The courage to pull the trigger

[Milton]

So, logically you know that no one lives forever, but have you actually grasped that fact on a personal, emotional level? Just a thought.

A valid point. Quite a few people decide to retire only after a work colleague suddenly 'dies in harness'. Something like that drives it home that our lifetime is finite.

Suggestion: a brief visit to a local hospice or nursing home would make the same point, in a visceral fashion.

Also, have you accomplished what you wanted to accomplish in your career, or do you still have grand plans of big ideas that you want and need to implement, that will make an significant impact on the world? I think that aspect makes a huge difference and should not be ignored.

At the risk of being cynical: I suspect that for the great majority of people, work pretty quickly becomes merely a way to earn a livelihood, and there is no real sense of "mak(ing) a significant impact on the world".

 

[W2R]

At the risk of being cynical: I suspect that for the great majority of people, work pretty quickly becomes merely a way to earn a livelihood, and there is no real sense of "mak(ing) a significant impact on the world".

Good point, and I know I felt that way, too. However I suppose there are a few people out there who feel like they just aren't done quite yet.

 

[OldPro]

I see this is a relatively older post that has resurfaced. I wasn't around for the first round of responses but will comment now.

To me it seems to be a very simple question that was asked with a very simple answer.

Question: "Perhaps you can help me with what made you pull the trigger?"
Answer: "I wanted to pull the trigger."

What more is there that needs to be said?

 

[Milton]

We human beings are complex creatures, with multiple conflicting emotions.

Retiring from a reasonably well-paying job is typically a 'one-way street', and so counts as one of life's major life decisions. Most people feel uncomfortable taking such a leap impulsively.

 

[OldPro]

I would certainly agree that it is not something to be done impulsively Milton. But having sat down, figured out your numbers and concluded you can afford to retire and determining that you want to retire, what is there to think about after that?

If you can and you want to, that's all there really is to it. I think what you are probably really getting at with "we human beings are complex creatures, with multiple conflicting emotions" and "uncomfortable", is the fear of failure. The 'what if' syndrome. The 'paralysis by analysis' syndrome. etc.

The rational part of the decision is easy, it is the MAKING and ENACTING of the decision that some people find difficult. Some people cannot separate emotion from the rational and can easily come up with words like 'impulsive' to self-justify that inability.

What is 'impulsive'? If someone is thinking about it for a year and then one day says, 'OK, that's it, I'm handing in my resignation tomorrow.' Is that impulsive? I don't think so. It took them a YEAR to make the decision they could have in fact made on day one of that year. The rational part took a day, the MAKING the decision part took a year.

 

[Shawn]

Retiring from a reasonably well-paying job is typically a 'one-way street', and so counts as one of life's major life decisions. Most people feel uncomfortable taking such a leap impulsively.

I agree.

For me, "the courage to pull the trigger" has been a lot more complicated than simply having the ability and desire to retire. At 56, I've been in OMY syndrome for the last 3-4 years. In fact, I could have retired more than 10 years ago with the same standard of living that I have today. The ability is there. The desire is there. But something is missing. What's missing is knowledge of the future.

If I retire today, my available retirement income before taxes (pension + WR + future SS) will be over 15 times what I need for my base expenses. If I work until 60, it will be 22 times. This sounds like a lot, and it is, but it's based on low base expenses.

More significantly, this doesn't include unexpected expenses that may - or may not - develop in the future. What about the long-term care needs of family members (e.g., mother, step-mother, near destitute brother)? Nursing home care could be $50K-100K/yr. What about pets/animals? I've spent $100K in veterinary bills for my own pets and the pets of friends during the last 10 years. What about the needs of friends? I almost loaned an ex-girlfriend $250K last year so she could buy out her brother's share of their parents house after her parents passed away. While that didn't materialize, she expressed relief that I was there to help if needed. What about me? Do I want to move into a McMansion, summit Mt. Everest, or take a sub-orbital space flight? These things aren't cheap.

It's often argued that time is greater than money. While there's a lot of truth to this, it's not absolute. Money can do a lot.

Currently, I'm paying the college expenses of a friend's 16-year old niece in the Philippines. She's a 1st year nursing student at a 4-year college. I also got her a laptop for school and paid her medical bills when she was hospitalized with dengue fever a few months ago. They want money upfront in the Philippines. No money. No hospital.

This young woman would not be able to go to college in an effort to improve her situation if I had retired 10 years ago without the extra resources to help. So while I might not be able to change the entire world, my decision not to retire back then means that I can change the world of this one person today. And to be clear, there is no altruistic motive here. I'm selfish. I'm doing this because it makes ME feel good.

I have more than enough resources to retire today, but I'll have even more resources if I retire tomorrow. Such resources could be put to good use. They may be needed for unexpected events. The future is not known.

Of course, this is and always will be true. Does it mean I should work until 90? Perhaps, but probably not. In fact, I'm currently going through one of those extra miserable periods at work that crop up every now and then. Unfortunately, more now than then. I may leave in the next month or two. But if I leave, there's no turning back. It's a one-way street. I'll be giving up something that may be needed for an uncertain future.

So for me, it's more complicated than simply having enough.

 

[MuirWannabe]

I agree.

For me, "the courage to pull the trigger" has been a lot more complicated than simply having the ability and desire to retire. At 56, I've been in OMY syndrome for the last 3-4 years. In fact, I could have retired more than 10 years ago with the same standard of living that I have today. The ability is there. The desire is there. But something is missing. What's missing is knowledge of the future.

If I retire today, my available retirement income before taxes (pension + WR + future SS) will be over 15 times what I need for my base expenses. If I work until 60, it will be 22 times. This sounds like a lot, and it is, but it's based on low base expenses.

More significantly, this doesn't include unexpected expenses that may - or may not - develop in the future. What about the long-term care needs of family members (e.g., mother, step-mother, near destitute brother)? Nursing home care could be $50K-100K/yr. What about pets/animals? I've spent $100K in veterinary bills for my own pets and the pets of friends during the last 10 years. What about the needs of friends? I almost loaned an ex-girlfriend $250K last year so she could buy out her brother's share of their parents house after her parents passed away. While that didn't materialize, she expressed relief that I was there to help if needed. What about me? Do I want to move into a McMansion, summit Mt. Everest, or take a sub-orbital space flight? These things aren't cheap.

It's often argued that time is greater than money. While there's a lot of truth to this, it's not absolute. Money can do a lot.

Currently, I'm paying the college expenses of a friend's 16-year old niece in the Philippines. She's a 1st year nursing student at a 4-year college. I also got her a laptop for school and paid her medical bills when she was hospitalized with dengue fever a few months ago. They want money upfront in the Philippines. No money. No hospital.

This young woman would not be able to go to college in an effort to improve her situation if I had retired 10 years ago without the extra resources to help. So while I might not be able to change the entire world, my decision not to retire back then means that I can change the world of this one person today. And to be clear, there is no altruistic motive here. I'm selfish. I'm doing this because it makes ME feel good.

I have more than enough resources to retire today, but I'll have even more resources if I retire tomorrow. Such resources could be put to good use. They may be needed for unexpected events. The future is not known.

Of course, this is and always will be true. Does it mean I should work until 90? Perhaps, but probably not. In fact, I'm currently going through one of those extra miserable periods at work that crop up every now and then. Unfortunately, more now than then. I may leave in the next month or two. But if I leave, there's no turning back. It's a one-way street. I'll be giving up something that may be needed for an uncertain future.

So for me, it's more complicated than simply having enough.

Shawn,
Makes total sense to me. And I admire your choices with how you use your money. Not to say I spend mine in exactly similar ways cause I don't. But I certainly get where you're coming from. There are many considerations before pulling that final plug at the job.
Muir


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[Teacher Terry]

If you can afford to retire I would certainly do so. I had a close friend die at 59 and never got to retire. Right now I have 3 more friends in the same boat-all early 60's. Sure chances are you will live a long time but what if you don't? This is a valid argument for retirement if you can afford it.

 

[LazyDaze]

Glad to see this post come back to life. I had plenty of courage to pull the trigger as the work environment had become toxic. An organization change would have me working for a new borderline psychopath manager. People rarely leave the mega-corporation rather they leave a bad manager. I enjoyed the actual work but could no longer stand the side-way movement of office politics. As you say around this forum my BS bucket was full.

I do wish I would have planned more for life after retirement. My primary preparation was running through retirement calculators that gave me reasonable confidence that we would not outlive our assets. There might be some downsizing needed but I concluded I was largely working for my kids inheritance (although that was a desirable goal).

I really did feel like Andy Dufresne in "The Shawshank Redemption" making the escape from prison and swimming through a sewer pipe. It is a really tough decision for a lot of us. We are so defined by our jobs. The noise of job and family demands are so loud we do take the time to understand the big picture. We are like an institutionalized prisoner who is unable to imagine a life out behind bars. I worked for one company for 38 years and it really was all I knew.
I burnt a few bridges through the negotiation of a one year severance package but I sure did not need a retirement party, cake and gold watch. Great to get a severance package but there is an emotional down-side to end a down note and not properly saying goodbye to everyone which has made my retirement transition more difficult.

18 months out and I've accomplished quite a few goals. I struggle with the whole transition from accumulation to spending down retirement savings. I think the 55 to pre-65 aged retirees struggle more with this transition from savings to spending. But I want to enjoy the next 5 years and not be wishing to be 65 just to have an increased income.

One needs to not only break from the mega-corporation but also break from the paycheck. There was also a big materialism part to this for me. I did not realize how materialistic I had become. We are really trained to be consumers in the US with our 80% consumer driven economy! We live to consume and keep up with the Jones. I'm still not use to not buying new toys, or the latest electronic gizmo that I do not need. It’s like withdrawal and breaking an addiction. I realize the thrill of the purchase was often more important than the use I received from the product. Our family outcome is definitely a simpler and lower stress life. There is still some LBYM left to accomplish. Not eating out all the time is a tough one to break. Also you feel downright stupid you did not make LBYM a greater priority when you were younger. "If I could go back knowing what I know now" thinking but I'm still grateful to have saved what I did and having paid off our house. Doing it all over again I could be one of those folks who retired before 50.

What I like the most about early retirement is reading and studying any topic I desire from investments to photography which I never had time to do while working. And the simply less material life mentioned above. Removing lots of materialism clutter from our house is a next step.

You really do need to make it a priority have something to retire to. Whereas, early retirement has been an awakening, I still need more time to make this a smooth landing. My retirement definition is to just be out of the high stress mega- corporation life. My plan is to eventually work again but this time at something I love to do. I imagine fewer part time hours that offers lots of flexibility. I want to have some income to pay bills but it’s no longer about the money. Or maybe I'll eventually get over this worry about tapping retirement savings. I still read the mega-corporate LinkedIn Job descriptions and conclude I'm never going back to prison!

 

[LaVieQ]

There were things I wanted to pursue in life outside of work - leisurely travel, healthy living, learning new things, having time to indulge in music or reading, etc. But, w*rk was getting in the way. Therefore, I quit. I've been out now for 2 years and I have no regrets and don't miss working, even if it was not exactly stressful when I quit.

I have traveled around the world for a year (might do it again in a year or two), moved to SoCal, settled down, started taking classes for fun, and am getting myself into shape and lead a healthy lifestyle. Being single, I may go do something involving other people to socialize, but, it won't be a j*b and it won't be for objectives that are geared towards making money (for myself or for others).

If you have personal pursuits and interests outside of work, then the transition is easy enough despite the initial jitters.

 

[Milton]

I have more than enough resources to retire today, but I'll have even more resources if I retire tomorrow. Such resources could be put to good use. They may be needed for unexpected events.... So for me, it's more complicated than simply having enough.

Hello Shawn,

Gosh. You're too modest! Supporting extended family, friends, former friends and their extended family members and pets seems pretty selfless to me. Personally, I wouldn't defer retirement to accommodate such third party needs - which appear essentially infinite - but if that's your choice, good for you.

Perhaps there is a middle way. If you retire now, you will lose the ability to keep amassing savings/investments but will gain additiinal time to help others: whether as a volunteer for charities, or less formally (does your job currently preclude you from spending as much time as you'd wish with family and friends?). Worth considering, anyway.

I could have retired more than 10 years ago with the same standard of living that I have today. The ability is there. The desire is there. But something is missing. What's missing is knowledge of the future.... The future is not known.

At the risk of being trite, the future will never been known, and striving for absolute certainty seems rather futile. But you do have some reasonable ability to predict likely outcomes, at least with respect to your own wants.

If currently you have a serious desire to upgrade to a McMansion or take one or two exotic vacations, by all means factor those expenses in; otherwise, they need not be provisioned for. Life is just too short to waste time worrying about possible future whims (which at a certain point you'll be too old and infirm to enjoy, anyway).

 

[Options]

Here's why:

Specifically:

Can you describe your findings?

We find that retirement improves both happiness and health. We find that life satisfaction improves immediately upon retirement and these effects are long-lasting. While we don’t find immediate effects on measurable health outcomes, we do find positive health impacts four or more years beyond retirement. This finding is consistent with the idea that health changes slowly over time so that retirement can have long run health benefits. We find no effect of retirement on health care utilization.

What surprised you most about the findings?

We were surprised that the positive impact of retirement on reported well being was long lasting as many life events have been found to have only short-run effects that fade over time. Past studies also haven’t found measurable health impacts of retirement so the fact that there are long-run health benefits is a new finding. We believe that this finding is the result of data that covers a longer time period. Finally, our findings suggest that these health benefits are not the result of increased health care utilization as most measures of utilization are not affected by retirement.

The secret to a happier, healthier life: Just retire - MarketWatch

 

[Dcharles]

Just do it.


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[r2021t]

I pulled the trigger in part because of commute. My work was ok (though not as fun as previous years). My boss was mostly ok, or could be ignored. But the commute home every evening was getting nightmarish. Toss in a couple merger/acquisitions/divesting/etc... which messed with benefits, pension, compensation... the BS got too much.

This was me. Almost identical to my last few years.

I think it's legitimate to question such a big, life-changing event such as retirement. It's wise to do so. We have contended with change in retirement. I made a very good salary and we didn't live beyond our means so I cash flowed life's "emergencies" when I had a job. The belt is tighter now. I had to change my thinking in regard to money and how I use it day to day. I can still cash flow things because, again we try to be smart with our money, but I keep a much harder eye on the bottom line. Aside from that, having to plan things out a little more, I wouldn't change a thing.

On day one of retirement, I got rid of my alarm clock. Physically got rid of it. I couldn't be more happy.

I'd go for it.

Ron

 

[trapperjohn]

The trigger was pulled for me. I was part of a layoff. Afterwards, I looked at our finances and decided it was time.

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[duckcalldan]

Had a great lunch date with my wife yesterday and floated the idea of ER in 12 months. I'm 52, she's 49 and investments at $2.3M, slightly more taxable than tax deferred. We've talked often about ER but in about 2-4 yrs. But I'm ready, sooner than later. She's totally on board! I get company 401k contribution in late January, 2/18/17 is my 25 yr anniversary with Megacorp...

so I'm shooting for 3/1/17 as my last day.

OMY!


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[Dcharles]

GO FOR IT!


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[robertf57]

Congrats on making a decision!!