What is life like when you retire at 50 or 55?

[Anonymous]

A very good family friend just retired (and only from part time) and she's 63, and I think she has struggled. She volunteers A LOT, and always has, especially having only worked 3 days a week for her entire career. She goes to the gym regularly. She travels with her husband, and watches her grandkids if they're out of school for whatever reason. She has commented several times though that it can be very difficult not to have a purpose. It is hard to imagine how you'd fill your entire day, every single day, without work.

[Anonymous]

My parents had me young and retired in their 50s. I was done having kids in my 20s. My parents are now 62 and have been spending a ton of time with their grandkids. My parents took my kids during the snow days and took them for tennis at their country club and lunch. The next day took them to the trampoline place. They travel a ton, play a hella lot of golf, ski and tennis and are avid cyclists. It helps that they are both wayyy above average in physical fitness.

So for them it's grandkids, travel, and sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A very good family friend just retired (and only from part time) and she's 63, and I think she has struggled. She volunteers A LOT, and always has, especially having only worked 3 days a week for her entire career. She goes to the gym regularly. She travels with her husband, and watches her grandkids if they're out of school for whatever reason. She has commented several times though that it can be very difficult not to have a purpose. It is hard to imagine how you'd fill your entire day, every single day, without work.

Only if you are an extremely boring and unhealthy person. Yikes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A very good family friend just retired (and only from part time) and she's 63, and I think she has struggled. She volunteers A LOT, and always has, especially having only worked 3 days a week for her entire career. She goes to the gym regularly. She travels with her husband, and watches her grandkids if they're out of school for whatever reason. She has commented several times though that it can be very difficult not to have a purpose. It is hard to imagine how you'd fill your entire day, every single day, without work.

Only if you are an extremely boring and unhealthy person. Yikes.

Well, not really. Have you ever done it? Ever really determined how to fill that 8-12 hours you spend working/commuting everyday? Everybody has hobbies.... those hobbies already fill in during our free time while working. Can you really turn your hobbies from a couple hours a week to 40+? I love to read, can't read all day everyday. I like to garden, but that is seasonal, and might take up a few full days here and there, but not every day by any means. Maybe you can add in volunteering... but for how many hours? And the gym, that's an hour a day. Travel, sure, but that's not every week, or even every month. You can join a book club, or start a weekly lunch with friends, or a game night, or take a class, but again, that's only 1-3 hours. You're awake for probably 16.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Near me most women go back to work at 55.

What's "near you"?

Within a 15 mile radius.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A very good family friend just retired (and only from part time) and she's 63, and I think she has struggled. She volunteers A LOT, and always has, especially having only worked 3 days a week for her entire career. She goes to the gym regularly. She travels with her husband, and watches her grandkids if they're out of school for whatever reason. She has commented several times though that it can be very difficult not to have a purpose. It is hard to imagine how you'd fill your entire day, every single day, without work.

Only if you are an extremely boring and unhealthy person. Yikes.

Well, not really. Have you ever done it? Ever really determined how to fill that 8-12 hours you spend working/commuting everyday? Everybody has hobbies.... those hobbies already fill in during our free time while working. Can you really turn your hobbies from a couple hours a week to 40+? I love to read, can't read all day everyday. I like to garden, but that is seasonal, and might take up a few full days here and there, but not every day by any means. Maybe you can add in volunteering... but for how many hours? And the gym, that's an hour a day. Travel, sure, but that's not every week, or even every month. You can join a book club, or start a weekly lunch with friends, or a game night, or take a class, but again, that's only 1-3 hours. You're awake for probably 16.

Thank you for this... I struggle with this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A very good family friend just retired (and only from part time) and she's 63, and I think she has struggled. She volunteers A LOT, and always has, especially having only worked 3 days a week for her entire career. She goes to the gym regularly. She travels with her husband, and watches her grandkids if they're out of school for whatever reason. She has commented several times though that it can be very difficult not to have a purpose. It is hard to imagine how you'd fill your entire day, every single day, without work.

Only if you are an extremely boring and unhealthy person. Yikes.

Well, not really. Have you ever done it? Ever really determined how to fill that 8-12 hours you spend working/commuting everyday? Everybody has hobbies.... those hobbies already fill in during our free time while working. Can you really turn your hobbies from a couple hours a week to 40+? I love to read, can't read all day everyday. I like to garden, but that is seasonal, and might take up a few full days here and there, but not every day by any means. Maybe you can add in volunteering... but for how many hours? And the gym, that's an hour a day. Travel, sure, but that's not every week, or even every month. You can join a book club, or start a weekly lunch with friends, or a game night, or take a class, but again, that's only 1-3 hours. You're awake for probably 16.

LOL! DH and i have been retired since we were 49&51. We are never ever bored! We have no problem filling 16hrs a day. We hiked Kilamanjaro, Mt Wadhington, Ausangate in Peru, and Longs Peak just to name a few. Qe rent a house in New England each summer and have done Vermont, Maine, and Mass with Stowe being our favorite.

Bored? No. Never.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My parents had me young and retired in their 50s. I was done having kids in my 20s. My parents are now 62 and have been spending a ton of time with their grandkids. My parents took my kids during the snow days and took them for tennis at their country club and lunch. The next day took them to the trampoline place. They travel a ton, play a hella lot of golf, ski and tennis and are avid cyclists. It helps that they are both wayyy above average in physical fitness.

So for them it's grandkids, travel, and sports.

This is my parents too (minus the golf and tennis but they do swim and hike). They seem to be loving life. I think living in the same city as your grandkids makes early retirement a lot more appealing.

[Anonymous]

Early retirement to me isn’t necessarily not working. It’s having the ability to be more flexible. Maybe consider part time options or non-profit work. Having enough assets that I don’t need the job... The stress of needing a certain salary or benefits to cover finances would be gone. I would be working because I want to- and if I decided I didn’t like it I could quit without worrying about where the next paycheck was coming from.

My goal is to be at that point by 55. And maybe spend 10 years or so working because I want to... not because I have to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My mom retired at 55 and her and my dad bought a house down the street from me. They see their grandchildren several times a week and are super close to them. They renovate their house and they travel a lot. They also bought a house in the city my sister lives in and travel between the two houses. Dad is still working, but teleworks full time and is an executive at a large company. It works for him.

My inlaws plan on retiring when my SIL has children so they can be close to them (which does make us feel like chopped liver). They've continued working and my baby and toddler rarely see them other than the times we travel to them since they work every weekend.

I'm confused. Your retired parents live down the street from you, and see your kids several times a week. Your inlaws basically plan to do the same thing when/if your SIL has kids. This upsets you because...???

+1

I think the problem is the in laws complete disinterest in making time to spend with this poster’s children as they wait to retire in order to spend the rest of their lives committed to their daughter’s children. Yes, I would be offended. Notice how this poster’s parents split their time between their children? Not the same at all.

[Anonymous]

My SO would likely continue working for another 5-10 years after that

This detail is more significant than you might think, Op. More significant, IMO, than your young-ish retirement age. You will be in different phases of life and you both will need to be sensitive to each other. SO will need to value your contribution to the joint effort (still) of moving ahead professionally. And you Op, will have to appreciate that SO's needs for relaxation will center around whatever it is that SO needs to recharge for work. That can look boring to someone, you Op, who's experiencing new freedoms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A very good family friend just retired (and only from part time) and she's 63, and I think she has struggled. She volunteers A LOT, and always has, especially having only worked 3 days a week for her entire career. She goes to the gym regularly. She travels with her husband, and watches her grandkids if they're out of school for whatever reason. She has commented several times though that it can be very difficult not to have a purpose. It is hard to imagine how you'd fill your entire day, every single day, without work.

Only if you are an extremely boring and unhealthy person. Yikes.

Well, not really. Have you ever done it? Ever really determined how to fill that 8-12 hours you spend working/commuting everyday? Everybody has hobbies.... those hobbies already fill in during our free time while working. Can you really turn your hobbies from a couple hours a week to 40+? I love to read, can't read all day everyday. I like to garden, but that is seasonal, and might take up a few full days here and there, but not every day by any means. Maybe you can add in volunteering... but for how many hours? And the gym, that's an hour a day. Travel, sure, but that's not every week, or even every month. You can join a book club, or start a weekly lunch with friends, or a game night, or take a class, but again, that's only 1-3 hours. You're awake for probably 16.

LOL! DH and i have been retired since we were 49&51. We are never ever bored! We have no problem filling 16hrs a day. We hiked Kilamanjaro, Mt Wadhington, Ausangate in Peru, and Longs Peak just to name a few. Qe rent a house in New England each summer and have done Vermont, Maine, and Mass with Stowe being our favorite.

Bored? No. Never.

This is us as well, with different interests, but a "struggle" to fill my day? Not even close. I'm always so suprised at how the day slips away. DH still works and his work schedule really cramps my style.

[Anonymous]

OP here - really appreciate these diverse and interesting responses.

[Anonymous]

This is not the central topic to this thread, but for those who retire early (and spouse does, too), what do you do about health insurance?

[Anonymous]

It’s never a good idea unless you’re in law enforcement. Just don’t do it.