Retirement looms on the near horizon.......

[lonegunman762x51]

Retirement, the option to be done with it is a mere 12-18 months away. So the question is, do you call it done or grind it out until 65-67 and leave with more money and less health? I could literally bank another $500,000 if I stayed six more years. The problem is this job is tough on you, it is all weather, all hours and all the time, overtime, it is not six years of sitting in an office 9 to 5.

In 12 short months the National Guard will start paying me a nice healthy check every month along with medical insurance for life. Combined with my retirement from a previous civilian job that I had for twenty years my staying at home income is pretty solid. Everything is paid for, houses, trucks, cars, camper and I carry no debt on credit cards. Six months after the guard checks start rolling in, I can retire from my current job with yet another smallish pension at 62. After 62, there is social security as well. So, even if I called it done in 12 months, my income has two more nice increases coming in the next few years so life would still get better. My take home will actually increase once work is done.

While I am apparently well off and make more money than 97% of America, I apparently make less money than 99% of the fuckers on the internet. I'm the only guy on the internet not riding in my private jet to box seats at every NFL game. I'm expecting Biden and his fucktard administration to screw up the stock market before they leave office and everything will take a 10-20% hit for a few years, I can weather that just fine as well. It's already accounted for in the master plan. I'm at the, "Holy shit, I may have actually done this", stage.

It's getting awful close to time to call it done and go hunting, shooting, camping and driving my sports car full time. I'm nervous, this scheme has been more than forty years in the making. I have plenty to do to entertain myself in retirement and I'm sure between kids, grandkids and interesting things to do boredom will not be a problem.

Would you keep working or be done as soon as possible?

For those of you who are retired. How did it feel to finally pull the trigger and be done, to have every day as your own?

 

[MadDuner]

I have been asking myself the same questions.
I know if I had more "time" to do stuff - I would spend way more money doing it.
Same thing for my wife.
So we're going to continue with the grind for a couple more years and then reassess.

 

[Fx51LP308]

I retired early. I qualified for Soc. Sec. benefits at an early age (not my full retirement age) but the difference in waiting until full retirement age is only a small amount given what the actual benefit amount is (at least I think it is). I can, actually, still work although I can't earn more than like $19,000 a year in additional income and still receive soc. sec. benefits without penalty. Once I reach my full retirement age, then I can make whatever additional income I want. And, in the calendar year in which I reach full retirement age, I can earn like $50,000.00 additional income.

I was in corporate IT for over 40 years. The last 12 were on Wall St. and were extremely stressful. And I then ran my own IT consulting business for 10-12 years before deciding to retire. I was done. I was OK. My house is paid for (no mortgage) and I can cover my bills. I keep busy and active in IT by doing a "tutoring" gig where I teach certain IT subjects to various students. I work from home, and only the houris I want, and I have a lot of time to do other things. I go to JTAC once a month. Hopefully, I'll get back to cave diving soon. We'll see. But that's one hobby that (believe it or not) is more expensive than shooting/2A. We'll see.

It really depends on your needs. If you need the $$$ now, then retire early. If you don't need it right away, and you're willing to continue your job (given all the stressors, etc.), do that. It's all up to you.

 

[vinniedelpino]

Retirement. You already have your bases covered. What are you going to do with that extra $500k if you work the next five years? Buy more shit you really don't need?

For all you know, you could have an aneurysm and pass away next year. Don't be that guy on his deathbed that squandered his life, full of regret because he spent his whole life worrying about the future without ever enjoying the present.

You're in a wonderful position to spend time with family doing things you love. Don't fuck it up. You won't get a second chance at this.

 

[yakstone]

I'm in a similar boat. I chose to quit my job at 59 and go part time. Same industry but 20 - 25 hours per week working from home rather than 65 - 70 hours per week with lots of travel.
My life and health improved and I am a much happier person. Some fun money is nice but the big paychecks aren't the draw that they once were.
I have plenty of hobbies to keep me busy and would like more time of my own but I figure I'll give the part time gig a couple more years then hang up the working thing.
We are pretty modest people that live within our means. NO debt is a big part of giving up the daily grind. A little fun money on a regular basis keeps me from spending savings. Weathering the stock market is the other concern but like OP, hopefully enough latitude is built into the Plan.
BTW - I am 64 now.

 

[502Chevelle]

I’m in the same boat as well. I’m really looking forward to it. I am so willing to retire a couple years early, and trade my freedom for a few dollars. I have so many hobbies that I want to do, plus I would like to take my lovely wife on some trips and see some more of our great country and cool places in the world. I totally agree with the two guys above. Figure out how many GOOD years that you probably have left, and figure out how many more of that short number that you are willing to give up to a company that doesn’t give a shit about you, and that is your number left to work.

 

[yakstone]

One of my neighbors who was already retired shared his advice with me on things he learned at our time in life.
60 - 70 are your go go years.
70 - 80 are your go slow years.
80 + in most cases are your no go years.

That resonated with me.

My wife and I are working on modestly traveling and seeing the USA; mostly National Parks, etc. We have no need to visit population centers and deal with that crap. We have a small RV that we are trying to wear out with the time we have left while we are physically able.

 

[37L1]

IMHO, YMMV, everyone I know who has retired is very glad that they did, some say they should have done it sooner.

You may have "the jitters" at first but you won't regret a single day after you left.

Go as soon as you feel able. The stuff you think is important now won't be as soon as you grow old and health starts to go. Then you will regret those days you stayed "on the job" when you could have been enjoying your time.

 

[Bigfatcock]

Best friend’s dad had grand plans for retirement. He died of a heart attack at 55.

The older you get, the more valuable your time becomes. That 500k is not enough money for several more years of your life. Especially at this stage/age of your life.

 

[Hobo Hilton]

How is your health ?
For many a health issue is the tipping point at which point at which they find the answer to your questions. Inevitably the person that says "I just need one more year" ends up having a heart attack / accident / inoperable illness.
More and more when one of my friends retire my come back line is "I'm glad you got out alive".
Go get a head to toe physical, scans, blood work, etc. Evaluate your prescription meds.
It would be a blessing to retire healthy and enjoy life.

 

[HousePlant]

Retire, but you should get something that provides passive income or find a consulting role to battle the inevitable inflation in the next 20 years.

 

[Fx51LP308]

How is your health ?
For many a health issue is the tipping point at which point at which they find the answer to your questions. Inevitably the person that says "I just need one more year" ends up having a heart attack / accident / inoperable illness.
More and more when one of my friends retire my come back line is "I'm glad you got out alive".
Go get a head to toe physical, scans, blood work, etc. Evaluate your prescription meds.
It would be a blessing to retire healthy and enjoy life.

Right. And the other point of concern is things like "The Rona." One never knows how much "time" one will have in retirement, now, so enjoy all of it while you can.

 

[goatboy]

60 - 70 are your go go years.
70 - 80 are your go slow years.
80 + in most cases are your no go years.

This is good advice. Men most often live into their 80s but not out of them. Take your time now. Do some consulting or part time jobs for cash if you want to keep busy. Since you’re on this site, we know you have good taste in hobbies.

 

[jetech]

I retired at 55. The job had a lot of stress and wasn't getting better. I really liked my job, but I started developing a bad attitude towards it and didn't enjoy the job as much as I once did. This had a negative impact on about everything, so I decided the money wasn't worth it.
I had enough money in retirement to where I could retire so I found the clause in my retirement package that allowed me to go out at 55. I met the requirements of the package, so I gave a three-month notice.

Walking away from a good paying job was a weird feeling. When you do walk away you find that when you dedicate so much time and energy to a job if feels like you left something behind. There were many days I felt I should be going into work. When I talked with guys still there working, hearing all the problems and new policies, it validated my leaving. I think it is very important to not only remain busy once you leave but also do something productive. It's important to have a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day.

On the upside, having free time allowed me to do some volunteer work, help friends and family with building projects and a host of other things. I got so busy there weren't enough hours in a day it seemed. I did eventually throttle back some and then Grandkids started coming along, and now I am busy again.

My advice is to take a hard look at what your priorities are now, you aren't getting younger, do you really need to put up with people at work, the weather and everything else that goes along with working a job.

Also, if you do decide to retire, stay busy and healthy. If you feel you need some sort of job as time goes on start your own business doing something you like but don't have to depend on its income.

After nearly seven years of retirement, I am finally getting time to shoot my rifles more often and when its below 30 degrees, I don't even go outside unless I have to.

 

[BullGear]

I retired at 55 as soon as I was eligible. No one knows what tomorrow brings. I now realize how right I was. Take all the time God gives you. Working for someone else, who really doesn't care about you, is not my way for living my end years.

If you can afford it, retire ASAP. You won't be sorry.

 

[Millron]

Retire. Find something you like to you do as a sideline, even if its the same field your in now. When you feel like working do it and you can put a little extra play money in the bank. If you were a desk jockey might be a bit different. Everybody I've know that had a job that was physically demanding (pipefitters, welders, etc) and held on for as long as they could to build up that bank account ended up regretting it. By the time they made it to their late 60s their body was broken down enough they couldn't enjoy it. spent their 70s hobbling around going to dr. Visits and most died without getting to do the things in retirement that they wanted to do because they weren't physically able. Its one thing to hang on if you don't have the income to support your retirment years, but doesn't sound like its an issue. Hit the door running with both hands out in front of you ASAP.

Personally I'm mostly a desk jockey anymore and self employed to boot so I'll never be able to technically retire, at least while my mind still is good. Enjoy the fruits of your Labor for the last 40+ years.

 

[Seed tick]

Retire! Screw the money!

 

[NoDopes]

I'm seriously considering this, so I'll share my thoughts. Agreed on the retire while you still can enjoy it.
Pre Medicare/medicaid age, Obama care will be free if you keep your "earned income" below $45K or there abouts... I've paid so much money in taxes, I'll never get it back, so I don't feel bad or see it as participating in socialism personally.. but it is.
Claiming SS income at 62 reduces your payments... but you only come out 'behind' if you live past 80.5. by then, who cares? I'd rather have the income now and be able to use it.
IRS has an SEPP program, where you can get access to your 401K money early without penalties! Depending on how much you need before 59.5, run the formula and transfer that much into a separate retirement account, then declare it an SEPP account and start withdrawing!

I have an easy job that pays well, but it's still mentally painful to watch all the CRT/WOKE and the complete mismanagement driving the company into the ground... I half want to stay on just to watch the train wreck... Healthcare is my only hangup keeping me from saying FU and goodbye.

 

[Supersubes]

Easy call. Punch out and start living.

 

[bigdaddydmd]

Retire. One of the few things money can't buy is time already lost. If you have the assets to sustain what you want to do and can support it then its an easy call. You can't take it with you when you're gone. I have seen far too many wait to long to retire chasing that extra security/just a little more money in the piggybank, and when they finally do retire their health/orthopedics is so poor they can't go do all the things they planned to do when they finally retired. Whether that is camping, chasing big game at high altitudes, walking on the beach, turning wrenches on that dream car, etc.

 

[E. Bryant]

I believe this data is quite old and I'm sure someone will be along momentarily to refute it, but my point will remain the same - retire as soon as you can afford to do so.

 

[NoDopes]

View attachment 7789786

I believe this data is quite old and I'm sure someone will be along momentarily to refute it, but my point will remain the same - retire as soon as you can afford to do so.

I think this is one of those correlation/causation situations.
I've seen a similar table that shows average annual income to life expectancy graph and it looks very similar. I think it may relate more to less stress, better health care, and the higher income allows earlier retirement. Although, I'm sure less stress after retirement does have some impact, it's not likely the sole or even a major contributor.

 

[Numb_Skull]

Fuck work man, sell everything you own and move to SE Asia. Leave the family behind, they only care about what’s left of your estate once you’re gone.

 

[candyx]

An extra 500K goes a long way in the titty bars during retirement and why not help a young women pay for college if you can squeeze their tits between beers, remember cold hands produce hard nipples......

 

[Tempest 455]

I'm doing everything possible to retire by 59.

Question for those that have retired early. What are you doing for insurance?

 

[Ronin_64]

Everyone else has pretty much covered all the major points. My only two cents, if it’s even worth that, don’t think that you retire and suddenly have an extra 40+ hours a week to sleep in. I retired at 55, lucky bastard, and have no idea how I lived a life with a work schedule in there. Not enough hours in a day, now that I’m retired. Enjoy life if you have your health and enough wealth, it may not always be there.

 

[MadDuner]

Just don't retire earlier than your piggy bank can tolerate.

My aunt and uncle both retired at 55yrs old - and thought their money would sustain them into their golden years. It lasted 10 yrs.
They both ended up having to go get minimum wage jobs at age 65 because they ran out of money. Their SS checks amounted to less than their grocery bills.

They made a poor decision...

 

[unrepentant]

leave with more money and less health?



I'm expecting Biden and his fucktard administration to screw up the stock market before they leave office and everything will take a 10-20% hit for a few years, I can weather that just fine as well. It's already accounted for in the master plan.


For those of you who are retired. How did it feel to finally pull the trigger and be done, to have every day as your own?

As I read your post, I culled it down to three questions, which I left as "quoted" above. The answer seems plainly obvious--

You say you can sock away another $500,000 if you stayed another 6 years. BUT, you claim that as it stands now, if the market dropped 20%, you could weather it just fine because it's already accounted for in your master plan. Sooo... what do you need another 1/2M for? will it cover the "good" health you expect the job to take from you? I've never heard of anyone who was able to buy their way into better health. GET THEE GONE!!! your only worry is where is your health insurance gonna come from? And that's a serious consideration! Investigate private health insurance costs and make your decision. Medicare kicks in at 65; I'm not a vet so I dunno when you're eligible for Tri-Care.

If adding retirement money is TRULY a concern after you've retired, stall your Social Security (until you're 70 years old). The increase from 62 to 70 will be (under current laws) 32% (8% per year between 65-70).

(You have to consider your expected life expectancy, though. As I recall, in order to break even for waiting until 70 [from 65] you'd have to collect at least til you're ~80-1/2 years old--and another 3yr to amortize the delay from 62-70. But the compounded gains are significant--almost another 10Gs/year as I recall [over a 65yr-old SocSec claim].) I waited until I was 70 because I could afford to; something else to consider--if you're married, when will your spouse retire and draw SocSec? If you're married, the second applicant COULD delay until 70 yr (if you can afford it) AND claim half the first applicant's SocSec allotment. It's called the "SocSec spousal benefit". For example, if the first retiree (Ann) is drawing $1500/mo SocSec, the second retired spouse (Bob) can "file and delay" their benefits and claim the "spousal benefit"--it would award $750/mo from the time of the "file & delay" date until the second spouse's (Bob's) 70th birthday. Ann's benefit would never be impacted by Bob's 50% draw, and Bob could wait until he's 70 to start taking Social Security (which he MUST at 70). It's a way to compromise your "wait til 70 tactic". (The "spousal benefit" requirements changed in the last 3 years I think--I don't know now what the minimum age for the second retiree has to be--I started drawing as the "1/2" second spouse at age 57; I think one has to be 62 now. So for the thirteen years between my 57-70th birthdays, I drew $1470/month as the spousal benefit [1/2 my wife's social security allotment]).

But back to the main... CONSIDER YOUR HEALTH ABOVE ALL ELSE, then quit. You probably aren't gonna get healthier working.

I think all of us are afraid to "cut the lifeline" (-income, permanently) and consider retiring completely, but for those of us who're financially able, I don't think there's any of us who're not happy to "be our own boss"--don't give a damn about the alarm clock anymore, don't care what day it is because they're all Sundays. My schedule is my schedule, on and on. What'll I do today?-- lemme decide...

Sooner or later this Covid thing will be over. Until then, I spend the "isolation time" putzing around the house; there's lots of spring projects keeping me busy all-year-round til I'm sure I wanna break from the regimen. It's not like there's "nothing to do". But I wanna be careful with Omicron until there's a lot more data out there. I know 7 people who have/had breakthrough infections. Three are vaxxed and boosted; they complain/ed of "mild flu-like symptoms" and (recovered completely in a week) that's it. The other 4 are unvaxxed; one had a "common-cold" reaction, two are still recovering a year later, and the last said she feels fine 9 months later but has headaches and can't taste her food well. I don't hang around large crowds, but I'm not afraid to dine out. Til I'm sure I can "ignore everyone like the good old days", retirement is still enjoyable, it's just not the absolute blessing it was before the chink virus. But I'd never think of finding a job for intellectual/emotional stimulation in any case.

 

[Jefe's Dope]

Inflation is a mother fucker. I say stay on and save more. But, that's easy for me to say.

Edit: Knowing you could just walk at any time seems to make shitty jobs a bit easier.

 

[Jetson]

If you have the financials squared away to your liking (within reason) Retire. Life is way to short. I recently retired, and I can tell you, I would have saved more to retire earlier knowing what I know now. It’s 10AM just finishing my coffee, then off to the gym, wash a car, off to the range, out for dinner. Rinse and repeat as you like. No O dark thirty get ups. Obviously go where your heart sends you. At the end of the day it’s your life to live as you see fit.

 

[NotByWorks]

I retired the first day I was eligible and have never looked back. Retirement is awesome!!

It was hard to walk away from that nice paycheck, but once you have enough what are you working for?

I have a neighbor close to 80 years old still working every day. He is worth millions, and his body is falling apart. His kids and grandkids will never have to work, but is that how we are supposed to live? Guess we all have to make our own decisions. I don't regret retiring for a minute.

 

[Vodoun daVinci]

A couple of weeks ago I "Rage Quit" and it turned into Retirement. I have the house paid for, $500K in Investments, I'm on Medicare, all the cars are paid for and we have been living pretty well on $90K a year between the two of us. I could have held out (maybe) till full retirement age and got a whole whopping $71 a month more per month but my former employer is running out of Technicians to install and do the heavy/hard work - kneeling on concrete, crawling, climbing ladders, lifting heavy stuff. I'm a Field Service Professional with 48 years on Experience - I worked my ass off putting mice elf thru College working 3 jobs at a time and I *did* that so I wouldn't be 66 YO and crawling on the floor and sitting on concrete installing.

I have a couple friends who were going to retire at 70 to get the extra savings and bigger SS payout. Both are dead of Covid and never had a day in their working Life to live their own lives. Owned by The Man and Wage Slave for Life only Life wasn't long enough. Now their kids will be spending their retirement saving as an inheritance.

My advice is that you should retire as soon as you can live decently on what you have. Waiting for more is no guarantee you'll live to see the payout. Best thing I ever did was just walk out and retire. I have been warning them for 2 years I could not keep up with their demands. Now some young technician gets a chance to work with the A Team. With our retirement income fund, SS, and savings in the bank/checking account I'm literally getting more money than I have been making all along per month. Without spending the Principle.

Retire now and live.

VooDoo

 

[cgobeli]

I have seen too many coworkers either die before or retirement or shortly after. If you can go and be ok, then you should go!

 

[HiDesertELR]

Retire if you can - no one on their death bed ever said "Damnit, I wish I worked more!"

Good luck man, not an easy decision.

 

[candyx]

I was fortunate enough to have met the Dalai Lama in Tibet and I asked him about if I would have money when I retire , he replied :
"Oh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness."

So I've got that going for me … which is nice.

 

[A&8's]

Retire. Money ain't everything!

I filled out my retirement packet yesterday. March 31st will be my last day. 51yrs old and can hardly wait. Mama still has 5 years to do (she'll be 50yrs). Hopefully the stress of my job for the past 31yrs hasn't taken too much a toll on me. One of my worst fears is to retire and die.

 

[isofahunter]

No man on his death bed says "I wish I would have worked one more day"

 

[SFree]

An old hand told me once after he had been working on the road for years, he said,” Son, you can always sell your time, but you can never buy it back”…

 

[lightman]

Retirement, the option to be done with it is a mere 12-18 months away. So the question is, do you call it done or grind it out until 65-67 and leave with more money and less health? I could literally bank another $500,000 if I stayed six more years. The problem is this job is tough on you, it is all weather, all hours and all the time, overtime, it is not six years of sitting in an office 9 to 5.

In 12 short months the National Guard will start paying me a nice healthy check every month along with medical insurance for life. Combined with my retirement from a previous civilian job that I had for twenty years my staying at home income is pretty solid. Everything is paid for, houses, trucks, cars, camper and I carry no debt on credit cards. Six months after the guard checks start rolling in, I can retire from my current job with yet another smallish pension at 62. After 62, there is social security as well. So, even if I called it done in 12 months, my income has two more nice increases coming in the next few years so life would still get better. My take home will actually increase once work is done.

While I am apparently well off and make more money than 97% of America, I apparently make less money than 99% of the fuckers on the internet. I'm the only guy on the internet not riding in my private jet to box seats at every NFL game. I'm expecting Biden and his fucktard administration to screw up the stock market before they leave office and everything will take a 10-20% hit for a few years, I can weather that just fine as well. It's already accounted for in the master plan. I'm at the, "Holy shit, I may have actually done this", stage.

It's getting awful close to time to call it done and go hunting, shooting, camping and driving my sports car full time. I'm nervous, this scheme has been more than forty years in the making. I have plenty to do to entertain myself in retirement and I'm sure between kids, grandkids and interesting things to do boredom will not be a problem.

Would you keep working or be done as soon as possible?

For those of you who are retired. How did it feel to finally pull the trigger and be done, to have every day as your own?

Congratulations! It sounds like you have won the game! It looks like you have all of the boxes checked. Medical insurance covered, debt free, a couple of pensions to provide income and some savings. You have done well! Two unknowns that retired people have to deal with are rising medical cost and inflation.

There are several retirement income calculators on line that you can plug in the numbers and calculate your retirement income. Consulting a good financial advisor is usually worthwhile. Google "Bogelheads" and browse the site. Its based on Jack Bogels financial beliefs and is worth a look.

I retired at 57 after being diagnosed with MS. Being forced to retire relieved a lot of the stress that a lot of workers experience when considering retirement. Being debt free, having a pension, having retirement insurance and having investments made this a non event. It sounds like you are there, or soon will be. The other night I woke up when the wind was blowing 30mph and the chill factor was in the single digits and I just gave a quick prayer for those still out working it it and rolled over closer to the Wife and went back to sleep!

It sounds like 62 would be a good target for your retirement. But no one else can decide that for you. Good Luck with this decision.

 

[Familydude]

Retire. I’ve been retired for just over a month after 34 yrs and already feel so much better. I was giving my mental and physical health to my career. Stress levels through the roof. Any additional money made would probably have gone to medical bills sooner or later. It was that bad. It’s such a drastic overall improvement it’s tough to describe. We’re very, very comfortable but not rich by some standards. That’s fine with us. Retire. Retire. Retire.

 

[P-Squared]

View attachment 7789786

I believe this data is quite old and I'm sure someone will be along momentarily to refute it, but my point will remain the same - retire as soon as you can afford to do so.

Shit, according to this if I had retired two years ago, I'm going to be dead this summer. Well that sucks.

 

[tomcatmv]

I retired in June of '19 at 68 and get probably the max SS benefit as I was a 6 figure + income earner for at least the last 15 or so years of working. Also have a good retirement/ investment plan that has good payout from my annuities and such.
Own our home and both rigs so no payments other than my wife's health insurance that runs $980/month and car/house insurance, utilities and Texas highway robbery property taxes.
Have a small pontoon boat in the marina on our lake (Belton) five minutes from our house so we're doing alright. But you know, I'm looking for a job. I miss being part of a team and the design/build mechanical biz I was in.
To each his own so good luck and stay well.
Oh and Let's go Brandon!!!

 

[E. Bryant]

Just don't retire earlier than your piggy bank can tolerate.

My aunt and uncle both retired at 55yrs old - and thought their money would sustain them into their golden years. It lasted 10 yrs.
They both ended up having to go get minimum wage jobs at age 65 because they ran out of money. Their SS checks amounted to less than their grocery bills.

They made a poor decision...

Something halfway in between would suit me fine. I like the idea of digging full-time work by age 55 or so, and then do some part-time consulting as long as my health allows. I know of a few other professionals who have gone down this path and they have struck an attractive balance between staying productive and staying healthy.

 

[HiDesertELR]

Retire from the slave system, but DO NOT stop being active, vital, and part of something bigger than yourself...

I've seen it way too many times, people think retirement is to just laze about and do nothing but go fishing... dead soon after they stopped being a part of something purposeful.

Just my two cents.

 

[kenny1773]

If I thought I could retire, I would, money isn't everything. I don't need an AI, I am happy with less

The current woke politically correct BS is more than I can take

My boss telling me that he can't hire another white guy, WTF??? you are a white guy, just fucking stop with the stupid and hire a qualified person.

Yes I will retire the fucking minute I think I might not starve to death.

 

[Trigger Time 23]

Retire if you can. Any of us could be dead tomorrow. Life is short.

 

[n2ishun]

Lucky you.
You get to choose.
I was forced into retirement due to an extremely severe cancer diagnosis.
Luckily...and completely randomly....I took 2 full years hiatus just before the diagnosis and spent every day fishing and hunting.
I could do it at the time and it was a complete F it kind of thing.
I'm sure glad I did it now....and man did I catch some fish and kill some critters.
I'm sore, but I'm not sorry.

 

[Thumper580]

I have been asking myself the same questions.
I know if I had more "time" to do stuff - I would spend way more money doing it.
Same thing for my wife.
So we're going to continue with the grind for a couple more years and then reassess.

RETIRE AS SOON AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN!!!!! The money you delay receiving until later means you need to live till about 90-95 years old to break even. Say your SS is $25,000.00 (whatever amt.) if you delay that for 5 years you gave up $125,000.00... to what? Get an extra $150-200.00 a month... And you could drop dead on year 4 of waiting...... Take it as soon as you can!!!!!

 

[KeithR41]

I was fortunate enough to have met the Dalai Lama in Tibet and I asked him about if I would have money when I retire , he replied :
"Oh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness."

So I've got that going for me … which is nice.

Goonga, goonga galunga

 

[Ironcreek]

I retired within months of being eligible, ending up being one of the first to retire from DHS. That was back in 2003. I ended up hating my job and could barely tolerate the people I worked for. 18 years and some odd months later and still believe it was the best decision in my life. My wife retired 12-months later.

Yes, we are/were unusual. We both worked for the Fed’l Government and were eligible to go out at 55. My job was abolished shortly after 911 and I ended up with DHS where surprisingly I ended up with a promotion. I could have stayed longer to get my “high-three” earning slightly more however that wasn’t an option I was willing to entertain. The original thought process before 911 was that I would hang in for an extra year and retire along with my wife.

I ended up retiring on my terms 9-months after becoming eligible. I was a CSRS-Offset employee since I had a break in service and contributed to both the federal retirement system and social security. When I reached 62 a portion of my federal retirement was reduced to “match” the social security payment (whether I claimed it or not). I ended up taking my social security at 62 and much to my surprise gained more per month. My wife receives a single monthly payment from OPM and I get 2; one from OPM and one from social security. I had also paid my 8-years military to OPM to gain more years.

Long story short. For anyone who is near retirement and thinking of whether or not to go out sooner than later. Go out as soon as you can. The past 18 plus years have been a blast. Whatever money I lost by going out early has been more than made up with the total joy and freedom of our life.