"Ideal" age to retire

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ziggy29 So if 18% *do* retire before 55 and 6% say they will, I wonder what this indicates. Does it indicate that many people want to work past 55 but health or layoffs force retirement on them before they were ready? Or does it mean that today's "young dreamers" are just a lot more pessimistic about their own ability to retire by 55 compared to when current retirees already did? Then again, these aren't mutually exclusive and it may well be some of both.

I think that it is natural to feel pessimistic about retirement at that age, especially if one does not yet have a plan in place. I can't help but mention that at age 52 I didn't think there was a snowball's chance in h*ll that I could retire at 67 or any time before at least 90. This was due to discovering how small my FERS pension would be by that time, and by my lack of any savings or even equity in a home.

So, I would have voted that I couldn't retire before 90, had I been polled.

Then I knocked myself out trying for 61, just to prove that I couldn't do it, and surprised myself by achieving that goal.

[rodi]

Isn't 67 the FRA for most people in their mid 50's and younger. So a lot of people just figure they have to work until they get full SS.

My mom and dad both retired at 62. My mom was dead of cancer within 5 years. My dad was dead of cancer within 10 years. Adding to this -my brother died of cancer at age 48.

My stepmom is 85 and still works. She's a PhD nurse educator and they keep talking her into "just one more class". She enjoys it and it's one of her passions. Her line is "Retirement is easy - I've done it lots of times".

Since I don't have the same passion to my career as my stepmom, and since genetics suggests I might not have as long in retirement as others, I'd rather retire early and enjoy NOT working.

[Free To Canoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodi Isn't 67 the FRA for most people in their mid 50's and younger. So a lot of people just figure they have to work until they get full SS.

You probably know this but social security is based on the 35 highest years. Once you fill in 35 holes, the increases are usually small with each additional year. You can fill them in long before 67.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodi My stepmom is 85 and still works. She's a PhD nurse educator and they keep talking her into "just one more class". She enjoys it and it's one of her passions. Her line is "Retirement is easy - I've done it lots of times".

Great quote!

[Retire2013]

I am shooting for 54 or 53 if the Market cooperates. That's around 2013 or 2014. Would have liked to ER at a much younger age but I've not reached FI until this year.

[Lisa99]

55 is the youngest I feel that I can retire. At 55, megacorp allows one to take early retirement and buy health insurance at a group rate.

They don't pay for a dime of it but we get group rates, so shooting for 55.

[EvrClrx311]

my ideal time to retire has been yesterday... for as long as I can remember.

[JOHNNIE36]

I have to say that having retired at age 51 (I would turn 52 in 6 months) made me feel a little guilty to some extent. Only thinking back about how my father worked for the same company for 47 years and retired on the last day, when he turned 65. And he worked hard. He never could understand how I could retire at my age. I had no goal to retire until it got to the point where I was burned out and sick of going to work. Me, who ten years earlier couldn't wait to get to work, was then looking for ways to retire early. I finally pulled it off in 1988. I'll go to my grave having had a great retirement and never feeling sad or sorry that I did what I did. DW was all for it and we have really enjoyed retirement. We never had to pinch the pennies, did well on some investments and in real estate and had a good pension. On May 1st, we were retired 24 years. Not a lot of people get to do that.

[Midpack]

Yahoo!Finance regularly puts out questionable articles and videos, I wouldn't put much stock in them (and I don't bother reading them any more). YMMV

[Danmar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donzo I agree with many here that the perfect time to retire is when the excitement of the "game" is over and of course when funds allow. It does seem like these articles are made to attract readers (for Ads) and to make the average 50 something feel better about not being prepared. I have met some smug folks that seem to be proud that they will "work til they drop", like they have superior work ethic. If they won a couple million in a lottery I wonder if their perspective would change - my guess is.... yup.

Well said. It's making a virtue out of a necessity. I love retirement and only laugh when I hear these stories. But really who cares?

[Donzo]

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Originally Posted by Danmar Well said. It's making a virtue out of a necessity. I love retirement and only laugh when I hear these stories. But really who cares?

I certainly don't, but would think that the person saying it must at some level...

[haha]

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Originally Posted by Danmar Well said. It's making a virtue out of a necessity. I love retirement and only laugh when I hear these stories. But really who cares?

It really depends on the person and his work. I was in the college class of 1963- and the great majority of them are still full at it, and not because of any monetary need. Many of these guys have had long careers at Morgan Stanley, Goldman, etc. or they are doctors and corportate lawyers. The richest and most successful of them seem most likely to be still at it.

If you have a great position, there are may reasons to keep it other than the usual song here about how they have to work, etc. I met a guy 2 weeks ago whose grandfather was a founder of very successful regional brokerage, and who goes to work every day as chairman of that organization.

Ha

[Danmar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha It really depends on the person and his work. I was in the college class of 1963- and the great majority of them are still full at it, and not because of any monetary need. Many of these guys have had long careers at Morgan Stanley, Goldman, etc. or they are doctors and corportate lawyers. The richest and most successful of them seem most likely to be still at it. If you have a great position, there are may reasons to keep it other than the usual song here about how they have to work, etc. I met a guy 2 weeks ago whose grandfather was a founder of very successful regional brokerage, and who goes to work every day as chairman of that organization. Ha

Right, I agree. But these articles aren't generally about these type of jobs. I had a very high paying exec job and generally my peers in similar positions retired before 60. In fact in the co that I worked for retirement was mandatory at 63. Of course the CEO can extend this at the board's pleasure and has.
In any event, I think most of what you read in the press about retirement is just pandering to the majority who can't afford to ER.

[obgyn65]

Interesting article. I plan to FIRE age 47, this year. I have seen too many deaths around me. Part of my decision to FIRE has factoring in my own unknown and unpredictable years remaining.

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Originally Posted by Donzo The New Ideal Retirement Age: 67 - Yahoo! Finance By 2020 the ideal age will be 80.....ugh I got out at 49 in 2006. The thought of 18 more years of work at that point in my life would have been flat out scary! Who comes up with these articles on working so late in life, SS dept? I am happy to be free