If you could retire early...

[cjlong88]

My husband is done in 4 years. He will be 34 years old! The joys of the living way below your means and investing everything.

I absolutely love my job and want to see where it goes. I have a minimum of 9 years left. After that time, I’ll take it one year at a time. I’ll probably be in my mid-40s when I pull the trigger.

 

[E&Cmom]

I am 52 and hope to be done in 6 years. I have dropped down to park time which is a lot nicer. No more 12 hour shifts! If I could I would definitely be done.

 

[tasha99]

I'm sort of retired, but since my savings aren't enough to live well on my own, you could argue that I'm more a SAHW. I garden, have ridiculously complicated cooking projects, and hang out with my husband who works from home. I quit at the start of the pandemic thinking I'd go back at some point, but realized I am just too burned out to work in healthcare anymore.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I'm 43 and will have enough years in to retire when I'm 49. I can't imagine retiring that young. I am a teacher and am going to teach full time until I'm 55 (because that is when retirement benefits are maxed out), but I know as soon as I retire, I will need to find a new job. I get antsy during my summers off ready to go back to school in the fall.

My parent's retired a few years ago at 65 and thought they would be going crazy, but they like just piddling around the house and yard, although my Dad told me the other day that he is going back to work at his old job part time (just 12 hours a week) in a few weeks.

 

[cedricandsophie]

I retired at 55 when my stock options vested. I’m 72 now. Best thing I could have done. I have a disabled adult daughter who was just finishing high school back then. So I could work on transitioning her to her next chapter. And I learned how to play paddle ball and tennis, I cleaned closets, and I joined nonprofit boards. I’ve been working since I was 16 and it has been such a gift to have these last years to do whatever I wanted. My husband still works as an attorney I love nothing better than to go to a movie by myself in the middle of the afternoon.

 

[mousefan73]

I wonder if those right now in the late 40s/50s are the last who can even think about early retirement as correct me if I am wrong, but most companies switched just after our generation to non-pensions to employer 401ks. Unless you are lucky and have other savings/cash from inheritance etc... what income do you have`?

I assume those who are retiring early on the 35/40 years and out have pretty good comany pensions + maybe some 401K. How does one pay for healthcare then between let's say 55 and medicare??

I also feel many have different definitions of "retired".. Retired for me means you work for an entity and accure enough benefits and time where you can stop working, where this entity in some way continues to give you an income.. Saving, hitting the lotto, inheriting, sellings, or living below means for me is not "retirement" but I "no longer work"

 

[mousefan73]

I'm on track to retire on my 20 year work anniversary at 41 and I can't wait.

But technically that is quitting or are you getting a pension at 41? Just curious if work for the wrong company lol

 

[DawnM]

I took some years off when my kids were little and it messed up my retirement. I don't regret it, but there are aspects of it that have set me back.
I plan to work until I am 65 if I can. That will give me full health care benefits with the state education retirement system. I will see if I can make it. 9 more years.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

But technically that is quitting or are you getting a pension at 41? Just curious if work for the wrong company lol

Most Americans don't get pensions anymore. We get something called a 401(k) where we save money out of each paycheck through our working years, usually with the employer matching all or part of our contributions. The money is invested and grows tax free, and the amount is owned by the employee in total rather than receiving monthly checks when we retire.

I'm lucky enough that my employer offers both a 401(k) AND a traditional pension, buy you're right that I won't have access to any of that money until I reach proper retirement age. Because I know I want to retire early, I save and invest through "normal" methods in addition to my retirement accounts.

 

[tzolkin]

I wonder if those right now in the late 40s/50s are the last who can even think about early retirement as correct me if I am wrong, but most companies switched just after our generation to non-pensions to employer 401ks. Unless you are lucky and have other savings/cash from inheritance etc... what income do you have`?

You are correct that I only know one person around my age who will retire with a pension (works for the state).

Having cash saved for retirement isn't really a matter of luck. For most young people planning early retirement, it is about extreme saving. We work a ton of overtime, save well over 50% of our income, live in a house that's less than 1/4 of the cost of our peers, are very frugal with spending, etc. It is a different lifestyle and mindset than what I think people had in the past with pensions.

My grandparents retired in their mid-50s and had not saved a penny for retirement. They just lived their lives "keeping up with the Joneses" and expected that they would have income in retirement that would take care of their needs. My spouse and I don't even factor social security into our plans. We just assume that we will have to take care of ourselves financially-- either by saving as much as possible now or by continuing to work well into old age.

 

[Sleepy425]

We are planning for retirement when I'm 50 and my husband is 55. At that point the house will have been paid off for 5 years, the kids will be done with college (if they go on the normal timeline), and we should have enough to retire nicely. If it was the choice of retiring earlier with no travel, I would never choose that. We really enjoy traveling and it is an important part of our retirement plan.

 

[mousefan73]

Most Americans don't get pensions anymore. We get something called a 401(k) where we save money out of each paycheck through our working years, usually with the employer matching all or part of our contributions. The money is invested and grows tax free, and the amount is owned by the employee in total rather than receiving monthly checks when we retire.

I'm lucky enough that my employer offers both a 401(k) AND a traditional pension, buy you're right that I won't have access to any of that money until I reach proper retirement age. Because I know I want to retire early, I save and invest through "normal" methods in addition to my retirement accounts.

I used to work in the US until I moved to Germay in 2004. I started with my company in 1997 and was vested for their traditional company pension. Then I believe that was frozen and stopped in 2003.. only 401k was left. Based on my group of friends most traditional pensions stopped around the late 90s/early 2000s and went to employer match.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I used to work in the US until I moved to Germay in 2004. I started with my company in 1997 and was vested for their traditional company pension. Then I believe that was frozen and stopped in 2003.. only 401k was left. Based on my group of friends most traditional pensions stopped around the late 90s/early 2000s and went to employer match.

My company switched from a pension to a 401(k) in 2011, but anyone who started prior to the switch got to keep the old pension structure, including continued growth with salary increases, additional years of service, etc. So I get to keep the best of both worlds... I hold on to the old pension, and I also get access to the 401(k) match.

 

[aprilgail]

I have a good friend who is retiring early at 53 along with her spouse. I'm around the same age and so not ready for this (my kids are much younger...).
Since they are a really introverted couple and claim they can't travel much due to retiring early I don't really see what they will do with their time.

Would you have retired early if you were able to? Personally I wouldn't (even if I could) as I'm still liking the structure of a daily routine. I'm lucky to have lots of vacation time and love my job. I will retire between ages of 60-62. But 53 just seems so early. And they are moving to a retirement setting which to me I'm so not there yet but each to their own I guess. I support her either which way as long as she's happy.

To me 53 is not retiring early- at my job you could retire with full benefits at 50 so 53 would be delaying retirement. I was not ready to move into a retirement setting at 50 but was certainly ready to stop working after 30 years at the same company! I started collecting a pension as soon as I retired and they pay my health benefits 100% so no cost of health insurance for me and it is excellent health insurance, no deductible but co-pays did go up to 25.00 this year from 20.00.

 

[CdnCarrie]

To me 53 is not retiring early- at my job you could retire with full benefits at 50 so 53 would be delaying retirement. I was not ready to move into a retirement setting at 50 but was certainly ready to stop working after 30 years at the same company! I started collecting a pension as soon as I retired and they pay my health benefits 100% so no cost of health insurance for me and it is excellent health insurance, no deductible but co-pays did go up to 25.00 this year from 20.00.

You're very fortunate. I work in a post secondary institution and we cannot get full benefits until age 65. We can't take early retirement until 60.

 

[jimmalru80]

If I could, I would in a heartbeat.

 

[kanerf]

Well I am 62 and still working full time, so that is out the window. The real question is when will I retire? Do they kick me out at 65? I really don't know.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Well I am 62 and still working full time, so that is out the window. The real question is when will I retire? Do they kick me out at 65? I really don't know.

Can they do that?

 

[kanerf]

Can they do that?

Sure, I work for a private company, they can toss you out for just about anything.

 

[soccerdad72]

Can they do that?

Depends on the company. Some places do have mandatory retirement ages.