that could in theory have that option. So that's why I bring that up. Now in your case, how much traveling do you see yourself doing? Does your current number of vacation days not accommodate that desire? How about mixing in some wfh while your travel to increase the duration or frequency of those vacations. That's what I'm doing at the moment. I'm a big hiker/cyclist so I'll do a m-w-f wfh schedule on vacation so that those days can be more my recovery days while I go all out on the off days. How about something like a sabbatical to do that 6 month RV trip you're thinking about?

 

[Gally]

I'm not mentioning the possibility of you deferring your payments until age 60 or so, and instead collecting SRS from age 57 to 60. For that, I think you effectively have to leave the Fed health system, hopefully going on ACA, and then get reinstated once your annual payments begin at age 60. I forget all the details now. I'm just going to go ahead and begin immediate payments upon retirement rather than deal with the other options available.

I am in interested in learning more about these options available. I am planning on getting out at 57 (2029) which would only give me 10 years in the system. I plan to defer until 60 or 62 or whatever age to maximize the payments I receive but don't really known the options. I did however start maxing 401K from day 1 of my "real job" career so I am in great shape as far as money goes. It's the health care cost aspect that scares the crap out of me. I gotta figure out how to work the govy system...

 

[-OZ-]

Screw you and your accrued service I mean than thank you for your service.....

Im still bitter they didn't count my prior 8 of civ

we can’t buy in without losing the military pension. Which as far as I can tell is never worth it. The reservists get to double dip.

 

[NutterButter]

If you wait to retire at 59.5 and have Roth IRAs/401ks, can't you draw on them during the gap between when you retire and Medicare age? ...

You don't have to wait until 59.5 to withdraw with out penalty.

The government has a plan where you can with draw from your retirement account with out penalty if you follow specific withdrawal rules (known as substantially equal periodic payments).

For those interested, google "rule 72(t)". It can be very helpful to those that need to get to their retirement accounts before 59.5 and don't want to pay a penalty for doing so.

There's also the rule of 55 which is even more flexible but only applies to those few years once you turn 55

 

[Nugget]

After spending Thanksgiving with some extended family, I'm more worried about overall quality of life in retirement. I was the only male in a 13-73 age range with a healthy BMI. If I want to play soccer into my 70s, I need to push harder to stay in shape and create healthy habits now.

Coming off of a divorce and trying to get two kids through college, 60 is likely my best case scenario. 65 if I can't figure out health care and I still enjoy my job.

 

[Terminalxylem]

I already semi- transitioned into this almost 2 years ago. As a nurse of almost 20 years as well (though I'm 43), I went part time at the beginning of 2023, and it's been wonderful. Several years from now I'll probably go even more part time, and then probably go super part time when the retirement itch starts to itch even more.
I've seen too many people "unhappy" going straight from full time to retirement. If you feel burned out then change jobs, or go part time. Try part time first. It's a game changer. Plus, you don't need to wait. Do it right now. Will you need to work more years than you planned? Sure, but it's well worth it.

Agree with going part-time as a tool to make one's job more tolerable.

I went from three positions out of training, way over full time hours, to part-time a couple years later. I started around 90% FTE, dropped to 75% a few years later, and 50% for almost the last decade. Now I only work 7 days a month, but it still is mentally/emotionally taxing.

All that said, it's only a friggin' week, so it's not difficult to power through. But I struggle with the idea I've sold out to corporate, assembly-line medicine, and frequently contemplate quitting in favor of volunteer work overseas. TBH, if my father-in-law wasn't tethering us to the island, I'd have probably already moved on.

 

[Gally]

If I want to play soccer into my 70s,

Give up that dream or you will break something. Achilles, knee, hamstring, etc. Age doesn't like sports like soccer or basketball.....

 

[stbugs]

Not real sure on exactly when but at 52-53, it’s on our minds. Paid 5 of 12 years of college but if my youngest stays in state in two years, it won’t be so bad. My oldest, who just finished was double my current son so the current payments feel light!

I could see us potentially retiring after my youngest is done in just over 5 years. 5 more years of maxing out the 401ks should get us in a good spot. We bought a lake lot for the retirement house and by then hopefully we’ve built it and sold the current house to, crosses fingers, cover all the costs so mortgage free to enter retirement.

I did just change jobs, due to almost layoffs, and the new position will stay WFH and be a lot less stressful. My wife gets stock so I’m hoping she lasts longer than I do but I’m hoping I like my new job more as I think it would be pretty flexible and easy to do a more semi-retirement. We’ll see.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Also NOOOOOOO WAAAAAY am I working at Lowe’s or anywhere else.

Travel and sitting on beaches is our plan. I can’t even fathom the mentality of wanting to work to occupy my time.

I totally understand that. We plan to travel most of the winter and enjoy summers at the lake. But we’re usually better off when we find something of value to contribute. I’m somewhat torn as to whether that’s getting my CFP and working with middle income families in the community, working at fleet feet and volunteering in the triathlon community including race directing, or volunteering at the church in various capacities. Maybe a combination.

I get that. Volunteering, coaching, mentoring, something productive. That sounds rewarding.

 

[Terminalxylem]

So far I've gone to nights to reduce the number of hours worked. I can essentially make close to the same at 32 hours on nights as I did 40 hours on days. Nights has its own issues though. Not something I think most can do long term. It's a little better but not a whole lot. Think my longer term game plan is retire from nursing at 55-56 and do something that I like better but doesn't pay as well. Luckily I started when they still offered a pension. They axed that shortly after I started and now offer a generous 2% 403B match. I feel bad for the younger kids coming in. I couldn't imagine doing this for 30 years the way it is now

This I don't recommend. I worked nights for 11 years, and my sleep is just recovering, almost a decade later. Part of the reason I stopped was night terrors. If you haven't already looked, there's literature on the impact of overnight shift work, and it ain't pretty. There's a reason we aren't nocturnal, and regular sleep is an under appreciated component of health.

The reduced hours aren't worth the sacrifice imo. But if you're gonna try, I highly recommend doing everything else you can to remain healthy - eat right, compulsively exercise and avoid life's compensatory pleasures.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

If I want to play soccer into my 70s,

Give up that dream or you will break something. Achilles, knee, hamstring, etc. Age doesn't like sports like soccer or basketball.....

This hurts me so bad. I basketball.

To your point I hurt my knee about a year ago and haven’t been able to play since. And I’m ready to go but I’m not sure I should.

 

[guru_007]

I'm curious for the folks that are so fixated on early retirement, is it that you really dislike your job that much or is it more something in mind that your want to be doing that you can't be doing now?

Pretty sure you mentioned that you are wfh, but what people don't realize is that the VAST majority of people cannot wfh. Something like 80-85% of the economy is in service or manufacturing of some sort. Uber drivers can't work from home. Restaurant servers. Construction workers, and so on and so on and so on. People on this message board talking about wfh and 4 day work weeks are living in a bubble, imho and cannot realize what hundreds of millions of people need to do to provide for their families.
That said, I could wfh and my wife does wfh like 40-50% of the time so I'm not bashing, I'm just saying.
Do I dislike my job that much? I love my job. I dislike a lot of the bs that goes with my job however, such as unrealistic clients, vendors who fail to live up to promises, interpersonal issues with staff and so on.
I don't want to have to wake up early and deal with traffic 4-5 days per week.
I do want to be able to do what I want to do every single day at my leisure.
I do want to do a lot of traveling. I do have a lot of other things I'd like to explore while I'm still relatively youngish.
In my 50's I can still do a lot of things. I'm still in good health, fit, and pretty active.
I imagine in my 60's and 70's this will decline. After that, who knows, but no way to I want to retire at 65 or so with only maybe a handful of active years to build a garden, explore foreign countries by foot without too much fear. I can still drive a lot, maybe get an RV and take 6 months to go around the country, and so on and so on and so on.
My parents have been retired 20+ years so I've seen the decline in their mobility, slight decline in mental states, and ffs I cringe when my father asks me to borrow the keys to my car when he visits as his driving is meh.

Plus, I think the biggest thing (for me at least) is to have a spouse on the same page as you. My wife likes working quite a bit more than me, but she too has a lot of interests she wants to pursue and wants to go on adventures with me (no idea why) while we can. If we weren't on the same page, well, I would need to reevaluate, but for now, I'm good with never working again. if I won the lottery I'd certainly not continue to work another day.

I get that and a lot of my mindset depends on still having that ability which could certainly change which would then change my thinking. But at the moment that's not the case and I believe the majority of the people on this board are white collar that could in theory have that option. So that's why I bring that up. Now in your case, how much traveling do you see yourself doing? Does your current number of vacation days not accommodate that desire? How about mixing in some wfh while your travel to increase the duration or frequency of those vacations. That's what I'm doing at the moment. I'm a big hiker/cyclist so I'll do a m-w-f wfh schedule on vacation so that those days can be more my recovery days while I go all out on the off days. How about something like a sabbatical to do that 6 month RV trip you're thinking about?

All very good points and I get it that most people on this board are white collar workers, it just sometimes irks me a bit how out of sync the haves and the have nots can be at times.
As far as vacations go, I've budgeted for 1 "large" vacation per year in retirement (2-3 weeks), 2 smaller vacations, and of course there will be weekend getaways in there. And while my current employment does provide near enough PTO to match my wants, I also have three adult children, and God willing perhaps grandchildren one day, and they will be in different cities than I will be living. So there is going to be a lot of road trips in there as well for holidays, birthdays, and so on.
And the sabbatical was a great point and something I have definitely considered before I ever get to the point of rage quitting, but, my company would be cool with it (probably 3 months max), but my wife's company would not. It is still under consideration as say a trial retirement, but honestly, when I go through with something, I jump in all the way.
And of course, everyone's situation is different, so I am by no means the say all, end all for early retirement, but I've been planning this for a number of years now - I made a 15 year plan when I turned 40 to retire by 55 and am a few years ahead of schedule. I want to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

I'm curious for the folks that are so fixated on early retirement, is it that you really dislike your job that much or is it more something in mind that your want to be doing that you can't be doing now? If the former, is there not another line of work that you can move into that you'd find more compatible to the life you'd like to live? For instance, you hate the commute which is where I was at during one point, is there not a wfh gig that maybe pays less, but give you better balance. If the latter and a lot of your free time is consumed by child responsibilities, does that change once they're no longer your day to day responsibility and you recapture that free time? Or maybe a combination of the two which was the case for me say 10 years ago. Or is it something else?

Speaking for me personally, I can do my current job on autopilot. It is not even remotely challenging anymore. I actually enjoy it when something goes seriously wrong around here because at least it gives me something novel to do for a couple of days. When I am at home, I literally do not think about work at all unless my wife asks what I have going on the next day. It used to be that I would go to work each day and look forward to the weekends. Now it's more like work is something that I do in between evenings with my wife. I think about my leisure time when I'm at work but never think about work when I'm at leisure. I take that as a clear sign that I am checking out of my job and mentally transitioning toward retirement.

To be clear, I don't dislike my job. It's fine. I like my colleagues. Everything is going well. I just DGAF at this point.

I'm fine for a few more years. After that, a move back to the faculty would allow me to come and go as I please with no real responsibilities besides showing up for class. I consider myself very fortunate to have that as an option should I choose to take it. I would have four months off every summer that I can spend however I want, and my typical workday would probably involve about 4 hours on campus for the other 8 months of the year.

In other words, work is just not a priority for me anymore. My kids are out college (almost), everything is paid off, I've pretty much maxed out my career advancement, and my nest egg is what it is, so there's very little incentive to worry about life at the office when I have a much more pleasant home life.

 

[Courtjester]

Besides healthcare, the second biggest question I always get is "what do I do all day"

The common answer you will hear from early retirees is "instead of waking up asking what do I "have" to do today, you wake up and say what do I "want" to do today"

i can't get there yet. I am 54 and I have been retired for 4 months now. The best way to describe how I feel is like a tiger who has been caged in some little roadside circus and never seen grass or the sky and now I am out and able to be free, I am frozen and don't know what to do with myself.

As I approached retirement, I had all these plans to do this or that. I was going to set the world on fire with all I was going to accomplish. Now that I am here, there are days that I just sit and think or worse, sleep in until 8:30 am. There are a hundred things I could do, but don't. I have tons of hobbies (collecting Lego, a huge, huge sports card collection, I have multiple video games for my PS5 that are just sitting there unwrapped), but I just can't get the motivation to do "something". I was so used to the routine that I am unsure how to react. And then there is this overriding sense of guilt that I have when my wife still gets up a 6:00 am and is out the door by 7:00. She is providing insurance for me, and our two girls (19 & 24) and wants to work for another six years just to say she put 30 years in at her district. I want her out in 3 to 4, but we will have to figure out the insurance side of things.

Don't get me wrong, not having to get all dressed up every day and fight the traffic is something I do not miss. I have no desire to go back to the grind. I have recently started following this guy on TikTok and he talks about a lot of the things i mention above and how to address them. I feel like this week has been better. I have set little daily goals for myself and so at the end of the day, I feel a sense of accomplishment for completing these tasks. Little things like take a 30 minute walk or read for 30 minutes have really made me feel more positive. I have been doing on-line surveys and have actually made decent money doing those.

I guess the point to my whole tangent here is there is more to retirement planning than just money. You need to get a life plan and be prepared for the mental health stressors that come with it.

 

[Terminalxylem]

and here's a regular guy's ( @regularguy ) perspective

there's no ****ing way i'm retiring early. maybe ever. shooting for 70, but even if that i'll need to do something to keep busy. just cannot see being idle daily. i need a routine. coffee, walk the dog, watch tv seems like a recipe for early death to me.

Is that really how you envision retirement? No traveling? No other hobbies? No spending time with the grandkids? What's your current routine excluding anything kids related obviously.

Yeah, I don't understand people worrying about being bored. But I'm fortunate to live in a place with a ton of free, accessible outdoor recreation. Volunteer opportunities are plentiful as well.

I wouldn't factor watching a bunch of TV, or anything too sedentary (and mindless) into retirement plans. You need to remain physically active to maintain a high quality of life, and engage mentally to stave off dementia. For the latter, I'm introducing younger friends to European boardgames, to ensure there's a big enough network of people to hang out with as my wife and I age.

Once all that runs its course, when body and mind are failing, plan B is invest heavily in psychadelic drugs.

 

[gianmarco]

So far I've gone to nights to reduce the number of hours worked. I can essentially make close to the same at 32 hours on nights as I did 40 hours on days. Nights has its own issues though. Not something I think most can do long term. It's a little better but not a whole lot. Think my longer term game plan is retire from nursing at 55-56 and do something that I like better but doesn't pay as well. Luckily I started when they still offered a pension. They axed that shortly after I started and now offer a generous 2% 403B match. I feel bad for the younger kids coming in. I couldn't imagine doing this for 30 years the way it is now

This is what I started doing 8 years ago. I do exclusively nights, work less hours, but I know it's not a healthy lifestyle to maintain long-term.

Unlike you, I can usually get even a couple hours of sleep during shifts, and I work every other night so I can recover, and by doing this it allows me to be free most every day which is important with the kids.

I like my current schedule, but I think of 7 more years of it and, as I said above, just counting the days.

 

[kutta]

I'm 57, and have thought about it, but I enjoy my work and really want to stay busy. I'm just not sure what I'd do in retirement - I get bored on a long weekend. And, I get to travel a TON for work, so I'm always on the road seeing new places, and I don't have to pay out of my pocket for it. And, my schedule is extremely flexible so I can take days off whenever I really want to.

And I make pretty good dough too - would hate to give that up right now. I think I'll work for 8 more years or so.

 

[Bogart]

48, divorced. Two kids, 19 and 15. Divorce and child support made the idea of retirement a pipe dream, but was lucky enough to be part of an equity event that at least has me looking like I have been investing properly for the last 30 years, and could actually stop working before I die. No debt, house paid off and making the most money I ever have, but struggling with work/life balance. I live at the office.

Current goal is to stay with my current company until my youngest graduates high school and then reevaluate things. A lot of people in my background (Aerospace Quality) go into work for themselves as independent contract auditors which for me is the dream. A slight variation of BaristaFIRE. Work six or seven months a year, travel the rest of the time on the airline and hotel points I have acquired during the work months. I could easily do that into my 70s. A former colleague actually moved down to Mexico, audits about 4 months total during the year and lives like a king. Stay active mentally, make some coin and do what you want.

 

[bcat01]

If you wait to retire at 59.5 and have Roth IRAs/401ks, can't you draw on them during the gap between when you retire and Medicare age? ...

You don't have to wait until 59.5 to withdraw with out penalty.

The government has a plan where you can with draw from your retirement account with out penalty if you follow specific withdrawal rules (known as substantially equal periodic payments).

For those interested, google "rule 72(t)". It can be very helpful to those that need to get to their retirement accounts before 59.5 and don't want to pay a penalty for doing so.

There's also the rule of 55 which is even more flexible but only applies to those few years once you turn 55

Your 401K plan has to allow the rule of 55.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

So far I've gone to nights to reduce the number of hours worked. I can essentially make close to the same at 32 hours on nights as I did 40 hours on days. Nights has its own issues though. Not something I think most can do long term. It's a little better but not a whole lot. Think my longer term game plan is retire from nursing at 55-56 and do something that I like better but doesn't pay as well. Luckily I started when they still offered a pension. They axed that shortly after I started and now offer a generous 2% 403B match. I feel bad for the younger kids coming in. I couldn't imagine doing this for 30 years the way it is now

This I don't recommend. I worked nights for 11 years, and my sleep is just recovering, almost a decade later. Part of the reason I stopped was night terrors. If you haven't already looked, there's literature on the impact of overnight shift work, and it ain't pretty. There's a reason we aren't nocturnal, and regular sleep is an under appreciated component of health.

The reduced hours aren't worth the sacrifice imo. But if you're gonna try, I highly recommend doing everything else you can to remain healthy - eat right, compulsively exercise and avoid life's compensatory pleasures.

Worked as a night stocker for Safeway in the 90s. Those were some WEIRD dudes. One guy had an eye patch, didn’t talk to anyone and was terrifying. Another guy shot and killed his wife’s lover in their bed. (Deemed Justified). Just oddballs all around.

 

[ChicoCat]

I can retire right now at 49 with a state pension. I'm on autopilot but not unhappy. We get 3+ vacation days a month and can bank up to 75, so I've taken a few two week vacations this year to putter around the house and get stuff done. I didn't like it alot and felt that, if left to the devices of a "normal/lunch pail/working class jabroni" (that being not traveling the world in style, not opening my own vinyard") retirement; I wouldn't be satisfied. I need to spend the next year looking into best non physical career/jobs to start in your 50's......because I'm going to have to do something. Might as well make some more money doing it.

 

[Terminalxylem]

will long hours of physical activity be feasible at 70+?

Possibly, but only if you bust your a$$ to attain fitness when more able-bodied. Although physical deterioration is inevitable with age, it really helps to attain as high of a baseline as possible. You're a lot more likely to remain active longer, if you prioritize it now.

If you find a group activity(ies), you can establish a social network as well.

 

[BrutalPenguin]

I'm 59.5 and retiring at the end of the year. I've lost my passion for software development, and even these last few days of work are a grind. I can get health insurance from my wife's job and I've paid off my mortgage years ago. I have no idea what I'll do instead of working, but I have a long list of things I'd like to try.

 

[Gally]

If I want to play soccer into my 70s,

Give up that dream or you will break something. Achilles, knee, hamstring, etc. Age doesn't like sports like soccer or basketball.....

This hurts me so bad. I basketball.

To your point I hurt my knee about a year ago and haven’t been able to play since. And I’m ready to go but I’m not sure I should.

Yep. I tore my achilles playing basketball during my lunch break when I was 40-ish (about 10 years ago). Haven't played since and it's likely to stay that way.

 

[SFBayDuck]

On the boredom conversation, that's why we moved back to a (our) college town. Our plan was to do it around the time of retirement, but 2 1/2 years ago we lost our rental and my only child was heading off to college so we made the move early. The idea was to have a built-in baseline of things to do to keep us busy and getting out of the house, and that's been true. Seven or eight home football games, fifteen each men's and women's hoops games, and a couple of T&F meets per year through season tickets. We've been to T&F P12, NCAA, US, and World Championships and an Olympic Trials. I'm not a baseball guy but we went to three Super Regional games last spring. Headed to an NCAA tournament volleyball match this week. And while we don't get the big shows and tours, we do get some so we've been to a few concerts and stand up shows. That's like 50-60 events annually without really trying!

Football is pretty expensive and men's hoops isn't cheap, but most of the other sports' tickets are really affordable. So if/when we have to scale back we first stop buying $15 beers at events, and then second I could see getting rid of men's hoops at some point if we had to cut expenses. Can't see dropping football though, since that's the most social of all of the events with 20-30 people at the tailgate every game. And when we have more time we could also add season tix for volleyball, soccer, lax, softball, baseball, etc, each of which are like $100-$200/ticket for the entire season.

I have an active and energetic dog - guaranteed hour or two of getting out of the house and easy exercise twice every single day, including heading out on hikes (which I only have time to do on weekends now). We have two rivers here with steelhead, salmon, trout, and we are less than 2 hours from the coast, but I haven't had time to pick fishing back up yet (grew up doing it). With more time I'd join a gym and hit that 4-5 days a week for an hour or two, likely either the Athletic Club or the Tennis Club as those have more of a social aspect available that your standard 24H Fitness doesn't. I used to make beer and hard cider, would love to pick that up again, and I have a buddy with a still that's having a blast churning out moonshine. Have never golfed but have a hand-me-down set staring at me from the corner of the garage. I enjoy cooking but don't have time or am too wiped at the end of most days to do that, would love to get back to that.

Or there's now where my job is stressful, I often have difficulty sleeping, and stress eating and drinking in response isn't doing me any favors. The sooner I retire the sooner I'll be able to do all of these things I actually enjoy doing while also getting healthier so I'll be able to enjoy it for longer.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

to ensure there's a big enough network of people to hang out with as my wife and I age.

Once all that runs its course, when body and mind are failing, plan B is invest heavily in psychadelic drugs.

Messes up the quotes….

In Furls box ( ) - I agree wholeheartedly. This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately because we don’t have a lot of friends and our family is aging. It kind of hit me this Thanksgiving. If we’re not careful it’ll just be my wife and I and whenever the kids visit and that won’t be good for our mental state.

For the last part, yes, yes, yes!

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Great thread BtW

 

[Terminalxylem]

I'm curious for the folks that are so fixated on early retirement, is it that you really dislike your job that much or is it more something in mind that your want to be doing that you can't be doing now? If the former, is there not another line of work that you can move into that you'd find more compatible to the life you'd like to live? For instance, you hate the commute which is where I was at during one point, is there not a wfh gig that maybe pays less, but give you better balance. If the latter and a lot of your free time is consumed by child responsibilities, does that change once they're no longer your day to day responsibility and you recapture that free time? Or maybe a combination of the two which was the case for me say 10 years ago. Or is it something else?

I don't love my job, or working, for that matter. I'm fortunate to have earned a decent wage and enjoy living simply, and married a woman with similar priorities, so I don't feel the need to work much longer.

Life is too short, and health span even shorter.