Happier in retirement?

[FREE866]

For those that have pulled the ripcord, are you happier in retirement, the same or less so?

What changed specifically that altered your happiness?

I'm 50 and still several years away. I think retirement will make me happier but I'm not sure. My job is definitely not toxic but it also doesn't spark joy. My job pays very well and doesn't require a ton of my effort or time but I still dread Mondays and the end of vacations.

Hard to say how much of my anxiety is job related or if it is just me.

I'm definitely happier, but what stands out to me even more is my level of contentment. Like you, my job wasn't toxic either. Glad you mentioned Mondays ( I think I've actually started a couple of threads specifically on the joy of Mondays haha).



I volunteer more, read more books, take classes on topics that interests me, exercise more, etc. Today I took a long walk in the woods and fed some squirrels. it was glorious! I could go on and on. Love being retired.

 

[JK7255407]

I retired in January of this year at age 59.5. I had worked for 24 years at the same MegaCorp that had been through 4 acquisitions since I started. The last one turned the place into a toxic environment. People with my profile were/are out of favor... just the wrong end of an acquisition. I managed a team and had to lay off 4 people... me (at my choice) and three others.

I do miss many of the people I worked with, but many of those people have left or are fearful (or hopeful) of being laid off.

Specifically, I don't miss the stress of the MegaCorp. I believe that, at some level, they are all similar.

I've been very happy with the decision. I am sleeping better and me and DW have been very active in the outdoors even with the Covid situation.

 

[FREE866]

I haven’t had a night in nearly eight years where I dreaded getting up the next morning.

Such a great observation. I'm almost 4 years in and yeah, mornings when working were never ever ever "relaxing", even if everything was fine at the job!

 

[SnowballCamper]

Definitely happier deciding what I want to do, for the entire day.

 

[socca]

Semi-early-retirement is infinitely superior to full-time W2 employment. January 2021 will represent 14 years of delightful semi-ER.

From where I stand now, full retirement looks horrible. I would be under-engaged with other family members and the world at large. The extra income doesn't hurt although the US gov't is currently hostile to self-employment / business income over $50k / yr thanks to the [A]CA.

 

[street]

I never thought I would of been but yes I am. I would of guessed I would of struggled with it but it was just the opposite. You will find out there is really another life then work and you will never go back.
Good luck in your decision.

 

[W2R]

Good heavens YES!! I am SO happy to be retired and I have never been happier in my entire life. I love to be able to spend my precious time left on this earth, doing whatever I want to do, whenever I want to do it. For me, retirement is heaven. I feel like after all these many years, I have finally found my niche in life.

 

[chris2008]

I was not unhappy in my jobs but I am happier now, retired in 2013 at 55.
My time belongs to me now.

 

[texcurtis]

More content, more relaxed, less stressed.

 

[RobbieB]

I didn't hate my job either. Also didn't require a lot of time or effort.

But I'd rather not work if I have enough dough, so when I did I quit.

The fact that I'm not seeking employment should answer the happy question eh?

 

[bonvoyage]

I am definitely happier after retiring like everyone else who has replied in this thread.

There is a sampling bias in the answers however. This forum as is evident from its very name, is likely to be frequented by those who enjoy not doing conventional work. There are definitely millions of unhappy retirees - especially people forced into premature retirement by layoffs or illness. You will have to go elsewhere to get their answers

 

[JoeWras]

Happier yes, but the pandemic is challenging it. I have to find something to do, whereas working people have something to do, even though it is BS.

No worries, I will be back to happier and happier after the pandemic.

I have two friends who failed retirement, though. One was a CEO of a very small company. He was burnt out. He lasted 6 months and got a sales job. He's happy not having to make decisions. As CEO, he was really head sales more than anything else. I'm not sure he'll ever retire. I doubt he'd visit this board -- so there you go, sampling bias.

 

[donheff]

I retired 16 years ago and adjusted immediately. I have been happier ever since. There were positive aspects to my job but the demands weighed on me and often woke me at 4:00 AM, That was over the day I announced I was retiring.

 

[Car-Guy]

I didn't hate my job but it was work! I was making a lot of money and had a good level of authority but the BS buckets were getting pretty full the last few years I worked. Looking back I think the last ten years or so on the job had me walking around like a zombie. Same routine every day. I was getting up each day before 5am, driving in, answering emails and sitting in endless (and mostly meaningless) meetings and/or conference calls, then driving home again around 4pm only to log on remotely and work some more emails until 8 or 9... The only thing different about the weekends was I just worked remotely from home on Saturday and Sunday for 3 or 4 hours each day.


Do I miss it? Absolutely not... Am I happier in retirement? Absolutely!

 

[DayDreaming]

That's the craziest question I've ever heard!
I am much happier being retired, but my work environment was pretty toxic the last few years that I was there.
After retirement, whenever I bumped into old coworkers, they'd comment how disgustingly relaxed I looked.
Others told me that I was doing a Benjamin Buttons, and getting younger after retiring.

I retired about 11 years ago, age 48, and remember at the beginning, I would wake up each morning and lay in bed thinking "I can do whatever the heck I want to today" and it was the best feeling in the world. I no longer get a thrill out of thinking that because it's just my normal now.

 

[MRG]

Yes.

I retired 7 years ago when I was 56 and can't believe how much has changed. I've lost 70 pounds(normal BMI now), jog 5ks for fun, and my bruxism is much improved. I no longer take nine, yes 9 prescriptions! I used to eat a night guard every two years like clockwork. I just replaced one after 3 years, it's still in good shape.

Better yet nobody has called me at 2AM with questions and nobody has told me I need to go to X, Y, Z place because they're PO'ed.(I have not so great memories of an angry Scotsman yelling at me for an entire day "this system is crap; crap I say").

 

[eytonxav]

Except for encountering bad behaviors and some amount of nonproductive meetings, I generally found work enjoyable even when some aspects were stressful. What I liked the least was a long commute my last few years of work through several construction projects. Not having to deal with that anymore was certainly a relief and having more time to spend with family and hobbies added to my happiness, with 2020 being an exception.

 

[CyclingInvestor]

I am 62, retired 14 years from a programming career.

While my job (19 years aerospace, 8 years financial) was always easy and almost always low stress, I am much happier now just from the extra 40 hours per week freed up to do whatever I want. I cannot imagine any job beating retirement.

 

[Crewer]

Yes. I had a great job and still miss some of the things about it. I didn't think I was stressed but I'm now sure I was. Since retiring I've lost enough weight, ~20 lb, to get to a normal BMI and that was without even much trying. DH lost even more weight starting soon after retiring (mostly). He's lost enough to take stress off his previously-always-aching knees so he can walk fairly long times/distances, which has lead to his COPD being reclassified as moderate from severe.

Of course in that time my kids got to their 30s and, more importantly, to much better places personally and professionally so that has probably also reduced my stress. It's not that they were basket cases or financial drains but now they are happier and more secure and both in committed and healthy relationships. I still wonder if a mother - at any age - is only as happy as her most unhappy child.

 

[pacergal]

I am much more content.
My stress is lower, my day is mine to choose how I fill it, our finances are sufficient for our needs and most wants.
Life is good.
I've been fairly happy throughout my life, each stage has different kinds of happy:
Love/marriage, kids, career choices/changes, owning a home, etc.

 

[MissMolly]

Silly boy. Of course I'm happier. Even though only semi-retired, I have been working for myself as a consultant for the past 10+ years and most of that has been done remotely. And that will be ending in 2021. I'm getting too old and crotchety for anybody else to place demands on my time. The very idea of having to get up and go into the office day after day after day and put up with all the office politics and office BS makes me shudder just to think about it. Even just semi-retired is far, far better than my previous life.

 

[MarieIG]

Not retired yet - Covid effected my/our plans.

DH retired the end of December 2019. We were debating who was going to retire first. (Each wanted the other to retire first/ needed it more.) I am extremely grateful that he retired, because several of the people with whom he worked on a daily basis (NYC) either got very sick or died from Covid.

So between shutdowns, quarantines, fear of being exposed, inability to travel, me getting quite sick in March, our relaxing retirement did unfold as planned. I was depressed, and decided that I might as well be depressed sitting in the office as at home.

On the bright side, DH has been getting more rest and exercise, and his doctor has been amazed at how well he is doing He has also been able to drive his "retirement present" to visit the kiddos and help out with DGDs.

 

[Major Tom]

I really liked my job, and I really like being retired, so I guess about the same level of happiness throughout. I could go into more detail, but that would be slightly dull.

So, I'm not significantly happier in retirement, but I do like the fact that I no longer have to rely on a job for my income. That part is pretty cool.

 

[Lawrencewendall]

Woke up at 9 and it was so foggy I couldn't see out the windows. Laid back down and finally woke up at 11. Life is good!

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Most definitely happier being retired. As my signature suggests (and as I have discussed in a couple of threads), I was happily retired for 6 years before returning to w*rk doing a couple contract gigs due to COVID. In the 6 years, I didn't have any issues w/ boredom until COVID limited almost ALL activity outside the home...so I *thought* doing a little w*rk on the side wouldn't be too bad. Well, I was WRONG WRONG WRONG!!! Thankfully, my latest contract will be over no later than the end of the years. Odds are it will be over sooner...and it can't get here soon enough. I am ready for MY FREEDOM AGAIN!!!

As I have mentioned before on this forum, I look at early retirement in a very similar way that I saw summer vacation when I was in school. Do you remember the last day of school and the FREEDOM you got during the summer months? Wasn't it GRAND!?!? For me...it certainly was and being full on FIRE'd is similar...except that you don't have to go home when the street lights come on.

Woke up at 9 and it was so foggy I couldn't see out the windows. Laid back down and finally woke up at 11. Life is good!

Such a tangible benefit of being retired. Terrible weather? Just go back to bed. No more fighting terrible traffic in terrible weather!