<p>I really like not working. really. I love the things I do, exercising (running, bicycling, playing golf), new hobbies (play more guitar, work as an extra on TV shows and movies which requires an extremely flexible schedule), volunteer work (deliver lunches and get back 10x the effort in smiles received, serve as a Guardian ad Litem which feeds my need for “professional” work - I prepare written reports and attend court hearings) </p>
<p>What I did right was move from NJ to NC to make the finances work. We had to get equity out of our house in NJ. I did not plan to stop working at age 55. That was a happy accident when my firm shut down our department, although I didn’t know it (I was not happy) at the time. </p>
<p>I also had a decent amount of savings and had put aside enough money to pay for both boys’ college. S#2 hadn’t quite graduated from hs when I stopped working, but college was already pretty well funded. </p>
<p>What I should have done differently was save more money for retirement. I think we have enough… maybe… but you never have enough. I stayed with an early employer for 9 1/2 years until 1989 when they had 10 year vesting, so no pension for me, but I can’t say that I should have remained there for another 6 months. I left for a reason. </p>
<p>I didn’t even know I was retiring. I stopped working 5 years ago and only recently started to refer to myself as “retired”… if it looks like a duck…</p>
<p>oh, and I almost forgot. As much as I absolutely love and cherish doing whatever I want whenever I want, my wife and I just agreed to take on a new huge responsibility that promises to be all consuming for the next 2 months. Can’t talk about it just yet.</p>
<p>Retirement is something I think about quite a bit. This is a very interesting thread.</p>
<p>I am very conflicted about it. On one hand, it’s a big part of my identity, and if I retire, I cannot go back. I think that we would find plenty of things to do, but what if we didn’t? That little bit of stress I always have, knowing that I will soon have to go back to work, there will soon be some sort of evaluation, challenge, or emergency…what if that stress is a good thing, keeping my brain sharper? These are the peak earning years for us, and every year that one/both of us retired early, would affect our pensions. The significant pay differentials are at age 55, 57.5, and 60, so we would retire at one of those ages. But which one?</p>
<p>I think the thing about retirement that I would appreciate the most, is the sleep. At home, I can sleep for 8-9 hours uninterrupted (thank you, melatonin!), but at work I am always woken up by the alarm clock, the maid, the noise, sleeping odd hours. I really would love to sleep in every day until I am woken up naturally (or by my rotten little dogs).</p>
<p>Many people at my work die within a few years of retirement, but many die before retirement. I really don’t think it’s retiring that makes them die early, I think it’s the environment, and the sleep. There is nothing proven. So I wonder if we’re more at risk working longer, and how to balance that with the negatives of not working. I doubt we’ll be able to make squat at any other job, so it’s not a matter of that. It’s a dilemma.</p>
<p>No issues at all Zoosermom. My husband plans to continue working for a while. He fully supported my decision to retire…I had been working in my career since age 22. He didn’t finish college until he was 32. </p>
<p>He sees that I’m happy and involved with our community. And he likes that I can travel with him now, which was impossible when I was working.</p>
<p>^^I tell you, zoosermom, if it isn’t that, it’s something else. They always give us something to worry about. Add in the kids, and it never stops!</p>
<p>DH retired 12 years ago while I still work. About 6 years ago I went back to consulting and work for myself. Much like HImom I can work anywhere for the most part and DH travels with me when he can. He now teaches soccer at the JC and used to coach at the high school and referee. He is comissioner for a local soccer league and on the state ajudication board. Keeps him somewhat busy. Also, when he retired from the office I retired from the house. He now does the cooking, shopping and cleaning. Plus the outside that he used to do. Works for me - I may never retire :)</p>
<p>I don’t know how anyone can ever retire. We are on the verge of updating bathrooms now. How in hell can I retire when i still need a major income for this stuff?</p>
<p>You get a big “raise” once kids no longer need help with college and expenses. It’s very nice and we rather live more simply and have freedom to come and go as we choose rather than working in deteriorating work environments. It’s nice to have good options to choose among. </p>
<p>H’s pension is an annuity for our lifetimes, which gives us more security than relying in our investment acumen. We do our best with the other investments but its nice to know we will have a stream of funds every month. With our family longevity genes, lifetime payments are good for us.</p>
<p>The big question! How did you decide you had enough money? I am terrified with the crazy health care costs that if we retire early one of us will get sick…and then the other one will be penniless after paying the bills.</p>
<p>My husband plans to work until at least age 65. His job includes health care benefits.</p>
<p>I think retirement is like having children. You will know when you want to retire…just like you knew when you wanted to have children.</p>
<p>If you wait until you are “ready” you will never retire.</p>
<p>For us, being “ready” meant no more college costs, no more mortgage, no more credit card bills, actually no debt (I did just buy a new…but that is a little debt, in my opinion). I worked with a retirement planner who advised me on when to retire for pension purposes. There was a huge benefit to waiting until I was sixty…so I did. </p>
<p>DH and I each have several different retirement accounts with the potential to generate an annuitized income at some point. </p>
<p>We are pretty frugal…but like to do the things we enjoy…nothing lavish.</p>
<p>And if all else fails, maybe our kids will support us:)</p>
<p>I am only 50, but only worked four months out of the last year. It was fantastic (I mean the 8 months I didn’t work, the 4 that I did work were dismal due to an awful client). I could very, very, very easily slip into a happy retirement if I could just afford it now. Alas, my finances are not yet aligned for it and one little whippersnapper is still in college, so I am off to interviews this week…</p>
<p>There is a great relief when you have more control over your expenses and no longer have to include education expenses and IF you have health insurance that has a good cap with no maximum lifetime benefit. If you have no mortgage or other debt, all the better. Once at least one (better if all) kid(s) is able to support him/her self, things keep getting better.</p>
<p>We did consult with two “planners” who both agreed that under their most pessimistic scenarios, H & I should have more than enough for our projected needs and expenses for our lifetimes, even if I retired when H did–since I take practically no salary from my nonprofit, it’s a good thing we don’t need my income any more. We received a significant windfall that will make life that much more comfortable.</p>
<p>If you have a good handle on your current expenses, expenses after retirement, expenses after one of you dies, that is a good start to figuring out how much you need for a comfortable retirement. It’s good to include things like travel, if that’s important to you, as well as weddings and/or houses, if you plan to help your kids.</p>
<p>My husband and I are two and a half years apart in age, too, but he’s the older one, and he’s the one that works for a company with really good benefits. When he becomes Medicare eligible four years from now, I will go on my company’s not-so-good and considerably more expensive health insurance if I’m still working there. However, my company is one that is known for laying people off when contracts end, so there’s no guarantee that I will still be working there four years from now. I may have to turn to the exchanges, too. At least there will be exchanges. In the past, I might have been uninsurable because of my medical history.</p>
<p>I am a little concerned about retirement because it means two more transitions in life – one when my husband retires and I’m still working, and one when I retire. The two of us haven’t always coped well with other transitions. Sometimes, one of us has been unhappy or stressed about the change in ways we didn’t anticipate. (My husband was miserable for several years after moving from one state to another for reasons connected to his career – and I still can’t figure out why.) Sometimes, our relationship has suffered. (We’ve had a lot of conflict about how to interact with our children during their college years and afterward.) I wonder what’s coming with these two new transitions.</p>
<p>I have not retired and have no plans.
I have 2 advices.
Start your 401k with you very first job.
Do not retire until you are kicked out (businesses do not keep many in their 70s, not like our wise government with many demen—ed still working there)</p>
<p>I’m curious about why you say this, Miami. Are your reasons financial? Or do you feel that a person loses something crucial in life when he/she stops working?</p>
<p>This thread has been incredibly informative and enlightening. Sometimes it is so helpful to see other people articulate their solutions to things that I have been curious or confused about.</p>
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Miami has made this statement before … I believe she does not really have a bucket list and would not have fulfilling ways to fill her time retired. Personally I want to retire as soon as feasible since I have a pretty much endless list of things I’d like to do.</p>
<p>My biggest fear with my DH retiring is him turning our house into Sampson and Sons. My DH loves to go to flea markets and garage sales and buying stuff. He buys a lot of stuff to resale or fix and sell. Unfortunately it sits around (way too long) until he sells it–if he sells it. We already have too much junk. He loves to fix things, so that is his recreation.</p>
<p>I do think he needs to retire soon. When your Dr. suggests you should retire, I think that’s a big hint. He’s got lots of health issues (blood pressure, cholesterol, etc) that all add up to earlier would be better. I think he may retire from his government job next year and work with a friend in a private business where he would have much more flexibility and creativity. I think this will provide more time off and less stress. He has too many ideas he’d like to pursue to completely retire yet (he’s in his early 50’s, so not like he’s reaching medicare age yet).</p>