What age people on ER actually retired

What age did you leave PRIMARY work

  • Before 50

    Votes: 86 15.0%

  • 50-55

    Votes: 174 30.3%

  • 56-60

    Votes: 232 40.3%

  • 61-65

    Votes: 71 12.3%

  • 65+

    Votes: 12 2.1%
  • Total voters
    575
equakesfan said:
I was let go from my Mega-corp job at 44, took a year off, then got a job for the health insurance. Last year I started looking into retirement hoping I could retire at 62. I soon realized that if I included all my goals I still got over 90% success in any retirement calculator I looked at. Did my own research (i.e created a spreadsheet), still found I would be successful. In April at 53.5 worked my last day. Still working on getting the wife to retire too (although she has only worked part time for the last 10 years usually less than 20 hours per week). I may take a fun (coach soccer, referee etc.) or a service job (crossing guard, non-profit) if I get bored when my to do list gets to a manageable length.
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I coach my son's baseball team. Super fun, but I'm not sure if my heart would be in the right spot if he wasn't playing on the team I coach. I love all the kiddos, but I do it for him!
 
56, but was asked back to be an Actuarial Consultant, for part-time contract work, for a couple of years. I am always curious why people who retire at 65plus are on here calling that early retirement..it's just retirement.
 
Dtail said:
Haven't been working since 55, but officially retired at 57.
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Same here. While I officially checked out at 60 I hadn't been doing crap for at least two years. The company had hosed me on the commission plan for years so I figured I got them back slightly during those two years, still making good money but just coasting. Could have made them a lot more but they would have just screwed me so why would I bother?
 
I retired at age 53 and my DH at age 58. I went back to work at a part-time job for 5 yrs to finish getting my social security credits. I quit as soon as I had my 40 credits in 05/15. My DH's buddy convinced him to work the census and that is the only work he has done. I have been retired from the Federal Government for over 18 1/2 years. Time does indeed fly.
 
Laid off for the 10th time at 44. Realized 7 years later when house sold that it was the last time.
 
51, but worked 1 month a year till 62 in 2023. (working vacation more or less)
Not sure how that month counts. :biggrin:
 
Retired fully @ 43, after 25 years in the Military. Tricare (and VA) for healthcare. I am as busy with projects and hobbies as I was before, the only difference is now I'm the one who decides what I do every minute now, no more boss.

It's been 14 years and the best decision (other than my current wife and my kids) I've ever made.
 
I was 49. I refused to accept a demotion from Sales Manager in the car business, with the intention of taking 6 months off. Then my parents got sick. At first I was conflicted, thinking I should go back to work and pile up some more money. Now at 63, after seeing multiple friends and relatives pass in their 70's, I believe time is the premier asset. I am happy with my decision :)
 
Still w*rking at ~40 years old. Did not see that option in the answers.

Max out Roth IRA and company contributions to Roth TSP.

Looking forward to joining you in retirement.

Other half thinks I'm lazy for wanting to "retire." Maybe do not sell owning your own time well to him/her.
 
2retireearly said:
56, but was asked back to be an Actuarial Consultant, for part-time contract work, for a couple of years. I am always curious why people who retire at 65plus are on here calling that early retirement..it's just retirement.
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I haven't heard anyone "saying" they early retired at 65+, but some like me who retired at 60+ (61 in my case) still enjoy and learn a lot from this site.

Flieger
 
59 1/2 - as soon as I could access my 401k funds. Still retired now at 65 and am enjoying myself. Two of my uncles retired in their 50's and I could see the merit in doing it too. Still young enough to get around and enjoy the free time. When I left there was a guy in the cube across from me that was 67 - but could barely get around. There was no way way that I was going to do that.
 
Wife retired at 59 and 61 for me. Not super early but 11 years later we are still enjoying retirement. I have to start taking RMDs in 2025. Have not needed to draw anything from retirement savings yet so we have been very fortunate so far.
 
I guess I'm an aberrant here, having taken the early retirement package offered by my corporate employer when I was 44. That was 30 years ago (Sept. 1994), when I retired strictly to avoid another location transfer (that at that time wasn't good for my wife's career and where my kids were in HS) due to a manufacturing plant closure. I retired the day of my 44th birthday, when my age and years of service - I had 21 years then, having started with that company right after getting my masters engineering degree in 1973 - enabled me to take the early retirement package of 65. I worked a couple part time jobs for 5 years until I was 49 however, when my kid's educations were 100% complete and paid for. So this past September I completed my 25th year of total retirement. Life (and retirement) IS great!
 
nafddur1 said:
I guess I'm an aberrant here, having taken the early retirement package offered by my corporate employer when I was 44. That was 30 years ago (Sept. 1994), when I retired strictly to avoid another location transfer (that at that time wasn't good for my wife's career and where my kids were in HS) due to a manufacturing plant closure. I retired the day of my 44th birthday, when my age and years of service - I had 21 years then, having started with that company right after getting my masters engineering degree in 1973 - enabled me to take the early retirement package of 65. I worked a couple part time jobs for 5 years until I was 49 however, when my kid's educations were 100% complete and paid for. So this past September I completed my 25th year of total retirement. Life (and retirement) IS great!
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That's incredible!

I'm not sure that I could pull that off, having a lot of my interaction and life tied up within my work. Although I guess, if I had not worked as long that "reliance" may not have happened.

Flieger
 
Retired at 52. Worked my butt off for 26 years with high stress jobs, I decided to call the quits. All, Really, really all of my executive collogues either buy summer vocation homes or winter vocation homes or seasonal tickets on anything possible. When I gave my notice, they warned me of non-competing contract and watched me closely afterwards; no one believed me that I would be able to retire
 
Retired at 59, Dec 3rd this year; still hasn’t really sunk in. However, my buddy is dangling $$$ in front of me for a few days a week at his startup for a consulting gig….zero stress and thinking about it!
 
I think a lot of us left at about 59 1/2, due to IRS rules. Ironically, after about 6 years, I haven't touched my 401K/IRAs yet, other than some Roth conversions.
 
45, unplanned. Was basically, morally backed into a corner. The great Lord and DW said it was time! Figure id already worked 3 lifetimes, hourwise by that time.
 
30s, unplanned.

Parent got sick, but it was another ~15 years before they died.

Only part-time work since then...my SS benefit might cover just Medicare premiums...
 
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