To me, 65 is normal (and that's shifting to 67) because that's when government benefits kick in. Anything before 60 is certainly "early". In our jobs, anything without our full pensions is "early".
Right now, I think I can retire in my early 60's. Given I'm likely to live to be 85 or 90, I'm good with that. My mom retired around 65, my dad is 76 and still working. He likes to work and has nothing to do other than work. He'll work until he dies, God willing, and it's not about the money. Does that mean he's never going to retire, or he never had a "job"?
I am kind of surprised people even want to retire as early as 50-55 if we are assuming retirement means not working for pay at all. Ramping down work and having more free time to travel or spend on hobbies or with family sounds great, but I don't particularly have the desire to spend the last 40+ years of my life not engaging in any paid employment. It seems like it would be easy to get bored or feel unproductive eventually. Most people I know who "retired" youngish ended up starting some other type of work on the side (consulting or contract work or a less stressful, more flexible job).
I am kind of surprised people even want to retire as early as 50-55 if we are assuming retirement means not working for pay at all. Ramping down work and having more free time to travel or spend on hobbies or with family sounds great, but I don't particularly have the desire to spend the last 40+ years of your life not engaging in any paid employment. It seems like it would be easy to get bored or feel unproductive eventually. Most people I know who "retired" youngish ended up starting some other type of work on the side (consulting or contract work or a less stressful, more flexible job).
My ideal would be what several of my mentors have done: "retire" from public service with a pension and then run consulting companies to cherry-pick interesting work without having to stress over paying the bills.
I don't actually think I'd want to be unemployed for half my life.
I am listening to a podcast recommended on here (which is fantastic - "Jill on Money"), and a caller on the "When can I retire?" show, Sally, shared with Jill that she's 59 and planning to retire. Jill gasps, "That's fantastic, that's so early!!!"
I share this because I am curious to hear your perspectives, what "decade" do you switch from "regular retirement" to "retiring early"?
Ex: Jill's reaction seems to indicate that 50's is early, so I'd guess that she thinks 60s and above is "regular".
(I'm not doing a poll because I like to hear he explanation why you've anchored on a certain decade as early!!!)
PS: Her podcast is really interesting, as I said above, and I enjoyed the following discussion that the caller forced, which was all about making the switch from focusing on working & saving FOR retirement (the accumulation phase)...and is now switching to the retirement phase (money access and utilization). Jill's observation is that once people get the accumulation phase down, it's easy and they really struggle to making the switch to retirement, which is more about appropriate money access.
Saturday morning money ramblings!!!!
Anything before 60 seems early to me. Both my husband and I can retire with pensions at 58. If his pension levels aren't changed in the next 20 years he probably would make less if he kept working.
I highlighted the bold because I have a friend who retired this year and she is really struggling with making the switch to retirement. We are planning a relatively inexpensive girls trip and she can't come because of resources. This makes me so sad for her. I think she really does have the $$, but her financial planner/brother has convinced her she shouldn't spend money on herself. I bought her books on retiring happy for Christmas, she may not like them, but oh well.
Other than law enforcement, anything before 65 seems early to me. My job has a pension, but even with the ability to start drawing on it at 55, most people wait until their 60s. I'm aiming for 58 myself.
ETA: We chose 58 as my target age because H will be 65 then. I would be only at 75-80% off my salary as pension, but with H able to draw on his benefits, we could easily make up that difference in my income. And we could live solely on my income.
Post by imojoebunny on Dec 20, 2014 12:31:38 GMT -5
My dad retired at 46. My mom didn't really work. I think 50's is early. Health insurance prior to Medicare is crazy expensive. My dad got it through a company he did some specialty work for until 3 years before he was eligible for Medicare. For those three years it was $25-$35k a year for he and my mom to have crap insurance.
That kills the early retirement deal for a lot of people.
I am kind of surprised people even want to retire as early as 50-55 if we are assuming retirement means not working for pay at all. Ramping down work and having more free time to travel or spend on hobbies or with family sounds great, but I don't particularly have the desire to spend the last 40+ years of my life not engaging in any paid employment. It seems like it would be easy to get bored or feel unproductive eventually. Most people I know who "retired" youngish ended up starting some other type of work on the side (consulting or contract work or a less stressful, more flexible job).
For me, I may do some kind of job in retirement, but it would not be what I do now. It would be something enjoyable, low stress and part time. It would be extra money and not money that we actually need. I really like my job, but it is very stressful and all consuming. Also, I want to be able to move away from Chicago which I can't do with my current job.
I actually prefer to use the wording "semi retired" or "independently wealthy" as it better explains my plans.
I also know that I will have no problem filling in my days with non work.
Post by Balki.Bartokomous on Dec 20, 2014 13:15:54 GMT -5
Mid 60's is regular retirement IMO. I don't know that 59 is gasp worthy, but perhaps that is because our perceptions here are skewed because we talk quite a bit about retiring early and so 59 does not seem abnormal to us.
I couldn't find anything better than this Gallup poll, so take that FWIW, but I thought it was interesting. 2/3 of respondents were non-retirees, so I think the expectation today is that FRA will be closer to mid- to late-60s. And that's based on telephone calls, so imagine the demographic they didn't include in this poll: people who can't afford a phone. Those are the people who will be working longer than any of us.
Post by barefootcontessa on Dec 20, 2014 13:34:44 GMT -5
ha ha. We will have at least two kids in college (one just starting) at 59 so yeah that seems early. I hope we have enough stashed away by then that my DH can quit his BS job and do something less stressful.
Post by sweetcheeks on Dec 20, 2014 13:51:19 GMT -5
I think retiring before 60 as early retirement. I'm 57 and currently planning on retiring at 65, when I will be eligible for Medicare. If my health stays good, and I have a healthy balance in my HSA, I might consider 63 1/2, and use my HSA to pay for Cobra for the 18 months before age 65. But I can't imagine fully retiring. I'd like to leave the stress and commuting of my present job, and take up a part time job to keep my mind active.
I'd say 59 is a little early, but certainly not "so early". My parents retired at 58 and 60, which was a bit early, but not unheard of. I think before 55 is pretty early. Before 50 is maybe gasp worthy. Our current plan is for us to leave traditional employment at around 48ish, and transition to managing rental properties and consulting in our fields of expertise part-time.
I absolutely despise going to work every day but I'm trapped by being 9 years away from a lifetime pension and free healthcare. I am eligible to retire at age 47 and I will be flying out the door so fast. I wouldn't mind working for myself but I'm very tired of working for other people.
I am kind of surprised people even want to retire as early as 50-55 if we are assuming retirement means not working for pay at all. Ramping down work and having more free time to travel or spend on hobbies or with family sounds great, but I don't particularly have the desire to spend the last 40+ years of my life not engaging in any paid employment. It seems like it would be easy to get bored or feel unproductive eventually. Most people I know who "retired" youngish ended up starting some other type of work on the side (consulting or contract work or a less stressful, more flexible job).
For me, I may do some kind of job in retirement, but it would not be what I do now. It would be something enjoyable, low stress and part time. It would be extra money and not money that we actually need. I really like my job, but it is very stressful and all consuming. Also, I want to be able to move away from Chicago which I can't do with my current job.
I actually prefer to use the wording "semi retired" or "independently wealthy" as it better explains my plans.
I also know that I will have no problem filling in my days with non work.
I would have no problem spending the last half of my life being independently wealthy and working only at jobs that I actually enjoy. That sounds lovely. Heck, I am self-employed and only work ~20 hours a week now, and for the most part it is great. But I don't consider myself retired (maybe I would feel differently if I didn't need the money and was just doing a fun, really low-stress job for kicks?). Semi-retired, independently wealthy, self-employed, part-time worker, free lancer, retiring from a traditional corporate job and doing something "fun" instead--all of those scenarios sound appealing. I just don't have a particular desire to make sure I am not working at all by X age.
I know too many people who have had failing health in their 50s and had to retire early:(
65 seems more normal for office workers, assuming their health holds.
I don't really trust myself enough to stay productive if I retire early, so I will plan to work until 65 or so. But I hope to have my financial life in order that I can survive if my health fails at 55.
Being more proactive about my health is also on the list for the next few years;)
h I love how you said that. Financial independence is the other way I often think about the stage one reaches where work is completely optional.
I adore a lot of what I do...buy can't wait until the point in my life where I can do projects when I want, no more no less, and be super selective about who I partner with. And NOT 5 days a week
The ACA has made this possible for more people than before.
As little as 5 years ago, unless you had a secondary source for health insurance (like military pensions), getting a reasonable rate on the private market at 50+ was difficult, if not impossible.
SO and I are 55, and I have medical issues (hip replacements) and he has a pit tumor. Neither of us would be insurable 5 years ago, but today we could be covered. So retiring closer to 60 than 70 now becomes an option for us.
Post by delawarejen on Dec 21, 2014 13:14:32 GMT -5
I consider anything before 65 to be early.
I hear a lot of comments about working versus early retirement. My concern is late retirement. I have relatives who have lived into their 90's or are on track to do so. Some declined mentally decades before their physical decline. Care isn't cheap, especially if you don't have any one to look in on you during the years when you are slowly declining (the years when you could live alone but probably shouldn't, and the years when you might be able to live at home with daily help but not require 24 hour help).
The other issue is that people in the last decade of their career end up retired or underemployed by default (company went out of business, health declined, etc.). I know far too many people who had that happen and then struggled. On the flip side, I've also worked with people who didn't retire when they should have and they were eventually fired because they were unable to do their jobs. If the choice is up to me, I can see myself slowing down some in my 60's (perhaps taking more vacations). Assuming my mind and body hold out, I think I'd like to retire from full time work some time between 67 and 71. I might do seasonal or part time work for a few years after that if I am competent and capable.
Yeah, we are fortunate that if we are on DH's health insurance for a few years before retirement we keep it into retirement. That is one of the main reasons it's doable. DH is also not eligible for social security so we don't have to worry about that.
My mom worked for NY state, and took an early retirement incentive a few years ago at age 57. She receives a pension from the state. Even though she is officially retired, she works part time because she gets bored, partly because my dad is still working.
My dad is 61, and he will be laid off this spring due to his company closing down, so his plan is just to retire, and collect his generous severance package.
Post by wanderlustmom on Dec 21, 2014 16:48:37 GMT -5
DH and I are different. He plans to retire between 55-60 hard stop. He hopes to be a competitive senior cyclist and have absolutely nothing ever to do with engineering again. He doesn't hate his job but it's not a essential part of his personality. He does it to provide.
I currently see clients three days a week in my private practice and could see reducing to one or two maybe at 60. I will take more time off but I think I will keep to working until I don't like it. I could see myself working as a therapist in my 90s.
I really don't worry about getting bored. My mom retired very early and seems to have such a great life. She volunteers in a number of different organizations, is on some municipal boards, visits us all the time, volunteers at a ski resort in exchange for free skiing (she is an avid skier), travels, works on her house, and had a lot of retired friends.
I love to just putter around and do stuff like that. I don't think I need work to define myself. I am curious what DH will do as his career is very much part of his identity . He also has a love/hate relationship with it lately so we'll see what happens. For a long time he was going to retire at 40 and just recently we've been rethinking things so he can do a full retirement at 48.
I will retire at 51, with a pension of 94% of my average-of-the-last-three-years salary. At the end, I will have 30 years with no breaks in service. I think that's pretty nuts (the age, the pension benefit), but that's what it is. I'd like to get into animal rescue when I'm done working my "first career".
ETA: And to me, it's crazy early to retire at 51. I'd imagine H will retire in the "normal" range, 60-65.
Post by sherbanator on Dec 22, 2014 19:02:45 GMT -5
My career field has a mandatory retirement age of 56 so that seems normal to me. I'm working very hard to make sure that I am able to live comfortably after that age without working.
I don't agree that retiring and then coming back as a consultant is actually retiring. You may be financially independent, semi-retired, or you may have downshifted your career, but if you are working for pay you are not retired.
I think anything before 50 is considered early retirement, maybe anything before 55. I have friends and family members on various ends of the scale.
Good fiends of mine retired in their early 30's and moved to a beautiful Island. While they were in town last week, shared they were "retiring from retirement" and going back to work. They are not taking on traditional work, but more along the lines of a new business adventure.
I also have a grandpa who still works in his 80's. Granted, he has significantly scaled back over the past few years, but he owns his own business and works when he wants to because he truly enjoys it. DH has an 85 year old colleague who works full time (and even traveled internationally with him in August!) and had no plans to retire. He is in remarkable shape and even teaches elderly defensive driving classes at his local AARP chapter.
IMO, while I am actively saving for retirement, I am focusing more on having the secure financial independence that would allow me to be in a position to retire. Whether or not I actually would stop working is another conversation. I would love to be in a position where i could make that decision without regards to my finances - whether I continue working (what would probably be a flexible job with lots of time off to travel) or whether I stop working would be because I am passionate about something that stimulates my mind and I would want to do it because I truly enjoy it.