Retire Or Keep Working?

[JVL1018]

I don't know what I'd do--if I loved my job, I'd probably still work.
My Gram didn't even start working until she was in her 60s and then she retired at 92, yes 92!! She was a bookkeeper and loved it, loved being active and I think it kept her young.
My Dad retired at 62, then my Mom died a couple of months later(not expected) and now he is back at work at 64..and it is a physically demanding job-he's the manager of an auto body shop.
He was bored out of his mind, now he's much happier working there 3 days a week.

My FIL retired at 63(was bought out) and substituted in schools for 13 years after that. He could not sit home and just be retired, it would have driven him crazy.

 

[jimmalru80]

I'd retire in half a heartbeat.

 

[aprincessmom]

I don't know when I'll retire...depends on the financial situation at the time and whether or not I like what I'm doing at that point in time. I have many more years of work left for me -- over 20 -- before I'd be considered of retirement age. And if things keep going the way they are, it might be closer to 30 years left of work. If there's anything I've learned in my life it's that nothing is ever certain and you should always be prepared with a Plan B in case Plan A fails. So until I get within 5 years of retirement age, I don't really think about the plans other than to save, save, save.

My father is 66 and he is far from retired...just not something he can afford to do either financially or, more importantly, emotionally. But he is self-employed, doing the things he loves to do and helping people with the work he does. He loves his work and will probably work until he no longer can. Because he can make his own hours and take on the projects he wants to, he still has time to travel with my mom, to babysit for my DD afterschool and on school vacations, and to take the grandkids on vacations.

In many ways it's the best of both worlds. But I can't ever imagin him retiring...his work is part of who he is and he feels a moral obligation to do it for as long as he can. I don't have a problem with that and know, because everyone is different, I wouldn't second guess his decision.

 

[jeffn5631]

I retired 5 years ago and thought that was it. Surprise....I am now back at working part time because I have no other choice and will probably have to find full time in the future.....the cost of living just overtook me. The biggest reason why, health care costs....spend a small fortune on drugs not to mention doctor copays. The new Part D plan has to many holes for me to fill. If you can stay healthy, no problem.

J & J

 

[aprilgail2]

The biggest reason why, health care costs....spend a small fortune on drugs not to mention doctor copays. The new Part D plan has to many holes for me to fill. If you can stay healthy, no problem.

J & J

We keep our medical and perscription plan when we retire from my job....We also dont get social security as we have a better private plan. So I think I should be able to make it and retire at 50. I will have 28 years there when I retire...you need 20 years to retire but you also need to be 50 so if you started young you get stuck working longer..but it also increases your pension 1 1/2 percent for every year extra you work.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I'd retire in half a heartbeat.

Gee, would it take that long? I look forward to retiring, so that DH and I can spend more time traveling-mostly to WDW. We've discussed it a lot, since we're both in our 50s. DH wants to retire from his current job, complete with the stress, but he'd love to work at a golf course part time. Golf is his life's passion (and I'm not sure if that's after or before me)-30 years ago he wanted to try out for the PGA tour, but with the Vietnam draft going on, he didn't dare chance leaving school and that deferrment. But he's never forgotten, so he'd love to make some money in golf. Our dream would be if we could get jobs at WDW, him on a golf course (like LBV), me-I'll work anywhere at AK.

 

[disneysteve]

I hope to retire from my career at 62. Does that mean I'll never work again? I doubt it. But if I do, it will be doing something that I love on my own terms and my own schedule.

 

[MNSusan]

The closer DH gets to retirement, the more he wants to work. He's 61 now, has a good job that stimulates him, and feels as though he's making a difference with what he does. I think he'd be happy if he worked until he died.

We're tentatively thinking retirement at 67, but we aren't "waiting for retirement" for anything. We travel, take vacations and do the things we can, as there's no guarantee how long we'll be here, or how long we'll be healthy. We've never thought of retirement as a 20 year vacation.

The last thing I want is a miserable husband around the house!

 

[Donna]

Well, you know what they say...no one, on their deathbed, has ever said "gee, i wish i would have worked more". I say, if you can do it, do it. You will always question whether the time is right. My husband has 33 yrs in his job at age 52 and has been offered early retirement with a fantastic package. Medical is paid for, prescription plan is the same, with an enhanced pension, there is hardly any difference in his salary, with the exception of overtime and bonuses. The lump sum they're getting is going to be a big help. They even give them a monthly bonus until social security kicks in. Plus, with the steel plants, you never know what will happen. 5 more months and he's outta there! I only work part time so we will try to get alot of things done around here and maybe head south eventually. My parents are only in their 60s and I'm not quite ready to move too far.

 

[Feralpeg]

I retired at age 52. I did it for several reasons. First, my parents both died young. My mom was 49 and my dad was 57. I always felt so bad that my parents didn't get to enjoy retirement.

Second, I had worked for 30 years at the same job. I had a nice amount of money put away. DD was 16 and I had never had a chance to be home for her when she came home from school. She had been in daycare since she was 6 weeks old. I can't begin to tell you how great it has been being there for her. I often pick her up after school and we run over to DTD to share a banana split at Ghirardelli.

Third, DD has always been interested in acting. I knew her chances of doing anything meaningful in the midwest was very slim. She also wanted to go to college in Florida. In order to take advantage of in state tuition and Florida Bright Futures, we had to live at least one year in Florida prior to DD's graduation.

Finally, I saw too many cases of people waiting to retire and then developing medical conditions that made it very hard and expensive for them to get health coverage. I knew one guy who had a heart attack before retiring. He pays an incredible amount for health care. Believe me, paying for your own health care is bad enough even without any major conditions. Also, I found that any condition you have prior to applying for health care coverage will end up as an exclusion rider on your policy. I have one and DD has two!

So, you can wait to retire, but you are playing Russian roulette after awhile. I have never regretted retiring. I am now living ten minutes from WDW property, spending time with DD and enjoying life.

 

[lindalinda]

I will retire in 5 years 1 month and 21 days. I have a counter on my computer for it. I have a demanding job that requires shift work and I will definitely retire when I am eligible. I too will take a huge paycut of course to do this. But its not like its a surprise or anything. I have been planning it out and I plan to downsize. I will sell my house and move into a smaller house in the city or possibly even a patio home. I have already started looking in several neighborhoods just to get a feel for the prices. I know a lot of people say what will you do when you retire, you'll be bored but I am not the type of person to get bored. I have lots of plans, and while I wont eliminate the possibility of some type of job, I have no plans on a second career after I retire. I will be very young to be retired (almost 50), and am very excited about the prospect.

 

[DawnCt1]

Depends on what you love an what drives you. Some folks would rather keep working. DW and I plan to retire at about 57. I'm on the side that says nobody dies wishing they spent more time at the office. But like the doctor above that worked until they day he died - if that's what drives you it's clearly the right thing to do.

I am in the "retirement" camp however, there is an employee at my former company, (in fact I got an email from her today). She is a paralegal who handles most of the real estate transactions, among other things, for a big fortune 500 insurance company. She is so well known that the CEO wrote a letter to the editor in the Hartford Courant on Labor Day a few years ago. She never retired and used the celebration of her 60th year with the company to remind the CEO, and say in front of the entire company, "Don't think you are going to use this occasion to get me out the door". She is 84. She still cleans her own gutters, plants her garden and mows her lawn. She looks impeccable every day that she goes to work. She is one of my favorite employees. She doesn't work full time anymore. She cut down to 4 ten hour days instead of five. Well I guess that is still full time.

 

[Pin Wizard]

Sorry to hear about that. But some people like working!

I don't see me retiring. For what reason? As a single parent, I need the income. And as a single parent, why in the world would I want to quit working?! My son will be out, and then it's just me. You better believe I'll be looking forward to going to work every day. I have a job I like for the most part. There's another job in this department I'd rather have, I just have to wait until there's a new position, which is highly likely. I've been in this 8 years and left to go back to college. I actually really like this work and will probably stay at least another 8 years if not longer. I'm finally with a great company!! Wooooo hooooooo!!! It makes all the difference in the world. And they have a pension for their employees! The last health care company I worked for those 8 years did not.

To each his own!