Financial regrets 10+ years into early retirement?

[marko]

Be careful suggesting work after retirement because the retirement police will show up. I'm a reserve deputy in the IRPF (Internet Retirement Police Force) so I have to point out that if you are working then you are not retired.

Right you are, officer! My bad.

 

[ER Eddie]

It's reassuring to read these stories of "no regrets." I think that's one big advantage of reading this forum -- you get reassurance from people who've been there. Granted, everyone's situation is different, and you have to be smart about it, but some of us (ahem) are natural worriers and second-guessers. You watch the stock market fall, you hear the stories about people struggling in retirement, you think about the idea of not getting a paycheck anymore, rising health insurance costs, etc., and doubts can crop up. So it's nice to hear, "I did it, and it worked out just fine."

 

[GR111]

OP asked a good question and I enjoyed reading the insightful comments as I retire from megacorp next month. It seems such a “is the juice worth the squeeze” situation and every situation is so different. If you have a life fulfilling career and wonderful people at your workplace, it’s easier to trade a few years for the security of a larger nest egg. On the other hand, if you are pushing through the grind of a toxic workplace, watching coworkers drop from stress induced heart attacks, it might be easier to give yourself back a few years. Most workers are probably somewhere in the middle.

BL: Life is short, gone in the blink of an eye...spend your days wisely. Picture another commenter posted on this forum:

 

[Focus]

I retired at 57 in 2015 and doing very well but the one thing not mentioned much in this thread is health insurance. When I was thinking about it in 2014 the ACA plans were about $600/month for my DW and myself. This year I'm paying $1272/month for a bronze plan with $6500 deductible and it increases to $1423/month next year. We have been able to absorb the costs but have 4 more years before I turn 65 for Medicare so going to collect my SS early at 62 which will more than cover our health insurance until then.

It's a huge issue, and it's only getting worse. I now understand why people count the days until they qualify for Medicare. Are you taking SS earlier than you would have just to pay for health insurance?

 

[Shanky]

Retired less than 3 years so far, so my regrets may change in the next 6 or 7 years. Retired shortly after turning 56 from a high payed, high stress career. earnings were in the 400-600K range my last 10 years and I left a lot on the table leaving when I did.

Our retirement budget is only 25 -30% of my working life income, but we do not feel it much. Taxes are much much lower and we no longer have to save, kids are out of college etc. We also pared down on some expensive pastimes. (Yacht in Marina down to trailerable fishing boat for example).

In the end I some times feel a tinge of regret as I know I cannot make a really large purchase and just earn my way out of it. We lived most of my career without much of a budget because it did not take any effort to spend less than I earned. I would have had to work till I was 64 or 65 to continue that kind of spending. Whenever I feel that tinge of regret, I remind myself I might not be alive had I continued working. That is priceless.

 

[arch57]

It's a huge issue, and it's only getting worse. I now understand why people count the days until they qualify for Medicare. Are you taking SS earlier than you would have just to pay for health insurance?

No I am not relying on early SS just to pay for health insurance. I always planned on taking it at 62 because I am in the camp that believes our spending will be more in our early retirement years and then taper off as we get into our seventies. For example I am doing several major home renovations myself like rebuilding a deck when I am 61 and not something I would likely have the energy to do at 70. I know waiting until 70 increases the SS payout but after attending a retirement Xmas party this week and learning two co-workers passed before even reaching 70 says what is the extra $$$ going to do for you then. My wife had strong earnings and will get about as much as me in SS so she is well taken care of.

 

[Austin704]

I’m 1.5 years into ER which started at 54. Zero regrets so far. I do worry about health care, balancing income from investments, current 10 year bull market coming to an end at some point, etc. However, I was the money person in our marriage so I worried about those things anyway. Someone above said it perfectly, “you can’t get this time back once it is gone.” So take advantage of it while you can. If you struggle with what you might do with your new freedom, read the book “How To Retire Happy, Wild, and Free” by Earnie J. Zilinski. You only get one life. You should enjoy it with purpose.

I bought the book but haven’t read it yet. I was mentioned on this site a few times. Thank you.

 

[Austin704]

I retired at 57 in 2015 and doing very well but the one thing not mentioned much in this thread is health insurance. When I was thinking about it in 2014 the ACA plans were about $600/month for my DW and myself. This year I'm paying $1272/month for a bronze plan with $6500 deductible and it increases to $1423/month next year. We have been able to absorb the costs but have 4 more years before I turn 65 for Medicare so going to collect my SS early at 62 which will more than cover our health insurance until then.



If you are 53 make sure you have a plan to stay insured.

Yikes! That’s very expensive. I’m fortunate to have that covered for now.

 

[Midpack]

I retired at 57 and I probably should have worked longer, not for the money but to stay engaged, but I don’t worry about it. DW worked a lot longer than I expected, had I known I would have worked longer. I’m glad to be retired Spring-Summer-Fall, but Winter up North is boring.

As you probably realize, most if not all your same age peers and friends will still be working.

I don’t think there’s a one size fits all answer anyway, for any number or reasons - financial, emotional, physical. Some people are better off working longer, some are ready for retirement earlier than others...

 

[Stormy Kromer]

I ER'd 3 years ago at age 50. I like to do activities that require good legs & health that I may not have in 20 or even 10 years.


No regrets.

 

[Scuba]

Retired less than 3 years so far, so my regrets may change in the next 6 or 7 years. Retired shortly after turning 56 from a high payed, high stress career. earnings were in the 400-600K range my last 10 years and I left a lot on the table leaving when I did.



Our retirement budget is only 25 -30% of my working life income, but we do not feel it much. Taxes are much much lower and we no longer have to save, kids are out of college etc. We also pared down on some expensive pastimes. (Yacht in Marina down to trailerable fishing boat for example).



In the end I some times feel a tinge of regret as I know I cannot make a really large purchase and just earn my way out of it. We lived most of my career without much of a budget because it did not take any effort to spend less than I earned. I would have had to work till I was 64 or 65 to continue that kind of spending. Whenever I feel that tinge of regret, I remind myself I might not be alive had I continued working. That is priceless.

I can relate to your post. Once in a while, usually when I see or chat with someone who worked longer than I did and owns second or third homes, boats, etc., I wonder if I should have worked longer. Then I remind myself that we enjoy the relative lack of complexity of renting vacation homes rather than owning them, and the freedom we have every day. The trade-off was so worth it to us. YMMV

 

[HomesteadDreamer]

Where can you find that SS calculator? I'd like to run my numbers to see how it would be affected. Thanks in advance!

 

[Dtail]

Where can you find that SS calculator? I'd like to run my numbers to see how it would be affected. Thanks in advance!

See below for one example. There are others too.

https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/estimator.html

 

[scrabbler1]

Where can you find that SS calculator? I'd like to run my numbers to see how it would be affected. Thanks in advance!

I mentioned this in another thread. I used it as a check against the homemade spreadsheet I created to calculate my estimated SS benefit which included a whole bunch of zero earnings years.


https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/anypia/download.html

 

[eastnortheast]

I’m 1.5 years into ER which started at 54. Zero regrets so far. I do worry about health care, balancing income from investments, current 10 year bull market coming to an end at some point, etc. However, I was the money person in our marriage so I worried about those things anyway. Someone above said it perfectly, “you can’t get this time back once it is gone.” So take advantage of it while you can. If you struggle with what you might do with your new freedom, read the book “How To Retire Happy, Wild, and Free” by Earnie J. Zilinski. You only get one life. You should enjoy it with purpose.

With only a few very minor edits, I could have written the above.

I’m 1 year into ER which started at 54. Zero regrets so far. I do worry about health care, balancing income from investments, current 10 year bull market coming to an end at some point, college costs for the three kids currently in college and the two yet to go, etc. However, I am the money person in our marriage so I worried about those things anyway. Someone above said it perfectly, “you can’t get this time back once it is gone.” So take advantage of it while you can.

 

[clifp]

After 19 years, no regrets financially. The only time I was really concerned with finances was at the bottom of 2008/09 melt-down.

If I could have a do over with my retirement, it would have been to have a better plan as to what to do with my time.

 

[SpinDoctorTX]

Sure, I could have worked 5-10 more years, and earned a bunch more money, but I wanted to retire when I was young enough, and healthy enough, to do all the things I dreamed of doing in retirement. I knew I would be okay financially (not for a super-luxurious retirement, but I didn't want/need that anyway). After 9 years, I have zero regrets. I have enjoyed these last 9 years immensely, and my health is still good enough to do the things I want to do. Part of the reason my health is still good is that I started paying more attention to health after I retired. Having more time to exercise, more time to grow, cook and eat a healthy diet, has made a huge difference for me.

Amen to ALL of that. We might not have constant luxury, but we do have almost constant peace & happiness. Money can't by any of that.

 

[street]

Jumping off the corporate hamster wheel as a well-paid engineer 12 years ago at age 44 meant a huge reduction in earned income. Fortunately, I was able to join the family business as a manager and replace some of that earned income. The many people on this board who subscribe to the "safe withdrawal rate" model of retirement planning may say, "Who cares about income? It's only assets that matter." However, I stubbornly cling to the old-fashioned definition of 'financial independence' - 100% of expenses covered by passive income streams. According to this definition, I'm financially independent, but without much margin for error. Therefore, I continue to work in the family business and call myself 'only' semi-retired. BTW: I reject FIRECalc as an oracle for financial retirement planning. It seems rather risky to me to assume that the 21st century equity investing environment will be identical to the 20th century environment. I do have some equity exposure, but I definitely do not use the assumption of endless equity appreciation as the cornerstone of my retirement planning. YMMV.

Just my 2¢ from the chicken gallery.

I like your perspective and review of FIRECalc.

 

[SpinDoctorTX]

In reality, the job was tolerable; the politics were toxic. But the stress was definitely taking a toll on my physical and mental health. So it was time. Money didn't really even matter that much in the decision. It was time for woodworking, writing music, and riding my bike in the woods. Life now is quite literally a dream come true.

So yeah... no regrets. Except that I probably worked 2-3 years longer than needed.

That was me exactly... I loved the work I did, but after some changes occurred, not so much. Corp. America doesn't treat folks over 50 that kindly, so I left not long after I had my 55/10 early points retirement in. I'd reached my peak earnings around 5 years before that, so, yeah- a lot of money left on the table, but getting my hands on it would have cost me dearly!

 

[imoldernu]

At my age I don’t feel that it’s too late for an encore career

The fallback we didn't have to take, but a big part of the decision.

And this:

I’ve also built a spreadsheet that pretty much confirms that I’ll be a lot better off in my 60s and 70s than I am today,

The spreadsheets make real, what the calculators can't do.

Retired 30 years ago @ age 53, and no regrets. Longish story on the link...

Best wishes for the coming 40 years.

 

[FireFool]

I'm only 2.5 years into retirement, having retired at 55. My only regrets are: 1) that I didn't retire earlier, waiting for a somewhat artificial milestone (accelerated stock vesting, that really only benefits my heirs as I don't seem to be spending enough); and 2) that I didn't spend more on household services (mowing/plowing) that would have freed up my time when I was working - I'm using them now mostly driven by doing a lot of travel. Financially my portfolio is up 28% from my retirement date, net of our expenses these past 2.5 years, although they were up much more significantly the beginning of this past October - these past three months have been brutal. No shortage of things to do in retirement and am enjoying every moment.

 

[brett]

It is one thing to leave money on the table and walk away.

It is quite another to leave money on the table that you do not, and will not need, in favor of changing your lifestyle and making the most of your remaining healthy years.

I/we chose the latter six years or so ago. Would not change a thing, absolutely no regrets- financial or otherwise.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Our adult kids still keep telling us they get shocked reactions from friends' parents when they find out we are retired because no one else our age is. And we have been retired for many years now. I think our kids thought we were unnecessarily frugal in some ways growing up but I like that now they see what a pleasant retirement we have and that the LBYMs years really paid off.

 

[Adventurer]

I’m curious to understand how people project their spending. Do you assume you’ll need £xxx for the years up to, say, 60, then £yyy to 80, followed by £zzz? My parents, just into their 80s both retired early 50s and have said how their spending dropped quite significantly from 70 onwards, as they no longer wanted extravagant long haul holidays. Just too much hassle. They apparently spend very little now and want very little.

I suspect most people build too much of a ‘margin of safety’ into their calculations...

 

[Rianne]

I’m curious to understand how people project their spending. Do you assume you’ll need £xxx for the years up to, say, 60, then £yyy to 80, followed by £zzz? My parents, just into their 80s both retired early 50s and have said how their spending dropped quite significantly from 70 onwards, as they no longer wanted extravagant long haul holidays. Just too much hassle. They apparently spend very little now and want very little.

I suspect most people build too much of a ‘margin of safety’ into their calculations...

What a great thread. I'm glad you re kindled it. Same with my mom who lived to 93. She certainly could have spent more after 80, she was active and in good mind. BTW, she lived alone until 4 months before she passed. I think she enjoyed being at home. Liked to cook. Loved to have company. She traveled quite extensively before that, even overseas.