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New Retirement Survey-It's not about the Money
11-13-2015, 09:40 AM
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#1
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: The Bay Area
Posts: 2,736
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New Retirement Survey-It's not about the Money
This is an interesting article on the results of an extensive (>10,000 respondents) survey by Fidelity regarding what prompts us to retire and how we think about it. Not a ton of new info in here but, a few surprises (for me at least), and worth a read.
https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/...e=email_weekly
Some key points & thoughts on them.
- It's not about the money but, instead about freedom and the ability to enjoy life.
At a certain point, I think this is true. But, only for this self-selected audience and similar folks on E-R.org, Bogleheads, and the like (see below).
- The survey only included respondents who believed they had some control over if and when they would stop working full-time.
Although an extensive survey (>10,000 respondents), this would not apply to a large portion (majority?) of Americans.
- There seems to be a values shift as people near retirement.
This is just the old "time > money" or, "full BS bucket."
OK then, the myth busters (below) are...
It's about freedom, wives have had enough of us*, there's no magic age and, again, it's about freedom.
* More time for golf.
__________________
You may be whatever you resolve to be.
100% x 10% > 10% x 100%
Small pensions & SS cover essentials
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11-13-2015, 10:00 AM
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#2
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: aberdeen
Posts: 267
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Once the basic money matter is settled, for me it's about how much time and freedom I have to do all the things I like to do.
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11-13-2015, 10:02 AM
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#3
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Oregon Coast
Posts: 16,483
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Birchwood
Once the basic money matter is settled, for me it's about how much time and freedom I have to do all the things I like to do.
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This.
It has to be *enough* about money that you can run the numbers and feel financially secure without a paycheck. But it shouldn't be *so* much about money that it leads people who "have enough" and who have "HAD enough" to succumb to OMY Syndrome "one more year" after "one more year".
__________________
"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
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11-13-2015, 10:02 AM
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#4
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 12,655
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"By late pretirement (less than two years out),...Many feel that their physical stamina declines along with their mental sharpness...."
Sounds like people who would like to continue working, but can no longer hack it. Whereas, I would say they waited too long.
__________________
If you understood everything I say, you'd be me ~ Miles Davis
'There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way.’ Christopher Morley.
Even a blind clock finds an acorn twice a day.
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11-13-2015, 10:07 AM
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#5
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: West of the Mississippi
Posts: 17,259
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I agree about the freedom. The ability to choose how one spends their time is magical.
__________________
Comparison is the thief of joy
The worst decisions are usually made in times of anger and impatience.
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New Retirement Survey-It's not about the Money
11-13-2015, 11:23 AM
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#6
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 852
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New Retirement Survey-It's not about the Money
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuckanut
I agree about the freedom. The ability to choose how one spends his time is magical.
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+1 (fixed the grammar for you, also could have said "her", but not their) yes I am an annoying grammar nut.
Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum
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11-13-2015, 11:32 AM
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#7
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Texas: No Country for Old Men
Posts: 50,021
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Quote:
Originally Posted by urn2bfree
... yes I am an annoying grammar nut.
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Don't you dare touch my sig line...
__________________
Numbers is hard
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11-13-2015, 12:29 PM
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#8
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: philly
Posts: 1,219
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuckanut
I agree about the freedom. The ability to choose how one spends their time is magical.
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But I do think the opening line is equally as important, this survey was conducted among people who felt they had some control over their retirement. translation: they've worked out the money part.
you can't have one without the other I think. The ability to choose how one spends their time is a choice that is not available to all
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11-13-2015, 01:15 PM
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#9
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2013
Location: ATL --> Flyover Country
Posts: 6,649
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"Among recent retirees, those who left their primary career in the past two years, almost 80% say it’s easier than they thought to live comfortably in retirement and 85% say it’s the most rewarding time of their lives. Only 10% say they are worried about being bored"
I can't highlight/bold/underline this enough. I think more people would try a little bit harder to retire early if they TRULY knew how AWESOME the freedom is!!!
__________________
FIRE'd in 2014 @ 40 Years Old
Professional Retiree
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11-14-2015, 04:17 AM
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#10
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 440
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Another factor I'm personally seeing is that once I was ABLE to retire my tolerance for BS dropped significantly and it's takes much more energy to "deal" with things. Instead of saying "well I have to deal with this" I say "wait... I don't have to deal with anymore... Why am I doing that again?"
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app
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11-14-2015, 05:56 AM
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#11
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Humble
Posts: 188
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"Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs" strikes again!
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11-14-2015, 06:06 PM
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#12
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 609
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Quote:
Originally Posted by petershk
Another factor I'm personally seeing is that once I was ABLE to retire my tolerance for BS dropped significantly and it's takes much more energy to "deal" with things. Instead of saying "well I have to deal with this" I say "wait... I don't have to deal with anymore... Why am I doing that again?"
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app
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Totally true, but there's a risk of becoming a disagreeable, grumpy old guy. Make sure to practice rejecting BS, but doing so with class.
Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum
__________________
Saved 8 figures by my mid-40's as a professional bubble-spotter. Beware...the Fed creates bubble after bubble after bubble.
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11-14-2015, 06:14 PM
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#13
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Chicago
Posts: 13,183
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Quote:
Originally Posted by urn2bfree
+1 (fixed the grammar for you, also could have said "her", but not their) yes I am an annoying grammar nut.
Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum
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"yes, I am an annoying nut."
There, fixed it for ya........ Most of us are in this category but only a few of us will step up to it. Congrats!
__________________
"I wasn't born blue blood. I was born blue-collar." John Wort Hannam
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11-14-2015, 06:17 PM
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#14
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 249
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ziggy29
This.
It has to be *enough* about money that you can run the numbers and feel financially secure without a paycheck. But it shouldn't be *so* much about money that it leads people who "have enough" and who have "HAD enough" to succumb to OMY Syndrome "one more year" after "one more year".
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Right, but for folks to say "it's not about the money" is just wrong. It's always about the money, either you have enough or you don't
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11-14-2015, 06:29 PM
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#15
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Texas
Posts: 10,930
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Quote:
Originally Posted by petershk
Another factor I'm personally seeing is that once I was ABLE to retire my tolerance for BS dropped significantly and it's takes much more energy to "deal" with things. Instead of saying "well I have to deal with this" I say "wait... I don't have to deal with anymore... Why am I doing that again?"
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That certainly happened in my case but greed got in my way for a number of years. I put up with (tolerated) the BS for another 7 or 8 years after I was FI before I just couldn't take it anymore. Now I'd gladly pay back the money I made after FI, to get those years back.
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11-14-2015, 06:37 PM
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#16
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Chicago
Posts: 13,183
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Quote:
Originally Posted by petershk
Another factor I'm personally seeing is that once I was ABLE to retire my tolerance for BS dropped significantly and it's takes much more energy to "deal" with things. Instead of saying "well I have to deal with this" I say "wait... I don't have to deal with anymore... Why am I doing that again?"
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app
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Only you can answer the question as to whether how you're handling this situation passes the common sense test or not. The trade off between your time and employment related benefits is a tough one to measure once you've reached FI. But once the time has passed, there are no re-do's. The time is gone.
__________________
"I wasn't born blue blood. I was born blue-collar." John Wort Hannam
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11-14-2015, 06:50 PM
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#17
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Chicago
Posts: 13,183
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Yep. Were it not for the need of resources to support oneself and/or others, very few would subjugate themselves to the wills of others for compensation.
__________________
"I wasn't born blue blood. I was born blue-collar." John Wort Hannam
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11-15-2015, 05:01 AM
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#18
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: NC
Posts: 21,298
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It's too bad the OP misquoted the article with his/her title right off the bat. The article states several times "for many people, the decision to retire is not just about money" - and that is true for many, if not most voluntary early retirees. Retiring early means the retiree has left money on the table by voluntarily forfeiting additional years of income, and taking on more years in retirement - so clearly not just about the money.
And "enough" is a SWAG for most of us, there is no clear threshold, only a rough guess.
__________________
No one agrees with other people's opinions; they merely agree with their own opinions -- expressed by somebody else. Sydney Tremayne
Retired Jun 2011 at age 57
Target AA: 50% equity funds / 45% bonds / 5% cash
Target WR: Approx 1.5% Approx 20% SI (secure income, SS only)
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11-15-2015, 05:19 AM
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#19
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 35,712
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“When somebody says it’s not about the money, it’s about the money.” ― H.L. Mencken
How true! Whenever I quit a job, I was always unhappy about something other than money. However, it was really about me thinking that the employer was not paying me enough for that trouble. They could always bribe me to stay by making an offer I could not refuse.
__________________
"Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man" -- Leon Trotsky (1879-1940)
"Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities Can Make You Commit Atrocities" - Voltaire (1694-1778)
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11-15-2015, 09:28 AM
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#20
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Bonita (San Diego)
Posts: 1,795
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Amethyst
"By late pretirement (less than two years out),...Many feel that their physical stamina declines along with their mental sharpness...."
Sounds like people who would like to continue working, but can no longer hack it. Whereas, I would say they waited too long.
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Or they're unwittingly checking out of their job and thinking about their future. It might not be a physical thing at all.
__________________
"So we beat to our own drummer in the sun;
We ask for nobody's permission to run.
I just wanna live in a world like that;
Now I'm gonna live in a world like that!" - World Like That, O.A.R.
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