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When to retire?

19 years ago

I also posted this on the Kitchen Table forum:

If you're financially able to retire in your 50s as opposed to the traditional retirement ages (62, 65), would you do it? My DH is eligible to retire next year, when he's 55. I'll be 53. I have mixed feelings about it, and would like to hear from those who are already there

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Comments (9)

bill_h
19 years ago
as soon as possible! myself if i had been able to retire at 25 i would have. as it is i will be able to at 55, 5 more years cant wait!
acey
19 years ago
Not there yet, but I do know one needs a plan on what exactly they'll DO upon retirement. Assuming money isn't an issue, has your DH and you spoken about his plans? One can only golf so many hours in the day! (I'm sure golfers will disagree!!!)

I would not be too happy with that feeling that DH was under my feet in the kitchen looking bored all day or in front of TV. Have a talk about "next chapter, what now?" is something I'd suggest.

Nevertheless, congrats to him to have persevered as a younger fellow to reach this comfortable spot so soon! It's a good thing, if planned well, so as to be a REWARDing time for you both!
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Enjoying a pretty well worry-free retirement
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Glad to hear that things are still going well for you, ole joyful. Not much action on this forum any longer, and your contributions are always welcome. We've done pretty well in retirement, but may have to "pull in our horns" a little now that we have moved my MIL to a retirement care center. She helped with one-third of the household expenses, no small thing in the very expensive San Francisco Bay Area. However, her dementia was getting worse and we felt she desperately needed (altho she didn't think so, LOL) the social community and 24/7 friendly staff. We were happy to report in the Caregivers Forum that indeed, this has been an excellent move for her. She is much more lively and engaged. She's in Asst. Living, but this facility also has a Memory Care unit which she may eventually need as she has mild dementia. Unfortunately, in the US it takes $$$ to afford these kinds of places. It costs close to $5K/month to pay for this facility, and Memory Care is even higher - currently around $7800/mo. All of this is private pay; our healthcare system is sadly unprepared for the growing group of elderly needing varying levels of eldercare. Fortunately she has the funds. This is not a Medicaid facility, the only government program that does pay for long-term care for indigent elderly. Like most of the better senior facilities in the US, they don't accept Medicaid patients. Still, we are much more fortunate than most of our family/friends, with a full pension and retiree medical benefits. We have been able to avoid drawing down our retirement savings so far, although a whopping increase of 85% to our long-term care insurance premiums that will hit Jan 2015 may require a small drawdown. We recently moved our portfolio to the same CFP firm I vetted for MIL. I'm not interested in maneuvering through a tumultuous macro-market, and decided it was worth the expense to simplify our financial lives going forward. Could I do the investing cheaper myself? Yes, of course. Could I do it as well without spending a fair amount of time researching and worrying? Nope. I'd rather spend my time doing other things!
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upa_lazy_river
19 years ago
I will be retiring this Friday after 33 years with my company and I'm 57. My husband is retiring at the end of the year at 59. We decided to go ahead and do this because we're still healthy, can financially, have no grandkids to keep us occupied and plan on traveling, golfing, visiting our kids, and family members around the country, volunteering and just enjoying everyday we have. I still believe a boring day at home has got to be better than a day at work!

I can't tell you what it is like, but I anticipate it will like a perpetual vacation. I'll let you know in six months.
duluthinbloomz4
19 years ago
I can tell you... I retired at 55 after 30 plus years of working for an internationally known and well respected company. I loved working and all the perks, but never looked back after walking out the door for the last time. Absolutely no regrets. It was always my plan to retire at the first possible opportunity and had set financial goals to reach at certain periods in my life to make that possible.

It'll really dawn on you, upa lazy river, on Monday morning when your 33 year routine changes - can sleep in, no deadlines, all the work clothes can be put in the back of the closet... and congratulations!

A lot of my social circle did pretty much the same thing, all within the span of a couple of years... and that brought some change; relocations out of state, deaths, selling homes and moving to adult communities. We all found out pretty quickly that "things change". And I was the logical one in my family to relocate back to the family home to look after aging parents. And it was such a blessing having the time to do this, not juggling between many masters. Dad passed away a few years ago and Mom (Alzheimers) has been in long term care for 8 months now so this is sort of like my second retirement.

Having planned well, and having been lucky, I'm financially secure; have the long since paid for family home, zero debt. My time isn't too structured - I'm in the yard and gardens most of the day, take classes at the university, make the rounds of the farmers' markets, play cards in a little group, meet another group for coffee once a week. As time goes on, I'll find more and more of a niche and I am interested in doing some type of volunteering - but the beauty of the whole thing is that I really don't have to accomplish anything. For the first time in my life, I can actually set my own pace.
joyfulguy
19 years ago
Duluth in bloom z4,

You ...are ... your ... own ... boss!

Ain't it nice?

And you've illuminated many facets of the situation, for those who may be considering it.

Thanks for doing what I feel to be a good job of that.

ole joyful

... thankful to be enjoying good health, physically, emotionally (I think), financially, socially and family-wise as I near 80

... with one major regret ... that my ex- chose to leave our relationship, over 35 years ago ... and passed away almost three years ago
minnie_tx
19 years ago
How are you doing OJ? I forgot if you got another car or got the old one fixed.
upa_lazy_river
19 years ago
duluth, I'm finally retired, am settling in well, but have found that I'm much more active during the day than I was when I was sitting behind the desk. There always is something to do. But I also see in the afternoon that a nap sounds good!
joyfulguy
19 years ago
Minnie,

The '88 Mazda that cost $2,500. early this year ...

... cost over $3,000. to fix.

But my friend the body shop owner said that it makes more sense to fix it than the Taurus, last year.

The cost of repair is mostly for labour, only a small amount of materials, and that from the auto scrapyard.

Considering not only the amount of energy that it takes to mine and smelt the ore and build a car, plus the pollution and warming that using that energy produces, it seems a shame to scrap a car that, once repaired, will go for a substantial number of miles. With luck.

One of my personal contributions to making a small footprint on the earth by using less energy and producing less pollution and warming, I guess.

A worthy place to use some of the bucks that my frugality has produced, I figure.

And I came through the accident with a bit of skin about the size of a quarter scraped from my elbow (with the scab going about the time that I got the repaired car back).

I hope that the discomfort that the man driving the car that hit me felt just after the accident proves to have been superficial and temporary.

Given the circumstance ... one can be very thankful that there was not more damage or injury ... even possible death.

ole joyful
minnie_tx
19 years ago
OJ sounds like you're doing ok. I have an old 88 Ford Tempo which I baby because I like it and it is paid for. I think I paid about the same and have spent twice that just keeping it alive. This year the mechanic changed out the A/C from that R12 freon stuff to the one you are supposed to use now. BUT The front blowers don't work too good and he wasn't able to find the parts. so I have some air coming outof the dashboard vents. I drive with the windows open when I can and use a cardboard fan as a diverter . remember those little window on the front that you could open and the air would flow in? I use the cardboard kind of like that. It is ok for me and since I don't have many passengers it works out. I mostly go places with DS in his well Air conditioned Jeep anyway!!

Glad to hear you are keeping on top of things

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