When is it time to retire?

[Dr. Rich]

I am thinking of hanging it up after 35 years this coming July. I will be 60 next birthday...

Many of you out there are retired and loving life....

My question to you is when and how did you know when to hang it up?

How did you prepare yourself for that new part of your life and what changes did you have to make?

Did you find you had enough income?

Did you miss working once you left?

Did you go back an consult?

With the faltering economy would you retire again?

Thanks for your thoughts.. Rich

 

[happyPuppy]

I retired at 50. I was a member of a golf club, plenty of time to ride and do other things in life. I really missed working and the routine. I am a pretty social person too and missed the work banter . I have been working since I was 13 and it was too different. So I volunteer with the Medical Reserve Corps, and the Community Kitchen and do consulting part time for 3 months at a time or so. It seems to work for me pretty well as I am a widower. I did sell the house in 2004 and now rent, sold the Golf Club membership ( just didn't play enough with my boys grown) and cut way back on everything. It is a big change, and I looked at it as a chance to reinvent myself too, meeting new people and new activities to explore. I am planning on relearning spanish for a "maybe someday" trip to Cabo again. I did it once on a 305 scrambler when I was a kid and the road down Baja had just opened. I would like to see how it has changed over time.

Addendum: I need to add this I believe. I was one sick puppy for a long time. The day my 39 year old wife passed away from breast cancer I was at work. I was a total workaholic and in denial in retrospect. All the big plans for "retirement" went to pay for medical care, as much of it was not covered as she was viewed of needed "palliative" care only ( Let them just die we have spent enough) over 2 years of fighting it , my 401k was gone and the RV and 2nd rental house. It was all just a paper castle. It was after that I went through my fall apart , mid life crisis call it what you will, and changed my priorates in life. I had 3 kids the oldest was 12 too. I raised them myself to the point of college ( that money was saved luckily) and at 50 I said F*ck it all and quit working except under my terms in short bursts when I felt like it. I learned a lot over that time raising the kids and changing as a person. I appreciate true friends more and learned the rat race is for well...rats, not people. My advice you never know what life has in store for you and enjoy the things that bring you and others you care about happiness. That is why I walked away.

 

[rockmurf]

I would almost compare it to are you ready to have children. Do you have the time, the commitment, the money. Will you know what to do, etc? Retirement is full of unknowns and if not for the economy I probably would have retired 2 years ago. Both my job and my wife's are hanging by a shoe string and we still have a house to pay for. The kids are out of the house and so on. But like deciding on having kids the clock is ticking and you won't get those seconds, minutes days back. If you live to work and work to live then the answer is clear. If you have major plans and work is in the way then your path is also clear. Try to remove as much grey as you can. And or take an extended vacation and play retired. If it works go for it. Good luck on you descision. Ride safe.

 

[Hamie]

How did you prepare yourself for that new part of your life and what changes did you have to make?

I retired when I was 60... had got to a point that I just didn't want to work anymore.. purchased an RV, joined some RV clubs and met some wonderful new friends

Did you find you had enough income?

At work I would run those retirement calculators...you know..what's your income after retirement, what's your expenses, how much do you need, how much savings you got....well for me those kept saying that I could retire....so I did...

Did you miss working once you left?

Oh...missed some of the people but never missed going back in...I was ready to leave..I still keep in touch with a few of my co-workers that have since retired also..

Did you go back an consult?

No...I was asked a few times but had no desire to go back..

With the faltering economy would you retire again?

If I still had the income, savings that I needed to cover my expenses... you bet...

 

[Kromm]

I have just retired as of last Nov and I am still "adjusting" to the new lifestyle. I was very fortunate to be able to do it on my 52nd birthday. but it is something I have been planning for a very long time (since I was around 18). As to your first 2 questions :

"My question to you is when and how did you know when to hang it up?

How did you prepare yourself for that new part of your life and what changes did you have to make?"

For me I knew it was getting time when the "politics" of work started to really get to me. I was really getting tired of all the crap that didn't need to happen. And to prepare I bought me a 08 FJR for a retirement present to myself 2 months before I retired. I figured I have been working since I was 14 and have earned it. I Love to ride and now I have the time to do it. I also have more time to spend with the grand kids, and all those projects I have wanted to do but never had the time to do, well now is the time. There will be some changes in your lifestyle. when you get up in the morning instead of rushing to get ready for work. You can Kick back, get a cup of coffee and read the forums and really listen to the news (or read the paper if you wish).

The next 2:

Did you miss working once you left?

Did you go back an consult? "

In one word about missing working, well for me its a big NO. I don't miss the job, but I do miss some of the people I worked with. So every couple of weeks I head down to where I worked and say "HI" to everyone. Some are personal friends and I see them anyways on a regular basis. Going back as a "consult" hmm..... I don't think so. After 33 years I am done. But I have always said that if I get bored and want another job . I would probably go down to the Yammy shop and see of they have a part time spot open behind the parts counter. I don't think I would want anything more that a few hours a day, and only a couple of days a week. And that would be a place where I would be around other people that love what I do.

Now for the last question:

"With the faltering economy would you retire again? "

That's a hard one. I started the paperwork for my retirement early last year (around Feb) so that the red tape part of all the paper work would be done when I was ready to go in Nov. If I had known that everything was going to crash this bad, I might of waited. But I have had already moved my investments to a safe place (the market crash didn't hurt me), and my pension I get is actually more than I was bringing home working. So my thinking was if I make as much or more retired, Why am I getting up at 1:30 am everyday to to make that drive to work to be there by 3am? And even if the economy is in the trashcan, My personal finances are going to be the same recession or not.

So what it really comes down to is are you still financially secure enough? As for the extra time you will have. Well I jokingly tell everyone that I look back and don't see how I had the time to work. What is nice is that now I don't have to "rush" to do things. Before when you started a weekend project, you "got to stay focused and get-r-done before you have to be back at work on Monday. Now I feel I can take my time , and do it exactly the way I want it done, even if it takes longer than I expected, I have the time.

But the bottom line is only you know if it is time. If your comfortable with it .. go for it and you wont regret it....

I hope this helped and good luck ........

 

[beemerdons]

Rich, thank you for bringing up this subject; and many thanks to you others for your informed responses! Last Monday I handed in my Letter of Retirement for 2/28/09. I am sixty and had worked for Metro Mechanical, Inc. for twenty years.

12/17/07 Johnson Controls, Inc, one of the world's largest conglomerates, had bought out my beloved Mom and Pop Metro.

Spent 1968 to 1974 for the United States Army in the Big Green Machine. With JCI at the helm I was in a Big Blue Machine!!

I've a 12 year old special needs son: My Seth; I intend to volunteer at Autism Society of America Phoenix Chapter and at the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center. I also have an illegitimate bastard son SkooterG and I intend to do a lot more riding with him, soon as we can teach him how not to "flip" his FJR 1300 through the air. I plan on more M/C rides!!

 

[Grumpy]

60?????? why in the world are you still working?????? there are so many other things that need doing?

The definition of a millisecond is how long it takes to get used to retirement.....remember after retirement, everyday's a Saturday!

Can you afford it is a question only you and some calculations can answer.

On the serious side, you have to have additional interests other than work.....you need a reason to get out of bed in the morning.

The only things I missed about work were some of the people, the Xerox machines and the expense account most of all.

Good luck on your decision.

jim

 

[old&slow]

Rich,,

I knew it was time to retire when they came in and said they were closing the "plant" and it

would be a good time to retire... I was a month short of my 50th birthday ..

That was in 2001 and the stock market wasn't very good and I lost a boat load of money...

I really didn't miss work or most of the folks I worked with ,,but it is kind of sad to drive by the

plant and know that everything I did / all the work,, for the last 32 years is totally forgotten..

( that's the hard part ,, my dad told me that walking out for the last time is a very hard thing to do..

he was right )

about a year later I got a part time job ,, working a day & a half a week for 6 months out of the

year,,( I take the summers off) at a sporting goods / gun store... A job I always thought I wanted..

( cool thing about being retired you can afford to do the things you always wanted to do ,, but

couldn't afford to do because you had to pay the bills ,, raise a family ,, etc,,)

Now for the bad part,,,, I'm SO busy now , I don't know how I had time to get everything done

and have a full time job...

I have my hobbies,, my kids ,, my grandkids ,, etc.. etc.. etc.. I've always got Stuff to do..

and it seems like the faster I go ,,, the behinder I get ,,,

So I'd say retire ,,, do the things you want to,,,

like that cross country MC trip you wanted to take when you got out of school but went to

work to make a living.,,,

( ps. I always heard it was good to retire in the spring / summer more stuff to keep your mind busy)

enjoy life ,,, enjoy retirement ,,,, be prepared to be busy ,,,, :yahoo:

 

[old&slow]

ps.. you also have more time for drinking,,

it's OK to have a couple beers with lunch ,,, :yahoo:

 

[scubatech]

I got out of my goverment job at 52. I started selling motorcycles a couple years before and transitioned into it. Then I became a scuba repair tech and enjoy it as well. I was really glad to get out of my career job and do something I liked everyday. I turned 60 this year also. I figure when I turn 66,get that small ss check,I will go to a few days a week. I would get to bored in the winter months and probably spend too much money if I were offf all the time. I am definitely looking for more time off to ride on those nice days when at work, when you hear the bikes go by. I think time management is a big part of it.Good luck on your decision.

 

[JR'SFJR]

I retired 2 years ago at 61 and was lucky to have a job teaching automechanics that I really enjoyed. With a lot of vacation time, it gave me the chance to do long motorcycle trips over the years(like Alaska) that other people might not have time to do. However, once I decided to retire, the last year seemed to drag on.

Income wise, our house was paid off a long time ago, we put a lot into 403's, and even with $900 a month medical insurance, my retirement pensions and SS is more than when I was working. My wife doesn't have a pension(worked full time), retired, and is only 57. We are easily living off my retirement without dipping into savings. There are good planning tools on the internet that let you plug in your numbers to give you an idea of your retirement money flow. We got together with Fidelity Investments mutual fund company to help us with some of that. When I retired, we put half in cd's and left half in stocks, mutual funds. The half in stocks is down. I thought a little about retiring in 2000 at age 55, but then the stock market took a dot com digger. My pension would not have been much less, so I am glad we waited.

I was alway active, so retirement was an easy adjustment. I miss seeing some of the people and continue to keep in contact with some. I grew up on a dairy farm where farmers slowed down, may get rid of the dairy, but many times keep working the land till they pass. May father would still do field work on a tractor at 90 and enjoy it!!! Trying to retire early was not a big deal for me.

They couldn't find my replacement and asked me to come back the next fall, but did not. I turned in my retirement very earily and felt they had plenty of time to find someone.

I would retire again in a heartbeat. Don't give up a good paying job only to find out you don't have enough saved and then need to work at Walmart for peanuts!!!

Good luck

 

[FJRBluesman]

[SIZE=14pt]Retire NOW!!![/SIZE]

My father retired at 55, back in the mid 80's. He's doing great, loving life, and has been busier then ever doing all the fun things he enjoys!

Don't wait, [SIZE=14pt]DO IT![/SIZE]

 

[Patriot]

Go for it...I can name multiple department heads and managers that were great people and planned to the T their retirement years, trips, and activities when they would reach 65, collect their pension, 401K, and SS. Many (really) died of different type of cancer or heart attacks a year or two earlier. Sad story. My Dad died at 65 of a no symptom heart attack in his sleep; never got to enjoy retirement.

Consider going for it if you possibly can. I'm home every day at 50 (mental and physical health issues) and love it. I'm poor, but happy. Climbed the corporate ladder in IT for 25 years and found the top of the heap empty. So glad my time is my own other than family priorities and committments.

 

[FJRay]

I was retired on a work related injury ( spinal injury C4-C7). Left work with a small pension in 98 and will be 60 this year. It wasn't the way I wanted to retire and could not afford it but it has worked out. Had to leave the island I lived on and down size.

The good part is I have been able to put a lot of miles on my bikes and as long as I don't get to stupid my neck is still working. If there is any way in hell you can retire go for it and don't look back. Work is a four letter word and is way overated. Time isn't on our side so spend your time having fun.

 

[BwanaDik]

Go for it if you can afford it!

Two Christmas's ago, I took two weeks off. I had planned out a bunch of stuff I wanted to get done and had a blast. Didn't miss work for a millisecond.

Last Christmas, work schedule was up in the air so I hadn't planned out anything to do. But I ended up taking a bunch of days off (had to burn the days I couldn't roll over 'till this year) anyway. Found myself with little to do and couldn't get started on anything. Found my self floundering. Terminal stand-arounds. My own fault.

As mentioned above, time management is important. Having something to get up for every day is important. One of the biggest problems I've heard of is going from routine to non-routine days. If you plan out a day ahead, even in the simplest terms, I think the adjustment would be much easier.

For all you retired folks out there, do you find you need more or less money now than when you were working? The internet retirement calculators mostly say you need at least 70% of your old salary. But then I saw an article that countered that and said 50% or less is more likely. This is a really important factor, you don't want to bail too early if posible. Like said above, you'd hate to end up as a greeter at Wally World.

I'm 51 and would retire today if not for the economic questions. Please give us a hint, inquiring minds need to know!!

 

[krashdragon]

There was a similar question asked on the Escapees RV forum for about how much money you needed to fulltime.

A short answer... as much as you think you need...some folks can't live on $4000 a month and a paid off motorhome. Others manage on one SS check with a slide in camper on the back of an old pickup truck.

If you have stuff you want to do and can afford it, why not retire. You still have dreams, right?

I'll trade you some dreams for a half decent part time job at the moment, tho. But, like my ex used to say... I will get what I want eventually.... hmm... a nice little ride on US 89 from Congress, Az to Canada, and back on US 191 to Mexico....and a little RV to live in, to start with. Hey, half the fun is planning, the other half is actually doing!

Oh, and taking pictures and sharing them with your friends, especially on the net.. Memories in your head are great, pics are even better.

If you can afford it monetarily and emotionally, go for it.

Y'all take care. We is only here once.

Mary

 

[2WheelTiger]

Feel free to reinvent yourself. Change ALL the rules. Be what and who you've always wanted to be.

 

[timk]

Workin was getting in the way of motorcycling, so I hung it up at 55. Was able to do aa I have more than one check coming in, and everything is paid. Put in 60+hr weeks in for 34 years, so I was more than ready.

 

[fjrboomer]

Rich I retired 15 years ago at age 53. I had lined up a new job selling motorcycles for a local dealer. It was fun and I was having a little success. After 6 weeks the sales manager called me in and told me that sales were not increasing but that I was cutting into the income of the other two salesmen. Since I was the last one in and he knew I had a retirement income I was the one that had to go.

I have been retired ever since and have no regrets. In fact I retired from federal law enforcement and I tell people I have kept my gun for just one reason. If someone tells me I have to go back to work I will shoot them! I took up woodcarving a year before I retired and enjoy doing that whenever I am not doing something else. I have done some volunteer work but gave that up when they kept wanting more and more of my time.

I think it is important to have a hobby or hobbies to keep you busy. I also work out daily which contributes to better quality of life. Not necessarily longer but better. Before you retire, you should have a plan on how to fill your day with things that will give you satisfaction. Based on my observations, the people who do not do well are the ones that sit around watching TV or complaining about their life.

As to the question of how did I know it was time to retire. Disatisfaction with management and administrative requirements in the job took the fun out of it for me. Good luck with your decision. Only you will really know when it is time and if you are ready for the big step.