Retirees - What age did you retire?

[CamillaF]

I am 45 and shooting to be retired for the first time by 50. My husband and I want to take our twin girls and travel around the world before they grow up and leave for collage. We are shooting for 3 years of traveling. In order to do this we would need to sell our business.... so when we get back we will start new projects. I don't see my self really retiring. Just changing what I am working on.

 

[Southernmiss]

Dh retired from career 1 working fir our stat at age 46. He's drawn a retirement check every month since August 2014. He had 23 years of service to the state and they counted his military time served towards his 25 years.

He immediately started career #2, as we had 4 kids and needed insurance and to get them through college.

He's counting down and done all the spreadsheets and says he can officially retire in about 10 years.

I'm not planning retirement, yet. But I may just retire when he does.

I enjoy my job and it's very flexible.

 

[dvcgirl67]

This is an ongoing topic at our house. We've reached our "number"...the one we set back maybe ten years ago, but...we've got two older parents still with us, my FIL is 91 and my mother is almost 79, so we're staying in our area of NJ...which we enjoy, but we don't plan to spend our "early retirement years here. We're 55 and 54.....and so we're still working for a couple of reasons. We don't see ourselves just stopping work here and going off to live in other parts of the country world as we'd like to do...especially with one parent at 91...and with just losing his wife, my MIL just 2 months ago. So...we figured, why not just keep working.

Also...we're making the highest income we've ever made. There is truth to the "50s" being the highest income earning years for most people. It's hard to walk away from the income at this point. And so for now we're working, saving the most we've ever saved...this year it will be at least 55% of our gross...and it would be a lot more, but we're planning on some splurgy vacations that I don't think we'd feel comfortable taking once we're relying on our next egg. We also like the idea of getting closer to Medicare...maybe carrying private insurance for about 5 years.

So, for now, a nice really nice trip to Hawaii this May for our 25th anniversary and longer bucket list trip to South Africa next year is keeping us motivated to keep working for now. A few smaller trips in-between to be decided. So...we're finding a balance in continuing to work...staying close to our two parents to support them...saving more than we ever have and yet treating ourselves a bit more.

We know things can change in a heartbeat the older we get, but for now...we're motivated and allowing ourselves to enjoy the spoils of coming up on 30+ years of college, work, hard work...and even more hard work. It really does pay off in the end. .

 

[GAN]

This is an ongoing topic at our house. We've reached our "number"...the one we set back maybe ten years ago, but...we've got two older parents still with us, my FIL is 91 and my mother is almost 79, so we're staying in our area of NJ...which we enjoy, but we don't plan to spend our "early retirement years here. We're 55 and 54.....and so we're still working for a couple of reasons. We don't see ourselves just stopping work here and going off to live in other parts of the country world as we'd like to do...especially with one parent at 91...and with just losing his wife, my MIL just 2 months ago. So...we figured, why not just keep working.

Also...we're making the highest income we've ever made. There is truth to the "50s" being the highest income earning years for most people. It's hard to walk away from the income at this point. And so for now we're working, saving the most we've ever saved...this year it will be at least 55% of our gross...and it would be a lot more, but we're planning on some splurgy vacations that I don't think we'd feel comfortable taking once we're relying on our next egg. We also like the idea of getting closer to Medicare...maybe carrying private insurance for about 5 years.

So, for now, a nice really nice trip to Hawaii this May for our 25th anniversary and longer bucket list trip to South Africa next year is keeping us motivated to keep working for now. A few smaller trips in-between to be decided. So...we're finding a balance in continuing to work...staying close to our two parents to support them...saving more than we ever have and yet treating ourselves a bit more.

We know things can change in a heartbeat the older we get, but for now...we're motivated and allowing ourselves to enjoy the spoils of coming up on 30+ years of college, work, hard work...and even more hard work. It really does pay off in the end. .

I'm in a similar situation in almost every respect.....

 

[tcufrog]

I've been a SAHM since my oldest was born (15 years). My DH graduated from college when he was 19 has been working as an engineer since then. Currently, he co-owns a company with another engineer that's extremely successful. Both of them are burned out from running the company because they dislike the industry they're in plus my DH hasn't had a break since he was 19. They are trying to sell the company and have an interested buyer. Afterward, they will have to stay around for 2-3 years for the transition. My husband wants to retire after that. If we are careful with the money that's definitely doable. DS15 will probably be starting college at that point and DS11 will be headed to high school.

I dread having my DH around all the time without him having any plans regarding what he wants to do with the time. He drove me nuts during the lockdown. I'm supportive of him taking a long sabbatical but I like being home alone and getting stuff done. His attempts to be helpful are annoying because his idea of being helpful is changing how things are done around the house.

 

[MdmMim]

BTW, IMO the use of the word "retire" is being missused. Retirement is when you leave a company with retirement benefits or are at the age of SS/Medicare. You are not "retired" but have simply stopped working as you have the "retirement" savings or other means of doing so. Nobody retires under 50, either you quit, get severance or have a disability.

Well, I retired when I was 43, with my pension. No disability, no severance, no firing. I had 25 years in and my company came out with a great offer, so I took them up on it, as did many others.
Best thing I ever did.

 

[tinkerjo]

DH will retire next year at age 54 from law enforcement (not a profession for old guys) he will have a good pension and 401k type money but no healthcare!! So I will continue to work full time to cover insurance for us and our DS15. My job is not hard, I work from home, but still a little sour about it. I took jobs with no benefits for years for more flexibility to be a present and involved mother to our 4 kids. I have a great job now with good benefits, but have only been here 10 years. Unless the insurance issue improves, I will have to wait another 10 years at least.

 

[dvcgirl67]

I've been a SAHM since my oldest was born (15 years). My DH graduated from college when he was 19 has been working as an engineer since then. Currently, he co-owns a company with another engineer that's extremely successful. Both of them are burned out from running the company because they dislike the industry they're in plus my DH hasn't had a break since he was 19. They are trying to sell the company and have an interested buyer. Afterward, they will have to stay around for 2-3 years for the transition. My husband wants to retire after that. If we are careful with the money that's definitely doable. DS15 will probably be starting college at that point and DS11 will be headed to high school.

I dread having my DH around all the time without him having any plans regarding what he wants to do with the time. He drove me nuts during the lockdown. I'm supportive of him taking a long sabbatical but I like being home alone and getting stuff done. His attempts to be helpful are annoying because his idea of being helpful is changing how things are done around the house.

Your husband sounds like mine. My DH graduated a year early from a tough program as a software engineer, and even though his parents did pay for his college, he worked full time as an software engineer since he was 18...even as a college student. He was also the president of his fraternity....I honestly don't think he could have slept for those three years.

I'm just starting to see him tiring of his career (and he's got a great position where he is and works from home), but I do think he'll stick it out another five years because that gets him to 10 years of service. At that point he gets to take a one year "sabbatical", which is unpaid, but we'd have health care for the year, then Cobra for 18 months after that. We've saving/invested and budgeted for carrying healthcare at this point (at 55 and 54), but again....we don't want to retire in NJ and just be here....if we need to hang around for our older parents in NJ.... we figure we might as well work. If he makes it to 10 years....we'd have the first 2.5 years of healthcare covered. I'd be 1.5 years from medicare at that point....he'd be a little under 3 years.

I guess we'll see....no matter what though, he'll be done-done by 59. We'll be good as far as retirement hobbies and such....he's worked from home for the last 18 years and he's got several hobbies, as do I....so thinking that part goes ok. We're at that phase now where we just hope that some nefarious illness doesn't come along the screw everything up. Sucks...but that kind of stuff enters your mind at our age....because we hear about it happening to people we know more frequently.

 

[FreeTime]

I took my first, although very small, retirement “package” at 37. I then followed this with five years in a government job and left that with the ability to start drawing monthly retirement payments from the plan I had set up. I am not. From there I started a company that I have now sold. I am now looking forward to my retirement which includes owning a company that I have always dreamed about and working in that business instead of on it. To me, that is what I want retirement to be - working on what I love from 50-death. Just because I can cease to work and society says you should, doesn’t mean it is something I want to do.

 

[tvguy]

. I am now looking forward to my retirement which includes owning a company that I have always dreamed about and working in that business instead of on it. To me, that is what I want retirement to be - working on what I love from 50-death. Just because I can cease to work and society says you should, doesn’t mean it is something I want to do.

I worked with a wonderful man who NEEDED to work, not for the money but for something to do. He went into the Marines at 18 and retired at 43 after 25 years with a pension. He went to work for some private company for 15 years and retired at 58 with another pension. Went to work at our place when he was 58. He was our mail room clerk and delivery driver, and handyman. If your chair broke, he fixed it. If a wall needed painting, he painted it. He changed burned out light bulbs, broken toilets, and kept the rain gutters free of leaves. Managers learned quickly NOT to tell Bob how to do something. When you don't need the money, you are free to speak your mind on your job and Bob did. Even the head of Corporate learned that quickly on a visit to our location. We merged with another company, and over the first six months 58 of our 100 employees were laid off, including Bob who was then 78. They called him first thing in the morning. He refused to leave because they were paying him through the end of the day, and he told them, he was going to need those 8 hours to make a list of all the things he did that they were now going to have to hire outside contractors for.

 

[lifesavacation]

I’m 49 and ready to retire. Unfortunately, I co-own a business with my husband. He does not want to sell the business and he can’t run it without me. So we’re working through that and even did a couple of sessions of marriage therapy trying to figure out a solution. We have a buyer and the sale would fund retirement and then some. Hopefully, I can convince DH to sell before the next world disaster hits.

 

[tvguy]

I’m 49 and ready to retire. Unfortunately, I co-own a business with my husband. He does not want to sell the business and he can’t run it without me. So we’re working through that and even did a couple of sessions of marriage therapy trying to figure out a solution. We have a buyer and the sale would fund retirement and then some. Hopefully, I can convince DH to sell before the next world disaster hits.

Being married to your business partner certainly complicates things. Not that selling a business is easy even if the partner isn't a spouse.
My neighbor is 71 and owns a business with a partner. My neighbor was diagnosed with Stage Four cancer 6 years ago. He can't retire because his partner has no interest in buying him out nor has he found anyone else wanting to buy his share. And the business is providing both partners with a nice income each year. My neighbor's wife is 65 and retired a year and a half ago. But all those factors do make me wonder whether he really wants to retire.

 

[Dznypal]

Gee according then to some say is the official term for retirement I’m not retired then since when I left 6 years ago they put me down as job elimination so then I could collect unemployment. I wonder now though when I consider myself retired

 

[disykat]

I know lots of people that retired that were downsized or eliminated and ended up deciding not to go back to work. They became retired (IMO) when they decided not to seek other employment or apply to collect unemployment.

 

[Disneylover99]

My plan is to retire in June at 54 with a full pension after over 31 years of teaching. Unless I chicken out. Change is hard.

 

[china mom]

DH and I retired at ages 46 (Me) and 47(DH) on our full pensions but it did not include health insurance. We were home together for about six months (paying $1200/mo for family insurance). We realized that we didn't feel financially comfortable enough to spend money traveling or doin home improvements or anything so it was a little bowing. We both went back to work.

Our financial advisor has told us that we could stop working and afford to pay healthcare out of pocket and sustain our lifestyle but we just don't have the confidence to do that, plus, we both like our jobs. We are 58 & 59 now and I have in my head that we will probably stop working once my youngest is out of high school in 2024.

 

[Frwinkley]

My plan is to retire in June at 54 with a full pension after over 31 years of teaching. Unless I chicken out. Change is hard.

Will your health insurance be covered?

I am a teacher in PA and will retire next year at age 63. I did a mid-life career change after being in the private sector, so will retire with 20 years. Not a full pension, but still enough that will cover the majority of our monthly expenses. We'll fund the rest with savings, etc. until Social Security. Our health insurance (myself and DH will be covered in full until we're eligible for Medicare).

DH retired 18 months ago after a long career in IT, computers, etc. He had had enough. With our healthcare covered by me, it was a pretty easy decision to make. I still enjoy my job too.

Happy retirement to you!

 

[Disneylover99]

Will your health insurance be covered?

I am a teacher in PA and will retire next year at age 63. I did a mid-life career change after being in the private sector, so will retire with 20 years. Not a full pension, but still enough that will cover the majority of our monthly expenses. We'll fund the rest with savings, etc. until Social Security. Our health insurance (myself and DH will be covered in full until we're eligible for Medicare).

DH retired 18 months ago after a long career in IT, computers, etc. He had had enough. With our healthcare covered by me, it was a pretty easy decision to make. I still enjoy my job too.

Happy retirement to you!

I have really good benefits for prescription drugs, dental, travel insurance, etc…. that will end when I retire, unless I decide to begin paying into them. Thankfully, my husband has excellent benefits that will continue at no cost to him, even when he retires, so I don’t need my benefits. I feel very, very lucky.

 

[Frwinkley]

I have really good benefits for prescription drugs, dental, travel insurance, etc…. that will end when I retire, unless I decide to begin paying into them. Thankfully, my husband has excellent benefits that will continue at no cost to him, even when he retires, so I don’t need my benefits. I feel very, very lucky.

That's terrific. I too feel very, very fortunate.

 

[Princesca]

I probably won't ever retire. I don't want to keep working a standard daily 9-5, but I've seen so many people go downhill mentally, after retirement, and with a parent who had Alzheimer's, I'm very nervous about that. My goal is to shift to consulting when I'm 55 or so, maybe, and do that part-time til I croak.