How many years do you work before retire???

[truenorth418]

Counting only full time employment since college, I worked about 23 years before retiring.


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[kenny1924]

Well, this is a great thread discussing what is the ideal age, and how does one feel doing it before the 'generalized official retirement age'. Well, we are all on the 'early' retirement forum, and hence will be thinking about 'retiring early'. US does not have an official age or an unofficial one. It is when we decide to transition from full time work to our next phase.

I call it Retirement-Career-2.0. I have defined what I am going to do based on my 'human longetivity' of 33.3 years (with a bit of luck and support from the superior being) and I could not use the word 'retirement only' since that is a LONG time.

I have worked since 1981 coming out of engineering school, and worked hard, and it is time for me to move to Retirement-Career-2.0.

Gandhi has the best definition I think of "happiness" which is what we are all seeking by giving up our careers, jobs, work-life and it is "> Happiness is when “What I Think, What I Say, and What I Do” are in HARMONY < "

These words from Gandhi is shaping my Retirement-Career-2.0 to something that allows me to wake up everyday, and be motivated from a health, mindfulness and heart-soul-harmony perspective.

I am sure I am triggered more thoughts for you, but I hope I am answering some of the points that I read in many of your responses.

Kenny

[Jaded salami]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evergreen I posted on this thread over 2.5 years ago, I can now afford to retire. I won't be rich but I should be able to maintain my current lifestyle with company pension and investments. I should be over the moon but to be honest I don't know how to retire. It is almost as if I am embarrassed to retire now! I really want to get out now but society tells me I'm too young at 52. Did any of you feel the same? Help!!

I retired in April at 52, I was embarrassed to admit to a certain group of people that I retired (mainly relatives that owe me money, that I will likely never see get paid back, once they realize that I'm not counting on it).

The reaction of friends and relatives has been envy. People will get over it.

[DFA]

43 years, started at 12 washing dishes at school, paper route, youth employment and more part-time jobs every year until joining USAF at 17, never unemployed until ER at 55 at the end of last year.

[gozer]

I started when I was 14 and only had a few month gap during college. So my social security report has 35 contiguous years of employment. Based on where I ended up and what I need to maintain my standard of living, I worked almost 10 years too long.

[jime444]

My total includes:
6 Years pre-college, family farm, 20-60hrs per week, seasonal, damn hard physical work
6 years college, engineering school, damn hard intellectual work and 2 degrees, so I didn't have to go back to farm, except summers
31 years in my so-called career, and about two to go
For a total of 45.
We're FIRE now, waiting/working for a pension cliff
It's been plenty and the last several years have been, at best, slow and painful. DW says good for soul; me, nope.

[Donzo]

total of 26 years - 23 at my career job. Thanks the heavens I was a saver, because I was done...when I was done!

[Car-Guy]

I had to stop an recount my work history. Let's see, while still in school I think I worked for about 7 years. Mostly part time but the last two years, it was closer to what I "thought" was full time, or about 40 hour weeks. After my school years, I worked for 2 mega corps for a total of 38+ years between them. That's where I learned very quickly that full time (40 hour work weeks) were long gone.

[gauss]

When I finished grad school at age 25, I worked 22 years straight, same Megacorp, until age 47 after which I have FIRED.

First one to get on board with me FIRING was DW, who's Megacorp still offers a large pension boost and retirement health care at 30 years.

For acquaintances that I meet who I reveal my retirement, I also share that both of us worked and we didn't have any kids so we are in a different situation than most. I find that this helps to diffuse the awkwardness while acknowledging the commitment that many make with child raising.

If they are inquisitive I will show them tricks like how I pay pennies on the dollar of what most people pay for cell phone service (via the likes of Ting and PagePlus) while receiving the same basic commodity.

If they continue to be inquisitive and I basically like them, I will refer them to this board.

-gauss

[TimSF]

23 years of full-time employment after grad school.

[Lakewood90712]

Excluding a paper route at age 10 , 41 years of work.

The only one I really didn't mind working at was 2 years at an old time real hardware store as a teen-ager.

Many were 60 hour weeks, so go figure on how much that adds.

Maybe " How many Hours did you work until retirement "

[Nodak]

I started as the projectionist in the local theater at the age of 13 and had jobs for the next 47 years with the exception of 6 months unemployment when my Father passed away in January of 1976.

[Bikerdude]

Full time employment 27 years. If you count the Air Force, then 31 years. RE at 52.

[Frisco Kid]

45 years for me. First job age 15 at McDonalds flipping hamburgers. making $1.35 an hour. Er'd at 60 first of 2014

[pb4uski]

I graduated college and started full-time work when was 21 and retired when I was 56, so 35 years. Luckily, I was never unemployed during the whole time other than a couple weeks between jobs.

I had worked regularly in our family business about half-time from age 16 to when I left college when I was almost 18 and worked half-time the last 3 years of college

[heeyy_joe]

Thirty-nine years, nine jobs, tonight I am spiking the ball. Touchdown!

[longranger]

Got first job at 15. Local appliance store. Have worked and/or been full time student since then, so 43 years by the way most of us are calculating. In my mind it feels more like 35 years as I tend to discount the years of part time work, most of which were during full time school. Full time 40hrs plus started at 24. Now 58.

[ggbutcher]

Funny, considering how many years to work before retiring was really goofy when I 'retired' from the USAF after 20 years at the tender age of 39. Strictly speaking, we could have made our mandatory expenses then and there, but it never would have been 'satisfying'. Indeed, the military retirement and some one-off web development jobs made a six-month period of unemployment very do-able.

I have worked almost steadily since that 'retirement', of late considering how long will it take to build up pension/savings to allow for 'satisfying' living AND coverage of the major contingencies, such as dementia. Oh, some would say I'm already there...

[2017ish]

Still anticipating, but should be:

Full time "real work" 16-17 for me. (add in regular half-time professional job while SAHD, would take me to 31-32)

DW: 30-31, including residency.

Add another 10-11 for each of us for pre-professional and teen jobs.

EDIT: Definitely not "Early" by this forum's standards, but we have not-very-frugal retirement plans. :-)

[Dan4495]

I'm 56 with 34 yrs on the job since college. Not counting pre-career work, if all goes as planned I'll retire with 38-40 yrs.


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