NW-Bound
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2008
- Messages
- 35,712
How many people you know retired early?
The concurrent threads about the cost of living compared to what most people can save makes me wonder if early retirement, indeed just plain retirement, is within reach of only a small percentage of population.
Though I am still working part-time, I can do without the income if I need to. Besides, I often enjoy my work. So, I can count myself among the lucky ones to be able to quit work in my 50s. Yes, we have been frugal, but have had decent income, plus the tail wind of the 1980-2000 bull market behind our back. Still, I do not know of anyone else who retired early.
My parents retired in their mid 60s. Not early. They had a small state pension, which would not be enough without SS. So, they waited for SS eligibility. Plus, there was no way they could do without Medicare.
The husband of my sister retired in his mid 50s. But even though he has a 401k of nearly $2M (due to "going for broke" when his megacorp was near bankruptcy, which then recovered), my sister is still working in order to have health insurance, though they would not need the income. They have not shopped for insurance, but I suspect if they could get it at all, it would be very expensive due to existing conditions.
One of my sisters-in-law quit her megacorp in disgust, similarly to what my wife did. Her husband is in his 70s, drawing SS. They are frugal, and own their home. However, she is under 65, and still working part-time in order to make money to pay her health insurance.
Last month, I met a cousin of my father-in-law when they came into town to visit him. A nice couple, they were in their late 70s, approaching 80. They both worked until they were 70. They frankly admitted that they needed the income, as SS would not be enough. Good grief! It made me feel bad, when they asked what we did ("Er, we were just goofing around!").
Are we a fortunate anomaly or what?
The concurrent threads about the cost of living compared to what most people can save makes me wonder if early retirement, indeed just plain retirement, is within reach of only a small percentage of population.
Though I am still working part-time, I can do without the income if I need to. Besides, I often enjoy my work. So, I can count myself among the lucky ones to be able to quit work in my 50s. Yes, we have been frugal, but have had decent income, plus the tail wind of the 1980-2000 bull market behind our back. Still, I do not know of anyone else who retired early.
My parents retired in their mid 60s. Not early. They had a small state pension, which would not be enough without SS. So, they waited for SS eligibility. Plus, there was no way they could do without Medicare.
The husband of my sister retired in his mid 50s. But even though he has a 401k of nearly $2M (due to "going for broke" when his megacorp was near bankruptcy, which then recovered), my sister is still working in order to have health insurance, though they would not need the income. They have not shopped for insurance, but I suspect if they could get it at all, it would be very expensive due to existing conditions.
One of my sisters-in-law quit her megacorp in disgust, similarly to what my wife did. Her husband is in his 70s, drawing SS. They are frugal, and own their home. However, she is under 65, and still working part-time in order to make money to pay her health insurance.
Last month, I met a cousin of my father-in-law when they came into town to visit him. A nice couple, they were in their late 70s, approaching 80. They both worked until they were 70. They frankly admitted that they needed the income, as SS would not be enough. Good grief! It made me feel bad, when they asked what we did ("Er, we were just goofing around!").
Are we a fortunate anomaly or what?