Are you retired?

[Spanky]

It's nuts to debate the meaning of "retired". When you are no longer working whether for fun or money, you are by definition retired from the workforce regardless of your spouse's working status. If your spouse is still working, he/she is not retired. There is no such thing as partially retired or semi-retired. You are either retired or not.

 

[Leonidas]

By these definitions I have been retired for more than two years:

* no longer active in your work or profession
* emeritus: honorably retired from assigned duties and retaining your title along with the additional title `emeritus' as in `professor emeritus'; `retired from assigned duties' need not imply that one is inactive

But, I have a couple of paychecks still coming to me, so, by the OP's definitions, I'm not sure :

Respond with option 1 only if you have NO earned income, and you pay ALL of your living expenses with passive income, or by drawing down your savings, and you reasonably expect to continue doing that for the remainder of your life.

Respond with option 2 only if you pay more than half your living expenses with passive income or savings, and you reasonably expect to continue doing that for the remainder of your life. (Or, you are mostly retired and plan to transition to being fully retired someday)

Otherwise, select option 3 or 4.

Since it's pretty passive (I don't go to work and they pay me) I'm going to claim that option #1 took place when I was 45.

 

[JustCurious]

I would probably agree but none of the options seemed to capture my situation.

Not true. The word "you" can be singular or plural.

 

[Nords]

Like picking vegetables without planting another crop... ever.

I like the analogy of harvesting fruit trees. The crop grows whether I water & fertilize or not!

 

[JustCurious]

It's nuts to debate the meaning of "retired". When you are no longer working whether for fun or money, you are by definition retired from the workforce regardless of your spouse's working status. If your spouse is still working, he/she is not retired. There is no such thing as partially retired or semi-retired. You are either retired or not.

It's interesting that you consider the debate to be "nuts", and then you participate in it! LOL. You must be comfortable with the fact that you are nuts too.

 

[bosco]

It's interesting that our culture generally can accept/understand that a non-working husband is "retired" even if his wife still works.

OTOH a wife who is retired with working husband is often considered a stay at home mom, or "non-working spouse" not "retired."

Present company seems much more enlightened, I hasten to add.

hmmm.... I guess that means my ex retired at age 27. Course, she had to "unretire" after our divorce.

 

[Alan]

It's interesting that our culture generally can accept/understand that a non-working husband is "retired" even if his wife still works.

OTOH a wife who is retired with working husband is often considered a stay at home mom, or "non-working spouse" not "retired."

Present company seems much more enlightened, I hasten to add.

3 years ago daughter graduated and started to work - 6 months later got a chance to move jobs, same money but lots of other good reasons I wanted it. Told DW we didn't need her salary any longer to FIRE at 55, so when we moved she stopped working to enjoy life and now we always tell folks that she Retired at 48, since it was her choice and we don't need the income.