Hello Early Retirees.
I'm hitting 55 on Sunday and considering retirement within a couple weeks.
My paperwork is all set to submit to my personal department and all I need to do is hit the submit button. We've lived a financially conservative lifestyle and are very nicely positioned for retirement.
Why is retirement such a damn hard decision!!!!
Help me push that button.
I went through the exact same thing a year or so ago and finally made the jump last August with a lot of help and occasional arse kicking from people here
. It's very hard to make a major life change like you're contemplating, even when everything says you are financially able to do so.
At 55 (very similar to me), it's likely that a big part of your life for the past 35+ years has been w*rk. For most people (me included), it becomes a big part of - if not the major part of - your identity. Letting go of that even if it means you now have a lot more time to dedicate to other pursuits and interests is extraordinarily hard even for the most logical, even keeled people with solid plans on how to do so..throw in all the uncertainty (eg: ACA - what's going to happen?), market volatility, personal health, spouse's health, choice of where to live in ER, etc and it can quickly become overwhelming.
I'm 3 months in at this point (company asked me to stay Aug-Jan to help with transition and I did so as it was mutually beneficial), and I haven't had a single day where I've been "bored" or looking for things to do. I'm still months if not years behind on the things I SHOULD have been doing but was always too busy to do. But the psychological part of the change has been...challenging..to say the least! Candidly, there are days I can't believe I actually did it..and days that I struggle a bit with the emotional aspects of the decision that I made..but I'm working through it, day by day with some days being better than others in terms of being able to fully adjust to the way things now are..
When I told my manager of my decision to retire, he was supportive and the conversation went well - probably because he was living the same hell I was, and totally understood why I'd want to leave. But when I told my DW a few minutes after, I also said "what did I just DO?!!". Her response was very telling as she knew what the job was doing to my health and happiness (essentially totally destroying both) - she said, and I quote.."you just saved your life". When you think about what w*rk can do to your health, happiness and the health and happiness of those you love and those who are around you..or, you see a friend or family member diagnosed with a serious illness - or, worse, not make it to their next birthday (as I've seen happen far too many times these past several years) - the decision becomes a bit easier..
Best of luck with whatever you decide..but if it helps, many of us have had very similar experiences when it comes to just pushing the "send" button on your resignation notice, or having that difficult conversation with management..