If you could retire early...

[CdnCarrie]

So wonderful to hear, Carrie..

Is it your career or your specific position? Both?

Both. I think it’s my little department. I’m friends with them outside work.
Going to work is like hanging out with friends.
I prefer that than being in a 1000 square foot condo all day with husband at the moment lol!

 

[CdnCarrie]

There are a lot more things to do in life than just travel.

Yes hence the question.
Would you trade off having things like the ability to travel to retire early?
That’s the question.

My friend is also trading her home to be able to retire early,

So question is what would you trade (or would you…) to retire early.?

My answer is I’m not willing to downsize this young or forego the ability to travel to retire early.
How about you?

 

[disykat]

The health insurance question... Since DH worked for the federal government, we'll be able to continue paying our portion of the health insurance we got through his job at the same rate we would be paying if he was still working. Every time we thought about him getting a job in the private sector (which would pay him considerably more in his field) we thought about the benefits and held the course.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

Yes hence the question.
Would you trade off having things like the ability to travel to retire early?
That’s the question.

My friend is also trading her home to be able to retire early,

So question is what would you trade (or would you…) to retire early.?

My answer is I’m not willing to downsize this young or forego the ability to travel to retire early.
How about you?

We enjoy travel so that is not something we would be willing to forego. Those are our values though and others have different things they prioritize.

We're on track to have the option to retire in our mid-40s (assuming normal stock market returns). No indication that we would pull the trigger on that but having the option will be nice. To accomplish that, we live a slightly above middle class lifestyle on a household income that would put us in the upper class. An average house, normal-ish cars, DIY lawn care, etc. are our sacrifices because we feel having the financial side settled is worth it.

 

[WDWBW09]

I just turned 50 in May and my wife is 54. Have invested and plan on going at 62. We lived in Ohio. Owned a 4 bedroom home in Davenport for 4 years. We sold it when the company I worked for closed our plant where I worked. Now I'm in Indiana working for the same company. Investments are doing well. Plan on retirement at 62. Taking retirement at 65.5 years. Will push to 67 if I do well enough. Have worked hard my entire life like all of you on boards.

We had our honeymoon at Disney many years ago. We go back at least once a year and as of this year are DVC members. All of our children are adults and they all love Disney as we raised them with Disney. We plan on having a home in the Orlando area again when we retire. 62 is our goal and feel as long as we are in good health it will be a reality. So congrats to all of those whom have been able to go early and for those whom had to wait longer. Enjoy every minute of this life we love being part of Disney family!

 

[QueenIsabella]

Well, I'm not employed and won't really retire (SAHM, one kid with special needs). But, DH will retire at 65, we're thinking. He loves his job, and we do some traveling now (hopefully more when he does actually retire). We also still have kids at home--when DH is 65, the youngest will be through undergrad.

The good news is, if something happened, he could retire now. But, aside from the kids (and college educations), retiring now would mean giving up extras. We don't want to have to count every penny in retirement. We want to be able to travel, or fix up the house, or visit grandkids--maybe get them started on college savings, that kind of thing. Mostly, we want options. DH is also starting to get his ducks in a row for post-retirement activities.

 

[AussieFan8]

My husband and I could retire in four years at 54. However, like others have mentioned, health insurance is what's going to keep us from doing it. My employer used to offer health insurance to retirees, so I initially thought I would have that benefit, but they stopped doing that about 6-8 years ago. I do hope to find a job with less hours and less stress that offers health insurance until I'm 65 and eligible for Medicare.

 

[sk!mom]

I don’t really have a burning desire to travel. I mean, sure, there are a few places I’d like to go, but that’s not what I mainly envision in retirement. When I think of retirement I think of not having to battle traffic for hours and not having to take care of sick people when I’m not feeling well myself or exhausted from the sheer work load. Honestly I never thought seriously about it until recently. Things are getting so bad in hospitals, there is not a person I know over, say, 40s (but even some of the younger people), who isn’t thinking about it. I’ve never heard multiple people before saying in one shift they’d thought about walking out, but I’ve heard it a lot recently. Sad.

That said, I was away from what I do for a relatively short time before and I missed it more than I ever expected I would. It literally felt like a part of me was missing. So I could definitely see myself continuing to work but at a different level and pace than what I’ve been doing; maybe something closer to home and less stressful. I could see both DH and I keeping our hand in work but on more of a part time basis, at hours of our choosing, etc. Not sure if this answers the question!

Same but education. The politics and such of the last few years is taking a toll. May of this year, I was telling DH, I’m about done. Then Uvalde happened, in my state, my grade, my exact situation, and the last few days were rough. How can I keep doing this and in this climate?

I’m now two weeks into summer, though, and thinking about plans for next year. Long story short, I’m not ready. Summer still seems to show up just in time to let me take
Bucket list trips, rest and regroup.

 

[tvguy]

Our pipe dream was to retire at 40. We didn't make it. We retired a year ago at 64, the older than our parents retired, but so far it appears to be have been the perfect age for us.

 

[tzolkin]

Yes hence the question.
Would you trade off having things like the ability to travel to retire early?
That’s the question.

My friend is also trading her home to be able to retire early,

So question is what would you trade (or would you…) to retire early.?

My answer is I’m not willing to downsize this young or forego the ability to travel to retire early.
How about you?

I think the key is really people's definition of "retiring". Several have said they want to work because they would be bored sitting at home and not working. If retiring meant hanging out at home and not doing much, I don't think I would be in a rush to do it since it doesn't make much difference if you're 50 or 70 if you're just hanging out around the house. I certainly wouldn't want to trade off things I enjoy to be able to sit in my house and watch tv all day if that's what early retirement meant.

That said, my husband and I are pretty set on "retiring" early, but that's because the things we want to do in retirement are things that require us to still be active and healthy (living in various remote places around the world volunteering). We are happy to trade everything to be able to have the freedom to do the things we have always wanted to do because I just don't think will be feasible for us to accomplish these things if we waited until we were "normal" retirement age. I know some people are very active and healthy until late in life, but I have a few relatives who have wound up wheelchair-bound with lots of health problems by the time they were early 60s so I really don't want to wait until I'm 65 to retire and then not have the physical ability to travel to certain places. We have already begun trading some things to be able to retire early (downsized our house a few years ago, save over 50% of our income, bought an investment property, etc)

Still trying to figure out the details, but I think we may be happy taking 10 or 15 years off and then going back to work for a while when we are older and have less drive or health to roam the world. Have a retirement period from like 45-55 and then work again for another few years before we feel like we need to really retire.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I'm really not sure if I'm "retired" now. I worked in corporate banking for a good amount of time, then spent several as a SAHM when DS was little. I was a substitute teacher up until the pandemic, and then homeschooled kindergarten for my friends' twins.

Other than still watching them occasionally, I've been a housewife this year, and found it suits me pretty well. - I've taken some classes, worked on some home projects, etc. And it's been nice, with everything going on in the world the world lately, to have that one extra layer of scheduling stress removed from our family's plate. I'm still open to part-time work if the right opportunity presents itself, so we'll see.

 

[Darcy03231]

I could have retired at 52, but have opted to continue working. I do have a lot of vacation/personal time and can also take time without pay so DH and I do quite a bit of traveling through the year. I plan to continue working until at least 65. I like what I do and my co-workers so I'm not in any rush.

 

[DLgal]

I guess the point /question I was more asking was would you retire early if it meant not being able to travel? That’s the trade off my friends are making.

My answer to that is no. Only if there was a really good reason like health issues.

Also not sure I would move into a retirement community at such an early age. - downsizing to the point of not being able to host their family for holidays or even really babysit grandchildren overnight seems drastic change so early.

I would. Although I have been a SAHM for 18 years now and don't work outside the home. But as I've gotten older, traveling has become something that stresses me out more than being enjoyable. I don't really like doing it more than maybe once a year. Traveling is not going to be a main feature our our "retired life" together.

 

[Snowflakey]

Medical insurance and the fact that I work remote is keeping me working. Plus I'm only in my early 50's.

Love working remote. Makes all the difference!

 

[beck02]

I could quit working tomorrow, and do OK, but would have to be on tighter budget, and wouldn't be able to help my daughter out as much as I'd like in the future (she's 14 now--so college, car, etc on the horizon). If I continue working "just" 8 more years, I'll retire at 57 (government) with full benefits, and more take home pay than I'm living on now. I've made less per year for my entire career but with getting a pension and being able to retire at 57, along with other considerations. So I guess that's what I've already traded off. Teleworking these last 2-3 years have been a breeze. I like my boss, the job is low stress, I get and can take vacation time, etc. If my work gave me an out--a way to retire with reduced pension benefits and some decent comped health coverage--I'd take it in a heartbeat. My friend's mother got this--retired at 45 because they closed her job series. She loved it for about 30 years, and now in her mid 70s regrets it. Me thinks she just forgets the pain of working since it's been so long....

 

[CdnCarrie]

I could quit working tomorrow, and do OK, but would have to be on tighter budget, and wouldn't be able to help my daughter out as much as I'd like in the future (she's 14 now--so college, car, etc on the horizon). If I continue working "just" 8 more years, I'll retire at 57 (government) with full benefits, and more take home pay than I'm living on now. I've made less per year for my entire career but with getting a pension and being able to retire at 57, along with other considerations. So I guess that's what I've already traded off. Teleworking these last 2-3 years have been a breeze. I like my boss, the job is low stress, I get and can take vacation time, etc. If my work gave me an out--a way to retire with reduced pension benefits and some decent comped health coverage--I'd take it in a heartbeat. My friend's mother got this--retired at 45 because they closed her job series. She loved it for about 30 years, and now in her mid 70s regrets it. Me thinks she just forgets the pain of working since it's been so long....

That’s interesting about your friend’s mother. Might be leftover cabin fever from Covid?

 

[Passepartout]

Well really have all I need. As been on "retirement" due to being on disability over Asperger's but try to pull my weight around my parents. Downsized there in order for them to avoid the stairs.

 

[DVC92]

I didn't retire until I was 70 and am still working a part-time job. I would have retired in my late 50s but I was allowed to work totally from home for my last 12-13 years. Also, that is what I do now. I definitely would not commute anywhere.

 

[georgina]

The health insurance question... Since DH worked for the federal government, we'll be able to continue paying our portion of the health insurance we got through his job at the same rate we would be paying if he was still working. Every time we thought about him getting a job in the private sector (which would pay him considerably more in his field) we thought about the benefits and held the course.

That is such a great benefit! DH retired at 63 from a company he worked at for 37 years, When he started they offered retiree medical benefits to cover until Medicare age. (They no longer offer these to newer hires, along with the pension he has.) I'm 8 years younger than he is, and even though he is now on Medicare, I am still covered through his company at the dependent rate. $300 a month and good insurance. I wish everyone had a way to get good affordable health insurance independent of their employer.

 

[CallieMar]

If I had the money and could still afford to travel, absolutely. Realistically, I’m waiting until I’m 62 for the pension and heath benefits.

I’m also very introverted and a homebody when not traveling. In retirement I’d probably want to do some volunteering or part time work just to have some structure in my life.