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..........."you will know when the time is right"......
Many times not .
Many athletes and workers in many different fields hang in there way past their prime falsely believing they still are as productive as ever. Some even believe they are one of the most valuable employees.
Thus it comes as a total shock when their boss has " the talk" with them to inform them that their services are no longer valued or wanted.
When this happened they are in shock and their pride and self esteem really takes a beating.
I have had this happen to many older friends of mine who thought they could just continue to work up until age 80.
Yes, retire when you want, but retiring with pride and dignity with a few good years left is a lot better than being shown the door and leaving crushed and bitter.
When one's skills and productivity start dropping, that person is the last to know or admit it.
Excellent point. I concede that not everyone "will know when the time is right". Of course the time being right has much more to it than just one's skills and productivity slipping; it also has to do with the desire to devote time other pursuits - that "been there, done that" feeling about work - which can occur long before the erosion of skills and productivity.
As for your last sentence which I bolded, my quarrel with it is that it is too generalized, too universalized. Not everyone is subject to self-delusion like that - some are and some aren't. Some of us are radically objective even when it comes to ourselves.
Yet your point and your warning remain good. Everyone hanging on past 65 or 70 (those ages are arbitrary, I know) should undertake a serious self-examination in light of your warning. And yes, sadly, it may be that the ones who most need to self-examine will refuse even to consider the possibility. Self-delusion about many things is strong in some individuals.
Why not retire now as you have plenty of hobbies to keep yourself busy. I took early retirement at 48 after 30 years at 46% pay. Worked a part-time job(2 days) by choice which i enjoyed and retired last year at 56. We live the simple life, buy only what we need and enjoy each day as it comes. As they say tomorrow is never promised, enjoy yourself while health is good you won't regret it.
As to why not retire now - the pension goes up by about 15% per year till I get to 60. I would only retire before 60 if unusual circumstances prevailed, or an "early out" VROF was offered, such that I could add years to my age to "virtually" be 60, if that makes sense.
The reduced or full pension lasts your whole life. Not sure why I would want to reduce it by almost 1/3 by pulling the plug now.
..........."you will know when the time is right"......
Many times not .
Many athletes and workers in many different fields hang in there way past their prime falsely believing they still are as productive as ever. Some even believe they are one of the most valuable employees.
Thus it comes as a total shock when their boss has " the talk" with them to inform them that their services are no longer valued or wanted.
When this happened they are in shock and their pride and self esteem really takes a beating.
I have had this happen to many older friends of mine who thought they could just continue to work up until age 80.
Yes, retire when you want, but retiring with pride and dignity with a few good years left is a lot better than being shown the door and leaving crushed and bitter.
When one's skills and productivity start dropping, that person is the last to know or admit it.
I hear you and appreciate the point, but so far certainly in my performance reviews my boss frequently compliments me on painting a realistic picture of how well I did.
This place is one where, if your performance started to suffer, you would get several "talks" before "the talk" - that and peers would let you know if you were slipping. In the nuclear world, it kind of has to be that way.
I don't think this particular problem will happen to me, but probably there are more people out there who would be subject to it than not, so thanks for bringing it up.
And thanks to everyone who has replied so far.
My current plan is definitely to go to 60, 3 years down the road, and then re-evaluate, but leaning towards continuing to work for several more years beyond 60, but as pointed out here, that is subject to change, particularly if important circumstances change.
No good deal here, which resulted in a 14% total reduction in pension,(2%x7 yrs) as i took a 2% penalty per year under the age of 55. It's not always about the money, as we age time is more important. Everyone has different priorities, good luck with your decision.
I'm 57 working a great job that I enjoy, with a defined pension that will go up about 15% per year that I continue to work till I reach 60 years old. Given that, it seems to me the "only move on the board" is to keep working at least to age 60. After that, the optimal path is not as obvious.
The job is mostly desk work, very mentally stimulating, and there are people around here working into their 80's and one guy who is a hero of mine who is still around in his early 90's. So working another 20 years or more is, assuming I stay healthy, a viable option.
At age 60 the pension would be about 46% of what I am making now. Currently we don't spend all I make, and some sort of part-time work would probably be available in retirement. Just me and my wife, and my cat. House is paid for, I don't do new cars. No particular desire to do heavy travel and vacations. 401K should be roughly 1M when I am 60. I could probably time taking SS (assuming it still exists) independently of retiring, people on here have explained the benefits of delaying till about age 70. Wife has never worked much outside the house.
However, I have plenty of hobbies. The job is fairly demanding, when I retire I can do more of what I want, I can hunt more, fish more, work out more. I could retire today, and not be bored (although I would have a couple of lean years till I could do 401K withdrawals without tax penalty).
Of course, a health crisis could change things, but assuming we both stay nominally healthy, what are your thoughts on an optimal age to retire? No doubt some posters will have follow-up questions that I didn't answer here, please post them up along with your ideas on when to retire and why!
Given what you've posted I'd say work til 60 and then retire and enjoy your hobbies to the fullest.
Given what you've posted I'd say work til 60 and then retire and enjoy your hobbies to the fullest.
Well, maybe. Certainly it makes no sense to me to retire voluntarily before 60. But I'm not sure pulling the plug right when I turn 60 is what I will want to do. Of course things will change in unpredictable ways between now and then, so I am just thinking about this with you guys in a general way.
Thinking about this more, and writing stuff out seems to help think clearly, while not every day is a bed of roses (that's why they call it work) a lot of what I do is fun. If I hit the lottery and didn't need the money at all anymore, there are projects that I would work on for free, because I enjoy the mental stimulation, because I think the project is important, or sometimes both.
It may be an event, rather than reaching a certain age, that makes me decide to retire. Probably it will be like that.
I agree with your plan to work until at least 60 and reevaluate.
If everything is the same, retire and enjoy the next phase of your life... keep busy.
Key points:
1) You saved for retirement
2) You lived a life style below what you could afford (and will continue to enjoy that standard of living).
3) With all sources, you have enough to live in retirement the way you want.
You have a great job that you enjoy, your pension will be getting a 15% increase each year (for how many annual raises did you ever get that?!) with only 3 years to go to collect. You have some hobbies but no great plans for travel, etc.
If you have no great desires...I'd keep working! You seem a little passive and that passivity will gain you a lot of security if you hang on to this great job for another few years. Does it also include health insurance or some kind of percentage they'll pay toward coverage? ....all the more reason to stay on for a bit longer.
And it isn't all or nothing - you could work 12 more months for that 15%, another year for another 15%....why not play it by ear rather than throw those choices away when you clearly don't care much one way or the other? Is spouse pressuring you to travel? Other coworkers leaving and it seems like the thing to do? Are you in such poor health that a few more years now would make a big difference...because 60 is plenty young to enjoy yourself especially if you're not into strenuous travel or hobbies.
It honestly depends on what you want to do. Given you seem to like what you do, many other long-term employees have stayed, etc, I would propose working half-time after 60. Enough to keep you stimulated and busy, but also enough free time to enjoy what retirement brings.
Glad I'm not the only one thinking about such things!! Similar situation for me also, though only 10% a year increase through 60, then about $5k a year pension increase per year up until 65. About the same savings, and house paid off, no debt. The BIG difference for me is wife is 5 years older, and at 62 already retired and collecting. I also plan on collecting at FRA. If I was married to someone my age or younger, I'd likely go to 65 because I really enjoy my job (well the fact that I get paid what I get paid for the job I do, which I like. I don't like it so much I'd do it for free. It's not like I'm a porn star....;-0) But since at 62, DW will be 67, that really shortens out traveling time together, which we definitely plan on doing. Finding it hard to justify delaying retirement past 63 because of that, but I have time to decide.
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