Pros and cons of retiring and working

B

brian

New Member
Hello everyone,

New to the forum and I thought I'd post my first question.

I am 63, 64 in May 2025 and have been working in the same industry for 46 years and burned out with it.

I'm thinking of taking social security early and try to find a part time / 32 hours job with medical benefits.

Would this be a wise move? I know I would get dinged by SS over a certain amount of income in the year.

Has anyone made this move and did you regret it or are you happier?

Thanks
 

Hi Brian , I presume you're in the USA so I can't help with your question but welcome to the forum

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brian said:
I know I would get dinged by SS over a certain amount of income in the year.
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Check the rules, working while taking SS (in the US) varies with age if I recall correctly.

I think full retirement age will be 67 for you. Taking it earlier will reduce your benefits for life. Taking it later (delayed retirement) gains you 8% per year compounded until age 70.

Hang on until 65 and Medicare kicks in.

It might be useful to consult with a planner, at least one time before deciding. Many credit unions offer limited access to retirement planning services at no charge. Tax advice is also important, there are snares and landmines all over retirement.
 
It really depends on your other assets.

Normally the less you have the longer you should wait to collect your social security benefits.

Would it be possible to make the switch by lowering your expenses without taking social security?

For me, the biggest concern was maintaining health insurance coverage until I qualified for Medicare.

Keep checking and double checking the number’s until a solid plan emerges.

To answer your question, I took my social security at 62 and have never regretted it.

Welcome and good luck with your decision.
 
brian said:
Hello everyone,

New to the forum and I thought I'd post my first question.

I am 63, 64 in May 2025 and have been working in the same industry for 46 years and burned out with it.

I'm thinking of taking social security early and try to find a part time / 32 hours job with medical benefits.

Would this be a wise move? I know I would get dinged by SS over a certain amount of income in the year.

Has anyone made this move and did you regret it or are you happier?

Thanks
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How hard is it to get a job in your area? It's very hard to get a part time job that has medical benefits.
Very slippery slope. Do you have at least a six month cushion?
Can you hold out four more years?
New jobs can have a stressful learning curve.
Bottom line. Can you afford to?
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I'm an Anglo Irish Aussie 54 years in Australia where the rules on Old age Pensioners, like me, on Income are again different and reasonably generous imo. Assets too are factored in except for one's home. Certainly too my little roller coaster Super nest egg is an asset that complicates things a bit. I get a nice part pension that also gives the same concessions as a full OAP. That helps a lot. 🙂
Certainly home ownership helps one cope the best but there are rent subsidies and cheap accommodation though with a very long waiting list. We have many homeless people in Australia too despite its wealth. Even with a Labor federal government.
 
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I used the Healthcare Market place for insurance when I stopped working at 57, I was surprised that the premiums were income based and not asset based. Since I wasn't generating any income I received a large deduction on my premiums so Healthcare insurance wasn't nearly as expensive as I anticipated.

There's dozens of possible scenarios when it comes to when to stop working and drawing benefits. For myself I will say I find retirement to be less expensive then I anticipated, but going into it debt free helped. I wish you luck filtering thru all your options.
 
Questions for you:
  1. Do you have any other type of income like a pension or retirement plan?
  2. Do you have unused sick days that can be used to pay for health care until you reach 65?
  3. Do you have other family members needing your healthcare plan?
if you answered yes to #1 and #2, you could possibly retire this year and get by until you reach 65 without drawing SS. #3 answer will determine how much money you will need to retire a bit early. You should contact the Human Resources person where you work about this. There might be some early retirement incentive that you don’t even know about.

After I contacted HR where I work, I found that I could retire several year earlier than I thought. I retired at age 63 and took SS at 64 with no regrets. But sick day credit and a pension made that possible.

Once you reach 65, your health care costs go down. Keep in mind that you could also get Marketplace (Obamacare) until you reach age 65 that would run about $1000 total (or less) for you and a spouse instead of continuing your current insurance.
 
brian said:
Hello everyone,

New to the forum and I thought I'd post my first question.

I am 63, 64 in May 2025 and have been working in the same industry for 46 years and burned out with it.

I'm thinking of taking social security early and try to find a part time / 32 hours job with medical benefits.

Would this be a wise move? I know I would get dinged by SS over a certain amount of income in the year.

Has anyone made this move and did you regret it or are you happier?

Thanks
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Stay till the end, your official retirement age. Makes a big difference in your monthly benefit. Your close so just stay the course.
I waited and I am so happy I did.
Still working, fine. But your ss will be much better
 
I know I could still be working today but Why die 180' in the air doing a young guys job.
Let them Die. Sure that's a calloused thought. You can't live forever and you can work
very hard at being retires and dream the I got to quit and not screw up my retirement
Nightmare anytime you want to.

When you're dead the coroner let's all the Pricks know you are dead. Your decedents be dammed that's what they do.

Why do none of my friends go to a coroner's party. Haha
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brian said:
Hello everyone,



Has anyone made this move and did you regret it or are you happier?
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Welcome
Being burned out yet wanting 32 hours of employment with benefits tells me you aren't financially ready to retire. Or at least that is what I interpret from your post.
So many variables. I don't expect you to reply to these questions, only posting so that you can see why answering your particular situation is difficult.
1. Is where you live paid for?
2. What assets do you have that can be used in an emergency?
3. Do you have a well funded alternative source of income?
4. Married ?
5. Financial obligations like high credit card debt?
6. Health issues that could eat up finances?

Finally I can't really relate to those approaching retirement. I retired early at age 54 or 29 years ago. Planned for retirement at 55. We are happy because we planned knowing planning is the key to living a happy life in retirement. Have you planned?
 
It's hard to answer this question without knowing the level of retirement Brian desires, whether his house is paid off, the cost of living in his area, and if he has a spouse or family to support. Does he have any retirement money.
 
We are very happy taking SS early since it's allowed us to work less and cycle more. We are poor in the world's eyes but we feel health is #1. Retired early enough to be fit enough to actually enjoy life. I work as a Caregiver yet 11 hrs of the 24 hour shift, my client is asleep so there is plenty of downtime to watch Direct TV or go online. I will be Semi-Retired forever as Caregivers are in demand in this area. Husband is fully retired yet he grows much of our food so he keeps fairly busy too. We have about 75k cash savings, that's it. No debt. Very minimal expenses. Still saving for our retirement
 
Hi @brian. Welcome to the forum. In America you have to be 66yrs and two months old to receive full SS benefits. I hope this info helps.

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tonyr said:
Retirement is difficult when
one cannot be alone with oneself
without engaging in any activity.
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retirement is a myth. we are who we are and we try to hold on to what has mattered to us all our lives. No one wants to look at the pasture of retirement and see it as a place of peace. It is not. The BS myth of retirement, the gold watch, set of golf clubs. retire to Florida yada, yada, yada is a 59's and early 60's conception. Point in fact is that those who grabbed it then certainly questioned it after the celebrations.

We travel different roads after we call it quits to our life routine. I went back to work as a contractor. Alot of folks did the same. The difference is that we determine our hours, and establish what we will do and not do. The payback is that these companies, in a rush to resolve their higher paying positions got rid of the expertise that they still needed. Oh sh_ _! who can deal with this issue?

Oh Sh--! we let them go. Hence retired people are a commodity to the companies that let them go in the first place.
Their problem, not ours.
Our problem is dealing with the "pasture" of a hard worked life and your remaining years. There in lays the issue for all of us.
Don't have answers but understand the issues.
 

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