Poll: Minimum time retired to not feel cheated?

[Nick12]

I have two friends who each died at age 55. (I really miss them).

One was thinking about retirement, but had just recently gotten a job he loved (after being unhappy at work for many years). He died unexpectedly in his sleep during a visit to family. Never woke up.

The other was able to retire at age 50, so she did. A kind and gentle person, she had mental health issues, complicated (after retirement) by her husband's unspeakable act of shooting himself to death in front of her. She loved her family and pets, but, she suffered greatly during retirement.

Honestly? I think Friend No. 1 was the lucky one. The future was finally looking great, and he never suffered.

That's the way I feel and many others around me. The way to go is with no suffering.

 

[audreyh1]

I retired so young that I’ve never felt cheated.

 

[lakerunner]

Planning to retire at 62, and hoping to live(thrive) a minimum of 20 years afterwards. By our mid 80s, most of us are slowly falling apart, and are unable to be active very much.

25 years would be ideal.

My father retired at 62. He is now 87 and he and my mother enjoyed at least the first 20 of those years. The past 2 years saw my mother age greatly and pass. My father, who lives in New England is currently in Florida at a time share. He got there on New Year's and plans to stay until the end of March. I can see that physically, this is getting tough for him. But he has enough money left at 87 to pay someone to come in for a few hours each day and help him out.

 

[Jerry1]

Of course, I want to live a long life, but actually, the shorter the period (assuming you retired early), the more valuable the sacrifice would have been. For example, if I retired at 55 and died at 56, then that year was way worth any sacrifice I would have made to retire early. The alternative would have been to never have retired and to die at 56 - working until I died. Bottom line is that it was worth any sacrifice the minute. No matter how long it is, it was great to know the feeling of freedom. I went to school like most people and started working when I was 16. I also worked my way through college and worked in my profession as I obtained my masters degree. So, for basically my entire life, I had a commitment. Stepping away from that was fantastic.

 

[Popeye]

My calculus was simple. About 25 years to grow up, get educated, and find a good job. Then about 25 years on that job. Finally even things out with about 25 years of retirement. Anything additional will be gravy.

 

[audreyh1]

Of course, I want to live a long life, but actually, the shorter the period (assuming you retired early), the more valuable the sacrifice would have been. For example, if I retired at 55 and died at 56, then that year was way worth any sacrifice I would have made to retire early. The alternative would have been to never have retired and to die at 56 - working until I died. Bottom line is that it was worth any sacrifice the minute. No matter how long it is, it was great to know the feeling of freedom. I went to school like most people and started working when I was 16. I also worked my way through college and worked in my profession as I obtained my masters degree. So, for basically my entire life, I had a commitment. Stepping away from that was fantastic.

Yes, exactly! If you die young, you are extra grateful that you retired before expiring!

 

[Animorph]

I've known other people who retired after a long career but were cut down within a year. If I could contact them by Ouija board, I wonder if some would say something like "My retirement was so short I barely felt it. If I had known I was only gonna live six months, I wouldn't have bothered retiring. I'd rather have died in harness so my widow would have collected more life insurance."

If I knew I was only going to live six months longer I would have regretted not retiring earlier. No regrets about saving for retirement.

I voted 30+ years, but in the sense that I want that, not that saving would have been a waste if I didn't last that long.

 

[Omega]

I'm still working, and it seems like the more I think about retirement the more I realize I kind of like working. I'm just not really happy in my current job. If I had it to do all over again, I would choose a more fulfilling career. Something that I feel actually helps people.

So to answer the question, I would only feel cheated if I didn't get to experience retirement at all.

 

[stepford]

My calculus was simple. About 25 years to grow up, get educated, and find a good job. Then about 25 years on that job. Finally even things out with about 25 years of retirement. Anything additional will be gravy.

I like that "rule of equal thirds", but couldn't manage to do it quite as quickly. Finished school at 27.5, retired at 55, so I guess my target date to finish out the last third is 82.5.

 

[Music Lover]

My ultimate goal is 33 years of retirement which will match how many years I worked. I left just before my 54th B-day so I have to make it to almost 87.

My realistic goal is 20 great years (to age 74), followed by another 6-10 "good" years.

 

[TriumphTR3fan]

My goal is to collect as many checks in retirement as I did working. That will put me into my 90’s. Of course, I want those to be years that I remain in good health both physically and mentally. If that isn’t going to happen then less is fine. I won’t feel cheated as long as I enjoy retirement. Each day is great.

 

[ABQ2015]

I chose 20 years but I did not retire until age 62 so that would take me to 82. I have no interest in living to 90 although I've planned financially to age 95. My professional "career" was for 32 years but I've worked or gone to college or both since a teenager. So I consider 40 years working and 20 in retirement to be reasonable and a good contribution to society.

Several of my friends died in their early 60's either a few years after retiring or before retiring. As I neared retirement, I was worried that I might become one of them - could see myself developing some terminal illness just before I made it to the goal. They had good government pensions and no survivors so the taxpayers benefited.

 

[Car-Guy]

I voted for 20 and I'm already 1/3 of the way there... I'm really not sure I'll make it at this rate so I'm going to revisit the blow your dough thread for new ideas.

 

[W2R]

I don't really feel cheated, because I'm the one who decided when I could or should retire. I could have retired half a century ago with no health care and no income, and lived in a refrigerator box under a bridge, subsisting on berries and catchable critters, but I decided that I would prefer to wait and have a shorter retirement. ("Good thinking, W2R!" )

So, I voted "other".

I would feel cheated if I died before about age 88-90, but that's another matter and one that is beyond my control.

 

[Independent]

I don't feel "cheated" at any number. The universe doesn't owe me anything.

I may feel that, with 20/20 hindsight, I should have retired sooner or spent more money while I was working. But, I don't have 20/20 foresight. I think I made a decent decision based on the facts I had at the time.

I do think that saving more allowed me to retire at 59 instead of working till 65. So my payoff for saving came at the front of my retirement, not the back. I got those 6 years, so I feel that decision (the decision to save more than some other people would) worked out fine for me.

Yes, exactly! If you die young, you are extra grateful that you retired before expiring!

+1

 

[wmc1000]

I chose 10 years because I felt it would take that long to do all the things we wanted to do in our retirement lives. We may end up taking longer to do them but 10 years will have been sufficient if we want to pack it all in a shorter span. The financial aspect of it isn't a factor in feeling "cheated".

 

[swakyaby]

I know my father felt cheated. He retired at 65, then received the dreaded cancer diagnosis at age 69. After a year of surgery and chemo, it was apparent he didn’t have much longer to live. He confided to my mother, “I wish I had just 5 more years . . .” So for him, 10 years of a healthy retirement would have been enough. For me, 10 years goes by far too fast, so many things to experience. I would hope to have at least 20 good years.

 

[NW-Bound]

I voted "Other", because I do not know what I deserve. I already have more goof-off time than many people do.

Prior to full retirement, I was already working part-time and had a lot of time off for travel and leisure for 9 years.

Then, only 6 months after full retirement, I suddenly faced a serious illness that could have meant the end of me, or a few miserable years before death. At that point, I consoled myself that I was fortunate to have at least the previous 9 years to enjoy things that many workers did not have a chance to do.

I recovered, and have had 6 years of full retirement under my belt now.

How long should your retirement last for you to feel it was worth sacrificing for?

I did not sacrifice much to be where I am now. I had it easy compared to others.

 

[PatrickA5]

I retired at 50, so I've got 10 years in already. I'd like to make it until 80 (30 total years), but have my doubts I'll get there. Dad was retired for 34 years and made it to 97 - living at home the entire time. I don't think I want to live that long. His last 10 years or so weren't all that great and I think he was more than ready to go towards the end. Really, if I can make it 10 more years (age 70) of having a meaningful and productive retirement, I'd consider that good enough.

It's past my bed time. I might have a different answer in the morning.

 

[FreeBear]

Well, the financial plan says 36 more years of living, but we'd be lucky to get 15 years of healthy and active.


It's interesting that most folks voted 20 yrs, with many also choosing 30 yrs. Seems to fit the typical 50-something retirement age of most folks here.

 

[Retire52]

I'd feel good with a 1:1 exchange. I w*rked for 30 and would like to enjoy 30 years of R&R on my employer's dime. Won't complain if it's less because I enjoyed my job about 90% of the time, but that 10% was a doozy.

I aspire to be like the gentleman I met while living in Germany who pulled a twofer one. He was a retired 1SG (First Sergeant) who retired in Heidelberg with his German wife after serving 20 years and had been collecting his Army pension for 40 years. He was still spry in his 80s and I wouldn't be surprised if he is still living it up overseas. Slim odds that I can match him as that would put me at 108, but I've got a neighbor that still drives at 102 and never worked out a day in his life! So who knows

 

[cooch96]

30 years would be enough, but the clock would’ve had to start when I was fantastically young. Maybe 32 or even younger.

If I retired today and lived 60 more years... well, I’m not sure just how lucky I’d feel.

 

[brucethebroker]

How long should your retirement last for you to feel it was worth sacrificing for?

My own parents have been retired for 27 years, and while they are not now in good shape physically or mentally, most of those 27 they've enjoyed. To earn those 27 years of freedom, they first had to spend 35 years toiling in the vineyard (i.e., w*rking and raising children). I expect they would say it was worth the long sacrifice to get those good years in RE.

My question is what was the alternative to "35 years of toiling in the vineyard" Not having a family? Homelessness? Or just 25 years of toiling?

Isn't working just part of the deal (of life)? True, if you "Scrooge" out, you may have many regrets of things not done, but even a little bit of balancing income/spending/saving goes a long way.

 

[DrRoy]

Voted 20, but would like to have a year for each one worked.

 

[Mdlerth]

We have no control, but we know what we would like it to be

My question is what was the alternative to "35 years of toiling in the vineyard" Not having a family? Homelessness? Or just 25 years of toiling?

Isn't working just part of the deal (of life)? True, if you "Scrooge" out, you may have many regrets of things not done, but even a little bit of balancing income/spending/saving goes a long way.

My parents were on the old-fashioned side, even compared to their peer generation. Assuming fertility and premature death weren't problems (obviously neither turned out to be one), Mom and Dad were going to have a passel of kids, work for a living, and live in an ordinary house in the burbs. It was the expectation they grew up with and largely conveyed to their progeny.

If they'd never had children, I guess they'd have toiled for a shorter time and enjoyed a few more minor luxuries. But they were never going to be Kardashian-style conspicuous consumers. Even when us kids were grown up and off the payroll, Mom and Dad nudged their standard of living up slightly but not to the level they could have afforded.

Adding it up, their 27 years in retirement is approaching the length of time they had to work to get it. That's almost an even trade, year-for-year, not to mention they also were generally happy during those working years. It worked out well for them.

But not everybody gets 27 years off for every 35 they work, and that's the inspiration for my survey. Some people get a lot less return on their time investment; how much less would you be satisfied with?

I agree, working is just part of the deal of life. For thousands of years, for most of humanity working for a living was mandatory. But retirement isn't guaranteed at all. Not only do most of us have to "earn" it, some of us will earn it but be unable to collect. It's only very recently that we ordinary folks have been able to retire at all. Over most of human history, if you weren't part of a tiny hereditary aristocracy, you worked until you died.

What I'm seeing from the survey results is that for a few of us, any time at all in the RE sunshine is enough payback for all that toiling. For most of us, we expect it takes a good two decades of vacation to be a fair trade for those years of toil.