retire early

It seems like every time I consider the possibility of being able to retire “early,” circumstances tend to push the thought of retirement back a bit. It’s not that I don’t like working, it’s just that I work-to-live and can think of all kinds of things to do once I do take the retirement plunge. In other words, I don’t live to work.

That being said, I have to make sure I have enough retirement income to enjoy myself and stay above the poverty line. ;)

Too many recent stories have disturbed me, about people who have been retired for 5 years having to go back to work because their nest egg has been decimated by the recession. I don’t think I want to do that, so I would rather stay working for an extra year or two, so that I won’t have to wonder how I am going to pay my bills at the end of the month.

Please tell me fellow 43Thingers, what age would you consider to be “early retirement?” Freedom 55? Age 60? All of my older friends who have already retired seem to be having a great time and have far less stress now.

Dunno if this is going to happen now, with the downturn in the global investment marketplace. I guess I’m fortunate that I don’t have a defined contribution plan, but I might have to delay my retirement later, if I don’t get my mortgage and other debts paid off.

I’ve heard some very sad stories about some people who have been retired for 5 years having to go back to work full-time recently! That must have been very difficult for them.

What bothers me about the workplace is that employers used to complain that employees weren’t loyal enough. With all that has been going on lately concerning layoffs and downsizing, it’s no wonder employees are no longer loyal to their employers! For some families, I’ve heard about both husband and wife being laid off within weeks of each other. Even for some firms that are doing well, financially, it’s been “fashionable” to lay off staff. Disgusting.

Assuming we can get all our debt paid off, I might be able to retire in a little over 5 years. That sounds very soon, but I would like to go places and enjoy myself while I’m young, rather than work a few extra years to attempt to save a few more dollars in the bank. I know a few work colleagues who stayed working a few years longer than they needed to and then didn’t get to enjoy their retirements for very long, as illness became a problem for them.

Every person I know who took early retirement has had a great time and didn’t look back. That’s for me! ;)

Hoping that I keep my health up, the earliest I might wish to retire is in 7 years. I definitely work to live, I don’t live to work, but perhaps I might not want to retire that early.

Maybe I will continue to enjoy the people I work with and maybe I might just want to cut down my hours to a 3-day work week or something like that. We have a special pre-retirement work reduction program at work where one can work a shortened work week for 2 years before retirement and still get a full pension accrual for that time, as if you had worked a 5-day work week! The only hitch is that after the 2 years is up, I don’t think you can change your mind, you must retire. ;)