What age did you retire ..did you retire early ..

Worked as a non-degreed peon in a list of Silicon Valley hardware engineering corps all my adult life after HD from USAF during the Viet Nam War. Never laid off though would have been fired a couple times had I not quit. Never collected unemployment insurance because quit each time and then spent months to years between each job not working enjoying an interesting life, spending through bank accounts till running low, for instance taking college classes or skiing all winter, whatever.

After working 6 years at one major corp where several hundred k of stock grants went underwater from the DOT COM collapse, spent 5 years on free time going through $120k savings until near broke after the 2008 economic collapse. Then worked a final 8 years until age 67 in order to put a modest chunk in the bank and have enough years of high income within the 35 years SS counts to draw near top monthly benefits. During 5 years now retired as a cheap frugal single person, have yet to dip into my savings thus just living off SS.
 

Kika said:
OMG...I seem to be the outlier here! I retired at 72 1/2. I really loved my job. Then we had a huge change in upper management, and after about 2 yrs of that I had enough. I retired just about a year before covid. I managed to get a few nice trips in and returned from my last one less than a week before lockdown in March of 2020. I worked in healthcare, so the timing worked out well for me.
Click to expand...
I've got you beat Kika. I retired last year (sold my company) at 75 1/2 years. Did not take social security until age 70 (when the government basically insisted that I had to). My wife passed away in 2014 so continuing to work was a necessity for my mental health. Even now, well some days . . . Sold my house last year too and moved to a retirement community that I really like. But some days . . . As you might guess I have zero hobbies and absolutely no mechanical abilities! The highlight of my life is that I get to spend time with my grandchildren!!!
 
I’m 60 and have health issues. Selling my business and going to work part time. I have a lot of anxiety about what I’ll do without working so part time seems like good option. My mom worked until age 82 and quit because we, her children, insisted. I was raised to just worked till death I guess.
 
I retired at 63 in June 2020 because my company eliminated my job, along with many others within my company, due to the impact of Covid. I would have probably worked until 70 years old but in hindsight it would have been a mistake. My stress level is so much lower and I am enjoying life.

Now my only stress comes from watching the news, not from keeping up with emails and answering phone calls. I can turn the news off.
 
If I had better employees to take care of my store I wouldn’t have sold. I just can’t seem to put a good crew together and I can’t deal with the managing part any more. My stress is so high and that’s just 6 employees and just a Thrift Store. My health is more important right now. The business is booming and a good time to sell it.
 
I actually retired twice and both were early. The first was really early in my early 50's when I got Breast Cancer and was dealing with that. After I kicked that, I did go back to work , but then at 60 I retired for good this time from teaching when I was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma and I kicked that as well and now I am just doing the relaxation thing and enjoying it.
 
Signe The Survivor said:
I actually retired twice and both were early. The first was really early in my early 50's when I got Breast Cancer and was dealing with that. After I kicked that, I did go back to work , but then at 60 I retired for good this time from teaching when I was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma and I kicked that as well and now I am just doing the relaxation thing and enjoying it.
Click to expand...
Good for you. This is my second rodeo for a transplant. Had one in my 30’s also. I know how health issues really can wear you down. I can’t wait to be semi retired at least.
 
Jan14 said:
I’m 60 and have health issues. Selling my business and going to work part time. I have a lot of anxiety about what I’ll do without working so part time seems like good option. My mom worked until age 82 and quit because we, her children, insisted. I was raised to just worked till death I guess.
Click to expand...
For good or bad, my 4 daughters inherited my workaholic disposition. Not sure that my wife would have approved.
 
I've known people whose work is not only their passion, it the aspect of their lives that validates them more than any other. Retirement is a misery so they open a new business, start consulting, volunteer regularly, build or remodel their house, etc., They need work of some kind to make them whole. Others can't wait to stop working. Many of us fall somewhere between.

It takes all kinds to make a world.
 
spectratg said:
I've got you beat Kika. I retired last year (sold my company) at 75 1/2 years. Did not take social security until age 70 (when the government basically insisted that I had to). My wife passed away in 2014 so continuing to work was a necessity for my mental health.
Click to expand...
Yes, do have me beat. My husband passed away in 2014, and I never thought about it until now, but that probably played a big part in me continuing to work. Not too much time to think that way. I'll be moving to an over 55 community AND closer to the grandchildren at the end of this year. I can't wait.
 
I retired at 53.5 years of age and went on a 8.5 month trip completely around the world. That would have been 22 years ago. I have moved and I have traveled every year since then. If the truth be known, I have never once had a boring day. Life is exciting and I still want to "hit the road and go."
 
StarSong said:
I've known people whose work is not only their passion, it the aspect of their lives that validates them more than any other. Retirement is a misery so they open a new business, start consulting, volunteer regularly, build or remodel their house, etc., They need work of some kind to make them whole. Others can't wait to stop working. Many of us fall somewhere between.

It takes all kinds to make a world.
Click to expand...
Yup, I have met some of these "consultations". They seemed uphappy with retirement and their wives were really getting "fed up." Worse examples I have seen are school teachers with a full pension, taking jobs away from young people who are desperate for a teaching job and going back to work. Imagine, a full pension and going back to work! Beyond belief!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top