What led you to retire??

[Independent]

I wish this thread had a poll.

I did one many years ago -- asking why people picked the date. IIRC, very few said "I never liked the work I did". Many pointed to a change -- new boss, re-organization, health problems -- as being thing that pushed them out. Some had a generic "I just got tired of dealing with the bureaucracy".

 

[T-Minus]

I received a misdiagnosis of a serious medical condition that forced me to re-prioritize EVERYTHING that I’d previously found important. I found myself weighing assets/income/work against an ever-shortening opportunity to do the things that really mattered to me (family/friends/travel/fun). Three months (!) later when the misdiagnosis was corrected, my priorities remained shifted and I jumped at the first opportunity that came along (i.e. corporate downsizing). This was the best thing that could have happened to me...except for the gray hair gained during the 3-month death sentence.

I had a very good job with interesting opportunities, wonderful co-workers and a nice income. I now have a great retirement.

 

[Dalmore]

I had the goal of FI @55 since I was in my late 20's. My goal wasn't to retire, but to be able to tell MegaCorp to go "pound sand" if I got fed up and not have to worry about being unemployed. In the first three months of this year, five different friends and relatives I hadn't seen in a long time asked me if I was retired yet.... As I am not quite 55, I laughed and said, "I wish". But it got me thinking and I started researching (found this place) and running numbers and scenarios. Around August I made the decision that DW and I could do it. Work had gotten to the point where I was ready to go immediately, but DW wasn't ready. She has several projects that she wants to accomplish before she quits. So we decided to RE in June of 2020. I am planning to let MegaCorp know I am quitting after the first of the year to give them time to find a replacement. If they kick me out early...Yeah me!!!

 

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

What led you to retire??

When I was 20, courting my future bride, she and I agreed to a shared vision of how we wanted to retire.

I hated my job and what it did to me, but it offers a 20-year pension.

While I was working, we bought an apartment complex at each of our duty stations, and my wife managed them for me while I was deployed.

If I had been fully-disabled by my career, ideally we could have retired to manage one of those apartment complexes.

I was fortunate, in that I survived long enough to get my pension.

Retiring as young as possible had been our shared goal for the first 20 years of our marriage.

I had no intention of working any longer than the absolute minimum.

 

[Alexi]

I had always planned to retire at 55. But as that time approached I began to think I might work a few years longer. Ironically, just weeks before my 55th birthday, a family member required my assistance. So I retired at 55 as originally planned.

 

[karen1972]

In my co-oping days I watched layoff after layoff at IBM, that taught me I needed an exit plan, prior to what people normally go.

1. It was already planned (ie I figured 20 years in high paying career, then rest of the time in whatever brought me joy).
2. My dad started looking more and more tired and felt the need to capture quality time before it was too late
3. I never really recovered from my back surgery so my health was suffering
4. I was miserable all the time, job and location.

However what forced me to pull the plug was them moving the office 45 minutes away (on a good day).. 2 days after the office moved it snowed (4 hour commute minimum) and they had instituted a bunch of new policies on frowning on working from home, requiring you to dress up (for an office that had ZERO clients ever visit), etc. I called in sick and wrote my resignation letter and called an agent to put my house on the market. Handed in the resignation letter the day I got an acceptable offer which was about 2 weeks later.

 

[albireo13]

Awesome.

Yeah, I like many of the people I work with but my BS bucket "runneth over".
Corporate/management BS, not so much co-worker BS.

My retirement calendar app shows 198 days, 9hrs !!

 

[Lawrencewendall]

Life is too short not to.

 

[MuirWannabe]

I received a misdiagnosis of a serious medical condition that forced me to re-prioritize EVERYTHING that I’d previously found important. I found myself weighing assets/income/work against an ever-shortening opportunity to do the things that really mattered to me (family/friends/travel/fun). Three months (!) later when the misdiagnosis was corrected, my priorities remained shifted and I jumped at the first opportunity that came along (i.e. corporate downsizing). This was the best thing that could have happened to me...except for the gray hair gained during the 3-month death sentence.

I had a very good job with interesting opportunities, wonderful co-workers and a nice income. I now have a great retirement.

That’s quite an amazing and unusual retirement story. I can see how 3 months spent under those circumstances would be mindset-shifting. Must have been both revealing and horrible at the same time. Do you mind sharing what the misdiagnosis was?

 

[akck]

I had planned to retire at age 60, when my pension would kick in. This was down from age 67, before I realized what the pension meant for our plan. At age 58, I was willing to work until age 65 or so, but we got a supervisor who thought his position was just a figurehead that blessed everyone’s work. So age 60 was the plan, with retiring at any time an option as they slowly added his workload to mine. Once I hit 59.5, I knew I could make it to 60. I told the head boss during my exit interview, my supervisor wouldn’t make it through the next audit and he was let go a year later.

 

[SumDay]

For me it will be a combination of health/wellness as well as I can no longer stand having almost every day of my life scheduled up for me. I feel like I have no control over how I can spend my time.


Thoughts?

As I was riding my bike around the 'hood today, looking at all the fall leaves, running my wheels through those on the ground and enjoying the crunch, I was reminded why I retired. Because if I wanted to ride my bike at 1:45 p.m., I could, without any guilt at all. And this morning we enjoyed going to an estate sale, because we could. I was just tired of having my time beholden to someone besides myself. My BS bucket was overflowing.

 

[Rustic23]

We built a retirement home on a lake. The plan was to work a couple more years then retire. We 'weekended' for about six months. Not every weekend about every two to three weeks. Then I ask DW 'Why are we doing this? We have more than enough in savings, and pensions, so why don't we just retire?" I gave two weeks notice, and DW had to give three months (school teacher) We never looked back!

 

[Bklyn55]

Stress, a bad commute, and seeing co-workers stay too long and lose their skills. Wanted to stay ahead of the game. Its been over two years. No regrets.

 

[ER2B]

I was 62 with a bad commute and had a non cola pension, knew I was in early SS age if things get tight, had a wife with HI and health was starting to deteriorate due to lack of exercise and bad diet.

 

[travelover]

I just got tired of being paid.

 

[NW-Bound]

I like the money but not the job...

I liked the money, and the job. No, I loved the job.

But when office politics became too much, and I could no longer handle the Dilbert environment, I walked.

 

[ER2B]

I loved the money, co-workers and the job. I hated the commute and the work.

 

[imoldernu]

Closed 1400 stores for Montgomery Ward 1982-1985
Business for myself 1985 -1989
Cancer 1989 @ age 53... sold business, scared, took a chance and jeanie and I LBYM and went to live at Woodhaven Lakes Campground
Now age 84
30 years @ Sears and MW
31 years retired
61 years married

 

[rk911]

Closed 1400 stores for Montgomery Ward 1982-1985
Business for myself 1985 -1989
Cancer 1989 @ age 53... sold business, scared, took a chance and jeanie and I LBYM and went to live at Woodhaven Lakes Campground
Now age 84
30 years @ Sears and MW
31 years retired
61 years married

congratulations on it all..surviving cancer, your longevity and your marriage.

 

[ziggy29]

By the time I was about 45, I had a plan to retire from my j*b by 50. It was a good j*b, and with a small paid off home in a low cost of living area. But my BS bucket was overflowing, my stress level was rising. When I did the math, assuming no further market crashes between then and my planned exit date, if I kept maxing out my 401K, two Roth IRAs and my HSA, it looked doable provided DW's new foray into studying for ministry panned out.

Well, shortly after her first full time ministry gig, six weeks after we moved to the middle of nowhere in 2013, I was laid off at 47. It turns out to be one the best things that ever happened to me. Because after the shock wore off and I included the six months' severance I was getting, I ran the numbers again and felt peace. Even then FIRECalc was all but showing 100%, with continued access to affordable health insurance really being the only possible snag. Fortunately that has all worked out. My better half is enjoying her new second career as a pastor, which is bringing us moderate income and health insurance, I'm taking SEPP using Rule 72t from an IRA until I turn 59.5, and with all that we are pretty secure. She tells me I am so much more mellow and relaxed than I used to be. And it took the angst of the OMY Syndrome decision away from me.

Every so often I hear from a former colleague on LinkedIn who says they were sorry I was laid off. I enjoy telling them it was one of the very best things that has ever happened to me.

 

[albireo13]

As I was riding my bike around the 'hood today, looking at all the fall leaves, running my wheels through those on the ground and enjoying the crunch, I was reminded why I retired. Because if I wanted to ride my bike at 1:45 p.m., I could, without any guilt at all. And this morning we enjoyed going to an estate sale, because we could. I was just tired of having my time beholden to someone besides myself. My BS bucket was overflowing.

Exactly. I am tired of giving the best hours of every day to MegaCorp, working to increase their already swollen coffers!

I wake up in the morning ... no time to do anything except get ready for work ... drive 1hr in traffic to work ... spend the day in an office ... drive 1 hr back home in worse traffic. By now it's getting late .. dinner ... pile up the mail ... organize the list of chores which I have to put off until the weekend. Too tired to do anything except unwind and get to bed.
Rinse and repeat.

I used to be in great shape when younger. Now, the years of working in an office has taken it's toll on me. Sedentary behavior, poor posture, back problems high stress levels, arthritis, climbing blood cholesterol and blood sugar, etc.

I keep putting things off ... "I'll travel in a year or so ... I'll do that hike next year, when I have time. .... ".


Anyway, it's a fine balance ... building up enough savings to retire while, still keeping enough time left in your life to actually live.

 

[jazz4cash]

Sunday Night Terrors. Lack of job satisfaction. Too many MIL reports.

 

[Lagniappe]

I need to read this thread every time I think of going back to work. It brings back all the memories.

 

[6miths]

The work was likely physically and mentally unhealthy and I had enough for my family to be comfortable.

 

[VanWinkle]

DW was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer late in 2015. I retired in May of 2016 to help her fight the cancer. We ended up getting 3 years to the day from when I retired. We took many trips and lived it up for those 1095 days. I never regretted the "early retirement" as it gave us 3 great years. Hug em if you got em cause it never lasts forever.

VW