Retirement what age did you pull the pin?

[Wolverines!]

Looking to tap out this year at 53. Already dabbling in some volunteer work and a little substitute teaching that I may expand to keep engaged in my community. I’m ready to start doing a lot of travel but my wife took a big promotion a year ago, loves her job, but only gets 5 weeks of vacation a year. Hoping she can renegotiate that!

 

[RaceTec]

How the hell are all of you retiring so damn early!?!?! I am obviously an idiot... Good for you! I guess the joke about everyone being rich and paying for everything cash on RDP is true and not an actual joke!

 

[TPC]

Wifes work is ya stay until retirement age or lose it.
She's too young anyway.

My studio friends it was how many hours you worked determines pension time. That can be pretty good.
Asking Disneyworld Employees about this and many retired from the Military at 38, then pull a part time check from Disney and eventually get a 401K payout too.

 

[bilz]

561/2
34 years at Los Angeles DOT.
Not rich but should never starve.
I get to spend time with my mom.
Had a great career.
Just partied in Placentia last night with a coworker/ employee, turned friend. New brewery, Broken Timbers in old town. No alarm clock this morning. Yes!
Do it sooner rather than later.

 

[PDQH2O]

60. It’s not so much a magic number, but one of realizing why am I doing this, kind of like Groundhog Day. Throughout my career I’ve been told “when the time comes to retire, you'll know. “ For me, that was so true.

 

[DUNEFLYER]

For those that have retired. Do you spend more or less money in retirement than you thought you would?

 

[Echo Lodge]

I was able to retire at 52 only because I am still with my first wife!

 

[havasujeeper]

When I was young, my buddy (who we buried yesterday) had a dad who never took any time off. I asked his dad when he was going to retire, and he replied, "the day I turn 65!"

When his dad turned 65, he retired that day and planned lots of vacations. Wouldn't you know it, his dad dropped dead 2 weeks later before even getting in one vacation. That taught me my most valuable life lesson.

Life is short....enjoy the shit out of it!

 

[2Driver]

44

But I think of lot of so called "early retirees" are just doing other things to make money vs showing up to a job. Me, investing and hard money. It takes almost no time so basically our days are wide open to do whatever. My wife worked a bit longer, so we had that to fall back on if I screwed up, which luckily I didn't.

 

[clarence]

For those that have retired. Do you spend more or less money in retirement than you thought you would?

Waay less.

Turns out I don't want the hassle that comes with most toys. (See the Burned out stage thread.)

Could have retired much earlier.

 

[BabyRay]

59 for me. I consulted for about 6 months, and realized that without the passion that comes with real responsibility it wasn’t fun any longer, so I quit entirely. It’s been almost 11 years now, and no regrets.

 

[manxman]

I'm 50 and see no real window of retirement in the near future. run the family business and luckily we do allot of cool things , so work can be fun at times, plus it's really my main social connection. I have investments and a nest egg, and the wife works part time at the local elementary school (really doesn't need to) . My parents (early 70's) I guess are technically retired, but still come in occasionally to help with the business if needed, but are not required to. I think they just like to check and make sure everything is working OK.
I want to know how all these younger guys are retiring so early? How do you know that you will have enough money to live the way you want without cashflow? I guess passive income or rental properties, or just solid investments. I have played the short game well, but the long game scares me a bit to put my hard earned money out there!!

 

[stephenkatsea]

Semi retired in my early 50s. Began working only 1/2 the time, but retained full benefits. That worked very well for us.

 

[satellitemike]

I had it all planned out, retire in about 5 years in my early 60s, sell house in CA that is almost paid off and retire to LHC.
Well covid fucked that all up with the housing costs in LHC.
If I was to call it quits today, I could cash out CA house for about 700k and pay cash for house in LHC but wouldnt have much left for toys, tritoon, new 4 seat sxs, and a new truck.

 

[cofooter]

I took an early retirement package last year at 61. My plan was to take a year off, do some bucket list things, and go back and do something else til 65. Well, one year later after experiencing freedom I cant see myself going back to the office everyday when I don't really need to financially. Still looking for something "fun" to do to keep me busy part time and remotely. Maybe start a small business or be an online teacher.

 

[mesquito_creek]

How the hell are all of you retiring so damn early!?!?! I am obviously an idiot... Good for you! I guess the joke about everyone being rich and paying for everything cash on RDP is true and not an actual joke!

The only thing I remembered from high school was the lessons on compounding interest. At 25 years old after having worked since I was 15 in construction labor and restaurants I put in place a plan to retire at 55. Since my wife also had a career not just a job I was fortunate to beat my target by a year or so. My wife retired about a year after I did.

 

[bilz]

Right now I'm spending way less.
800 miles a month commute, breakfast and lunch out every day was costly. I eat slightly better and save money now.

 

[mesquito_creek]

For those that have retired. Do you spend more or less money in retirement than you thought you would?

Way less:
No longer saving 20% of my income
No longer paying 20% of my income in taxes
No commuting
No business casual clothing
No 20 dollar a day lunches
No more yard guy
No more house cleaner
Etc…

 

[jetboatperformance]

RETIREMENT 70+ still working

 

[2Driver]

For those that have retired. Do you spend more or less money in retirement than you thought you would?

A lot more due to kid at ASU and flight school.

Strip school costs out and its still more but not by a ton. Still make about the same, same tax bracket, still save about 40% somehow.

 

[HB2Havasu]

Probably won't be pulling the pin for another 3.5 years when our (4) grandkids are all off to kindergarten. Wife's been watching them on weekdays while her kids are at work. I'll be 67 and she'll be 65. Those of you guys that say you hate retirement scare the fuck out of me. I sure as hell don't wanna be working when i'm 90. Just kill me now, lol.

 

[Ziggy]

I retired at 46 and I'm 65 years old now and lovin life. Do what I want, when I want for as long as I want...life is good
So I'm heading to the airport in a bit and I'm going to go flying around all the Hot Air Balloons

Which one is you?

 

[Smupser]

I plan On working till I’m dead. I had kids late in life and have no illusion of them being out of the house at 18.

 

[SoCalDave]

2023 at 65 with SS, still work most days as that's what I love to do. Thing about it is I choose what I want to take on.

 

[SKIDMARC]

I think it’s interesting that many say they retired so young but still work. That’s not retiring. Lol. God knows when or if I will ever retire. I just turned 43. I spend my money just as fast as I can make it. Lol. But fuck it. You only get one chance at it.

 

[Pebo]

Retired at 65, Sold the main house in Ca and downsized to a house in LHC. Life is good have a part time gig that is fun.

 

[C-Ya]

I am not retired…….. but I don’t work either.

Sure I am a tour boat captain, but I enjoy it so much, that it has never felt like work.

However, for the sake of this thread, my main gig is managing my investments. This gives me many income streams. It also keeps my wife from hassling me to get a real job. lol

I sold my business when I was 48. I took that money and double triple quadrupled it, over the past 12 years. Real Estate, Stocks, property flips, and other opportunities. I am no genius, but for some reason, I have done well.

I boat captain for spending money. I hate tapping the well.

One of the negatives about the way I live…….. This week, I made a ton of money on my stock portfolio. This means, next week, my net worth will undoubtedly go down! I mention the above because I am not a day trader. I am a long term investor, so I actually don’t follow my portfolio daily. However, this week, NVDA was making another run. In 2013 I paid $19 per share. Today it closed at $598 per share. I own a lot of it! It is why I don’t work. It’s also why I don’t sell it. I don’t have to paint it, list it, rent it, evict it, maintain it……… it just keeps growing.

Here is what that looks like………

 

[Your ad here]

Right now I'm spending way less.
800 miles a month commute, breakfast and lunch out every day was costly. I eat slightly better and save money now.

800 miles a month? At one point for awhile I was doing 1,000 miles a week in L.A. Still have that truck and it drives about 2K miles a year now.

 

[BoatCop]

All my plans fell into place in May, 2015. That's when I turned age 60, and my Military Retirement benefits kicked in (28 years - Military Reserve Retirement), and I retired from my LE career (25 years). Wife, same age as me, was originally going to retire at the same time, but they offered her a 25% pay bonus to hang around a little longer, so she decided to stay working (Fed Employee - GS12), for a few more years, slamming the door behind her in 2018.

As of now, with my USCG Pension, Public Safety Pension, SS, and wife's Fed Pension, TSP, SS, we're making pretty damn close to what we were making, when we were working. Add in the savings from zero-cost (except MEDICARE premium taken out of SS) full coverage medical through MEDICARE, TRICARE, & wife's Indian Health Service, and our net income is actually higher than when we worked.

Our house is close to being paid off, plus we have a few dimes in Money Market, bringing in some safe, consistent dividends and interest, so have no complaints on our current position in life.

 

[clarence]

I don’t have to paint it, list it, rent it, evict it, maintain it……… it just keeps growing.

Exactly.

 

[DILLIGAF]

Semi retired in my 40’s but officially retired around 60

 

[Oggie]

For me after 26 years with the state I was done. At 56 I decided to call it. Though not fully still have a great side hustle. Two weeks after a retirement a friend calls and made an offer I really couldn't refuse.

59 after 32 years at Boeing. Got worse and worse after MD merger

 

[Mcob25rg]

65. Did 42 years in the paper industry, started 401K in 1986, which made the plan work. Been 2 years, took me most of this time to relax enough to enjoy no clock, responsibilities, bitching, complaining, problems. Had a few minor health problems which makes you realize what’s important and how short time is from this point. Glad I did it - could have stayed indefinitely, but no one cares what your headstone says, time is what matters.

 

[DRYHEAT]

57 it was my birthday present to me.

I have coffee just about every Friday morning with a bunch of retirees that always told me to retire as soon as I am able.

After having three close friends check out early within two years I decided life is too short.

All the money in the world can’t buy you more time.

 

[badgas]

Closed out one career and was going to pull the pin at 51 but would need to cash out or downsize the so cal house to finish off the nest egg and really do it right. Went back to work at 52 ( project mgr/sales for a landscape contractor ) and now i'm 55 and really like what I do so no plan to retire. I love meeting cool people and being outside so when the job is no longer enjoyable I will move on.

I don't ever want to retire. Being in a work optional position makes the work much more enjoyable.

Congrats to all of you who have made the move.

My dad retired at 68 and always said he did way too young, He's now 88 and is busy as ever.

 

[AQUA-HOLICS]

At age 56 with 33.3 years in. Employed by the same company Throttle works for.

 

[Aces & Eights]

Got 1 more month left til I retire, I’m 58. I’ve had a great ride and it never felt like work to me. Looking forward to see what retirement looks and feels like.

 

[samsah33]

I took my retirement in my 20's. While most of my buddies went straight to college after high school and then straight into their careers, I traveled, saw the country, moved from NY to CA, lived on the beach, learned to surf/ski/snowboard, etc... Got my undergrad degree in late 20's, graduate degree in mid-30's, 1st kid at 40...

Lotta catching up to do now later in life and will be paying for it for a while, but I don't regret it for a minute (except the Reagan years were a bit foggy, I just wish I was a little bit more lucid for those times ). I sure as shit wasn't ready for real life in my 20's, so it worked out well for me to do the family man/career thingy later in life after I was able to really see what was out there and grow up a bit. It was well worth the wait.

 

[sprintcvx]

59. Just retired this past year, mostly because of a back injury. My wife started a great career when we were young and was able to put enough away for us to retire when we wanted. We have one son, who's almost 30, doing well on his own but don't expect any grandkids out of him. Sold everything and bought an RV and were currently at the Havasu balloon festival having a great time.

 

[DarkHorseRacing]

I had it all planned out, retire in about 5 years in my early 60s, sell house in CA that is almost paid off and retire to LHC.
Well covid fucked that all up with the housing costs in LHC.
If I was to call it quits today, I could cash out CA house for about 700k and pay cash for house in LHC but wouldnt have much left for toys, tritoon, new 4 seat sxs, and a new truck.

Right there with you, bud. We were going to see about buying a property out in Bullhead to start transfering out there and eventually retire, cash out of CA house and try and pay off the Bullhead place. But property values quintupled and now we can’t (or we went from looking at reasonably nice places, to looking at overpriced shacks). Still trying to sort this out but it would be nice to see another housing crash.

 

[rush1]

I honestly don't know how I had time to ever work, I'm always busy with some crazy project for someone, here touching up my buddies American Eagle.

 

[brgrcru]

My retirement plan.
After selling our business. I kind of had to sell.
I tried to be a machinist for my son’s shop. A few days a week . But hate, looking at egg crates .
So my life went full circle . I trucked as an o/o from 1985–2005. Now again from 2020 till the day , they don’t give me license anymore .
I don’t have to work. But I love trucking . Go figure . I can do what I want , buy what I want , go where I want. But for some reason . I want to run my transfer. Running aggregate to Counstruction sites.

 

[Thing One]

I’m 59 and have zero desire to retire. I own my business, my kids runs it, i come and go as I please, love what I do, have someplace to go, money to spend, feel needed when I want to. I hope to keep doing this forever.

I can golf, travel, goof off, sleep in, and get away from the house. I’m good.

 

[rivermobster]

For those that have retired. Do you spend more or less money in retirement than you thought you would?

As others have said...

WAY less. There is no comparison!

But, for me, I always worked on commission. If I Wanted more money, I just put in the extra work, and worked as many hours as I wanted to. It was a never ending cash stream.

I can count the years on one hand where I was hourly or saleried worker. It wasn't really for me.

So now on a Fixed income? You just live within a budget! It's really not all that hard to do.

If you make more, you spend more. Make less, spend less. My dad Always told me...

Don't try and keep up with the Jones.

Good advice.

 

[Paradox]

Gotta say, all of these comments are really interesting. Love that many folks retired in their early 50s and earlier and, are enjoying it. Unfortunately that isn’t me. I’ve been a salaried employee for most of my life and taxed to death as a result. No legacy owned business to rely on..

Although my wife retired last year at 61, I’m still plugging away and probably won’t give it up until next year sometime, at which time I’ll be 65.

Even then, I won’t be able to stand still (if I don’t want to die on the couch 6 months later out of boredom) so I recently initiated the formation of an Arizona LLC. Im going to acquire an Arizona Real Estate Brokers and Contractors License to use with it (I hold current ones in Cali which makes it easier to acquire) and I’ll figure out something to keep me busy when I end up in Havasu full time.

 

[Orange Juice]

I’m 62, and work 4-10’s.

My house has been paid off for 8 years, and now upgrading a few things before retirement.

I’m already collecting 2 pensions since 60, so it’s double dipping for me.

An example, replacing the 40 years old concrete driveway with pavers. Or an entire kitchen remodel. The 20x12 patio needed to be enlarged to 20x25. I plan on retiring at 65-67.

 

[rivermobster]

Gotta say, all of these comments are really interesting. Love that many folks retired in their early 50s and earlier and, are enjoying it. Unfortunately that isn’t me. I’ve been a salaried employee for most of my life and taxed to death as a result. No legacy owned business to rely on..

Although my wife retired last year at 61, I’m still plugging away and probably won’t give it up until next year sometime, at which time I’ll be 65.

Even then, I won’t be able to stand still (if I don’t want to die on the couch 6 months later out of boredom) so I recently initiated the formation of an Arizona LLC. Im going to acquire an Arizona Real Estate Brokers and Contractors License to use with it (I hold current ones in Cali which makes it easier to acquire) and I’ll figure out something to keep me busy when I end up in Havasu full time.

Just wanna say...

It doesn't seem like anyone in this thread, who actually IS retired...

Is Bored!!!

I know I'm not. You'll be fine.

 

[foxfam312]

Pulled the pin Dec 1st 2023 at 65, operating engineer local 12 my career, mostly big dirt spreads, so 35 years of sitting in heavy equipment like a marble in a china bowl in the cab, well the body bitch slaps you all of a sudden and says, your done time to retire. bought a home in Fort Mohave, Los Lagos Golf community, so my wife and I can still maintain our boating and off-roading life style, going to do some traveling and see what the future holds.

 

[Riverbottom]

For those that have retired. Do you spend more or less money in retirement than you thought you would?

More, I have time for bigger projects which all eat dollars.

 

[farmo83]

41 now and my wife is quite a bit younger then me. We had kids later in life but I've been chipping away at retirement for a while now. Well see how long I make it. I tell my wife I'll work until I won't and that will be it.