How did you decide when to retire? (Page 1 of 3)
Posted: 4/15/2026 12:46:26 PM EDT
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How old were you, how far in advance did you decide to retire, and what was your trigger for retiring? What would you do differently if you could travel back in time? Youngest kid is sophomore in high school, I'm considering retiring when she finishes high school in two years. We aren't lavish spenders and our savings rate is crazy high, absent great depression 2.0 it will be easy to call it quits after working two more years. But what about before then? I'm around 50 and "could" retire now, but retiring so early leaves so many unknowns that it makes accurate planning difficult. If I was 60 it'd be a no-brainer to retire now but, just like compounding interest, the long timeframe of retiring very early leaves a lot of time for small things to add up and ruin your plan. |
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Honestly, it wasn't even on my mind. One of my retired academy mates stopped by the office one day and while we are chatting he said, "John? why are you still here? " I didn't know.  So I called the retirement lady and asked her to figure my monthly retirement check, when I found out that I was going to be making almost exactly the same paycheck for doing nothing, that was the decision maker right there. Did the math on a Monday, dropped retirement paperwork that week. Took 8 months of vacation and sick time as a payout and I still had to work four months to use up the rest. Retired on 4/20 which I thought was amusing. If my buddy had not stopped by to talk about fishing I'd probably still be working. |
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Originally Posted By Morgan321: How old were you, how far in advance did you decide to retire, and what was your trigger for retiring? What would you do differently if you could travel back in time? Youngest kid is sophomore in high school, I'm considering retiring when she finishes high school in two years. We aren't lavish spenders and our savings rate is crazy high, absent great depression 2.0 it will be easy to call it quits after working two more years. But what about before then? I'm around 50 and "could" retire now, but retiring so early leaves so many unknowns that it makes accurate planning difficult. If I was 60 it'd be a no-brainer to retire now but, just like compounding interest, the long timeframe of retiring very early leaves a lot of time for small things to add up and ruin your plan. We're about the same age, same kid situation, and I'm doing the same calculations now. Interested in the conversation! |
| I religiously max out my deferred comp (state equivalent of 401k). I went to the financial lady that works for the company that manages the funds (doing a great job btw). She told me that if I retire on my eligible date in 2 years that my take home pay will be about 5k less a year than what I am making now-then add the 31k a year I am putting into dc and my take home pay would be 26k a year more than if I stay at work. Decision made easily. August 7, 2028. EVERYTHING we have is a fully paid off-student loans, all cars, boat, atvs, house, and 40 acres of property in the ozarks. So we are retiring the exact second we are eligible. |
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Work as long as you can. Change careers if you must. I was a LEO and could retire at 50. I sat in the Oncologist’s office when the doc told my wife she had 4-6 years to live. I’m one of those weirdos who not only loves but likes his wife. So, work and make money or spend my time taking care of my wife? I’ve been retired from real work for almost 13 years now. My wife has been in remission for over 5 years. Given the same circumstances, I’d do the same again. However, it was a big hit financially. |
10/22/14 I stand with Canada
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Originally Posted By John-in-austin: I'll give you guys one bit of advice. Plan your retirement date around your taxes. They way mine fell I managed to spread the lump sum payments and such over two years instead of one. My last official day was 12/31 a couple of years ago. I got several large lump sum payments that actually paid out during the following tax year. As I was taking SS as soon as I retired, I had to make sure they counted that as money I earned before I retired so that it wouldn't put me over the SS max earnings threshold. I made a call to SS, sent them the receipts, and the rep said no problem, my account had been noted. Over a year later, I get a letter from SS, saying that I owed them something like $16k, payable immediately. I still had the contact info for the rep I had talked to, and after another 10 minute call, she said it was fixed. I got a nevermind letter from SS about a week later. |
9 lives - 9 pellets... Coincidence?
| I'm currently 46. I can retire in 4 1/2 years. I have mandatory retirement at 57. I plan on retiring as soon as I'm eligible and doing my side gig full-time on my own time. Between my pension and TSP I should make the same amount when I retire but increase my income by being able to devote more time to my other gig. |
All politicians are evil, but some politicians are more evil than others.
Who is John Galt?
Who is John Galt?
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I retired in 2022 at age 62. We had two kids, both graduated from college, one late 2019, the other early 2020. I told them the job market is terrible right now, just ride it out going to grad school. They both did that remote for a year at home, then on campus for a year. Meanwhile, I worked remote for over a year during the pandemonium. Then they both graduated and eventually found jobs. My company wanted us back to the office, and I decided screw that, I'm done. We met our financial goals, kids were off the payroll, I felt like I was obsolete at work and not interested in learning weird new stuff. 40 years of working was enough. Also, my retirement lined up perfectly with moving one of our daughters out of school and helping the other move into another place. -- ETA I retired from a 32-year job when offered a big bag of money, months of leave and medical coverage. My pension was vested and capped and started immediately. I found a few more jobs to cover the last eight years. I came very close to getting RIF'd once 20'ish years into that 32-year job. Maybe I should've taken it then, but the work was still interesting and I liked my coworkers. No regrets. |
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I retired at 42 with a weeks notice but it was in an emergency situation to take care of my father when he couldn’t live on his own anymore. I was already making more from my investments than at my W2 job so I had the flexibility to do so. After he died I went back to work part time but that only lasted 2 months until I clocked out for good. For me a lot of the decision came down to earned vs unearned income. My W2 job was the source of most of my stress and I was paying 3x the taxes once you considered all the extra BS like social security. I’m in a bit of a unique situation though where we don’t have kids and my wife’s job provides insurance which is a huge barrier for lots of people to retire early. |
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Originally Posted By John-in-austin: Honestly, it wasn't even on my mind. One of my retired academy mates stopped by the office one day and while we are chatting he said, "John? why are you still here? " I didn't know. So I called the retirement lady and asked her to figure my monthly retirement check, when I found out that I was going to be making almost exactly the same paycheck for doing nothing, that was the decision maker right there. Did the math on a Monday, dropped retirement paperwork that week. Took 8 months of vacation and sick time as a payout and I still had to work four months to use up the rest. Retired on 4/20 which I thought was amusing. If my buddy had not stopped by to talk about fishing I'd probably still be working. what is a monthly retirement check? |
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Drunk driver hit me on the way to work in 2010 when I was 45. Still in a wheel chair recovering from my last surgery at 61. So medically retired on that morning in 2010. Kids make sure you opt in to your company's long term disability insurance, its worth every penny. |
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I decided to retire as early as possible once I can afford it. That day has not come. Its a math problem. When you get to the point that the amount you expect to come in from sources other than working are enough to sustain you till you die, then the equation is solved. There are scenarios that could force your hand. Becoming disabled. Having to free up time to help family, etc. And there are reasons to push it back. like maybe you just like your job or some of its perks. |
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I had originally planned to max the retirement pension system working 33 years. That would be about 60% of my best 36 month period for a final average salary. There was no way to earn more than that other than cost of living raises in contracts. I was always a good saver and realized with the basic base pension and my personal retirement accounts I could easily retire sooner. I figured, ok, I’ll work 30 years instead of 33. I probably had 20 under my belt then. Then work conditions and morale got exponentially worse with NYS’s crazy NYC liberal domination in the capitol. Bail reform and its associated crap just made a lot more work for LE, crippled the DAs office with it as well. The reinvented the system to not punish the Democrat socialist voting block, pro Antifa, pro criminal (but I repeat myself), anti gun owners, anti working man. I just got so sick of it on top of my agencies absolute blundering of a switchover from one computer system to the next. They simply pulled the plug on the old one and dumped a new one on us with no associated manuals or policy. It was a shit show, every district made up their own methods for lack of guidance. It truly sucked and took 5 times more time at the computer than it did before. Then they wondered why activity was way down (despite the instructions to lay low, minimal contact during covid) and they started handing out negative reviews for following their guidance. I woke up on Easter day and at first called dispatch to shift my schedule to later in the day. It was a gorgeous sunny day. When later in the day came I realized I was mentally done with the job that was once my identity and my favorite job ever. “He is risen” I said to myself. I planned my exit on a notepad that day. Work a few more months, burn off vacation time, use as much sick time as allowed for a host of doc and dental appointments. I worked a bit during the summer but was off the books before the summer was over. No ragerts whatsoever. I planned to live on the pension which I got a little more than the base level with my military time bought for credits. In five years I figured I’d start lightly drawing on the deferred comp retirement account. With the inflation I ended up starting to draw 4.5 years instead, once my account grew to my target number and I felt comfortable with it. I should probably draw more heavily but this works. Former coworkers ask me if I regret leaving. Not one bit I can honestly tell them. Miss the people but not the inept political aspect of it all. I am in the take the money and run camp. You have no idea when your number is up and I have seen people way too worried about maximizing their retirement earnings by staying only to croak in short order. I say if you can comfortably retire in your fifties and want to do so, then do it. If you love your job then stick to it longer. The old timers at work told me then you’ll just know when it’s time to retire. Something just clicks in your head that you’re done. That is exactly the way it was for me that Easter morning. It hit me and I realized I didn’t want to do it anymore and I was set financially and eligible and didn’t have to. He is risen! |
The only hyphenated names I like are cartridge names......30-06, 30-40, 38-55 etc.
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Originally Posted By sgthatred: Drunk driver hit me on the way to work in 2010 when I was 45. Still in a wheel chair recovering from my last surgery at 61. So medically retired on that morning in 2010. Kids make sure you opt in to your company's long term disability insurance, its worth every penny. Hit head-on by a teenager in her grandpa's car in 1998, retired on disability at 44. Pain was terrible...still dealing with the aftereffects 28 years later. Had long and short disability, kept us going until Social Security kicked in. The good side is that I got to spend a lot of time with both kids, my son in particular. That was almost worth the pain.... |
Another old guy
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I retired when I sold my company in 2020. I took 4.5 years off and recently signed on as a contractor to engineer things. The decision to "retire" was made when I did the math and realized if I spent more per month than I do now and could live to be 100 and still not run out of money, it was time. I got bored, and after a year of being asked, I penned contract with a company. I get to work when I want, and get to pick when I want to work now on project that interest me. And make enough to keep adding to the savings. |
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I retired at 60 because the department I left, 8 years prior; lost their supervisor. I was told I HAD to permanently fill that position. No thanks... So I went on Obamacare and spent wisely for 5 years. My pension became available at 62. I live better today at 65, than my working stiff days. Attached File |
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| My firm had a policy that partners had to meet with the managing partner when they turn 60 and discuss retirement plans. I decided to retire at the end of the year when I turned 65. I could be on Medicare. I had some health issues and decided to enjoy however many years I have left. |
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I'm targeting 55, when the rule of 55 should open my 401k funds up for distribution. After that, I'll only keep working if I really want to be at work every day. One of the benefits to early retirement is a bigger Roth conversion window. Why work longer to pay the government more at RMD time? |
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I'm 54. I really enjoy my job as a software engineer... and the AI coding has made it even more enjoyable. Maybe my time is limited because of that, I don't know. I had some concerns about it, and ran some scenarios and it seems like if I lost my job I wouldn't really need to get another one. If I get shitcanned, I can get pissed about it, but I have zero cause to panic and wonder what I'll do. But, I'm fully remote, my company lets me travel for months at a time, as long as I get my work done they leave me alone... I like pulling in all that money and investing it. I like challenging myself and solving issues and building things. I'm gonna ride it out some more and see how things go I guess. |
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Like a car crash in slow motion, I saw the job going down the toilet. Some of the same liberal nonsense I fled NYPD for followed me to my new job down South. The decline started around 2009 and accelerated due to local events in 2013, then Ferguson in 2014. Micromanagement and paralysis by analysis ruled the day. Applicant section started lowering standards for the "right" candidates. I was told they weren't lowering standards but "broadening acceptable criteria". A new anti law &order, Soros-backed prosecutor was elected. Then COVID, the summer of love that followed and worsening command staff decisions was just icing on the shit cake. Staffing shortages followed and as an old man I was put back on the midnight shift with a bumper crop of lazy malcontents. You couldn't polish this turd nor would a shiny box fit over it. I had the ability to let vacation time rollover into sick time so I could retire 2 years early with full benefits. It was a good decision because the job was physically killing me and my direct reports were going to get me killed / indicted or sued into oblivion. Could've stayed for more $$$ or another promotion but time is short. Always lived below my means and have more disposable income now than when I was working. Now working on fleeing Virginia for Free America (FA). |
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I retired at age 62 after 44 year in the Oilfields. I / we retired when we had enough saved to support our lifestyle. For us, it was a Projected Expenses vs estimated Rate of Return on our Portfolio When we had enough, I retired. ms gamboolman had not worked in ~20 years as she was taking care of the kids before moving overseas with me for the last ~10 years before we retired. I wish I could have gone sooner but was scared of not enough monies in retirement. Almost retired 6 years now and retirement is much more better can working. This cartoon says it better than all the words. Attached File |
Lifetime Member: National Rifle Association, Texas State Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America
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Originally Posted By sgthatred: Drunk driver hit me on the way to work in 2010 when I was 45. Still in a wheel chair recovering from my last surgery at 61. So medically retired on that morning in 2010. Kids make sure you opt in to your company's long term disability insurance, its worth every penny. God damn, so sorry. My company does offer the long-term option and I've opted out. I may need to rethink that, thanks for sharing. |
| I walked away from my day job of 17 years at the age of 51. I am 57 now. I did however start a decent side business out of my garage. I make enough to feed the Roth, pay all the bills and enough to have some fun money. I will at least work until I'm 62. At that time I will decide. My wife may tell me to keep at it as she sees how I am without something to do. |
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Originally Posted By DV8EDD: what is a monthly retirement check? People who plan wisely financially get some variation of a monthly check. Those who don't….they also get to suffer the results of their decisions earlier in life. |
"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
| I have my exit date planned. If all goes as planned, I’ll stop working at 57. If things go better than plannned, I’ll stop working at 55. Depends on the market but my 57 year date includes planning for a market downturn or two between now and then. Multiple income streams-no debt. Live in a low cost of living area. Will be making more in retirement than working….before I draw whatever is left of SS. |
"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
| This is super relevant to me. Just formally put in my retirement papers on Monday. I'm retiring after 32 years teaching. I love the job, but the student behaviors have gotten out of hand. Parent and administrator support is non existent. It's time. Only 40 school days left, not that I'm counting. Hopefully you'll know when it's time. |
At 65 when the COVID jab side effects put me in a mind fog where I forgot that I saw patients.  Not counting the cramps and weakness in the legs. |
Call the tune and let's dance; but beware that the devil is the piper and the tab for that soiree will be hell to pay.
Training&Trigger Time are more important than chasing a hardware Holy Grail
Training&Trigger Time are more important than chasing a hardware Holy Grail
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I am a retired air traffic controller. I would have been forced to retire at age 56 (very, very slight chance I could have gotten a waiver) but elected to bail out the day I was eligible which was the day I turned 50. I had originally planned to work until 56 and had hoped to get a supervisors position for the last 5 years. But management at all levels- local, regional, and national made staying pretty much unbearable so I said fuck every last one of you (management) and walked out the door. We had always been very fiscally responsible and I had a shit load of annual and sick leave that I sold back and used the proceeds to pay off the house. I had several part time jobs after retiring for a little extra cash flow but I have been fully retired for several years now. My wife kept working until about a year and a half ago. During that time I did everything I could to take as much of the load off her. It worked out good for us and no regrets. Well, I do wish things had been different so that I could have made it to 56 so my retirement income would be higher and my thrift savings plan contributions would have been more. But it wouldn't have been worth it given the conditions. |
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I work for a startup. I have a feeling whenever *something* happens to the value of my stock options, thats gonna be my retirement trigger. Either we go public or get bought and my stocks are worth a pile of money. Or we go under and my stocks are worth fuckall and I no longer have a job. Either way, I'm out.
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46 weeks, I'm 61. The wife and I planned for this and boy I am ready I will spend my time digging up night-crawlers and catching grasshoppers with my grandson for bait Maybe I will get a part time job but at this point I don't know... GET OFF MY LAWN has a nice ring to it
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I was born in Birkenhead and I was poor , I was dressed from the local army and navy store and I can tell you its no fun going to school dressed as a Japanese admiral-UKjohn
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I went as soon as I could. I have enough money but I will never have a single second more time. I went the end of the month I turned 56. Retirement age is 56 years old with 30 years of service. |
If you think I am sexy now just wait until you find out I have full medical and dental.
Personal pronouns are; Bro/Dude
Personal pronouns are; Bro/Dude
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I'm not there yet, but I know when I'm going. I had planned to work until I was 60. But after my wife died from melanoma in 2023 at age 44, being away from home 12 hours per day (including commute) just seemed like an awful way to piss away life. My mom died in 2021, my dad is 2000 miles away, and he'll be 80 when I'm 55. I need to spend more time with him. I'd been dabbling in starting an engineering business on the side, but wasn't able to do much while my wife was sick. I was able to spend some time getting it going after she passed. Meanwhile, my employer had a meeting with us further explaining the how the pension plan was being cut off. This had started in 2019, some employees the pension froze immediately, some it continued as it was, and my group it continued to grow for another 5 years. But as of 2024 it was frozen. No further growth of the pension would occur, and there would be no retiree medical. That got me looking at the numbers, and I realized that I could retire at 55. I'll still have to work my engineering business, but 80 billable hours per month will cover what I need. Easily achievable. I could ramp up the business and go sooner, but if I stick it out to 55 and retire I'll be able to keep my long term bonuses. I'll also have access to my pension and 401k at that point. I also want to leave on good terms so they will hire me to consult when needed. |
| I am about to turn 54. I work a construction trade and most guys go at 58. I have maxed a 401 for decades. I havent looked into it at depth but my hope has been 2million in 401 invested to return 5% and live off the $100k hopefully ;eave a nice chunk of that to my kids if they are lucky. My pension and SS should do another 60k but I think my insurance will cost $25k |
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Odd situation for me. I was a supervisor over oilfield electricians. I was firing on all 8 cylinders, doing some awesome stuff. Then one Sunday my wife ended up in the hospital. Bad infection was diagnosed, in her pelvic area. High octane antibiotics administered, they thought staph/mrsa/whatever. Long story but the antibiotics almost killed her. All her hair fell out. Major side effects, like kidney failure. Anyway, she recovered. I was 54. We planned on 4-5 more years then retire. I was mostly out from work anyway, being at the hospital. I looked at all our financials. We could do it, and did. She had health care folded into her retirement package. I’m on VA healthcare. That’s the sticky part. Insurance till 65 . Glad we did. She got 5 more decent years, and now I’m her caregiver. Dementia, not good at all. Get out as soon as you can. Enjoy life. I kept my master license , just in case I had to go back to work. Never did. Never will. |
If life was easy nobody would quit.
| I'm one of those who made the decision based on healthcare. I was eligible for Medicare Sept 1 2025 (turned 65 in Sept), so I bailed at the end of August 2025. At the beginning of 2025 I thought I would work until the end of the year but by mid-year I was miserable and made the decision to get out the moment I was on Medicare. The money was very good but many organizational changes within the company made my day-to-day an awful slog. Very happy to be out of there and retired. |
"My irritability keeps me alive and kicking" --Howard Devoto
"Didn't watch it. You don't rack up 100k posts by reading the articles before commenting on them, slow poke." --Aimless
"Didn't watch it. You don't rack up 100k posts by reading the articles before commenting on them, slow poke." --Aimless
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Originally Posted By DV8EDD: God damn, so sorry. My company does offer the long-term option and I've opted out. I may need to rethink that, thanks for sharing. |
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What a great thread. Pretty cool folks have shared their stories. Another take, family life and relationships, two stories First friend is about 7 years older than myself, sold his engineering firm, plenty enough in the bank and portfolio to retire. He continued working for about 4 years to keep his family home life stable and set a work ethic for his two boys. Both of them were early high school years and no idea the financial shape the family was in. Sure he bought a new boat but kept their lifestyle about the same. Once their kids went off to college, he put in his notice about 3 months later. No real need to keep working at that point as his boys were out of the house and maturing. Their 529 plans and other accounts were taken care of. Empty nesters, life starts the next chapter. Why not, then? Second friend is 51. He’s done well in sales and investing for 20 years. Has two girls and the youngest is in 8th grade. Same scenario, he is trying to set a great example, especially in today’s society, for his daughters. They live a modest conservative life but the kids surely don’t do without and are appreciative. He’ll punch out first year when the youngest is in college. Retirement financial number, medical or family dynamics. My story: Scenario A, ideal I am out in 210 days Scenario B, (I’ll take it too) Out in 7.46 quarters. Scenario C not ideal, financials go sideways. I’m still in the game until 2030 and punching out then at 54. We’ve hit our retirement number but some contract requirements keep my wife and I going until we cross a few thresholds per employment agreements. |
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Originally Posted By Procat: I retired at 42 with a weeks notice but it was in an emergency situation to take care of my father when he couldn’t live on his own anymore. I was already making more from my investments than at my W2 job so I had the flexibility to do so. After he died I went back to work part time but that only lasted 2 months until I clocked out for good. For me a lot of the decision came down to earned vs unearned income. My W2 job was the source of most of my stress and I was paying 3x the taxes once you considered all the extra BS like social security. I’m in a bit of a unique situation though where we don’t have kids and my wife’s job provides insurance which is a huge barrier for lots of people to retire early. im in the exact same boat. 42, stepped back from work to take care of my mom after my dad passed in 2024 and now mom passed in February. im working part time in the mornings to keep me busy and plan to keep doing so for the foreseeable future - its a paycheck, something to do and I have health insurance still. I'll be making more from my investments than my part time job. |
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Age 59 Dad died and I had to take care of his home, farm, swimming pool for over a year of Probate. An hour away from my house. I knew the sale would put me over the amount needed to retire. I gave 3 months notice after 26 years. I had to train 3 different people to take over all my responsibilities. |
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This is relevant to my interests. My wife retired at 67 at the end of 2025. My boss too. He is 62 and that got me thinking. His main concern is health care. I haven't followed up to find out how he solved that, or if he's just living at risk. I'm 60, have some money saved, we both have good IRA's, no debt. I think I could retire right now. I have the forms from my financial advisor, I just need to compile the data to see if it's feasible. |
I know I'll never go home.
So set fire to your ships, and past regrets, and be free.
So set fire to your ships, and past regrets, and be free.
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I have a number I need to save up to. about 2 million. have about 10 years left on this. I have a kid in college and one that will start high school next year. so that is 8 years. 10 years left on my mortgage. so 10 years is my plan right now at 65. might go 2 more years to get to 67 for ss, but not sure yet. baring surprises, it is doable. I don't want my kids to take care of me and I want them out of the house as well, so I am not supporting them. |
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Originally Posted By TNC: His main concern is health care. I haven't followed up to find out how he solved that, or if he's just living at risk. Most people just pay it like any other bill until they qualify for Medicare. There’s strategies on what assets to use first to keep your income low enough on paper for ACA subsidies. |
| Funny story about my dad. He worked for USPS as a clerk. They had a retirement incentive going on which he initially turned down. He wanted to keep working a few more years. On the last day of the offer the guy that was supposed to relieve him at lunch time came in very late. My dad was so ticked off he told his boss he wanted out. Done. Dad came home and told mom guess what? LOL. He wasn’t usually an impulsive guy, I guess he just had enough of the BS at work. |
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Originally Posted By Justa_TXguy: I could technically retire now although it would be a very austere retirement. I'd rather keep working so I can have plenty of money and leave a legacy. This is the crux of the OP - where/how did you draw the line between "enough" money and retiring as early as possible. If I worked another 1-2 decades until starting SS we'd be filthy rich. That'd be cool, but I can't buy more time. I don't want to work until I'm old only to die the week after retiring with millions of dollars in my mattress. |