Many Retirees Wish They Left Workforce Earlier

[athena53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnIntentionalRoad I wonder how many people retire and then wish they hadn't so soon? The answer is probably more informative, IE near 0%.

Maybe on this Board but not in the general population. Many people who retire early just give up when they lose one job in their 50s or 60s and can't find another. I suppose I could have fallen into that category- I wanted to work till 65, job went sour at 61 and I walked out and decided I didn't feel like looking for another job- but I had the resources to ER.

Then there are the ones who retire thinking they'll be fine with SS and $100,000 in the 401(k) and slowly burn through their savings when major expenses such as roof replacements or unreimbursed medical expenses come up. That pension that looked pretty sweet back in 1995 doesn't buy what it used to. When I see people in their 70s working in minimum-wage jobs- handing out samples in the grocery store or working the cash register at Target- I wonder if they're working because they want to or they have to.

[Jay_Gatsby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnIntentionalRoad I wonder how many people retire and then wish they hadn't so soon? The answer is probably more informative, IE near 0%. Sent from my SM-T237P using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

Actually, it's probably higher than you think. Many folks engage in meticulous planning to retire at the earliest opportunity, only to have the market screw things up for them down the road. This is why a cushion is necessary (and why many are paranoid = OMY syndrome).

[Travelwanted]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jay_Gatsby It's not that they didn't know - they did - but they just didn't care to think that far ahead (or even think about it at all). It takes a great deal of discipline to save money to FIRE, which is why most people can't/won't do it.

I think most don't have the discipline. Those of us with OMY syndrome mostly have fear. I think about it constantly. I have saved and prepared. Only time will really tell if we had enough or not. For many of us that takes a huge leap of faith, particularly if you have others depending on you! Its a bet you don't want to lose. You can run every calculator under the sun but there is just no guarantee. And, if you are wrong, you likely won't know for decades! Yikes.

[robnplunder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then. If we had retired four or five years earlier, we might look back now and wish we had worked four or five more years.

I am sure there are retirees falling into this category, more than they care to admit.

[LinCella]

I retired at 54 as soon I reached a pension that I could accept. It's not a huge amount but it covers my basic costs and some for savings but the freedom it has brought me is priceless.

[AnIntentionalRoad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jay_Gatsby Actually, it's probably higher than you think. Many folks engage in meticulous planning to retire at the earliest opportunity, only to have the market screw things up for them down the road. This is why a cushion is necessary (and why many are paranoid = OMY syndrome).

But do they really wish they hadn't retired so soon? I don't know the answer but imagine most people compensate by poor financial luck by reducing lifestyle expenses and/or take PT jobs to make ends meet. They don't end their retirements and go back to careers--at least nobody I know had ever done this for financial reasons.


Sent from my SM-T237P using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

[RAE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LinCella I retired at 54 as soon I reached a pension that I could accept. It's not a huge amount but it covers my basic costs and some for savings but the freedom it has brought me is priceless.

+1. Same thing with me. I retired at 54.5, which is when I could get an early-out retirement with a reasonable pension. I took a slight penalty for retiring a bit before the age where I could get the full pension, but I have absolutely no regrets - as you say, the freedom gained was well worth it.

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then. If we had retired four or five years earlier, we might look back now and wish we had worked four or five more years.

I met a couple like that, they had retired 10 years previous to a cheap State, but were complaining about the cost of medical issues.
Basically it sounded like they had failed at doing the math.

[Sunset]

I basically didn't think of retirement, until friends of mine told me they were planning to retire. It made me find this site, do firecalc, and realize I should have retired a few years earlier... oops

[scrinch]

The surprising results from that survey to me is that less than half of retirees wished they had retired earlier. That means that more than half either were happy with their retirement age, or wished they had worked longer.

[petershk]

My personal experience is that the flexibility of the number is more important than the size of the number.... Until the number gets really big.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

[scrabbler1]

I retired 6 years ago at 45, which was at least 5 years earlier than I thought I could retire. So, my answer to that survey would be "No," of course, but not for the typical reasons. Then again, I am an outlier in so many ways, why not here, too?

[flyingaway]

For those of us with kids, I do not worry about leaving too much money behind. I worry more about not having enough down the road in 40 years. If I retire, I will not come back to work in any form. (Does it make sense when you can work one more year now to kill the possibility to work 10 years at Walmart in your 70s.)

[Jay_Gatsby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnIntentionalRoad But do they really wish they hadn't retired so soon? I don't know the answer but imagine most people compensate by poor financial luck by reducing lifestyle expenses and/or take PT jobs to make ends meet. They don't end their retirements and go back to careers--at least nobody I know had ever done this for financial reasons. Sent from my SM-T237P using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

Some would say taking a part-time job is ending your retirement. Others would say that it gets you out of the house, teaches you new skills, keeps your mind sharp, etc...

OMY seems to be the most logical way to obviate the need for such a part-time job, simply because you would receive close to minimum wage as a part-time employee. Savings derived from OMY of compensation during one's peak earning years could translate to up to 10 years' worth of part-time earnings (which is probably average tenure of someone who discovers at ~65-70 years old that their money will run out).

[Big_Hitter]

thanks for posting this

[longranger]

At 58 planning on 1.5 OMYs. Firecalc etc. says 100% now. Working only for the cushion. Will be 60 if the plan holds. Sure hope I don't regret the next 18 months.

[purplesky]

Generous vacation time at some megacorp probably keeps OMY workers around.

With 7 weeks of paid vacation time plus easy voluntary layoff available on a weekly basis I have many coworkers who take off work to recharge or take month long trips.
Its not the same as retiring obviously but its enough time off to travel and really cover some ground.

Vacation time is not discussed much on here but I bet for some OMY people it makes the decision more difficult if they get a lot of paid time off.

It definitely makes retiring earlier more complicated.

[Big_Hitter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by purplesky Vacation time is not discussed much on here but I bet for some OMY people it makes the decision more difficult if they get a lot of paid time off.

wouldn't matter in my profession, it's extremely difficult to take more than one week off at a time or more than 3 to 4 weeks off a year

[Jay_Gatsby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big_Hitter wouldn't matter in my profession, it's extremely difficult to take more than one week off at a time or more than 3 to 4 weeks off a year

Many companies have gone to the use-it-or-lose-it (or unlimited) vacation model so they don't have to carry the accrued vacation time on their books as a liability. The problem is that people often don't take their vacation and don't get paid for the time they didn't take - a win/win for the company!

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jay_Gatsby The problem is that people often don't take their vacation and don't get paid for the time they didn't take - a win/win for the company!

The president of my old company once asked, "If you can't manage to take all your vacation, what kind of a manager are you?" I found a way to take every - last - day.