To those who retired early: Do you feel guilty? (divorce, spouse, long distance)
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I would early retire in a minute if i had a good plan for health insurance!
How do you nice folks handle health care????
I, too, am lucky enough to have health care included in the pension benefit. It makes the difference in having retirement be a reality instead of just a pipe dream.
Lincoln said: "We all are about as happy as we decide to be"
this is so true...life is too short...If you get a chance at retirement..go for it!
I know people I worked with staying past their time saying well,If I stay another year, I'll make another % in my pension..meanwhile they are really
risking their pension staying past the 20...anything could happen in law enforcement...not to mention the stress factor..I have absoulutley no
regrets..I ran out the door when my time came and haven't looked back since..I fish..golf..garden..go online..read..go to movies..wineries..wine tastings..see family and friends more..and no more missing holidays...
just apprecite life and the fact I was able to get to this point in my life...
this is so true...life is too short...If you get a chance at retirement..go for it!
I know people I worked with staying past their time saying well,If I stay another year, I'll make another % in my pension..meanwhile they are really
risking their pension staying past the 20...anything could happen in law enforcement...not to mention the stress factor..I have absoulutley no
regrets..I ran out the door when my time came and haven't looked back since..I fish..golf..garden..go online..read..go to movies..wineries..wine tastings..see family and friends more..and no more missing holidays...
just apprecite life and the fact I was able to get to this point in my life...
I believe this is very wise advice! I mulled over the decision as to whether to stay another year - kept crunching numbers and trying to figure out what the magic number would be that could allow me to go. Then, just last week, I was offered a pretty lucrative promotion, which would mean a significant difference in my pension, but only after 3 more years of work. I really agonized over it. But I ended up turning it down, and as soon as I did I felt like a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I know that sounds very trite, but it's true. My effective retirement day is May 1st, and I have no regrets (other than maybe making it sooner!) Life is too short!
I believe this is very wise advice! I mulled over the decision as to whether to stay another year - kept crunching numbers and trying to figure out what the magic number would be that could allow me to go. Then, just last week, I was offered a pretty lucrative promotion, which would mean a significant difference in my pension, but only after 3 more years of work. I really agonized over it. But I ended up turning it down, and as soon as I did I felt like a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I know that sounds very trite, but it's true. My effective retirement day is May 1st, and I have no regrets (other than maybe making it sooner!) Life is too short!
this is a great post...the thinking of some people is ..well if I leave now..
how much is this pension going to be worth in 20 years..so what happens is they stay..another year, 2, 3, 5, 10...If you think like this..you will never retire...this is where a plan and goal come into play..got to have a plan
to get the most from your pension..for example my plan...relocated from expensive New York to affordable..better quality of life..cheaper cost of
living..safer area...PA...where my pension and other investments will go
alot further...and I'm happy here...
The way things are going today quite a few people are going to literally be forced into early retirement with job losses and in many cases the inability to get decent work. Of course everyone's situation is different, but many I know with myself included have lost a big chunk of retirement funds and our jobs are on the line. Hence, the possibility for an earlier than planned retirement should be factored into plans, but it may include downsizing quite a bit more than originally planned. I know I have an interest in getting involved in activities and hobbies which will occupy my time while not being overly expensive. I am somewhat fortunate, if you can call it that, that I have an upcoming deployment with one year of tax free income coming up after which I'll be eligible to retire at age 50. After getting through this the only major planning will involve deciding where to move to get out of a very high cost region. Maybe by then the economy will have started to pick up, but personally I think any recovery will be very slow and I really am ready to finally do what I want and get off the treadmill.
this is so true...life is too short...If you get a chance at retirement..go for it!
I know people I worked with staying past their time saying well,If I stay another year, I'll make another % in my pension..meanwhile they are really
risking their pension staying past the 20...anything could happen in law enforcement...not to mention the stress factor..I have absoulutley no
regrets..I ran out the door when my time came and haven't looked back since..I fish..golf..garden..go online..read..go to movies..wineries..wine tastings..see family and friends more..and no more missing holidays...
just apprecite life and the fact I was able to get to this point in my life...
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This question is for anyone else who retired before age 60.
I retired five years ago at age 53, after working fulltime ever since age 18. My father died unexpectedly in 2001 and I inherited his house, life insurance and retirement policies, et cetera. I decided to sell his house plus my own, because I'd fallen in love with an "older house with great character" (this is a euphemism for "Money Pit", by the way; I see elsewhere on the forum there's a young man who believes he can purchase an older home for $50,000 and spend no more than $2000 on repairs and improvements – he certainly is in for a rude awakening!) which I subsequently bought and spent almost three years restoring and repairing.
All of my friends, family and acquaintances are, however, still working full-time. I am the only one who has retired and at every social gathering someone ALWAYS asks the dreaded question: "So, what are you DOING with yourself nowadays? Are you WORKING?" in the tone of voice that implies rather "Are you still being a layabout, or have you decided to return to doing something productive?" During the years I was restoring the house, I at least had that "excuse", but it is now finished. I get the unmistakable sense that people feel there is no earthly reason why a healthy single childless 58-year-old woman of education and reasonable intelligence should not be still in the workforce… other than sheer laziness or irresponsibility, that is, neither of which has ever been the case. I have sometimes felt guilty enough to actually lie and say that I am doing temporary-employment work! That always results in a response of "Oh really? That's very nice" and the conversation turns elsewhere; but if I instead evade the question by answering "Oh, this and that", it continues on into more of a third-degree investigation: "But what exactly do you DO with all that free time?" There are times when I am tempted to reply "None of your bloody business" but of course I never do…
So I am wondering if others who chose early retirement feel, or are made to feel, uncomfortable or somehow 'guilty' about it at times?
Why feel guilty if you can afford to do it? I will be retiring before I'm 60 maybe before I'm 59....way I look at it, is if I have enough to survive (no I won't be traveling to Europe etc) but I will be ok, why not give up a position in the workforce to someone else...especially the way it is now.
If I can afford to go, I'm going...and I hope a young person with kids to feed and mortgage payments gets my job.
I, too, am lucky enough to have health care included in the pension benefit. It makes the difference in having retirement be a reality instead of just a pipe dream.
But remember, lots of those benefits are going belly up. I personally am not planning on retiring basing it on "supposed" retiree medical benefits....anyone who did or does may wish to rethink this.
One can always work part time at places like Walgreens, Walmart and the like and get medical. May not be the best, but it's something. If one truly wants to get out of the rat race, and they don't have retiree medical coverage, there are other ways to handle it.
I saw all the retiree medical benefits from my previous job get pulled. And for the ones already retired, the left their benefits intact, however their share of premimums went from 180.00 a month to over 700.00 a month. This is going to continue to happen more as state governments, city governments, and county governments, have to cut costs...not to mention the people who were in unions with union medical benefits.
But remember, lots of those benefits are going belly up. I personally am not planning on retiring basing it on "supposed" retiree medical benefits....anyone who did or does may wish to rethink this.
One can always work part time at places like Walgreens, Walmart and the like and get medical. May not be the best, but it's something. If one truly wants to get out of the rat race, and they don't have retiree medical coverage, there are other ways to handle it.
I saw all the retiree medical benefits from my previous job get pulled. And for the ones already retired, the left their benefits intact, however their share of premimums went from 180.00 a month to over 700.00 a month. This is going to continue to happen more as state governments, city governments, and county governments, have to cut costs...not to mention the people who were in unions with union medical benefits.
The more often this sort of thing happens, the more inevitable national health care becomes.
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