POLL - Are you truly fully retired? Meaning your income is passive from Investments, SS, Pensions, Annuities Etc. you do not work at all for income.

[ShokWaveRider]

I thought this would be another reasonable curiosity poll for this group. Work in this case is defined as doing any form of activity for any form of compensation to augment your retirement income. Whether it be part time, because you like to, the occasional contract, buying and selling for income (eBay store or Amazon for example), providing a service or anything else that could be classified as some form of activity whether it be being employed or self employed.

Managing your investments, as long as it is not something like day trading etc. is not consider work for the purpose of this poll.

 

[Koolau]

I repositioned cars a few times the summer after I FIREd. It was more of a lark than anything else and got paid a ridiculously small amount for my "l@bors." But it was fun until it wasn't - which is when I quit my last such gig. Nothing else in the past 20 years.

 

[Texas Proud]

So, I voted NO... but I actually do get a paycheck every once in awhile... I am on a local water board and get paid for meetings I attend... but I do not do it to 'supplement' my retirement income as I did not know it paid when I ran for the board...

Looking to get on an appraisal district board (more than likely will not) that is unpaid...

 

[scrabbler1]

My (snake-bit) friend pays me $120 a year to help manage his portfolio and prepare his income tax returns. I have many elements of his portfolio on auto-pilot, so outside of tax time and the year-end activity, there isn't too much to do. He made me an authorized user on his account to make my tasks easier. I don't consider this "supplementing my retirement income" because I wouldn't do anything differently in my everyday life (except for needing $120 less cash in the month he pays me).

When I was doing my volunteer work with some area schools, some of which included running school Scrabble tourneys, the teacher-coaches sometimes gave me $30-$50 for my effort. There was no agreement between us for me to be paid; they just felt like compensating me for my time and any direct expenses I incurred. I ran 2-4 tourneys per year, so this totaled $50-$150; again, this had no effect on my everyday life except for needing a little less cash per month.

 

[MRG]

I don't do anything for money! I wouldn't even use the same technology as I did at Megacorp.

 

[Exchme]

After a year of full retirement, I decided that my brain loved to solve puzzles and that I could solve puzzles for money by going back to my old employer part time. So for the last 3 years, I've been doing a work-from-home gig that covers the bills and I get to add to the 401k and HSA and still have plenty of time for posting here.

 

[imjustawarrior]

I am fully retired and voted no. I could have also voted yes because my income is not purely passive. I no longer work for a paycheck, but I am still getting ordinary income from stock options and RSUs. I also am getting payouts from a NQDCP, which is ordinary income but deferred compensation.

There really was not an option in the poll that matches my situation. I consider myself truly fully retired.

 

[gman57]

Haven't done a dang thing for 18 years now and loving every minute of it. I kept my work stuff/manuals for about a year before I threw them all out thinking maybe I'd consult then thought about getting a job at like a Lowes or Home Depot, that lasted about 5 minutes. Naaahhh....... After about a year I knew my work days for anything were over, probably not even that long.

 

[surprising]

Just a nitpick, the topic of the thread is "Are you truly fully retired?" but the answer to the poll question itself is the exact opposite.

 

[euro]

I am fully retired and voted no. I could have also voted yes because my income is not purely passive. I no longer work for a paycheck, but I am still getting ordinary income from stock options and RSUs. I also am getting payouts from a NQDCP, which is ordinary income but deferred compensation.

There really was not an option in the poll that matches my situation. I consider myself truly fully retired.

Same - I still draw deferred comp but don't consider that "active income" although the IRS sure do...

 

[Lorenzo]

Work in this case is defined as doing any form of activity for any form of compensation to augment your retirement income.

In my case, I think of it the opposite way: I withdraw from my retirement savings to augment my income from work. I still earn more from work than I withdraw from retirement savings, but as I ramp down my workload I ramp up my withdrawals.

 

[GenXguy]

Just a nitpick, the topic of the thread is "Are you truly fully retired?" but the answer to the poll question itself is the exact opposite.

I noticed that also, plus it's worded very differently. But I've seen that sort of thing on many polls and even non-polls.

I'm living off totally passive income (severance, unemployment compensation, investments) for more than 2 years now.

On the other hand, I have ZERO true retirement income (401K distributions, IRA withdraws, Social Security, Pension, Qualified Annuities), as asked in the OP.

But, I'm still fully retired.

 

[Sojourner]

I voted "No" because the question started with "Do you...". I myself do not do any form of paid labor for any earned income, but my much younger DW still does. She really seems to enjoy her full-time career, and we're in the fortunate position to look at her income as "gravy" or an extra safety cushion in our financial planning. I haven't received any paid/earned income since I was 52 years old, IIRC.

 

[imjustawarrior]

I voted "No" because the question started with "Do you...". I myself do not do any form of paid labor for any earned income, but my much younger DW still does. She really seems to enjoy her full-time career, and we're in the fortunate position to look at her income as "gravy" or an extra safety cushion in our financial planning. I haven't received any paid/earned income since I was 52 years old, IIRC.

You can be plural.

 

[Lorenzo]

I'm living off totally passive income (severance, unemployment compensation, investments) for more than 2 years now.

On the other hand, I have ZERO true retirement income (401K distributions, IRA withdraws, Social Security, Pension, Qualified Annuities), as asked in the OP.

What are you counting as "investments" that you don't count as "true retirement income"? I don't think "true retirement income" is limited to 401k, IRA, SS, pension, etc. If it's income from anything other than work while you consider yourself retired, then it's "retirement income."

 

[CaptTom]

Nope. I had all kinds of ideas abut side gigs I'd like to try when I retired, more for fun than for income. Did a few of them here and there. Now I don't bother looking.

I was approached with a very limited part-time opportunity the other day. Something I enjoy doing anyway, with a bit of a new angle I'd probably like to try. I gave a non-committal answer and my card. We'll see if they get back to me. If it were to fit my schedule, I'd probably say yes. But it would be a fill-in position, probably only occasional calls.

 

[GenXguy]

What are you counting as "investments" that you don't count as "true retirement income"? I don't think "true retirement income" is limited to 401k, IRA, SS, pension, etc. If it's income from anything other than work while you consider yourself retired, then it's "retirement income."

I had other investments earning income before I was retired that are not in retirement accounts, so they are not technically retirement account income. I have zero retirement specific accounts distributing any income, just my regular investments that I was already earning income from prior to retirement.

 

[Lorenzo]

I had other investments earning income before I was retired that are not in retirement accounts, so they are not technically retirement account income. I have zero retirement specific accounts distributing any income, just my regular investments that I was already earning income from prior to retirement.

Well, we can disagree about what is "technically" what. I don't think an investment needs to have the word "retirement" in its name for it to provide retirement income. Once you retire, all of your "regular investments" become "retirement investments" and so provide "retirement income." Before IRAs and 401ks existed, if you didn't have a pension, then whatever you saved in that bank account or whatever was your retirement savings, and the day you retired provided all of your retirement income. The advent of IRAs and 401ks didn't change that. That's my definition, and I'm sticking to it.

 

[Route246]

I voted yes, but effective Oct 2025. Plan to survive on passive income sources only once my paycheck stops.

 

[GenXguy]

Well, we can disagree about what is "technically" what. I don't think an investment needs to have the word "retirement" in its name for it to provide retirement income. Once you retire, all of your "regular investments" become "retirement investments" and so provide "retirement income." Before IRAs and 401ks existed, if you didn't have a pension, then whatever you saved in that bank account or whatever was your retirement savings, and the day you retired provided all of your retirement income. The advent of IRAs and 401ks didn't change that. That's my definition, and I'm sticking to it.

That's fine, but zero of my income is currently coming from any retirement specific account or retirement benefit like a pension or SS. It's just the same income I was already earning prior to retirement - I just wasn't spending any of it then. The plan is to start drawing from retirement accounts and SS at 65 +4 months.

 

[youbet]

Neither DW nor I have had any earned income for 20 years.

 

[audreyh1]

Neither DW nor I have had any earned income for 20 years.

Same here - although we have gotten jury duty pay, we usually try to donate that up front instead of paying taxes on it.

 

[Dtail]

No work for our 8 years of retirement and never will be.

 

[rk911]

My wife and I had small, part-time jobs to fill our days after retirement....docent at our county's history museum, election judges and school crossing guards. For the last 7-8 years we have been totally and happily umemployed.

 

[gumshoe]

I answered "No", but I got to thinking maybe I should've answered "Yes" because I have owned 2 single family rental houses for almost 40 years. Does receiving rental income mean I am not truly fully retired? Am I going to be kicked off this Early Retirement forum now lol!

I retired at age 50 and have had no other "earned income from any job" since then. However, some people might consider landlordship a "job" since you still have to spend time finding tenants, maintaining the property, repairing and replacing appliances, etc. It's not too bad with just 2 rentals, though. I only get called 2 to 3 times per year by the tenants, on average, to fix or replace something. And thankfully my tenants tend to be long-term.