Were you nervous when you retired?

[WestUniversity]

Absolutely! Reworked our numbers about a thousand times and also met with a financial planner/advisor. Everything said yes. Was still concerned about stepping off, so to speak. It’s counterintuitive to work so hard to get a job and to work so hard to keep it and then to voluntarily walk away from it into a untested future. All my efforts however paid off. I’ve been retired for almost two years and the planning worked perfectly. It was absolutely the right decision.

 

[Vacation4us]

My retirement date is fast approaching in December. DH retires 11/2.

As a nurse I completely understand where your coming from. I have had some second thoughts myself. I am making the most money I have ever made as a nurse and walking away seems counterintuitive to me right now. We move back to SoCal in December. I could keep my job and travel here once a month for 8 days with all the headaches that entails or I could look for work close to home at 50% of what I make now. Neither sounds appealing. So retirement it is.

I am nervous I am excited I am crazy but it’s happening.

Good luck to you!

 

[kingkarmann]

I was never nervous.
I worked very hard for relatively little. I have always been able to enjoy a lifestyle that fits my income. Sometimes it’s caviar, sometimes tuna. Both are good.

 

[msanniee]

I was quite concerned about anxiety after I retired. The opponent happened. I was relaxed, and began enjoying my life. I retired at 59.5 years young and have never looked back. Enjoy your retirement.

 

[Toocold]

I was only nervous about the large amount of stock options I had to cash, and figuring out the tax implications. It spiked a bit when the stock market became volatile. Everything else was relatively calm.

 

[athena53]

I was driven my whole life by a fear of being old and poor and by the mantra, "No matter what happens, do NOT touch the retirement funds". I'd planned to work till age 65 but my BS bucket was full at age 61 and consults with planners from two firms confirmed what my simplistic spreadsheet projections told me: I'd be OK.

That was 6 years ago and I'm in better shape than I would have expected so I've relaxed a lot. The one metric I keep checking, in addition to the fancy models, is average annual increase in invested assets since retirement; right now it's at 3%/year AFTER withdrawals. That tells me my spending is sustainable.

 

[nobody]

Left work in March and bought a house that I spent way too much on that needs way too much work. Then Covid became a reality. Got hit with hail storm, insurance only covered small percent of of it then the AC went out. Wasn't nervous then, but getting there now after having to spend an extra 21K on the house, right off the bat.

 

[Live Large]

Tomorrow Not Promised

I wasn’t nervous about retirement for a few reasons.

Financially the decision was easy since the monthly pension I was eligible to draw became larger than my paycheck at that point. Not going to deal with all the BS of working for nothing!

And before retirement I was working and living (at my own expense) in Los Angeles, 500 miles away from my permanent residence. Rent on a decent condo in LA plus flying back home every weekend was $3k a month. Retirement let me shed those costs.

And finally, there was a little voice in the back of my head that kept reminding me that my father dropped dead of a heart attack at age 56 and never took the opportunity to retire with Mom. I turned 56 in April 2020, listened to that voice and retired on May 1, 2020.

Now getting to spend my days enjoying life with my lovely bride ... just celebrated 33 years of marriage yesterday!

Congrats! We all are aware life is too short, don’t wait too long ya #’s good Firecalc - Time is of essence
Work Work Work Work think like Socrates take it Ez

Say, you love your work, that’s a good thing but ER is clearly an emphasis here , call it a day ~ early.

Nervous like kid on Christmas morning I like that too. Super early just before 40? Wow! ER indeed!
My last day really working was in May 2016 I was 49
nearly 50. At 51, fully cut the cord.

That’s what retirement Freedom can really enhance, time with family, friends, and fun! Albeit, Covid adjustments these days. Travel is mostly out for now although we drive to Cali coast to chase blue skies. No place like home I say...play it safe right.

It would seem you’ve tapered from full-time to part-time similar path I had so cut the cord - some work too long never get to this point. I’ve volunteered, run for local office, feel life full of purpose but specialize in leisure...but that’s why I worked, saved, deferred, early sacrifices - Bored of leisure? I’m Not Tired Yet!

DW has been an RN still works remotely but not for long says she’s ready join the ER group at 50.

Like this post #50 nice round number. Great ideas and encouragement on this site but main objective is ER enjoy your time your way ~ tomorrow? Today!

 

[maplefireseeker]

And yet, the thought of quitting work is scary. This despite saving too much.
...
Is this what it was like for you? How did you deal with it? How long did it take for the nerves and anxiety to get better?
I'd really like to be on the other side of this decision.
Thanks,
4RNB

Lots of replies about money. But, if I read your post right, the issue you're wrestling with isn't finances.

I walked away with a package one year ago at age 53. Like you, I was fully FI.
I haven't missed the work -- years of retrenchment had taken the joy away -- but I do miss the people and the routine. Those aren't easy things to replace.

On a forum like this you will hear from lots of ER cheerleaders -- it's the site's raison d'etre. But the transition is a big one -- you don't need to rush it.

I liked the advice from @MarieIG in post #30: take a leave of absence and punt the final decision. There is no downside in that.

 

[wildbilly]

I'm still scared but it's worth every bit of it. I retired early with just enough to make it as I somewhat frugally was; with some buffer. I feel extremely blessed that I have chosen this path. I see too many friends and family die too young before then get to enjoy much. The risk is highly worth it! It do drool a bit when a friend or such buys a new Tesla; It's still worth the freedom and much less stress

 

[steveark]

It's funny, I've got millions but I still worried about having enough at first. But five years in I have not touched my investments, my side gigs earn more than enough. We all tend to be over cautious.

 

[ronp854]

Scared to death, thrust into probable early retirement due to new younger boss and change in direction. 18 years in and furloughed with no notice, fighting for my 20 year "full" retirement package. Had planned 2024, sell all assets and hit the road in an RV. Investments are not near enough, but lucky to have a gov't pension. Cut nearly 40% if I have to take it now due to age, or 100% next year because of tenure. Been working daily since 15 years old.... Just want to escape.

 

[Looking4Ward]

Yes. I would run FireCalc several times a day. I really would.

But then one day I decided to do it. Pretty much based on the continued, daily results I would see from an obscure retirement calculator on the internet.

And here I am over six years later, spent more than I had planned to but still have more than I started with, and not regretting it for one millisecond.

Funny how that works.

 

[VungTau]

I could see the writing on the wall as my company at the time was in acquisition talks and it was only a matter of time. Everything ground to a halt and we all kinda waited for 4-5 months for the ax to come down. I was working in Shanghai at the time and I knew this would be my last gig. I had enough saved, was sick of China and decided I would travel for a year and then go back and live with my dad in Calif for a couple months while he was still alive and kicking! I did all that (really happy I could spend that time with him, he passed in 2018). I hit the road again and now find myself settled in Vietnam and will get married as soon as covid allows. Life couldn't be better. In short - do it!!

 

[stephenson]

I was giddy.

Then I was bored.

I’m slowly increasing involvement in various regimes to help with the boredom ��

 

[Retire52]

Yes. If you think about it, we all make a big "purchase" when we retire. We are buying freedom at the price of foregone wages.

There can be some buyer's remorse, but that quickly fades in most cases.

I was not worried since I had done all the worrying already in saving to hit my numbers. I was more concerned I might get bored but that has not been the case.

Montecfo,

the last year of work, I was working for 35% of pay since I was qualified to retire and receive a pension. i retired from the military with 27 years of active duty. so my opportunity cost was not as high as some folks. i could have continued for incremental increases to my pension, or retired and found a job that may have replaced my salary, though most retiring officers take a 25% shave from their earnings when they first transition to a civilian career.

back to the OPs question. I was not nervous to pull the trigger at all. I had, like most of you, ran the numbers to a death by a thousand spreadsheets. I had 2 kids in grade school and 2 in college at the time I retired, 3 years ago, but i had my healthcare and a wonderful education benefit that I could transfer to my kids available thru my employer, so that made it easier.

no matter how well you plan though, life throws you curves. if that happened, I felt confident I could always go back to work or find other solutions. after all, I wasnt going to lose my ability to problem solve just bc I retired.

 

[Koolau]

Scared to death, thrust into probable early retirement due to new younger boss and change in direction. 18 years in and furloughed with no notice, fighting for my 20 year "full" retirement package. Had planned 2024, sell all assets and hit the road in an RV. Investments are not near enough, but lucky to have a gov't pension. Cut nearly 40% if I have to take it now due to age, or 100% next year because of tenure. Been working daily since 15 years old.... Just want to escape.

Don't know if you've been lurking here for a while, but I think you'll find a lot of help in our ER Community. Consider introducing yourself more fully in the "Hi, I am..." Forum. For the most part (heh, heh) we're non-judgmental and eager to offer suggestions. Just recall that any advice we give is free. Welcome to ER Forums. Oh, and don't forget that YMMV.

 

[stephenson]

“...though most retiring officers take a 25% shave from their earnings when they first transition to a civilian career. “

This was not my experience, nor the several retired officers I hired - most started 20-50% over their military income, with better medical, better retirement benefits, etc.

I’m sure there is a wide variety of types, locations, education, and specific components of the equation.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

I got real nervous about 30 years ago when I realized I had grossly overestimated ROI and had not been saving enough. I changed that.

Later, as a contractor, I worked on and off. I am not sure exactly when I 'retired'. I haven't worked full time now for about 2 years but we are OK.

My experience is not common in general, but it is in my profession. All I can contribute is, take responsibility for your future, educate yourself and act...and be ready to make large changes when necessary.

 

[DrRoy]

I gave a little thought to partial RE before the fact, but went whole hog. Has been marvelous.