Has anyone here retired and later wished they worked another year?

[Alan]

Hello hiredgun. No second thoughts here.

+1

I hung on for a couple extra years to qualify for retiree HI at 55. Lucky I did as I would have ER'ed right before the crash and would almost certainly have had 2nd thoughts in that scenario.

 

[W2R]

Just curious since I'm getting very close to my retirement (freedom) date. From everything I've read, very few people regret pulling the plug, even years later. Some wish they had made the jump earlier.

Seems that way to me, too. Although sometimes people express regret on the forum, this does not seem to be the general reaction to retired life.

With all the ups/downs of the economy and the unknowns (i.e. health costs, gas costs, brother-in-law asks for a loan, etc.), is there anyone who retired and then later says "I wished I would have worked 1,2,3.... years more" for the added cushion or just so you'd have more spare cash to do things you want to? Anyone?

Thanks,

I think that if you plan cautiously for retirement, you will not feel a need for more cash. A big discovery for some (or at least for me) after retirement is that all along, we have valued time more than we realized and no longer want to trade it for money.

 

[CoolChange]

I retired at 59. Things haven't worked out as well as I expected (health and economic problems), but I'd still do it again.

The financial key was that we had a significant cushion. My projections said that we could cover 2x our normal expenses. So when bad times came we weren't stressed about paying for the basics. Had to give up some expected luxuries, but getting out of the rat race was worth it.

I am truly sorry to hear about both your health and economic problems; but, I also want to let you know that I personally found this to be one of the most inspiring and reassuring posts in this thread: Even with (assuming some significant) things not working out as planned, you would still do it again.

Thank you for sharing.

 

[Goonie]

NO regrets here at all!!! I bailed out 5 years ago at age 50. I'd ran all the numbers over and over again, and every time it came out the same.....RETIRE!!!

I never gave a second thought to staying there ANY longer than I absolutely HAD to. And even the thought of any kind of job, even part-time, gives me the willies!!!

 

[easysurfer]

I FIRE'd in Jan of 2008. When the stock market melted later during the year, for about 2 minutes, I questioned if I made a mistake or not. Then I woke up from my crazy thought and now I say, retiring when I did still is one of the most happy decisions I made in my lifetime.

 

[FreeAtLast]

No regrets here. I was retired(laid off) 6 months ago. I probably could have retired about 3 years ago, however, I was already semi retired and a steady paycheck and health benefits during the financial meltdown kept me working.

Already semi retired for several years, my daily grind consisted of 4 morning a week so it just did not matter that much one way or the other. I just hung in until the job came to an end.

 

[flyfishnevada]

None! I get "health insurance" through my ex employer in retirement. They put everyone on a catastrophic plan and raised our rates. They "gave" us an HRA of $1200 but my increased premium essentially covered that. I've paid thousands out of pocket and I'm still $900 from meeting the deductible. For all intents and purposes, I'm uninsured. I'd have the same deal if I was working, but my income would be higher.

I don't care. I'd crawl over broken glass and give up bacon forever to avoid going back. I'll make due one way or another, but I have no regrets.

If they said I'd have to give up beer, I might have to think about it though

 

[Hiredgun]

Thanks for the advice and personal stories. I'm a touch more than 12 months out and getting a bit nervous, but I think it's time. Nothing in life is a sure thing

 

[obgyn65]

Like Mulligan, I intend to FIRE later this year but will keep a part time position at a couple of clinics, a few hours a week only.

I cant however, let go of parttime jobs.

 

[Mickslick]

Be careful of the "regret" disease. There seems to be a trend espousing the merits of hanging on for a few years more to increase ss payouts, portfolios etc... Yes, financially you will have more by hanging on, but you will never get back precious years of unadulterated freedom and options to create your own bliss. I also agree with other posters that part time work can become a very unfulfilling trap without much financial up side.

If you have the means and the mentality to take advantage of being free from full time obligations, then go for it, if not, then you better stay, however, I think the worst of situation of all is to be in a state of regret and second guessing.

P.S. - with DW's blessing I switched roles, bailed at 45, took over the kids and house, that was six years ago, the kids are now on into college and it has been downright extraordinary. Financially, we never missed a beat, and are on track for DW to get out within the next few years.

 

[misty57]

+1

I hung on for a couple extra years to qualify for retiree HI at 55. Lucky I did as I would have ER'ed right before the crash and would almost certainly have had 2nd thoughts in that scenario.

DH is doing the same. The other benefit to retiring at 55 is the separation from company clause that allows you to withdraw from a 401k without penalty.

For us, 55 is "the magic number".

 

[Alan]

DH is doing the same. The other benefit to retiring at 55 is the separation from company clause that allows you to withdraw from a 401k without penalty.

For us, 55 is "the magic number".

For me that magic number was 58 until I hit 50. I was in the office of the HR noumber 2 guy to check on something and he looked up my record and said, "Hey, you can RE at 55, which is a year earlier than me". Having that age suddenly jump 3 years closer was a great feeling. I think I floated out of his office.

 

[misty57]

For me that magic number was 58 until I hit 50. I was in the office of the HR noumber 2 guy to check on something and he looked up my record and said, "Hey, you can RE at 55, which is a year earlier than me". Having that age suddenly jump 3 years closer was a great feeling. I think I floated out of his office.

OMG, that's huge!! Seeing more light at the end of the tunnel is always a great feeling.

 

[Katsmeow]

Looking back it is clear that one more year would have been better from a financial standpoint. DH retired in mid-2010 at the exact month that maximized his lump sum retirement. A month earlier or later and he would have received less money. I semi-retired around the same time, going from a very high stress job to working at the same job but on a very very part time basis (about 10 hours a week). I had originally planned to retire fully but when I turned in my resignation I was asked to continue on part-time.

On the one hand DH has loved being retired and I have loved being semi-retired and the work I do now is much lower stress. When I think about what it would have been like to work full time another year it fills me stress and anxiety.

But, there have been some negative financial events all house related. We had planned to downsize our large, expensive house and buy a less expensive house for retirement. Two years later we accomplished all that but, long story short, the cost to us to do all this was about $250k more than what we had originally anticipated -- every possible thing that could go wrong went wrong.

In retrospect, had DH and I both worked full time another year then we could have absorbed all this much better.

That said...we did adapt. I ended up increasing my part-time working hours a bit and I will probably continue it longer than I would have had the house thing worked out differently. That really isn't a huge hardship since I find that I enjoy doing the lower-stress, lower hours work that I'm doing now. I will keep doing it as long as I enjoy doing it.

And -- bottom line -- Firecalc still says we are OK. The net effect of all this is that we will ultimately have a little less to spend each year but still enough to meet our budget (most of the $250k we lost on house related stuff we will be getting back through my work time work which is well paid).

So, financial logic would say that it would have made sense to have waited to change from full time work until we had sold our house (which would have meant about another year)....but I also know that would have been highly stressful.

 

[Major Tom]

I'm not anywhere close to being a representative sample of this group, as ER was partially forced on me due to a layoff, and I've been living on a fraction of what I think most here are living on. I live in a rented 300 square foot studio apartment in the SF East Bay with a cat, and have only my legs and a bicycle for transport.

The plug was pulled on me 3 years ago when I was 45. I wanted to be able to work until my early 50's but my savings, with the addition of a modest inheritance, meant that I could afford a basic lifestyle on a 2.5% WR. When I was laid off, I didn't have the energy/desire to re-invent my career within the same, or a similar industry. The chance to fund a basic lifestyle from my savings and investments was more appealing than going back to work, even if it meant having to live at a lower level than I had previously planned.

So although my answer isn't terribly applicable to your question, I do wish my job had continued for longer, but am glad that I managed to accumulate what I did so that I had the funds to at least support a basic lifestyle when the axe fell. Most of my former co-workers are a little younger than me, but all of them, including the ones my age are either looking for work, or have already found other jobs. I think I'm the only one who has the luxury of having all this time to myself to do what I want, when I want.

Yes, I know it's almost 10:30 in the morning and I'm still in my pajamas, but kindly get off my lawn so that I can go back inside and make another cup of coffee

PS - I just measured my apartment, and it's closer to 285 square feet

 

[rescueme]

I live in a rented 300 square foot studio apartment in the SF East Bay with a cat, and have only my legs and a bicycle for transport.

IMHO, it's not the "quantity" of life but rather the "quality" of life that counts.

If you are content in your situation that's all that counts. You need not live up to other's ideas of what/how you should be living.

Just becase one has "more", does it mean that they are better off.

My simple POV ...

 

[Zero]

..snip..
I live in a rented 300 square foot studio apartment in the SF East Bay with a cat, and have only my legs and a bicycle for transport.
..snip..
PS - I just measured my apartment, and it's closer to 285 square feet

In 1999, due to a failed contract situation, the company sent me to live in a 250sf suite in a hotel in downtown SF, supposedly a short term situation but it turned out to be nearly 11 months. Like you Major Tom, it was just my feet, and SF public transport. Loved it.

 

[Finance Dave]

And if you need the paycheck, it can be high stress.

That's the key IMO.

I'm note FIREd yet, but I've seen many a TV documentary where people do regret it...but think about it...they only sell TV shows with "shock value"...so I'm sure they picked out the worst of the worst.

IMO if you have your needs safely covered, and the risk is only to your wants, then go for it. Don't risk your needs though.

 

[frank]

My reluctance is based on the absurd interest rates the Fed (who should all be tried for genocide) has forced on us "solvent seniors."

+1

 

[Lazarus]

Looking back it is clear that one more year would have been better from a financial standpoint. DH retired in mid-2010 at the exact month that maximized his lump sum retirement. A month earlier or later and he would have received less money. I semi-retired around the same time, going from a very high stress job to working at the same job but on a very very part time basis (about 10 hours a week). I had originally planned to retire fully but when I turned in my resignation I was asked to continue on part-time.

On the one hand DH has loved being retired and I have loved being semi-retired and the work I do now is much lower stress. When I think about what it would have been like to work full time another year it fills me stress and anxiety.

But, there have been some negative financial events all house related. We had planned to downsize our large, expensive house and buy a less expensive house for retirement. Two years later we accomplished all that but, long story short, the cost to us to do all this was about $250k more than what we had originally anticipated -- every possible thing that could go wrong went wrong.

In retrospect, had DH and I both worked full time another year then we could have absorbed all this much better.

That said...we did adapt. I ended up increasing my part-time working hours a bit and I will probably continue it longer than I would have had the house thing worked out differently. That really isn't a huge hardship since I find that I enjoy doing the lower-stress, lower hours work that I'm doing now. I will keep doing it as long as I enjoy doing it.

And -- bottom line -- Firecalc still says we are OK. The net effect of all this is that we will ultimately have a little less to spend each year but still enough to meet our budget (most of the $250k we lost on house related stuff we will be getting back through my work time work which is well paid).

So, financial logic would say that it would have made sense to have waited to change from full time work until we had sold our house (which would have meant about another year)....but I also know that would have been highly stressful.

I could not lose that much on a house transaction. My house is only worth half what you lost. How did this happen?

 

[youbet]

ER was partially forced on me due to a layoff..........I do wish my job had continued for longer, but am glad that I managed to accumulate what I did

My story too except I was older and closer to planned ER when the layoff hit than you were. I was 58 and planning to work until 60 or 62. The assignment I had at the time was actually enjoyable with some international travel and work that pulled from my years of experience. Despite the fact that it turned out I was FI and therefore could call the layoff RE and I was having a great time with retirement activities, I did actually miss the job for a while. That was in 2006. I seem to be over it now..........

 

[Major Tom]

IMHO, it's not the "quantity" of life but rather the "quality" of life that counts.

If you are content in your situation that's all that counts. You need not live up to other's ideas of what/how you should be living.

Just becase one has "more", does it mean that they are better off.

My simple POV ...

You have a very good point, rescueme. Although I'm rather aware that my material standard of living is below that of most forum members, everyone of us here is unusual in that we are taking active steps to be (or continue to be) FI. That fact alone makes us a little different.

In 1999, due to a failed contract situation, the company sent me to live in a 250sf suite in a hotel in downtown SF, supposedly a short term situation but it turned out to be nearly 11 months. Like you Major Tom, it was just my feet, and SF public transport. Loved it.

I lived in a furnished suite too when I first moved to SF. It was right next to a BART station and of course, in the city of SF, you're never more than a few blocks from a bus stop. San Franciscans love to moan about their public transport but overall, it works pretty well. I think that in densely populated cities with good public transport, you're actually at a disadvantage with a car. Plus, the monthly pass just a few years ago was a very low $45 for BART, buses and cable cars in the City. Amazing deal. They finally got wise, and now the price is a lot higher but back then, it was an incredible deal.

My story too except I was older and closer to planned ER when the layoff hit than you were. I was 58 and planning to work until 60 or 62. The assignment I had at the time was actually enjoyable with some international travel and work that pulled from my years of experience. Despite the fact that it turned out I was FI and therefore could call the layoff RE and I was having a great time with retirement activities, I did actually miss the job for a while. That was in 2006. I seem to be over it now..........

Funny how we manage to get over our jobs isn't it? Even though I loved mine, I'm over it too

PS folks - please call me Tom. I have no connection with the military at all. It almost feels like young 'uns calling me "sir" !

 

[okapi]

I will never own a vineyard or travel the world,but that"s all right.No regrets.Never bored.Some days I have become an expert at doing nothing.I do not miss sociopathic supervisors,or idiot co-workers.Choice was easier for me.

 

[tryan]

I'll bet a shiny nickel there are more people who died - or had a health crisis - at work and wish they had retired; than retired who wish they stayed one more year.

 

[starry night]

Tempus fugit

No regrets. Retired 6 years ago at age 52. We spend 60% of our budget on travel....been to all 7 continents, 48 countries in all. Learned many lessons along the way...one of the best was from a Canadian gentleman I met in Kathmandu. When teased by his (former) co-workers with the common refrain, "Aren't you afraid you'll run out of money?", he replied, "I'm more afraid of running out of time".