Retirement is it boring

[DRD]

I retired from full time working at 40, ten years ago. Nearly everyone thought I was mad and could not imagine doing the same thing themselves.

Key points ....

1. Will you lose your sense of identity/ self worth ?. Lots of folk get this from their jobs

2. Do you have a robust financial plan that can take shocks ? - covid, need for private operations, divorce, big outlays like new roof etc

3. Can you reverse the decision, or do you permanently burn your earnings capability/ your qualifications expire ?

4. Can your partner handle it ? Will they be happy working when you are doing nothing ? This is more problematic than you may imagine

5. Who will your daytime friends be ? I met a very successful guy who retired at 30 and then reversed his decision as everyone at his golf club was over 60

6. Will you become boring ? Work, all that goes with it ... hours/ tax/ commuting/ colleagues/ failures/ successes/ stories are all common conversation topics. What will you have to say to folk ?

7. Do you need to be a role model to kids ? A 50yr old mate of mine is absolutely loaded and could have retired 10 years ago but continues to work hard as he wants his children to see that nice houses, holidays etc require commitment and discipline

By far the safest option is to go part time/ freelance to keep your options open and avoid a point of no return. I would have done this if I could have, but it was not open to me. A mate is GP with property interests on the side, she is one day a week for this reason.

I have never regretted it. I was in a long hours, high stress environment and I saw friends and colleagues harming themselves physically and mentally chasing ever more stuff, catalysing divorces .....

 

[Drew.m]

I retired from full time working at 40, ten years ago. Nearly everyone thought I was mad and could not imagine doing the same thing themselves.

Key points ....

1. Will you lose your sense of identity/ self worth ?. Lots of folk get this from their jobs

2. Do you have a robust financial plan that can take shocks ? - covid, need for private operations, divorce, big outlays like new roof etc

3. Can you reverse the decision, or do you permanently burn your earnings capability/ your qualifications expire ?

4. Can your partner handle it ? Will they be happy working when you are doing nothing ? This is more problematic than you may imagine

5. Who will your daytime friends be ? I met a very successful guy who retired at 30 and then reversed his decision as everyone at his golf club was over 60

6. Will you become boring ? Work, all that goes with it ... hours/ tax/ commuting/ colleagues/ failures/ successes/ stories are all common conversation topics. What will you have to say to folk ?

7. Do you need to be a role model to kids ? A 50yr old mate of mine is absolutely loaded and could have retired 10 years ago but continues to work hard as he wants his children to see that nice houses, holidays etc require commitment and discipline

By far the safest option is to go part time/ freelance to keep your options open and avoid a point of no return. I would have done this if I could have, but it was not open to me. A mate is GP with property interests on the side, she is one day a week for this reason.

I have never regretted it. I was in a long hours, high stress environment and I saw friends and colleagues harming themselves physically and mentally chasing ever more stuff, catalysing divorces .....

These are great points, I feel like it’s time as I have been in the business for around 30 years. I don’t think there is a way back as my skills are technology based and I don’t plan on keeping up with it once retired ( not to the degree working in the industry required) . I have a number of interests which are mainly based around pinball, arcade machines, engineering etc and plan to move somewhere with a couple of large outbuildings and have one as a workshop and one for pinballs etc.

 

[JWG9999]

I saw friends and colleagues harming themselves physically and mentally chasing ever more stuff .....

Sad but relevant:

Guy I worked with, and became good friends with, was visibly getting stressed out with the job. I knew he could afford to retire (in his late fifties) and I urged him to do so but he wouldn't - he wanted a bigger pension.

So he soldiered on and finally stopped working at 63, and almost immediately got diagnosed with a nasty lung disease - terminal.

The last time I visited him it was near the end, he barely had breath enough to speak, but he said "John, I wish I'd retired earlier."

 

[Drew.m]

Sad but relevant:

Guy I worked with, and became good friends with, was visibly getting stressed out with the job. I knew he could afford to retire (in his late fifties) and I urged him to do so but he wouldn't - he wanted a bigger pension.

So he soldiered on and finally stopped working at 63, and almost immediately got diagnosed with a nasty lung disease - terminal.

The last time I visited him it was near the end, he barely had breath enough to speak, but he said "John, I wish I'd retired earlier."

Yes you rarely find people saying they wish they had retired later, my wife also left the business in September so it makes sense for me to join her

 

[David_Vi]

Sad but relevant:

Guy I worked with, and became good friends with, was visibly getting stressed out with the job. I knew he could afford to retire (in his late fifties) and I urged him to do so but he wouldn't - he wanted a bigger pension.

So he soldiered on and finally stopped working at 63, and almost immediately got diagnosed with a nasty lung disease - terminal.

The last time I visited him it was near the end, he barely had breath enough to speak, but he said "John, I wish I'd retired earlier."

Reminds me of a few train drivers and guards at my depot.
A few kept working, having a plan for their pension. Finally retired and died within a year or two of retirement.

Apparently shiftwork lowers your avg life expectancy