When did you retire?

[justfishin2]

Well, about a lifetime ago I was a young man. Not so much anymore-not ancient, but getting there. Let's just say that I'll be medicare eligible in a few months, and I'm considering hanging it up. I have a job that is fairly easy but getting more uncertain all the time. I'm an active person and don't intend to slow down unless my health deteriorates. I have a bucket list that includes a LOT of fishing and don't want to wait for that until I can't sit in a boat all day. So, how old were you when you called it quits, and what, exactly, helped make up your mind? Any info you'd care to share about having to cut back on expenses would be appreciated, too. I've tried to calculate all this but have decided it may just be a crap shoot when it comes to being prepared.

[EARL KITCHENS]

I am not quite that age yet but I would suggest sitting down with a trustworthy financial planner to make sure you can retire comfortably. It is unbelievable how much everything cost and rising daily. Health care cost are why I have not retired.

[Eager Beaver]

Earl is right about sitting down with a financial advisor and figure out what you need to do to retire. It may be too late if you haven't done this already, if you are just a few months away from retirement. I retired at age 54 in 2001, or I should say I got retired. I got disabled on the job and had to retire. We have to watch things a little closer than we use too with the price of CD's what they are, or aren't. EB

[fishingpox]

You mean to tell me you can't work period?

Earl is right about sitting down with a financial advisor and figure out what you need to do to retire. It may be too late if you haven't done this already, if you are just a few months away from retirement. I retired at age 54 in 2001, or I should say I got retired. I got disabled on the job and had to retire. We have to watch things a little closer than we use too with the price of CD's what they are, or aren't. EB

[Eager Beaver]

You mean to tell me you can't work period?

I had a rotator cuff ripped and had surgery on it. The surgeon didn't completely repair the shoulder and sent me back to work with no restriction and it didn't take long and I couldn't work. Went to a different surgeon and took the MRI's to him and he showed me where the tech that read the MRI circled and wrote that the shoulder wasn't completely repaired and needed to be redone. He knowing this released me to go back to work with no restrictions. The second surgeon went to finish repairing the shoulder and found the cartiledge was ripped from the shoulder. He had to repair that before he could repair the rotator cuff. I was in therapy for several months and would get so far and the shoulder would tear out again and have to start over again. After the 3rd time they decided that they couldn't repair the shoulder anymore. Not much you can do with one arm. EB

[steve in so la]

What a great spectrum of answers here ! I retired 18 years ago at age 53. In the school system (Arizona state) one can retire fully when your years of work plus your age totaled 80. We have no stocks, no 401K type stuff, no nothing but savings and no bills. Once we made it to Soc Sec it lightened up.

My idea of life is - 1/3 grow up and learn a job -1/3 work the job and 1/3 play. We are playing in the boat now

Do it as soon as you can, we bit the bullet the last 5 years of working and paid off everything we owed.

Steve in so la

[Cane Pole]

Something to consider.

http://www.ssa.gov/retire2/retirechart.htm

[DRPEPPER]

Something to consider.

http://www.ssa.gov/retire2/retirechart.htm

Reading that made me mad. I ain't never gonna get what I paid in. Then I get penalized for asking for what I put in a couple of years early. DP

[CrappiePappy]

Retired April 2013 at the age of 64, after 45yrs of being in the healthcare business.

Retired early because I felt I had done all I could do for my place of business. I had lived well within my means, and managed to save some money as well. I'm a bachelor, so I have only myself to take care of.

When I decided to retire, I counted up what it cost me to maintain my current lifestyle & projected a 5% cost increase per year, over the next 20 yrs, and figured out whether or not I could continue to maintain at that rate. The figures looked promising, so I retired. Whether or not it was a "good" decision, or the "right" decision, at that time ... is yet to be determined. Too many variables to consider. But, so far this past year, I am pretty much on budget & have not had to make any cutbacks or sacrifices.

... cp

[RetiredRR]

JMO, when your eligible to retire, just do it. You only reach that point one time in your lifetime, so jump on it and embrace it. Prior to my retirement in 2002, I had the
opportunity to be a part of a movement to lobby congress and get our retirement benefits changed to.....30 years accumulated service, retire at age 60 with full benefits.
I have been blessed with good health and made a habit of getting everything checked out every two years with a comprehensive medical evaluation. I was not ever in love
with my job, but loved what I did for a living. I have never missed working, but do keep in touch with my working/retired friends several times a year at a dinner. I love the sound of a train blowing it's whistle at every road crossing. I grew up living next to railroad tracks and always wondered as a child, where do those tracks go. Now I know,
and there were many creeks and rivers running under those tracks that I have visited since retiring. Retirement is exactly what you make of it, and I did know a few men
that lived to railroad. Most are gone now because they couldn't handle not working, never planned for retirement, never had a hobby, and I always tried to get them
interested in an outside activity so they would have something to look forward to when they did retire. Life goes on, and you must make the choice to keep up or get left
behind. Once I had a bucket list, now I realize I need to win the lottery to fulfill a couple of things I wanted to do after I retired. For the most part, my bucket list was a
rather short list. If I were to be lifted up unexpectedly, I would go with a grin on my face. No regrets. I believe in my destination.