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

[REWahoo]

My former HR VP once emailed me that he thought I was too young (53) and doubted that "...skiing the Alps all winter and sailing your boat all summer will keep you satisfied after a while...".

That was almost eight years ago. Still waiting for the dissatisfaction to set in...

Along similar lines, the week following my early retirement DW and I took a cruise to celebrate. A couple we met on the cruise, also in their 50's, told us on the last night of the trip that I needed to go back to work - retiring at our age was an early death sentence. Eight years later I'm beginning to think he got it backwards.

 

[ERhoosier]

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

Ha

Now, how can ya post stuff like that ?
Lots of our DW's read this forum too ya know

 

[martyb]

My mom, who retired (for the final time) at 70, tells me all the time I'm too young to retire, at 55. She firmly believes I'll be bored out of my skull. I tell her that's actually how I feel about work.

 

[Meadbh]

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

Ha

Misogyny, anyone?

 

[Sarah in SC]

Misogyny, anyone?

More like hattery.

 

[cardude]

This will be my last year before FIRE, but I have had a couple retirees suggest that I not retire too early. I respected these guys, but , each of them had been retired 10-20 years. My view is that they selectively remember the good days at work ( going to coffee with the boys, being a player, etc ), but misremember the days in traffic, getting up and driving thru snow storms, etc. Anybody else heard these commnets?

Why don't you just ask the guys who told you to hold off WHY they said it? Why speculate?

 

[jollystomper]

Perhaps those who warned "don't retire too soon" simply liked their work and/or had hit a stress-free zone on the job before they retired.

My dad didn't retire until he was 70, and he could have retired by age 60. But he enjoyed his job, was seen as a great mentor too others, was no longer interested in promotions and pay raises, but contributed so that he was not seen as "dead weight". His work hours were extremely flexible, he was able to meet any of us for lunch at the drop of a hat if we were in town, he never missed any family events, and he and my mom traveled at the level they were happy with.

I have a friend at my Megacorp in a similar situation - he started at 18 and has 41 years. Kids all out of the house and married, his wife works part time and I know financially they are on solid ground. But he also loves his work and has a couple of software specialties his management still finds valuable. He is a diligent worker and works from home whenever he can - but if needed in the office he can be there in 10 minutes. His team kids him about "what exactly are you really doing at home", he just laughs and asks them to name a any time when he hasn't responded to them or has been late for a meeting or a conference call. He isn't going to retire as long as they still want his skills and mentoring and they let him work from home whenever he wants.

So maybe those happy in their job and working at the pace they desire might see that one can retire too early. There was another thread that discussed what your company could offer to delay your retirement, and I know there are things I would consider delaying for if Megacorp offered them to me.

 

[UserRequested]

My view is that they selectively remember the good days at work ( going to coffee with the boys, being a player, etc ),

Being a "player"... Is that when you chase your secretary around the desk and then have your way with her

 

[superdave]

Being a "player"... Is that when you chase your secretary around the desk and then have your way with her

I wish.

Great comments guys. The key thing here is I think both of these guys had more than a decade of retirement under their belt, and were not especially unhappy at work.

Being an IT guy, we are basically useless to a company after a project is finished. So I have no doubt that megacorp will function just fine without me. The other good thing is, once I pull the plug, I could just do contract work should I get bored, which I doubt would happen.

 

[Idnar7]

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.

 

[Dawg52]

My dad and brother both told me not to retire too early. In my brother's case, he had no hobbies and not many friends. He retired at 50 and became depressed, fat and died of cancer at 56. My father said "don't waste away by retiring early". He had a severe case of rheumatoid arthritis and couldn't do a lot physical activities, although he tried. So his retirement wasn't that enjoyable.

Both were gone by time I retired and I decided to ER anyway. I respect the advice they gave me but I was/am in good physical condition and have never been the depressed type. Been retired 6 years and have not once regretted my decision. Golf is a whole lot more fun than work.

 

[Bestwifeever]

More like hattery.

Sort of sad too, for both partners.

 

[lynxville]

First off the decision to retire is an individual thing that that individual must decide. It's what is right for you not someone else. If you can afford it and have a plan to have fun everyday go for it. I retired at 40 and after 5 years decided I was to young. So I started another career which I enjoyed and after several years became bored. The extra money and another retirement check is very useful. But I am still young enough to have lots of fun and enjoy my final retirement. The one big factor to consider is how long will I live, not how long can I work for more money! It's true you cannot take it with you.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

No one has ever said that to me. They usually say, 'I'll never be able to retire'....

Yep, that's what I hear the most, too. It sometimes sounds like remorse or cash flow problems, neither of which they are eager to discuss directly.

Excuse me while go thank my blessings.

 

[haha]

Misogyny, anyone?

Who knows? But to me it just seems like a realistic appraisal of day to day social reality for many retired married people. Especially if they are not wealthy enough to have plenty diversions

Ha

 

[urn2bfree]

My dad and brother both told me not to retire too early. In my brother's case, he had no hobbies and not many friends. He retired at 50 and became depressed, fat and died of cancer at 56. My father said "don't waste away by retiring early". He had a severe case of rheumatoid arthritis and couldn't do a lot physical activities, although he tried. So his retirement wasn't that enjoyable.

In both cases I fail to see how continuing to work would have been better. No way did you brother suddenly get cancer because he stopped working. That was going to happen. And if your dad was physically limited by severe arthritis that it limited his fun, how much would he have been happy to have to do work at someone else's behest?

Still seems like ER was the lesser of two bad choices for both of them.

 

[edsahara]

I've been retired for 4 years now. I do find myself occasionally "selectively remembering the good days at work."

However, I've yet to find myself, even for a second, wishing I was still back there.

 

[Dawg52]

In both cases I fail to see how continuing to work would have been better. No way did you brother suddenly get cancer because he stopped working. That was going to happen. And if your dad was physically limited by severe arthritis that it limited his fun, how much would he have been happy to have to do work at someone else's behest?

Still seems like ER was the lesser of two bad choices for both of them.

My brother didn't blame his cancer on ER. But being depressed because he had nothing to do, did contribute to him gaining a lot of weight. He thought I would be bored too. Many people think this way. And my Dad, like many of his generation, felt like you needed to work to be productive or useful.

But that was their way of thinking. Not mine.

 

[pb4uski]

I got the old "you're too young to retire" and "you'll be bored silly" from people. I'm busy enough now that I'm not sure how I found time to work.

Occasionally bored when I happen to have a slow day, but otherwise quite happy. I do miss colleagues and clients that I enjoyed working with and miss them calling me looking for advice.

 

[Moscyn]

I got the old "you're too young to retire" and "you'll be bored silly" from people. I'm busy enough now that I'm not sure how I found time to work.

Occasionally bored when I happen to have a slow day, but otherwise quite happy. I do miss colleagues and clients that I enjoyed working with and miss them calling me looking for advice.

Exactly my thoughts. What I'll add is if you have a variety of hobbies, financially independent, have a few friends whom you can spend time with and you also enjoy being alone and can keep yourself busy - you should do fine.

 

[Semiretired2008]

Sometimes ER or just retiring period is measured by the life style you maintain or feel you want to maintain. I have a friend that is 63 and is not ready for retirement. I know he has a large enough portfolio, but they like to buy new cars every year or two. They like to eat out at select restaurants 3 or 4 times a week, go to shows regularly, have all the latest toys, travel the world, etc. He saves about 10% of his salary a year and he does not like the word "Budget" - hence fear or for now a deference to retiring.

 

[FUEGO]

Sometimes ER or just retiring period is measured by the life style you maintain or feel you want to maintain. I have a friend that is 63 and is not ready for retirement. I know he has a large enough portfolio, but they like to buy new cars every year or two. They like to eat out at select restaurants 3 or 4 times a week, go to shows regularly, have all the latest toys, travel the world, etc. He saves about 10% of his salary a year and he does not like the word "Budget" - hence fear or for now a deference to retiring.

Sounds like his lifestyle is a little larger than what his portfolio will support...

I guess I would rewrite your post to say "I have a friend that has a portfolio large enough to retire comfortably, if he would only cut out all of the unnecessary spending (that he happens to enjoy)."

Some people value new cars, toys, lavish travel, dining out etc too much to make any cuts in those categories. I get it, but don't personally share those values.

 

[Semiretired2008]

Sounds like his lifestyle is a little larger than what his portfolio will support...

I guess I would rewrite your post to say "I have a friend that has a portfolio large enough to retire comfortably, if he would only cut out all of the unnecessary spending (that he happens to enjoy)."

Some people value new cars, toys, lavish travel, dining out etc too much to make any cuts in those categories. I get it, but don't personally share those values.

Something like that, but it is also the desire to leave a big chunk to his children some day. This is the part that I do not totally understand. He sent all of them to college and they are all professionals so should have no problem surviving without Mom and Dad's support...

 

[youbet]

As I mentioned, both of these guys had been retired more than a decade. My gut feel is that they may miss some of the social interaction, and the feeling of being a 'player'.

From my perspective, I am an aging IT guy working in a young guys field. Bragging rights after working 70 hour work weeks dont do it for me anymore I can't imagine that I will miss the 2 AM support calls

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.

 

[Midpack]

This will be my last year before FIRE, but I have had a couple retirees suggest that I not retire too early. I respected these guys, but , each of them had been retired 10-20 years. My view is that they selectively remember the good days at work ( going to coffee with the boys, being a player, etc ), but misremember the days in traffic, getting up and driving thru snow storms, etc. Anybody else heard these commnets?

'It's not enough to retire from something, you need something to retire to.'

If you're just escaping work because you can but you don't have activities planned, you could get bored or worse in time. (Semi) active/engaged retirees are happy, bored retirees may have been better off working a few more years at least - I don't think it has much to do with whether you retire early or whatever age, or 'selective remembering.'