If you can't buy time, should you retire as early as possible?

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We often work because we enjoy it, because it is part of our identity, it gives meaning to our lives, and of course money to survive. But what about our lost time to enjoy people and doing things?

Should people try to retire as early as possible to enjoy life and the fruits of their labor while they still have reasonably good health?

Or should we think even earlier than retirement and realize working too much takes precious time away from us?

I plan on taking SS early at 62 so I can quit my part time jobs I have now. With my pension we will do o.k.

I have been guilty of working lots of O. T, Full and part time jobs at the same time and I did lose time with family as a result.
 
If you can swing it, retire. I have worked with way too many people during my short career (I'm 29) who I've seen work their life away then die a year after retirement. Life is too short, I'm realizing that every day.
 
Retire!
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Originally Posted by jeepman3071
If you can swing it, retire. I have worked with way too many people during my short career (I'm 29) who I've seen work their life away then die a year after retirement. Life is too short, I'm realizing that every day.
You are a wise 29 year old.
 
I saved 10% of my salary and invested in stocks from age 25 till I retired at 58. I loved my job and the people I worked with but, the economy wasn't kind to us to I retired. I am very happy I was able to do it but, remember that the cost of living increases each year so put that into you retirement equation. Good luck and maybe we'll met at the beach here in Florida. Ed
 
Yea many think they can retiree but as said living cost go up. So you may have just enough to retire now but not unless you can make major cuts, your investments never drop only increase (hahahha), and/or living cost do not go up. See a lot of people take the "walmart door greater" type job later in life to fill in the gaps. Yet another year or two at prime earning years would have filled those gaps.
Me and the Ms are up to around 1.6 net worth right now but still in our prime earning years. So our thing is to keep working till at least early 50s, when kid goes to college, or till they tell us not to come in anymore. Like to be in at least the low-mid 2 range.
 
If you can afford to retire, go for it! You can always look for PT work if you feel like doing something at some point down the road.
 
You cannot answer the question by painting with a broad paintbrush for everyone. At one extreme are people who dread their job and have negative health, family, and other effects. And there are others who have passionate careers and effectively engage the other elements (friends, family, spiritual, and living life). It's that simple.
 
Financially we can retire today due to smart planning.

Luckily there's enough gas in the tank to make it to the finish line if things change and we retire next week (job layoffs).

Some people retire, get bored after 6 months and re-enter the workforce. That won't happen to us.
 
For the last 23 years, I worked a 70+ hour week. 17 years without vacation. One recent year I had only 20 days off. My job is really fun, and I'd never claim it's super hard. But time is time.

When I turned 50, I found myself parked on the side of the road in the company truck, middle of the day. With no idea how long I'd been there. I'd been feeling tired and pulled over because I simply could not drive. I've had properly treated and monitored Hashimoto's autoimmune thyroid failure for 30 years, and varying the thyroid meds dose and type did not help at all. I went from quite athletic to exercise intolerance rapidly. Now, some days I can barely walk across the hangar floor without my legs failing.

I somehow thought that good diet and regular exercise would keep me healthy and I'd enjoy my savings at what should be a normal retirement. My immune system had other plans and is actively destroying my body.

The statistics are not good AT ALL. The mortality of men starts to become a real issue at age 55. EXAMPLE, in the USA, 10% of men are already dead by age 56 that made it to 50!!!!! In other words, we men start a pretty strong die-off in our 50's. This has nothing to do with infant mortality, or teenage drivers. It has to do with real world mortality of older men. By age 65, a full 25% of those who make it to 50 are gone.

I posted the data this way, to eliminate early death skewing the results.

My suggestion is to retire as soon as you can. Anything else is risky.

https://flowingdata.com/2016/01/19/how-you-will-die/

Let's put that another way, a full 25% of 50 year old men will die before they make an age 65 retirement.
 
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Men are designed internally to need worth. If they dont build something, manage something, work at something, then internally they dont feel worthy. Its a psychological thing. Basically, lots of men that retire dont feel like they are living a full life and just feel like they are spinning their wheels, wasting time.

Do some research on this before you decide to retire, and try to mitigate it somehow with some hobbies, volunteering, or maybe even a part time job.
 
Only you can answer that question. As for myself, I have been retired since 2007 and don't miss a day of working.
 
What do you think the socialist way of life professes? Let those who want to work their hands to the bone do so, while everyone else who can't be bothered to be productive lives off the fruits of others' labor.

In the industry I'm in, just like bubba said, men tend to let this job define them, and they inevitably put off retirement as long as possible because they are revered as "experts", and then roughly 75% of them are dead within 6 months of actual retirement, like they lost their definition to their life and they give up. Not for me.
 
I plan to retire at 57 when I get my pension and medical. That is years down the road.
My dad is a retired attorney. His paralegal died from a brain aneurysm one month after she retired at 65.
 
Originally Posted by bubbatime
Men are designed internally to need worth. If they dont build something, manage something, work at something, then internally they dont feel worthy.

I have no such troubles. There is no way I'll ever be bored. Too much cool stuff to do and see.

Originally Posted by SubieRubyRoo
men tend to let this job define them, and they inevitably put off retirement as long as possible because they are revered as "experts", and then roughly 75% of them are dead within 6 months of actual retirement, like they lost their definition to their life and they give up. Not for me.

From a realistic point of view, unless one is a coal miner, job type has only a little bearing on lifespan. Men die early, and there is no getting around that fact. The fact that a large number of men die shortly after retirement at normal age, matches normal mortality data. It would be a real stretch to say that failing to retire would have extended their lives. That simply is not born out by the data. 65 year old men drop like flies. Those arteries are clogged and cancer already has a hold.

In fact, early retirement is associated with longer life. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/27/how-research-shows-you-can-live-longer-if-you-retire-early.html
 
Originally Posted by skyactiv
I plan to retire at 57 when I get my pension and medical. That is years down the road.
My dad is a retired attorney. His paralegal died from a brain aneurysm one month after she retired at 65.

My plan as well, January 2021 is my target -- will be 57 then. I could go now, I'm fully vested in our defined benefits plan, but staying until 2021 will max the longevity and yield the highest monthly pension payment.

Problem I have, is maintaining that "purpose" thing that's been discussed already in this thread.
 
I'd retire tomorrow if I could but I don't have enough saved to afford that. If I get lucky it'll be early 60's. It may well be a balance between working so as to keep me from pursuing hobbies vs retiring early enough to pursue those hobbies before the body gives out.
 
Originally Posted by LoneRanger
Problem I have, is maintaining that "purpose" thing that's been discussed already in this thread.

You clearly have interests. I've read many of your posts. Why would your interests change at retirement? In fact, if you retire early, you could spend more time doing the things you like while you are still able. What's not to love about that?
 
Cujet,

70 hours for the last 23 years and 17 years without a vacation ???

They might find you dead one day in the hanger if you have health problems and getting older.... not joking or trying to be a jerk. Have you considered a less workaholic job or career field?

My dad was an A&P mechanic for a major airline and never worked so many hours even when the crew was short staffed.
 
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