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Soon to be 56. Am I in the right place?
Old 11-18-2016, 03:08 PM   #1
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Soon to be 56. Am I in the right place?

Retiring in the next month or 2. It's been my game plan from the moment I starting my current job almost 30 years ago. I've been lucky enough...I think, to accumulate enough assets to retire in a comfortable, but not overly luxurious, lifestyle.

I feel that 56 is retiring early. I'm retiring younger than most of my peers. I always had "that 65 number" as normal retirement age in my head. While I understand that the term early retirement means different things to different people, I was just wondering in general...is 56 early?
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Old 11-18-2016, 03:12 PM   #2
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Early enough! Welcome to the forum.
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Old 11-18-2016, 03:13 PM   #3
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Anything before 65 is generally thought of as "early".
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Old 11-18-2016, 03:13 PM   #4
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I retired at 55 and 10 months best thing I ever did I am 58 10 months now.
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Old 11-18-2016, 03:13 PM   #5
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56 is early, but it really doesn't matter to us.
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Old 11-18-2016, 03:13 PM   #6
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I would sure call it earlier than average. I'll RE in a couple months at 57. Some of the reaction has definitely been "You're so young!".
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Old 11-18-2016, 03:15 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by beachbum061 View Post
Retiring in the next month or 2. It's been my game plan from the moment I starting my current job almost 30 years ago. I've been lucky enough...I think, to accumulate enough assets to retire in a comfortable, but not overly luxurious, lifestyle.

I feel that 56 is retiring early. I'm retiring younger than most of my peers. I always had "that 65 number" as normal retirement age in my head. While I understand that the term early retirement means different things to different people, I was just wondering in general...is 56 early?
Welcome to the Early Retirement Forum!

Yes, absolutely, at least in my opinion retiring at age 56 is retiring early. I retired at 61 myself. We don't have a specific age requirement. If you feel like it is early, then it is early.
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Old 11-18-2016, 03:16 PM   #8
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In general, yes 56 is early. However a lot of people make it out earlier than that. I retired at 52 but it was a law enforcement job that I started at age 23 and that age is normal for that position. And of course it has a pension.

A lot depends on how you plan to finance your retirement and what your expenses are. Do you have a pension, and is it COLA'd? Will it cover all of your expenses or will you need other sources of income?

Here are some questions that you'll want to have solid answers for before pulling the plug:

http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...ml#post1399715
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Old 11-18-2016, 03:20 PM   #9
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Thank you all for the lightning fast responses.

Just to elaborate...I've been a blue-collar guy all these years. Never realized until about 3 years ago how well I was doing with the whole 401k and pension buy-out thing.

I personally think that for what I've been doing for the last 30 years..."working for The Man"...I'm very fortunate to be getting out at what I would consider to be an early age.
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Old 11-18-2016, 03:25 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by Walt34 View Post
In general, yes 56 is early. However a lot of people make it out earlier than that. I retired at 52 but it was a law enforcement job that I started at age 23 and that age is normal for that position. And of course it has a pension.

A lot depends on how you plan to finance your retirement and what your expenses are. Do you have a pension, and is it COLA'd? Will it cover all of your expenses or will you need other sources of income?

Here are some questions that you'll want to have solid answers for before pulling the plug:

http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...ml#post1399715
I understand your situation exactly. My next door neighbor is a retired lieutenant from the NYPD.

As for whether or not to pull the plug...that decision has already been made. I'll probably be out just before the end of the year. I am lucky enough to have a pension. Not a great one compared to some folks I know, but a pension nevertheless. And it does have a buyout option, which I intend to take.

Getting out before the GATT and PBGC rates go up in January. That would take a bite out of my buyout.
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Old 11-18-2016, 03:52 PM   #11
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we did a pole on how early is early; 56 is early iirc

I'm almost 53 and I'm feeling the retirement decrement
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Old 11-18-2016, 03:57 PM   #12
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we did a pole...
I'll czech to see if I can find it...
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Old 11-18-2016, 03:59 PM   #13
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We are out next year at 57/56 and our peers/family definitely consider it early. (We consider it "early enough, but not 'early, early'"!)
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Old 11-18-2016, 04:00 PM   #14
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Go as soon as you are able and don't look back.
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Old 11-18-2016, 04:45 PM   #15
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Hey, I retired at 55 and they've been putting up with me for years now. So obviously a very tolerant crowd!
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Old 11-18-2016, 04:59 PM   #16
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I retired at 56 too. It is not too early...
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FIRE no later than 7/5/2016 at 56 (done), securing '16 401K match (done), getting '15 401K match (done), LTI Bonus (done), Perf bonus (done), maxing out 401K (done), picking up 1,000 hours to get another year of pension (done), July 1st benefits (vacation day, healthcare) (done), July 4th holiday. 0 days left. (done) OFFICIALLY RETIRED 7/5/2016!!
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Old 11-18-2016, 05:08 PM   #17
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I always planned to retire at age 55 once I had 30 years.

As it turned out megacorp stopped pension accruals and capped contributions to retiree Medical

As such, I ended up resigning at age 47, instead, and have not regretted it one bit.

I have kept busy with several volunteer positions on the outside.

56 is not too early.

-gauss

P.S. I would be real cautious about the pension buyout idea.
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Old 11-18-2016, 05:16 PM   #18
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I got out at 55 going on 2 years ago

Quote:
It's been my game plan from the moment I starting my current job almost 30 years ago. I've been lucky enough...I think, to accumulate enough assets to retire in a comfortable, but not overly luxurious, lifestyle.
This was my thing as well. I think that's why I was able to retire early. It was always my main goal. I tell people that when they ask how could I manage it so early. No kids, LBYM and save like you plan to retire sooner than later. Truth be told I missed my planned retirement age by 15 years
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Old 11-18-2016, 05:30 PM   #19
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I'd say "early" has nothing to do with age. In my book, "early" is before you are ready, emotionally and/or financially. I retired at 62 1/2, and it was right on time for me.

I retired last March, and I'm adjusting to it, but it's a joyful adjustment. I am still not used to not having to think about what night of the week it will be if someone asks me to do something. Reflexively I think about it and then I realize "it doesn't matter. I'm RETIRED!!"...I love those little moments.
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Old 11-18-2016, 05:31 PM   #20
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Originally Posted by gauss View Post
I always planned to retire at age 55 once I had 30 years.

As it turned out megacorp stopped pension accruals and capped contributions to retiree Medical

As such, I ended up resigning at age 47, instead, and have not regretted it one bit.

I have kept busy with several volunteer positions on the outside.

56 is not too early.

-gauss

P.S. I would be real cautious about the pension buyout idea.
Well, here's the thing...pension is about 32K @ year. Buyout is around 670K. For arguments sake...I put that 670K into AT&T and just take the dividends out when they come in and I'll get more than my pension and still own the stock. Seems like a win-win.

What are your concerns with taking the buyout?
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