Ten more year syndrome?

[Helen]

Damn, I'm wondering if I'll ever be able to retire.

We put our house on the market last spring and rented a townhouse 30 miles away. Our lease is up at the end of next month and the house hasn't sold, so we are moving back. The house is paid for, but we want to retire in the city and are tired of the commute. I feel like I'm taking a big step back. In addition, I was using money for early retirement savings to fund the townhouse, so I've lost a year of savings.

Like most everyone else, my 401ks and IRAs are way down.

The biggest road block to my early retirement may very well be high inflation though. I'm under the Federal FERS system, I can go early at age 56 (~4 years from now), but I won't get the COLA on my pension until I'm 62. With the increase in the national debt, I'm thinking we could get hit with really high rates of inflation. That could seriously erode the value of the pension. If I continue to work, I will get cost of living increases so my future pension will rise with inflation.

OTOH, I have no debt, a pretty secure job, a wonderful life partner, health, savings, etc. My job isn't horrible, and I like my coworkers, but I'd rather have my freeddom.

I am very blessed in life and I am thankful for a lot of things. But, when you work toward a goal and see it slipping away it's a bummer.