People who don't like retirement

[Nuiloa]

I was telling my sister about my retirement plans and she told me I was making a mistake: that the only opinions I've been listening to are from people who are happily retired. She told me I'd be bored to death, since most people I know still have to work.

It got me thinking.... so I went looking for a forum for people who can't stand to be retired. I couldn't find one. All the ones that looked like they were, were by people who loved retirement but could see a downside (which they hadn't experienced).

So, I came to three possible conclusions:

a) there is no one who doesn't like being retired (at least a majority of the time)

b) 100% of those who hate retirement have gone back to work

and/or

c) 100% of people who hate retirement either don't have computers or they're anti-social

 

[73ss454]

Google "Crazy People" maybe you'll find them there.

 

[travelover]

I had a furnace repairman out today. It turns out that he retired and was bored out of his mind, so he found a new j*b. All I could do was shrug.

 

[Midpack]

Probably not the best place to ask...

 

[easysurfer]

Never underestimate the joy of just putzing around in retirement

 

[clifp]

Darn I thought this was a joke question, like the big books of snakes in Hawaii (with lots blank pages).

The people who don't enjoy retirement I am pretty sure either go back to work or hang out at bars/country clubs, they sure don't hang around internet forums.

 

[veremchuka]

I'm sure there are those that do not like being retired and regret leaving a job that paid well and couldn't get back in. Not everyone is going to be happy breaking the routine of 40+ years or having so much free time on their hands. Such would be my case, not that I am unhappy I'm don't regret it for a second but my skills are ancient and though I was good at what I did the technology is so old I'd never find a job doing that especially for the money I was making. So I am sure there are some that regret retiring but I'm sure most are happy.

Only you can decide, if you have doubts don't unless you could return to your job or be hired for similar pay elsewhere. For me I knew I was crossing a bridge that was burned once done but I was ok with that.

 

[haha]

It is no more weird to not like retirement than to not like chocolate, or the New York Giants. What is weird is that at least 10% of the threads on this board are about how cool we retired people are and how retarded workers are.

People are not all alike, no matter how hard that may be to accept.
I don't know if this term is still used, but in England retirement from corporate or government employment was called "redundancy". How totally cool, to be redundant.

Ha

 

[Nords]

I wonder what sort of threads are on the WorkUntilYouDie.com* forum?

"What did you do today?":
"I worked 11 hours!"
"I worked 12 hours and got triple overtime!"
"I worked on the subway train, on the bus, and even on the walk to the office building!"
"I worked 24 hours and then got on a westbound plane so that I could bill 27 hours in a 24-hour day!!"
"I worked from my oxygen tent in the ICU!!"

* Why, yes, that URL is available for registration!

 

[Telly]

In Britain, I thought "to become redundant" meant to be layed off, not retirement.

I would never think that people working are stupid... I WANT them to continue to work. For their own financial well being, for their sense of accomplishment, for their sense of self-worth, to keep the country and commerce humming along, to stay off the roads and out of the stores during the day, to continue to pay the SS and Medicare taxes, and all sorts of other good things many dealing with taxes.

 

[Telly]

Never underestimate the joy of just putzing around in retirement

I think I was born to putz... it just took some years for the environment to mature

 

[Onward]

Somewhere out there must be people who enjoy their "careers," but I'm sure I've never met one of them.

 

[chris2008]

Those who were let go into ER by their employers often have resentments that prevent them from enjoying it.

Unfortunately I had to see this happen to my Dad who lost his job at 58.
Money was not an issue, but so much of his self worth was tied to the job that he could not get over it and start to enjoy his time. He passed away at the age of 78 and is still my model of an unhappy retiree.

Seeing this I promised to myself that I would not let this happen to me. I cannot control my corporate employer but I can control my budget and work on disconnecting my sense of self worth from my job.

 

[Chuckanut]

Where I work we have several people who seem to be tied to the job. All they talk about is work, people at work, and things that happen at work. They mainly socialize with people at work (ie, happy hour with coworkers after work where they talk mostly about work,)

A few years ago several of them took their one and only trip to a foreign land. Why? Well, it fit in with a work related issue in that foreign land. Otherwise they would never had gone. I think these are the kind of people who would be bored sick in retirement.

 

[l2ridehd]

It does happen. I ER'ed in December 1996 at 50. Stayed that way for 10 months and was very bored. You can only play so much golf and travel and do things fun before you wonder what can I do tomorrow. Got a call from a company that I had dealt with in the past and they made me an offer I couldn't refuse. Been working ever sense and retiring again early in 2012. Have made some plans to ease into it more slowly this time around. And because of those extra 14 years working will have a much different retirement lifestyle. In 1996 I was financially OK, but would have to be frugal. In 2012 I will be flush with two pensions, significant investments, and no worries. I got to travel the world on someone else dime, and had a lot of fun, new friends, new experiences, and am a lot more ready to retire now then I was then.

Retiring at 50 was a goal. When I achieved it, it was a bit of a let down. Kind of "OK, I am here now, what do I do" I worked very hard to achieve an objective but was so busy getting there there I had no plan for what to do when I arrived. Today I have a very good plan of what I will do.

So advice to those wanting to ER. Spend the last 6 months before you arrive understanding what you will do when you get off the merry-go-round. I didn't and ended up going back to work. No regrets, but know now you must have a plan.

 

[Walt34]

Retiring at 50 was a goal. When I achieved it, it was a bit of a let down. Kind of "OK, I am here now, what do I do" I worked very hard to achieve an objective but was so busy getting there there I had no plan for what to do when I arrived. Today I have a very good plan of what I will do.

So advice to those wanting to ER. Spend the last 6 months before you arrive understanding what you will do when you get off the merry-go-round. I didn't and ended up going back to work. No regrets, but know now you must have a plan.

Yup, I can understand that.

 

[citrine]

I am practicing for full retirement.....hopefully 13 years of semi-retirement will get me ready for pulling the plug

 

[donheff]

I know a lot of people who have no interest in retiring even though they could easily afford it. Some of them love their work. Others are caught up for negative reasons.

 

[scrabbler1]

I am practicing for full retirement.....hopefully 13 years of semi-retirement will get me ready for pulling the plug

I worked part-time for 7 years before I fully retired 3 years ago, and that was good practice for me, too. It also made me hungrier to retire fully because even the part-time work more and more got in the way of enjoying the nonwork activities I had built up in those 7 years.

 

[rescueme]

I know a lot of people who have no interest in retiring even though they could easily afford it. Some of them love their work.

Do you know my DW? (was to retire 4+ years ago but changed her mind a few weeks before retirment day ).

 

[citrine]

I love my work immensely and I will keep doing it even after I retire....I am sure of it. Since I work for myself, it does not feel like work at all!

 

[ERD50]

People have posted here that they 'failed' to ER. But like others said, most don't hang around much after that. But I think there are a few posting here who went back part-time or something. People are different, it's not for everyone.

If you have trouble filling your free time now (IOW, work is your only interest), then you might have problems. If like many people, you couldn't wait to get away from work to be free do the million things that you want to do, rather than to be told what to do, I expect you'll be fine. More than fine. Way more than fine. Way, way, way (you get the point)

-ERD50

 

[Midpack]

What a refreshing thread, retired folks who don't begrudge those who chose to work for their own reasons, and I've seen many similar tolerant posts over the years. The 'all work is evil, retirement is forever no matter what' group has been conspicuously absent from this thread, a pleasant surprise.

(Early) retirement is a wonderful goal and the bulk of the crowd here. But if an individual chooses to work or come out of retirement, there's nothing whatsoever wrong with that either...

 

[Texas Proud]

At my old mega.... they hired this guy after a political fight after a merger... he was in his 70s and very rich... but he did not like to be retired as he could not boss around people like he used to do...

So, he would work long days and expect that from others... he was very rude to people and did not care... heck, he would even talk negative to his boss at times if he thought he was wrong...

He was not working for the money, but the power... having a few billion dollars a year to spend and to make major decisions is enough for some....

 

[audreyh1]

Retiring at 50 was a goal. When I achieved it, it was a bit of a let down. Kind of "OK, I am here now, what do I do" I worked very hard to achieve an objective but was so busy getting there there I had no plan for what to do when I arrived. Today I have a very good plan of what I will do.

So advice to those wanting to ER. Spend the last 6 months before you arrive understanding what you will do when you get off the merry-go-round. I didn't and ended up going back to work. No regrets, but know now you must have a plan.

I think people who retire early because they have a whole bunch of things they are itching to do instead of working are going to enjoy retirement. These folks are primed, and usually take the leap as soon as they are convinced that they can truly afford it.

People who retire early because they met some magic number (years or $$) or are running away from a bad work situation may find themselves lost when they do retire. This would be particularly true if they hadn't developed any interests outside work. It is pretty critical to develop some outside interests before launching out of the work environment. It can be a bit of a catch22 however. If you are working too much, that might keep you from doing other things. Maybe these folks need to figure out a way to scale back somehow so they have time for life outside of work. This can still be difficult if you are in a hard-driven, high-stress work environment.

Retirement also doesn't mean that you are limited to travel or purely recreative activities (like reading books, golf, boating, fishing, or watching TV). Retirement means you can do ANYTHING you want with your time within your financial resources. Some people may end up as busy and putting in as much effort as when they were working - or maybe even more. The point is that their time is their own, and they are the ones setting the goals and calling the shots. No one else is looking over their shoulder and telling them what to do.

People who are their own boss or run a business have some of the autonomy benefits of a retiree as they have a lot more control over their environment than the average wage slave. However, he who pays the bills still rules, and this means the customer. As long as you are financially dependent on your customer/clients you will be dancing to their tune. But once you are financially independent, you can even pick and choose your customers and only do the jobs that really interest you.

Audrey