retiring at a young age

[henryc]

Hello, my name is Henry and I am 33 yrs old. I am single and I live in the state of Washington. I found this forum by accident and I decide to join. I am currently work in warehouse setting for a fortune 500 company since I was 19. I have 14 years under the company. I have a chance to retire at my pure 80 which is my years + age or 30 years with the company. Once I have 30 years with the company I will be 49 years old. I have a long way to go til I reach 30 years. When I retire from the company I can collect pension. I am expected to get between $4000 to $5000 a month. If I keep working I can make close to 6 figures. I am not sure if I will be getting married or start a family. I can retire at a young age but I don't know what I will be doing everyday. I don't want to just sit around and get fat. I do plan on traveling around the world. I want to accomplish my 30 years and have a chance to retire whenever I want to. I know not everyone have the option to retire at a young age. I would like some helpful information. What would you do if you had to chance to retire?

 

[Kaufmanrider]

I retired at 49 from Federal Employment, January 2014 with 32 years service (my built up sick leave added a year and military time counted).

Sitting around getting fat? I have more time to exercise/enjoy life now then when I worked. I joined a gym and workout Mon-Fri. I am down about 5 pounds since I retired. I wasn't overweight to begin with, just more active now.

Look into a hobby or two.

If you can financially handle it, go for it.

 

[jerome len]

I had no idea what I would want to do at your age. So, I'd LBYM (live below your means), save your money, be open to new ideas, enjoy life and then retire when you have enough money and pension to do something you'll enjoy more than working. Sounds like you've made a nice start, great that your thinking ahead.......When I was older than you I met and married the love of my life, started a new business, moved to another State and have had a great life......good luck with yours.

 

[wingfooted]

Hello, my name is Henry and I am 33 yrs old. I am single and I live in the state of Washington. I found this forum by accident and I decide to join. I am currently work in warehouse setting for a fortune 500 company since I was 19. I have 14 years under the company. I have a chance to retire at my pure 80 which is my years + age or 30 years with the company. Once I have 30 years with the company I will be 49 years old. I have a long way to go til I reach 30 years. When I retire from the company I can collect pension. I am expected to get between $4000 to $5000 a month. If I keep working I can make close to 6 figures. I am not sure if I will be getting married or start a family. I can retire at a young age but I don't know what I will be doing everyday. I don't want to just sit around and get fat. I do plan on traveling around the world. I want to accomplish my 30 years and have a chance to retire whenever I want to. I know not everyone have the option to retire at a young age. I would like some helpful information. What would you do if you had to chance to retire?

I wouldn't get too complacent and blindly extrapolate that your job situation or benefits will stay status quo for the next 16 years. Corporate America is changing much too fast for that line of thought.

You need to have other savings and income streams separate from a theoretical pension.

If you are released, laid off, the economy goes south, become disabled - what are your options then ? Life happens.

What other assets do you have . House ? Any debt ?

What about kids and a wife ?


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[FUEGO]

Hey, Henryc. Welcome to the forum. I ended up retiring at your current age (33) and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. I have a wife and 3 young kids though, so that's going to keep me busy for the next decade or so (well, the wife hopefully longer...). We've done a bit of international travel with (in spite of?) the young children, and hope to do more as they get older.

I'll echo what wingfooted said so well:

I wouldn't get too complacent and blindly extrapolate that your job situation or benefits will stay status quo for the next 16 years. Corporate America is changing much too fast for that line of thought.

You need to have other savings and income streams separate from a theoretical pension.

You never know when your pension will be frozen and you won't qualify for the full forecasted benefit. I'd encourage saving some outside of your pension. That might also buy you some freedom if you can't quite make it to 30 years at your current employer due to layoffs, disability, etc.

 

[martyp]

You have to have a life and interests outside of work. Then when you are not working you just do that. Plus, there are more volunteer opportunities than you could ever do.