Hello all,
I was fortunate enough to have retired 2 weeks shy of my 52nd birthday three years ago. There was nothing special I did really. The right job with the right defined benefit pension, and 30 years later, voila...here I am retired. I recommend doing it if you can swing it as it's quite liberating. No more alarm clock, no work stress, and only commitments I want to make.
As I indicated I count myself as fortunate. The indexed pension pays me $4,300 a month after tax and after medical/dental premium (more to come from the government when we turn 67). A paid off home, no other debt and modest savings round out the picture. Severance that I received upon retirement remains untouched.
The biggest issue going into retirement, in my opinion is to have all of your debt taken care of. After that, save for all your big expenses using automatic deductions into savings accounts so that when you need something, or have to pay a yearly bill like property tax or car insurance, you have it in the bank and can pay it without blinking.
A little bit of planning goes a long way. Best of luck to those of you contemplating making the move to retirement.
I was fortunate enough to have retired 2 weeks shy of my 52nd birthday three years ago. There was nothing special I did really. The right job with the right defined benefit pension, and 30 years later, voila...here I am retired. I recommend doing it if you can swing it as it's quite liberating. No more alarm clock, no work stress, and only commitments I want to make.
As I indicated I count myself as fortunate. The indexed pension pays me $4,300 a month after tax and after medical/dental premium (more to come from the government when we turn 67). A paid off home, no other debt and modest savings round out the picture. Severance that I received upon retirement remains untouched.
The biggest issue going into retirement, in my opinion is to have all of your debt taken care of. After that, save for all your big expenses using automatic deductions into savings accounts so that when you need something, or have to pay a yearly bill like property tax or car insurance, you have it in the bank and can pay it without blinking.
A little bit of planning goes a long way. Best of luck to those of you contemplating making the move to retirement.