Always a Debbie downer...

Say the market etc. only give half the returns of last year...I'm still making bank just for showing up to work....

Say my 401K and ESOP "only" grown 120K this year..

My retirement package grows by 10K a month...... and to get that all I have to do is show up for work..

This is not counting my salary....

Not a bad thing.. so yea I'll put off retiring a year

It will be tough, and a real struggle to see the rewards for the simple act of showing up for work..

#OKBoomer

A few years ago I was on a cruise...and met a woman who basically lived on a cruise ship...

She said it was cheaper than maintaining her house etc... kind of weird ...

If you cruise a lot the incentives etc do start to multiply..

I have been thinking about this a lot lately. I got to feel quiet a bit what retirement would feel like with the sale of a company. Opened another a state away while waiting for a non-compete to expire. Had a lot of down time and enjoyed greatly. Kids are are a couple years of being out of college with no debt. 57 here in great health, 2.4MM in rentals are paying off, they just going up along with rents, nice investment account, been self employed my whole adult life. My only problem, keep thinking I will need way more that I actually will need to be comfortable. Gonna wait and see what expenses are when kids are up and out in a few years.

Not a problem; just keep working if you don't feel ready, I know i'm ready !

My opinion only: if you get bored in retirement you are doing something wrong . You need to do stuff every day to challenge your mind and body . Sitting on the couch watching TV doesn't cut it .

Do projects regardless of big or small . Volunteer at a facility you care about . Mentor someone . There is sooooooo much out there that you can do to help your community and yourself . If you are not doing any of this then blame the person in the mirror .

Just because you retire doesn't mean you can't contribute to society . Your options are wide open . You have years of experience and life events behind you , share and help the next generation . This assumes that you are relatively healthy physically and mentally . Go enjoy life .

Imagine how difficult it would be to heed that advice if you needed it? Folks that retire and sit like lumps… maybe that’s depression? Seems like a problem that even I would suggest needs professional help.

I remember first day of my previous break, 5 hours in morning spent alone crawling around in bushes reinstalling/rebuilding the bases of some rotten fence posts, 15 minutes after Ive got everything put away the wife comes home to find me collapsed on couch and says she’s worried about how I’m going to keep busy. Thanks hon, could’ve used a hand this morning.

I have seen this from a lot of different angles.

We hire retired folks as 1099's all the time for short-term projects, needs. The talent pool of retired folks is really extraordinary: One of our 1099's owned his own company designing and making computer boards...he has so much practical knowledge it saved up tons of time and money.

The overall impression I get is that they really like the social interaction.

These folks also volunteer a lot as well. One is now the head of the Habitat for H in his county.

I also know folks who are very content in retirement/retirement.

It is like Marv wrote earlier: Everyone is different, don't be afraid to adjust post retirement and most of all, be honest with yourself.

Of course everyone's situation is different , and I clearly stated in my last comment line that I assumed a person is relatively healthy physically and mentally . If a person is suffering from depression retirement by itself is not going to fix that . A person has to continue seeing their doctor and being part of a support system if needed .

I think too many people have great intentions of their retirement life but then turn into lumps . Don't turn into a lump . Easier said than done for some . I wish everyone a happy retirement .

I guess it depends if you live for work or work to live. My work had taken up much of my life. All of my friends were from work and most of my day and night was spent working. Other than investing, all my achievements were from my employment (as was the money funding my investments and lifestyle). After spending decades devoting 12-20 hours a day to employment, it is tough to transition. Where do you start? Although deferred maintenance/things around the house can take up some time early on, it is tough to stay on task as they will always "wait until tomorrow" as you are retired. "It's too cold out" or "I am tired" or "watching TV" is awfully easy. It seems that instead of retiring then casting about for what to do, retiring to do something specifically would be better. Many folks see retirement at first as simply the long, restful vacation they have been denying themselves...and start out by sleeping late and watching TV/surfing the web.

I think that retiring in the winter sucks. Spring would be a better time.

It is also easy to fall into worry about spending money...especially at first when you are not quite sure how far your new level of income will go. The massive inflation does not help as most retirees have a finite savings and their annuities/savings may not keep up.

What’s wrong with being a lump?

I worked my azzsz off for decades.

Lump time! Or maybe not. It’s definitely not for everybody but definitely is for some.

It's a strange debate when employed people defend working when they have never experienced retirement.
If your concept is your work, your life satisfaction and identity is your work then you may not adapt easily to retirement.

Some like structure and in retirement there is less structure.
I'm retired and plan stuff every week but also everyday I resolve unexpected minor issues that can be given immediate attention.

I had 30 consecutive years of Navy and Federal service.
My issue is that my career as an ATC required work habits that are rare to see in the contractors I deal with now, be it in car hobby or house improvements.
I guess that's what I miss most about work was the teamwork.

Retiring in Spring or beginning of the year is better for tax purposes.

A couple of guys have touched on this already, but it really bears repeating. Make sure you have something to do...

Every one of us on this forum is, by definition, a "doer". It's how we attained to the cars that led us here. Don't underestimate the importance of that. I'll be retired five years in June (retired at 56). My biggest struggle has always been something to do. And you guys know I have no shortage of hobbies and interests. But, yeah, a reason to get out of bed in the morning.

One of the things my wife and I were looking forward to was travel. To be fair, recent circumstances were completely unpredicted, so had everything not shut down as it did, we would have been traveling a good deal. We have found it difficult to fill the time that would have been occupied in that manner. I guess we really didn't have a "plan B".

I will second the advice that it is imperative to get with a financial planner to help you understand your own particular situation. Even if you are a financial wizard in your own right. What's the saying about court? "Any man who represents himself in court has a fool for a client"? Same with financial planning - a second, dispassionate set of eyes in invaluable.

In our case, we started seeing one in our mid 40's. Our target was always mid 50's, and he helped tremendously in putting us on that trajectory. I had taken care of all of it prior to that, but the adjustments he made proved to be the deciding factor. We couldn't have done it without him. By the time we were 55, he was telling us we were "working for free", and it was time to go.

I loved my job. It was a veritable playground for a gearhead/mechanical engineer. Flying around the world fixing airplanes. I was having a ball. And, yes, at times I really miss it. But, you know - we now have two grand daughters, maybe twenty minutes away. They have more than made up for it. And we have our health - how long will that last? With no crystal ball, we are doing it while we still can. Like one of my old AOG buddies used to say, "what - are you waiting until you are young again?..."

Agreed. Thank you for your service. They had to kick me out of the military when I turned 60 and hit the max age (42 years for pay with 26 active). The last 14 years was in the drilling Reserve, and I worked as a Fed as well. It was never just a paycheck.

Like you, it is difficult to work with those who are not "all in" on whatever the task might be. The "mission" was a way of life. We often moved mountains to "make it happen".

My short experience with retirement is pretty good so far, but I am pretty sure I will miss making big decisions or "saving the world" every day. Even more, the young folks that I led/mentored. But, of course, we all need to bring on some younger folks (succession planning) into our positions and ease their transition as we all eventually leave.

It will take a while to catch up on tasks around the house and do some things I put off...but eventually will get those done. Maybe will have to find something new to do then.

I stand by my earlier assessment. Those clamoring to retire work for a company or corporation.

Being self employed is like being retired. I make my own hours I decided how much I want to work, I decide when I want to work.

When the business I am in is sane, I can do that very easily. Since 2016 it has been bonkers, I do not expect that to last, I saw an opportunity to put my head down and get to it. It has been VERY rewarding to me, both in a sense of accomplishment and from financially.

For those who retired in their 50s or earlier, what funded your early retirement?

Investing & stock market gains?
Govt pension?
Corporate pension?
Sale of business?
Divorce windfall?
Lottery?

Only? The market can also drop 20% in a year.
Negative returns are a thing.

For me it is 20% corporate pension and 80% stock market investing/gains/dividends.

I turned 69 about 10 days ago. Filed for social security three days later. Could have done it 7-8 years ago but I love my job (flying airplanes) and did not want to stop. Besides the $$ was very good and that helped.

Now doing to hang it up full time on or about 1 March and see what happens. Still going to do contract work and fiddle with the toys in the meantime... lets see how it works!

I was just working for a recently retired UPS pilot. He is struggling with life right now in retirement. Not sure what to do with himself.

He is golfing and fishing and admitted going through the motions because it is what he is expected to do. He told me he is having a hard time transitioning.

We had a great convo. The biggest part of his issue was his work schedule. Including his vacation time / sick time / seniority he was essentially working 4 months a year and pulling in 400k. Hard to walk away from that.

We are far from done talking, he has no idea who he is dealing with (me) I have a business idea birthed from our convo regarding the real reason I was there.

Something both of us may benefit from.

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For me company pension (nat. gas utility/hvac). I was there 30 years so I made my retirement formula. The formula was 85. Age (55) plus years of employment (30)
Investing in mutual funds