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Earlier this month I took a one week vacation which mainly consisted of going to the beach and being as lazy as a human being can possibly be. During that week I was thinking to myself how quickly I could get used to being retired and not working any more.
Every time I see or hear of a 70+ year old who is still working because they can't afford to retire, I tell myself I'd eat a bullet before I ever become one of those poor souls. I'll be far beyond over this working for a living crap when the time comes.
Speak for yourself. Some people love their work, and certainly don't feel like "poor souls" for doing it past a certain age. Almost every librarian who retires comes back shortly thereafter, and ends up working at least part-time as a sub... and it's usually NOT out of necessity, because we can start collecting a nice pension (if you worked enough years) as early as age 55.
I'd say more than half of my colleagues are over 55, so why are they still working if they could sit back & collect a $4000-5000/mo pension instead? Maybe because we chose this job for the love of our work, and not just a paycheck? Also, people like to feel useful, which is why many retirees get bored and depressed after a short time. Sitting on a beach sipping margaritas is nice for a while, but eventually you will crave at least something to do! Whether it's volunteering or doing something for pay, most people will find themselves seeking a "purpose" within a year or two after retirement. At least in my observations.
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I plan to retire in Mexico. I don't have a pension that can afford a nice life in the USA. To me if you want to live in a big city in America you need 4k to 5k monthly coming in.
I get no where near that, so I have no choice but to leave.
I'm the big seven-O and am still working for the man everyday day and every night, and will continue to do so until I can get out of this too-big house. The kids are gone, moved out of state for school and job. My wife has too much stuff. Can't get out, can't stay. Mortgage payment requires me to work. Due to an event at my last employer, my contract was ended, so I am again pounding the bricks seeking contract work. I'm looking at a minimum of two more years if I got another job today, which I won't. But, I still have my health, mostly, and I still have a couple of toys, and my wife of 40 years can still tolerate me, so.... All in all, life is still good.
It took me until 40 to find the perfect career for me and I've been at it for 26 years with no desire to stop anytime soon. No boss, pays well, make my own hours, work when I want, plenty of time to travel or pursue my hobbies. Why would I quit ? I admit that I've slowed down the volume of business quite a bit to have even more time for myself lately, but I can't really imagine not doing it at all. It's too much fun.
Sounds great, but do you care to share what you are actually doing?
I plan to retire in Mexico. I don't have a pension that can afford a nice life in the USA. To me if you want to live in a big city in America you need 4k to 5k monthly coming in.
I get no where near that, so I have no choice but to leave.
Sometimes, living in a small town in America isn't significantly cheaper than living in a big city.
For example, upon retirement in the near future, my GF is contemplating moving from the big city, to the small town nearly 100 miles away where she was born. Her primary motivation is less people/less traffic/quieter slower-paced lifestyle, lower cost of living, and less crime.
Less people and traffic for sure, crime stats (per capita) only slightly lower, but I'm not seeing any measurable savings in COL. Housing prices for something comparable to what we have in the big city isn't much lower, and the neighborhoods generally aren't quite as nice. Property taxes are about as high or slightly higher than the big city. No public transportation, either, so you need a car, plus you are going to have to drive to the big city at least occasionally for stuff like specialized medical, etc. I don't get it. No really big employers, what do people do for a living there? Agriculture mostly, it seems. Not much as far as amenities -- a single movie theater, a Walmart, and a regional chain grocery store, but no other big box retailers. We're cord cutters, so I checked OTA TV availability, but antenna reception websites say no OTA signal there, so factor in an additional cost for basic cable, or maybe a streaming option.
The list goes on. So perhaps moving out of the USA is the only realistic option for those with very limited retirement income.
At 71, I've been retired 10+ years and can't imagine just now retiring. I always enjoyed work (and ministry on the side), but, work was simply a means to an end, not an end in itself. Not having to meet a schedule or deadlines, doing what I want when I want, travel, grandkids, sleeping late, writing a book, golf, fishing, volunteering ...all make retirement better than working.
Of course, we're in good health, financially secure and have already lived in Florida for 45-years. I suppose the downsides are: I'm running-out of things I really want to do, often lose track of what day it is - and never seem to get a day off from retirement.
I'm going to be 39 in March, and I will have only 11 years left until retirement. I will be retired completely at age 50, cashflowing around $25,000/month from completely paid off real estate. That won't be factoring in sizeable 401K and roth IRAs that I will just leave sitting as an emergency fund. It's all about the monthly cash flow and making money while you sleep! Its all about putting in the work now and taking all these calculated risks. Life is too short to even work until 60. I actually have a part of me that is shooting for retirement at 45, but I have set the for sure last age I would retire at 50. Feel sorry for people on here that talk about working forever with no hope. You gotta grab life by the balls and make it your b*tch, otherwise you become life's b*tch.
Current retirement ages were set decades ago, when our life expectancy was much shorter. The expectation was you worked your whole life, retired, maybe had a couple of years, and died. That system worked. But with advances in medicine, people are living and being healthy much longer. Why should anyone expect to be able to stop working but continue to live how they want for decades, and someone else just needs to pick up the tab for them?
The critical part is the last sentence.
No one person should expect others (government, society, taxpayers) to subsidize their early retirement. But apparently, a lot of people were like the grasshopper and not the ant, now beyond their employable years and facing a bleak future.
For the truly poor, there are programs (Medicaid, SNAP) which will help. But applicants need to demonstrate nearly zero assets for these safety nets.
Fortunately, the US does honor Social Security and Medicare regardless of wealth, which if handled extremely frugally, should be enough to scrape by. Medicare is provided at 65 and SS is provided at its highest level at 70. If you have other income, and wish to retire earlier than those thresholds, then so be it. But for those who failed to save enough, they should plan to continue to work (at any job) until they can get to 70.
I'm Retiring from Army Reserves and State Corrections by the Age of 55. I already have a passive income racking in $5K month and will most likely 4x's that amount within the next 24 yrs.
Will I be completely retired, hell no thats too freakin boring. I rather become a PE teacher and vacation all summer long (3 months long). While my wife continues her pursuit for County School Superintendent.
When my kids finally all leave the nest I'm definitely downsizing.
My Pension should be around $6k a month. I reside in a small city within my peers I'm doing good (damn good)
Beisdes, if more and more people work longer further than 65 or 70, the young people can hardly to get jobs. That's bad for the society. Old people just keep working; and young, grown-up adults cannot find jobs and have to stay at home and relying on their old parents. That's stupid.
And I should care about this because... ???
I debate the work till 70 thing all the time.
I think I do much better in a regimented lifestyle.
Then I think it would be good to not have to get up so early.
Then I remember that I have a lot of vacation time, so it's not like I don't get a lot of breaks.
Then there's a day (not often) where things don't go so well and it would be nice not have to have that.
Then I think that I like my job most of the time and not having work challenges would be boring.
Then I think that being able to do whatever/whenever would be fun.
Then I think that having a lot of extra money for vacations would also be fun.
I have a few years yet to ponder all of this.
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