You don't want to retire too soon....

[Bigal50]

I get the 'you're too young to retire' comment too. Just what do they mean by that??

Retired a month ago after three OMY.

 

[urn2bfree]

I get the 'you're too young to retire' comment too. Just what do they mean by that??

Retired a month ago after three OMY.

I can think of a couple of ways to reply sarcastically and at the same time appropriately to this 'you're too young to retire' thing.

1) "Wait, did they change the law on that? I know you have to be 18 to vote and 21 to drink, what is the rule on when you can retire again?"

2)"Oh, so you must know something I don't about how many years I have left. So when is it that I am supposed to retire and how much time do I get after that?"

Puts the ball back in their court to explain themselves, rather than letting them try to push you into justifying your choices.

 

[Koolau]

If you have failed to manage your career so that earning a living and saving for RE means spending your time in pain and aggravation, it's hard to think of the possibility of RE'ing "too early." OTOH, some folks are very successful in being able to earn money not only painlessly but by participating in activities they actually enjoy. Those A+ career managers might indeed retire "too early."

It's an individual thing and 100% dependent on your ability to manage your life so that "earning" and spending your time engaged in enjoyable activities are the same thing.

On this basis, I guess I have to say I retired at exactly the right time (maybe a couple of weeks too late at the worst). I was enjoying what I was doing and getting paid bushels of money to do it. I'd long since gained FI. When the boss said, now you're going to be doing XYZ (something I hated), I said "No I'm not. I'm retiring." Truth be told, I DID, in fact, retire FROM something rather than TO something. Still, it has worked out well and I'm more than satisfied.

I suppose if we're honest (at least with ourselves) we would admit that there are some things we miss about our w*rking days. An obvious one for (probably) many, if not most, would be the social interaction. I discovered a surprise "missed thing" about my w*rking. days. I used to travel once or twice a year for Megacorp. I got to stay at nice hotels, eat good meals (on Megacorp), have the freedom (not just from DW and kids, but also from regular duties and responsibilities) to roam about and discover new things (again at Megacorp expense). Didn't miss it until it was gone. Yes, I still travel, but there is a different dimension to it. In the old days it was a "mission". Now, it's an excursion. We could argue about which is better, but I do miss it, god help me.

Still, I contend that my ER date was, for all practical purposes, right on time. Not too early and not too late. Never really regretted it, though I do miss some things occasionally. YMMV

 

[Redbugdave]

I think a big part is the loss of socialization. DW and I frequently go out to breakfast during the week because it is calmer while everyone is w*rking. We often see large groups of men, typically in a separate room or area. They are weekly breakfast clubs of retired local mega corps. They tend to relive their work stories and gossip about what is going on at the mega. You will see the at McD's and food courts at the mall as well. My dad was in such a group of WWII vets. While they generally didn't talk about the war, they talked about their relationships and past reunions. Slowly they ran out of members. I always thought it was kind of sad. I think most have a need to belong to a group and share a common background.

I think Idnar hit the nail on the head. You need to be a self starter and have a supporting network of friends that like to get out and do stuff, just like you. Some people are passive and some are active types. I think the passive types are the ones that sit around and the Mcd"s and tell their war stories and get bored with each other. The active types get on with life and have passions to follow. The friends they relate with are that way, too.

You could be sitting on a pile of money, be retired and hate it, if you don't have any buddies to do things fun things with...

 

[Arifriekinel]

You could be sitting on a pile of money, be retired and hate it, if you don't have any buddies to do things fun things with...

Half the reason I want to retire is to spend no time with anyone but my family and SO. I love my job is because it's me, my boyfriend, and the occasional client interaction, but all online. I never feel obligated to go out to some awkward dinner. I can sit at home, read my books, play my video games, and eat without people staring at me.

I'm terrified I'll get a job someday where I can't do all that, and honestly, it terrifies me!

 

[Willers]

For me it came down to a few things:

1) How closely is your self-worth tied to your job? Many with whom I work define themselves by their work titles and responsibilities. They might regret RE if they left before that changed. Although I am proud of the work I do I no longer define myself by that as I once did.

2) What are your personality tendencies? I have a friend that has told me he's not sure he could ever retire since he'd "watch too much TV, eat too much, and die early". I have a list so long that I might never even complete what is already there. It seems that whatever someone is like while working will be amplified in retirement, be that positive (or not).

DW and I actually had a discussion this weekend (over beer and wine) about what a day in our retirement life would look like. It looked really sweet. I'll leave with no regrets.

 

[ParFour]

A few months back I met a guy who had retired a year ago at 62. Mentioned that I was working on a 5 year plan to get finances in order and such, which would still have me out in my 50's. His response was simple yet prophetic.... "Just remember, the one thing you can't buy more of is TIME". Changed my whole outlook on things....

 

[In-control]

I don't hear people saying that they will miss work and I never did. I stayed connected and hung out with a few friends but eventually that dies out as well as our worlds drifted apart.

Currently I can ER but am working. I ER'ed for 3 months and then got a job offer that sounded fun and in the Higher ed. sector. What I noticed was that I needed a scheduled for the days and interests to channel my energy. When you are ~ 50 your still have a lot of energy and to just stop one day seems counter productive.

For those 3 months I spent each morning at the YMCA taking courses and the rest of the day volunteering and hanging out with my kids.

Now, 6 yrs later, I see myself working during the summer in the Parks department of my state(MA) and then volunteering/traveling the rest of the time. That will most likely happen next year.

 

[FreeAtLast]

I semi retired 7 years ago and fully retired 18 months ago. I was called by my employer to do some consulting recently. I am back to almost 20 hours a week, however, it is much different now. I can work from home, pick my hours or just not show up some days if I am busy with other stuff.

Right now it is good for me but I am looking forward to going back to just a few hours a week which was the original arrangement.

 

[David1961]

One person said to me to be sure I don't retire too early. He had been retired about 30 years and think he was just concerned about me running out of money.
I also agree that you should not retire too early, but the definition of "too early" is different for everyone. I ERd at 50 and would consider someone retiring at 30 to be "too early". But that's just me and I have no right to try to convince others to adapt my definition of "too early".

 

[DeborahB]

Interesting. I'd been laid off of a couple of jobs (and had been self-employed as an artist full time, years ago) so I knew what it was like to not have the structure of work - and I LOVE it. For some people it might not work. I am very comfortable with my life - except there doesn't seem to be enough time. Amazing.

This year I'm traveling a lot to make up for the past couple of years where I was ill a lot (and was much more ill when I worked). It's a crazy year but I'm loving it.

I do think it helped that my last manager seemed to not appreciate me, and I was losing my mind at work - and that I knew I had other things, many other things, that I wanted to do while I still had some energy. The stress was killing me.

What I'm finding as I approach 65 (OMG!) is that I feel there's a finite amount of time left when I'll have some energy, and a lot to do in that time. Next year, 2014, I will probably travel a bit less and get some art done. It's all a balancing act. But I regret nothing - except having had to work until 62 to save enough to retire.

Moi, je ne regret rien!

 

[cranberryjoe]

Seven years ago I told my dad I was planning to retire at 55 (this year). He was appalled, telling me not to retire too early fearing I would run out of money. He worked until 69, and wanted to work longer but was forced into retirement by a heart attack. His retirement years were miserable because of his relatively poor health and lack of hobbies. I, on the other hand, have so many hobbies I'll have a hard time fitting them into the day, and I want to pursue them while I still have my health.

 

[truenorth418]

Or perhaps they find hanging around the house with the little woman less than scintillating?

Ha

My father recently told me I was "too young to retire." (I retired at 47, am 49 now).

He gave as an example a guy he knew from his childhood who made a fortune from Prohibition and afterwards decided to open a gas station to pass the time since his wife didn't want him hanging around the house.

 

[In-control]

Seven years ago I told my dad I was planning to retire at 55 (this year). He was appalled, telling me not to retire too early fearing I would run out of money. He worked until 69, and wanted to work longer but was forced into retirement by a heart attack. His retirement years were miserable because of his relatively poor health and lack of hobbies. I, on the other hand, have so many hobbies I'll have a hard time fitting them into the day, and I want to pursue them while I still have my health.

I agree with you - I have seen my share of 50 somethings pass and being 50 now I am very aware of time passing by fast. I have three kids, college age, two graduating next year. Once that happens I'm out of the full time workforce. I too have so many fun, not expensive, things that I would rather be doing then working and draining away my years for no real reason besides $. Since I have $ and can ER why not!

My plan is to work during the summer at the parks department and then just chill, enjoy travel and my hobbies, the rest of the time.

 

[rodi]

Someone commented about the risk of being bored at home...

I am currently bored at work. I'd being doing fun stuff if I was home.

 

[RAE]

Retirement gives me the freedom to do what I want, and not be on someone else's schedule - none of my retired friends has ever regretted stopping w*rk. But we all had things we wanted to do that w*rk was interfering with...

Agreed. I retired as early as I could afford to do so (at age 54.5), and I don't regret it for a minute. If I could have retired earlier, I would have. I guess if you absolutely LOVE your job and can't think of anything you could do (in retirement) that would be more fun and more satisfying than your current job, then it makes sense to keep working.......but I don't think too many people are in that situation.

 

[galeno]

I love being retired!

We originally retired in 1995 at age 38. We had a very aggressive portfolio and an aggressive withdrawal scheme. Greed totally in control.

By 2005, fear began to assert itself. So I went back to work in Jan 2006 and worked until Dec 2012.

We retired again in Jan 2013 but we now have a less aggressive portfolio and use a more conservative withdrawal approach.

Looking back, we could have stayed retired. My fear was a bit overblown. But not withdrawing from our portfolio for 7 years really helped puff things out.

We can now use a less than 3% AWR and that makes us feel better in this super-low yield investing environment.