Semi-retired, retiring next year

[Francissr32082]

Hi everyone,

I just turned 67 and I am retiring next year. I've been semi-retired for 5 years, just doing consulting gigs when someone calls. I am lucky to have a small pension from a previous employer, plus decent IRA investments, and rental property. With those things, my retirement will be fine.

Lately, I have read a lot about the many people with no pension and no 401K or other retirement savings. I became interested in this site to learn how others fund their retirement and see if lessons can be taken to society more broadly. I hope to learn more from some of these forums. I also hope I can contribute to those seeking input.

 

[Ronstar]

Welcome and congrats on your upcoming retirement!

 

[pacergal]

Welcome to the forum, I think it's the friendliest place on the internet! Lots of folks willing to share their knowledge.

 

[Koolau]

Welcome to the Forums. We look forward to hearing from you often. All the best in your upcoming full retirement.

 

[NeilDH]

Welcome! I don't know how people would retire without a pension or savings, unless they can live very frugally under Social Security.

 

[Koolau]

Welcome! I don't know how people would retire without a pension or savings, unless they can live very frugally under Social Security.

My parents lived comfortably on SS. Their limited savings wasn't touched until they went into long-term care. So it can be done and their SS was far from the maximum. YMMV

 

[GaryInCO]

I'm 67 and mostly retired. I always sucked at investing -- I have supernaturally bad timing -- and as a result my IRAs are very small. But I have two rentals: a paid-for rental house and a separate apartment in my basement. Between SS and the rentals, my expenses are covered. (Still have a $500k mortgage on my house.) I have about $500k liquid that I don't need to touch, and my expenses will drop $1000/mo in 2 years when I pay off my car. I've already gifted $250k to my two kids and I expect there will be at least $1.5-2.0M in my estate when I'm done. Not what I would have liked -- I want to leave more to the kids -- but it'll do.

 

[catii]

Hmm, never thought I was "semi-retired," but I'm 78, & still doing consulting on interesting projects. Sold my computer consulting firm to my employees in 2014, after 35 years, but there are still problems that come up & get passed to me. I started the company to do interesting things, & it's still fun to occasionally step back in & really use my brain! OP might keep that in mind, but welcome to retirement!

 

[Koolau]

Hmm, never thought I was "semi-retired," but I'm 78, & still doing consulting on interesting projects. Sold my computer consulting firm to my employees in 2014, after 35 years, but there are still problems that come up & get passed to me. I started the company to do interesting things, & it's still fun to occasionally step back in & really use my brain! OP might keep that in mind, but welcome to retirement!

IOW you are getting paid for doing what you want to do when you want to do it. I don't consider that w*rk as such. You are blessed in your retirement.

 

[Diogenes]

Lately, I have read a lot about the many people with no pension and no 401K or other retirement savings. I became interested in this site to learn how others fund their retirement and see if lessons can be taken to society more broadly. I hope to learn more from some of these forums. I also hope I can contribute to those seeking input.

Some people have an investment portfolio in straight-up taxable accounts, which is to say, not 401K or IRA. They might have little by way of "retirement savings", but quite a lot, in actual net-worth.

Others are preternaturally frugal, perhaps in how they structured their lives all along. This doesn't mean peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, no car, and shopping at the thrift store (though of course it can). Instead it might mean never having had children, and never having gotten married. Buying a small house, paying it off early, and thus having no mortgage and minimal taxes/insurance/utilities.

This may be an EARLY retirement site, but my impression is, that if somehow we managed to slide into retirement at normal age - call it 62+, then lots of things take care of themselves. Social Security might actually be enough to cover one's expenses entirely, if one has a full 35 years of credits at/near the SS earnings cutoff, for example. In older age, things have a tendency to work out, somehow. It's when choose to retire quite early - or have to do so, having gotten ejected from the workforce - that we might find ourselves scrambling for alternative, shortcuts or "hacks".

 

[catii]

All four of my grandparents lived well past the century mark, & my parents well into their 90s. I'm lots healthier than they were, with far better medical care, so I'm shooting for 95 as a minimum. What am I going to do for the next 17+ years, if not for interesting things? I can only do so many crossword puzzles, before DW starts growling for me to find another project! With no company overhead, & our retirement funds taken care of, my income is "play money," for my expensive hobby of collecting Japanese swords! DW & I both train in martial arts that use 500-year-old swords (no contact, of course!), so we both benefit. We didn't plan for this much detail, after retirement, & it took some head scratching, but Ko'olau is right, that we consider ourselves blessed!

 

[Live Large]

All four of my grandparents lived well past the century mark, & my parents well into their 90s. I'm lots healthier than they were, with far better medical care, so I'm shooting for 95 as a minimum. What am I going to do for the next 17+ years, if not for interesting things? I can only do so many crossword puzzles, before DW starts growling for me to find another project! With no company overhead, & our retirement funds taken care of, my income is "play money," for my expensive hobby of collecting Japanese swords! DW & I both train in martial arts that use 500-year-old swords (no contact, of course!), so we both benefit. We didn't plan for this much detail, after retirement, & it took some head scratching, but Ko'olau is right, that we consider ourselves blessed!

 

[Live Large]

Blessed indeed! First found this site dozen years ago was a concept of mine in my early 20’z to RetireGranpa said ya mighty young thinking about that…I’ve seen lots of perspectives here on who’s retired vs not & what is exactly ‘early’ if you live to 95
I’m just Retired in the way I wanted! Plenty income covering living costs, hobbies, & travel expenses ~ started at 51 so ER’d imo~4%R.
But I say I play work occasionally it’s Fun!
This forum has been a great gift of life experiences particularly managing finance.
Kudos to each of you for sharing ~ thanks!

 

[Lorenzo]

Hmm, never thought I was "semi-retired," but I'm 78, & still doing consulting on interesting projects. Sold my computer consulting firm to my employees in 2014, after 35 years, but there are still problems that come up & get passed to me. I started the company to do interesting things, & it's still fun to occasionally step back in & really use my brain! OP might keep that in mind, but welcome to retirement!

I, too, am semi-retired in an intellectually stimulating field. Oh, it can feel cut-and-paste at times, having done the same thing for so many years, but all in all I believe it beats doing sudoku puzzles for the brain stimulation said to help stave off cognitive decline.

 

[Anchors Aweigh1]

Hi everyone,

I just turned 67 and I am retiring next year. I've been semi-retired for 5 years, just doing consulting gigs when someone calls. I am lucky to have a small pension from a previous employer, plus decent IRA investments, and rental property. With those things, my retirement will be fine.

Lately, I have read a lot about the many people with no pension and no 401K or other retirement savings. I became interested in this site to learn how others fund their retirement and see if lessons can be taken to society more broadly. I hope to learn more from some of these forums. I also hope I can contribute to those seeking input.

Suggest you read the books Die with Zero by Bill Perkins

 

[Diogenes]

Suggest you read the books Die with Zero by Bill Perkins

That book is a statement about values, as much as it is, a guide for spending/investment. Do we use our pecuniary wherewithal, mostly as a support and enabler of our lifestyle? Or is it a larger story, beyond our immediate material needs?

 

[Koolau]

Blessed indeed! First found this site dozen years ago was a concept of mine in my early 20’z to RetireGranpa said ya mighty young thinking about that…I’ve seen lots of perspectives here on who’s retired vs not & what is exactly ‘early’ if you live to 95
I’m just Retired in the way I wanted! Plenty income covering living costs, hobbies, & travel expenses ~ started at 51 so ER’d imo~4%R.
But I say I play work occasionally it’s Fun!
This forum has been a great gift of life experiences particularly managing finance.
Kudos to each of you for sharing ~ thanks!

If we have helped in any way, you are most welcome. I'm amazed that you had the foresight in your 20s to think about FIRE. For me, it didn't hit me until my late 40s. I'd always saved in my 401(k) and tIRAs but retiring before 62 didn't compute - until I realized there was a whole world out there beyond w*rk. Good for you.