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Another litmus-test definition that I've read on City-Data, a rather extreme one, is that retirement means literally throwing away all alarm clocks. This encompasses a further lifestyle change in addition to actual retirement whereby one foregoes any and all activities which take place in the morning, even pleasurable ones such as visiting a museum.
Some of us cheat (guilty here) and set the alarm in our cell phone for early morning appointments. Besides, you don't need no stinkin' clock if you wake up every morning around 6:00A.
Where you live, it would be definitely something related to traffic.
Good answer - indeed, that is the answer analogous to what you wrote about ice on the windshield. And yes, as a retiree one of the things I like is the greater flexibility in choosing what times of day and what days of the week I go to certain places and certain areas of the city.
However I am not so paranoid about driving in heavy traffic (which I find unpleasant but not torture) that I allow that consideration to veto my comings and goings completely.
What it boils down to, whether it's your ice on the windshield, Gandalara;s 100 degree heat, or Los Angeles traffic congestion, is greater freedom of choice once we are retired.
i retired on the same day i hit my 30 year mark which was in the middle of a pay period. i didn't hang around four days more to work out the PP. i had submitted my paperwork six months prior. i'd always planned it that way.
A few years ago, I decided I was going to retire in October, 2014 (my planned date, was October 3). I am going to be 65 in November and will start Medicare. I was going to begin Social Security at 65. I was counting down the months, when in March, 2013, I was laid off. I was burned out and actually happy it had happened. I got a good package (20 weeks), then I planned to go on unemployment. In April, I was hospitalized with a pleural effusion and had surgery. That was fine, but during routine tests, a tumor was found on my ovaries, and after surgery in June, I was diagnosed with cancer. Fortunately, it was found in an early stage, which is unusual for ovarian cancer. So, my initial hospitalization, probably saved my life. I then went for 18 weeks of chemo from August thru December. (Luckily, I had a very easy time of it). I am doing fine now. But, I didn't want to deal with job interviews, etc., so I bagged unemployment and began SS at age 64 instead of 65. I was on Cobra, but found a comparable plan on the ACA for less money. Between my SS, a pension and my 401K, I am managing quite nicely. My condo has been paid off, so that is not a worry. But, you never know how your plans will turn out.
To my amazement, I'm retiring two years earlier than planned (and for a while I was looking at retiring even later than that).
The amazement is because I had 12 "lost" years before I was able to start saving. But not being a spendthrift, I just kept adding to the fund. I like my job, but I'm feeling 'done' with it. For the last year or so I've been working for the health benefits. Now I don't need to do that any more.
Did You Retire When You Thought You Would? Earlier? or Later?
I retired two years earlier than planned. The work "culture" had changed drastically and I no longer enjoyed working so I pulled the plug having given six month's notice in the hopes I could train someone to replace me as institutional knowledge/memory and experience, as well as access were critical in the political arena in which I worked. It didn't happen until my last week on the job and then I refused to try to impart all that on such short notice. Too little, too late. I did give one group class on legislative analysis then out the door I went without a glance back, nary a regret and felt very freed. The financial difference in my pension - about $275 a month - didn't justify sticking around for mere money.
I retired two years earlier than planned. The work "culture" had changed drastically and I no longer enjoyed working so I pulled the plug having given six month's notice in the hopes I could train someone to replace me as institutional knowledge/memory and experience, as well as access were critical in the political arena in which I worked. It didn't happen until my last week on the job and then I refused to try to impart all that on such short notice. Too little, too late. I did give one group class on legislative analysis then out the door I went without a glance back, nary a regret and felt very freed. The financial difference in my pension - about $275 a month - didn't justify sticking around for mere money.
Your last line is the reality for a few folks. You were working for $275 a month as you were getting the rest of the money regardless. A simplification yes but a reality in many ways.
I am all set to retire at 73 in a year and a half. I made that decision about a year and a half ago.
It's not been that hard for me to accept the fact that i am no longer "the future" of my organization and to avoid acting provocatively at the minor irritants associated with being treated as if i am over the hill, which i am not. In fact, the way i have managed my exit from the work force has allowed me to cut back on my work load, reduce my stress levels and not work very hard to meet expectations.
I am not afraid of anyone.
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Did You Retire When You Thought You Would? Earlier? or Later?
