Poll: Minimum time retired to not feel cheated?

Minimum time retired to not feel cheated

  • If I'm out one day it will be enough

    Votes: 18 6.2%

  • 1 year minimum

    Votes: 11 3.8%

  • 5 years

    Votes: 7 2.4%

  • 10 years

    Votes: 28 9.7%

  • 20 years

    Votes: 132 45.7%

  • 30 years or more

    Votes: 71 24.6%

  • Other

    Votes: 22 7.6%
  • Total voters
    289
700

I'm going for 700 monthly pension checks...I just got my 12th, so 688 more to go... I also want to be the second to last person posting on this board...I'm pretty sure there's no outlasting FUEGO in retirement...He seems like he's got this retirement stuff nailed...

LB
 
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One single day in good health .

Just go to Hospice or a nursing home and see those sometimes in their 40's or 50's .

I have seen many die before retirement or living in extreme pain , on the way to the grave.
 
Mdlerth said:
I'm trying to understand ... what we think is a reasonable exchange between our servitude and our independence.
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I'm embarrassed to say that at first I didn't understand the question. After reading some of the responses, I still didn't understand the question. Upon further reflection, I think I've finally got it: the OP is proposing that a life can be conceptualized as a balance scale, with our working years piled on one pan and our retired years piled on the other. The OP is asking how much time needs to be piled on the 'retired' pan in order for the scale to balance.

The reason why I didn't initially understand the question is that I firmly reject the proposed conceptualization. Sure, my quality of life took a huge leap forward when I bailed out of megacorp 12 years ago, but that was because I hated practically everything about my living and working situation at that time. That wasn't always the case - some of my working years were awesome. And, the (semi-)retired life isn't all sweetness and light.

So, I'll just vote 'other' and move on ... :D
 
I voted 20 yrs but that's only if I know I'm going to die and reflecting on life.

If I just drop dead then one day is enough (because 1) I made it! and 2) in my mind I have retired forever and that only changes if I know I'm going to die.).
 
I have a hard time thinking in these terms, because I was never working for retirement, and my job, for the most part, felt meaningful and interesting, rather than some kind of drudgery or sacrifice for a later good. I also think that our time of death is something that is spiritually arranged and everything works out as it should in the grand scheme, so it will be okay if I drop dead in a couple years after retirement, although I'm not in any hurry.

To be honest, though, I'd probably feel some regret about not retiring earlier, if I died within the first 10 years. So I based my answer on that. I wouldn't feel cheated, though; it would just be a sense of personal regret.
 
leftbucket said:
I'm going for 700 monthly pension checks...I just got my 12th, so 688 more to go... I also want to be the second to last person posting on this board...I'm pretty sure there's no outlasting FUEGO in retirement...He seems like he's got this retirement stuff nailed...

LB
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I'm not even at month #70 yet. We both have a long way to go!!
 
kcowan said:
I answered 20 but I really think 25 is more accurate.
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^ this.

Also, I took the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) for my wife when I retired from the Navy. The premium for it comes out of my monthly retirement check but it is fully paid up after 30 years. I'd like to get at least one retirement check without that SBP premium deduction. Since I worked for several years post-Navy, I'll achieve paid-up status at just about 25 years of real retirement.
 
I’ve never really thought of retirement this way. I don’t see myself as owed any amount of time nor will I feel cheated if I don’t get X years of retirement in before I die or get to be unable to enjoy life due to health issues.

Having said that I voted for 20 years. I guess my ideal retirement does allow me this kind of time to fit in all the things I didn’t get to do during my working years.

I’ve just started to seriously think about retirement recently. I can see a path to an ER in 5-7 years. At that time I will be 50-52 years old.

I don’t think I’d feel cheated if I hit my target and then passed away at say 55 years old for whatever reason. In fact, I’d be grateful that I was in a position to retire in my early 50s and had those few years of freedom at the end of my life.

It’s funny but retirement planning almost always focuses on making sure you don’t outlive your money. But there is a risk that you focus too much on money while neglecting to realize that time is your most precious commodity.

The funny thing is I don’t necessarily want to stop working down the road. I just want a more flexible work/life balance that gives me more freedom to pursue my dreams. Maybe I can find a part time remote position in a few years that will give me that freedom?

I worked a demanding job where I was restricted to be in one small pharmacy all day long on my feet for long hours for 18 years until I quit last year. It turned out I left just prior to the company announcement that there would be store closings that would have put me out of a job. I knew this was coming and wanted to get a head start searching for a new job plus I was upset they were going to do this to me after working hard for them for over a decade. That job took much more of a physical and mental toll on myself than I ever realized until I finally left.

After being out of work for about six months last year I found a consulting job where I’m at a desk all day but working conditions are better. My time is very structured but it’s still better than before and I get to eat lunch now.

I hope to gain a little experience at my current job and have that experience open exciting new doors for me professionally. Even if that doesn’t happen I can see a pathway to being financially able to call it quits in a few years.

I’m positive that the day after I retire I will wake up and tell my wife if I die I’ve died happy. My only real thought now is that I hope I can retire while my parents are still alive to spend some time with them.

Making the decision to retire earlier than a traditional retirement age will give me freedom that I may miss if I keep working. For that reason I will be thankful for whatever time I will have after I call it quits. I will be thankful for all of my blessings and not dwell on why I didn’t get more time.
 
RxMan said:
It’s funny but retirement planning almost always focuses on making sure you don’t outlive your money. But there is a risk that you focus too much on money while neglecting to realize that time is your most precious commodity.
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I feel like I'm going through some of this ^^^. Firecalc has us at 100% but I keep thinking maybe I should work another year or two (etc.) in order to have more 'play money'. Or if I worked 3-4 more years, we'd have LOTS of play money. But at what cost? I'd be 64-65 years old by then and what have I missed out on while our health is fairly good? I guess that's the essence of OMY.
 
friar1610 said:
Since I worked for several years post-Navy, I'll achieve paid-up status at just about 25 years of real retirement.
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I think I will revise my answer to 30. We just bought a new construction snowbird condo, and all the work in specifying things and furnishing is going to need at least 10 years payback! Let alone selling our current one!
 
Carpediem said:
I feel like I'm going through some of this ^^^. Firecalc has us at 100% but I keep thinking maybe I should work another year or two (etc.) in order to have more 'play money'. Or if I worked 3-4 more years, we'd have LOTS of play money. But at what cost? I'd be 64-65 years old by then and what have I missed out on while our health is fairly good? I guess that's the essence of OMY.
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Good luck with your decision. I’m not quite in your position financially yet but I’m sure when I get to that point I will also struggle choosing what to do. I guess you just have to accept that whatever you choose you’ve done your homework and picked the best option for your individual circumstances.
 
RxMan said:
It’s funny but retirement planning almost always focuses on making sure you don’t outlive your money. But there is a risk that you focus too much on money while neglecting to realize that time is your most precious commodity.
Click to expand...

I feel like you just hit the nail on the head. Squarely!

This is why we have been willing to be retired now and are out living our life fully every single day NOW even if we don't have all the "facts" on how long we'll live or how much we'll need or if the money will run out too early.

No doubt most on this forum (and every single financial advisor ever) will tell us that we're stupid because of the "what if the money runs out too soon?" question.

We prefer/choose to look at the future and wonder "what if I die too soon?".
The simple fact is... that none of us know when we'll die, and i'm guessing when that happens most of us will feel cheated anyway because we would always hope for "one more day".

Rather than worrying about feeling cheated, why not change the rules of the game completely and live every single day now as though it's our last?
I can honestly say that after only 7years of living that way... that I am comfortable dying (not that I hope to) today or tomorrow because I've been living life on my own terms and without regrets... which means I cant possibly feel cheated.

Im not working (unless I choose to) in what feels like the prime of my life and feel as though i'm living my best life every single day.

IF we've done our math wrong and we outlive our money... than HA! :dance:
At whatever age that is, then I'll feel like we've cheated the system (and death) and can figure out the money issue then (or like we have all the way along, before becomes an issue). The beauty is... we'll be alive to figure it out!!
 
Mdlerth said:
How long should your retirement last for you to feel it was worth sacrificing for?
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I don't feel as if I sacrificed in order to achieve ER. Saving and living frugally is hardwired into me. Honestly - forcing myself to not save, and live at my means, instead of below them, would have been far harder. I'm currently in my mid-50's. If I found out that I didn't have long to live, I'd be pretty unhappy about that. It wouldn't be because of feeling cheated out of the fruits of my sacrifice though. It would simply be due to feeling that I'm a little too young to die.

I feel very lucky to be in a position to not have to go to work. Most people I know, both my age and older, are still working and living paycheck to paycheck. I feel very privileged to have already had 10 years of this ER life.

For this reason, I didn't vote.
 
I’m 55 and if I could retire now I would, but based on my expenses .. I will be FI in 3 years. If you retire at 55 , it would be fair to get 35 years of retirement until you get to 90 yrs old. 35 is great, but I think 30 years is minimum not to feel cheated out of retirement life. If you retire at 59-60, I think you should have 30 years. The ideal would be 40 years .. like retire at 50 and live till 90 yrs. But 30-35 years would be a happy retirement.
 
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Like RobbieB, one day was enough payback for me - although I've been retired since 2006, age of 55.

I loved my job, but the Big Corporations no longer valued what I did, so faced with more work, less pay, a salary cap that would prevent future raises (we'd only get 'bonus payments' instead), it wasn't worth it any longer.

My MIL had moved in with us and we discovered her dementia was further along than we had thought. We did not feel comfortable leaving her alone in the house - visions of pans left burning on the stove or forgetting to lock the doors behind her when she went for a walk.

I'm a Buddhist. We planned as best we can, minimized risks when it was cost-effective to do so, and for the last ten years Spouse and I have spent each day enjoying life as it comes.

We don't worry about how long we might or might not live. More important to live well, wisely, and compassionately.
 
I originally voted 20 years but after being retired for 3 weeks now, I feel I could die a happy man today. Retirement is an amazing, glorious thing and I am so happy I have been able to experience it.
 
i am on a disability pension and was not due to 'officially ' retire ( old age pension ) until the end of this year .

however as of July 1st this year the powers that be , have shifted the aged pension age further away until late 2021 , so far ( and this is without a recent economic crisis , Australia hasn't had a recession in the last 26 years )

feeling cheated is an ongoing process in Australia ( a retiring politician can claim 'hardship ' and start drawing a parliamentary pension at 55 .. even younger in special cases )
 
I may not have worked at all if I had the money to retire at 18. We have two other couples we know and see regularly who retired early (in real life) and everybody loves retirement. There's none of this existential angst or my life lacks meaning without work kind of talk I see in online articles. We all have hobbies and are club joiner types (that is how we all met) and are never bored. In hindsight if I wish we had saved more and retired sooner, the earlier the better.
 
daylatedollarshort said:
I may not have worked at all if I had the money to retire at 18. We have two other couples we know and see regularly who retired early (in real life) and everybody loves retirement. There's none of this existential angst or my life lacks meaning without work kind of talk I see in online articles. We all have hobbies and are club joiner types (that is how we all met) and are never bored. In hindsight if I wish we had saved more and retired sooner, the earlier the better.
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+1
Just don't get the boredom concept. Even if one had a high level job, one gets over it.
 
Retirement' per say' is a new age concept.
Few workers retired at all before the 1900s.
Thats only 120 yrs ago correct? 1899.
There were workers & wealthy from day 1, and still are.
Todays retirement ultimately depends on ones future income, inflationary concerns & ones debts.
Eliminating debt is pragmatic.

The financial industry elites enact the worlds laws, regulation, policies and guidelines. They and their future well being is paramount.

“Give me control of a nation's money and I care not who makes the laws.”
~ Mayer Amschel Rothschild & Co.

:cool:AFAIK

Good Luck!
 
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daylatedollarshort said:
I may not have worked at all if I had the money to retire at 18. We have two other couples we know and see regularly who retired early (in real life) and everybody loves retirement. There's none of this existential angst or my life lacks meaning without work kind of talk I see in online articles. We all have hobbies and are club joiner types (that is how we all met) and are never bored. In hindsight if I wish we had saved more and retired sooner, the earlier the better.
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I got bored in retirement because I had no hobbies or interests that could put a dent into the 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year of free time that I had

Most people’s hobbies are either boring or tedious to me

I went back to work because work was enjoyable even though I didn’t need the money
 
I originally voted 20 years but after having been retired for a little more than 2 months, I can honestly say that "If I'm out one day it will be enough" is probably more appropriate. I was one of those folks that didn't think they'd ever be able to retire. It seemed like retirement was something other people got to do. The past 2+ months have been the most glorious days of my life and if someone told me I was going to die tomorrow, I'd die a happy, satisfied man.
 
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