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Because of layoffs and just getting tired of the everyday work grind, my wife
and myself are thinking of retiring early, while we still have our health
and still want to do things.
We will be 60 and 57 respectfully in age and my questions to others is:
How did it work out for you to retire earlier than the normal retirement
age?
I would like to know if retiring early is a pipe dream?
I would like to know if retiring early is a pipe dream?
That is entirely up to you to figure out, based on a number of factors - financial, emotional, health, and so on.
My wife and I retired at 55. We were able to do so primarily because we worked for the federal government and we elected to stay in the Civil Service Retirement System when offered the option to switching to the Federal Employees Retirement System (a system based in part on participation in Social Security). Neither of us has worked sufficient time in jobs covered by Social Security to ever be eligible for SS, and that's fine, since our federal government annuities are more than adequate.
We worked long enough and reached high enough grades so that the age, time in service, and "high three" calculation for our annuities all worked out to provide sufficient income to make retiring at 55 not only possible but comfortable to do from a financial point of view.
I was fine with continuing to work beyond 55 - had the best job of my 34-year career. But my wife was not - she was totally stressed out, and needed to retire as early as possible. And I wasn't about to let her get away with staying in bed each morning as I fought my way into work!
Sit down and do the math. See if it's financially practical to retire. Then talk about it. Read lots of the threads here on the C-D retirement forum. And only after doing your homework can you really know whether retiring early is a pipe dream or not.
That is entirely up to you to figure out, based on a number of factors - financial, emotional, health, and so on.
My wife and I retired at 55. We were able to do so primarily because we worked for the federal government and we elected to stay in the Civil Service Retirement System when offered the option to switching to the Federal Employees Retirement System (a system based in part on participation in Social Security). Neither of us has worked sufficient time in jobs covered by Social Security to ever be eligible for SS, and that's fine, since our federal government annuities are more than adequate.
We worked long enough and reached high enough grades so that the age, time in service, and "high three" calculation for our annuities all worked out to provide sufficient income to make retiring at 55 not only possible but comfortable to do from a financial point of view.
I was fine with continuing to work beyond 55 - had the best job of my 34-year career. But my wife was not - she was totally stressed out, and needed to retire as early as possible. And I wasn't about to let her get away with staying in bed each morning as I fought my way into work!
Sit down and do the math. See if it's financially practical to retire. Then talk about it. Read lots of the threads here on the C-D retirement forum. And only after doing your homework can you really know whether retiring early is a pipe dream or not. Good luck!
Excellent thoughts by Green Gene above! It is all so personal and individual. The OP doesn't say anything about what their income sources will be in retirement, or what sort of lifestyle they hope to maintain. Some people are quite comfortable living frugally and some are not. And one person's "frugal" may be another person's hell on earth. I retired at age 61 and a half after 34 years with the same employer because at that point the pension was enough to be quite comfortable. Not everyone is fortunate enough to be in that position at that age, pension-wise, and some are super fortunate to be there at an even earlier age. (I am divorced so there was no two-for-one situation financially). One thing to avoid: the possibility of being destitute at age 75 or 80, because yes, you might just live that long! So work it out carefully.
Sounds like you are mentally ready to retire. Now you just have to do some math, analyze you lifestyle and spending habits and see if its possible. My personal belief is that is there is a will, there is probably a way. You might have to downsize and simplify you life, you might have to move into a smaller house or a condo, you might have to move to another state. You need to figure out what you are going to do with yourselves. Just watching TV or hanging out at home 24/7/365 isn't going to cut it. You don't have to take up hang gliding or underwater BB stacking, but a hobby or two, some classes that interest you, volunteer work, or even a part-time job (like working at the golf course to get free rounds or at the local yarn shop to meet like minded people and get discounts, not to mention a few extra bucks to spend on frivolous things). You just need to have a purpose, a reason to get up in the morning other than making that dent in the couch bigger.
As I, and others, have said, whats the worst that could happen, you have to go back to work? Your doing that now. Do a little planning and go for it. It is not a pipe dream. I'm 43 and retired last month.
P.S. There are other early retirement forums out there too. This one is a good one, but the more the merrier.
If you do the math, and the numbers work out, then early retirement is definitely doable. Make sure to factor in healthcare and taxes because those two things can really take a bite out of your retirement income. Best wishes.
I retired at 60 due to a company pension that was equivalent to my take home pay.As the job was boring monotonous drudgery why work for the same money you get on the pension.
Biggest obstacle in retirement is keeping busy,enthusiastic and maintaining a feeling of relevance, its a big lifestyle change and once the euphoria subsides after a few month life can become very boring.
Health care? no problem i live in Canada
I retired at 60. I knew that a state pension coming. I am going to take SS at 62. My wife is 10yrs younger. She also has a state pension. She is planning on waiting till 62. We paid off the house 3yrs ago. We both lived modestly while working. I took a huge hit after my ex and I divorced, but bounced back. Insurance is not issue at the moment, as my wife is still working and recieves insurance through her employer.
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and retired last month.
