If you retired you, what do you say when people ask what you do for a living?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because you’re not “retired” at 49. You just quit and don’t plan to go back. Which is fine. But it’s not what people mean when they say retired. Retirement is for elderly people. You can’t retire at 35 or 49.

This is totally wrong. Retirement is when you choose to stop working and may be achieved if you hit those financial goals early. You have a boomer way of
Thinking

[Anonymous]

I say that I’m a retired investor living on a pension.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I retired in my mid 40s after selling a business. But truthfully we accumulated enough to be ultra high net worth without the business sale.

Retiring at that age is weird when people ask. It feels awkward to say but people’s responses are even weirder. They literally cannot comprehend it. That I was not expecting.

I have tried varying responses.

The “I am retired” is so incomprehensible it usually leads to a whole conversation where they end up directly asking me if I have to work any longer (also awkward) or it just ends without them unserstanding and usually comes up again in the future.

I have tried the “I’m in real estate” since I hold considerable real estate assets. That also doesn’t work. Most people assume I’m a real estate agent and start asking me question which causes me to either have to tell them I just own real estate. That gets into uncomfortable for me conversations where I end up having to disclose my portfolio (feels like I’m being asked about my net worth).

I’ve tried “I’m an investor”. They ask in what which produces a similar uncomfortableness and conversation as to I’m in real estate conversation.

I lie and just tell them that I still do my old job. Depending on follow up and how far I will take the lie this is the easiest conversation to have probably because it’s least changed from what I used to do.

I tell them I’m an attorney. This is technically true. But I don’t practice. It is intentionally misleading. And half the time gets follow up questions at which point I’m either in the same scenario as above or just lying.

I wish I had a truthful response that didn’t make me or the asker awkward.

You just need to practice giving vague answers that lead to nowhere, and repeating them until people stop themselves out of embarrassment. It’s nice of you to care so much about not making the asker feel awkward, but they’re the ones making things awkward by continuing their line of questioning to try to ferret out your financial details and net worth. No need for you to get flustered, just keep calm and keep repeating yourself nicely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I say that I’m a retired investor living on a pension.

Young people don’t have pension access.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because you’re not “retired” at 49. You just quit and don’t plan to go back. Which is fine. But it’s not what people mean when they say retired. Retirement is for elderly people. You can’t retire at 35 or 49.

This is totally wrong. Retirement is when you choose to stop working and may be achieved if you hit those financial goals early. You have a boomer way of
Thinking

So a 23 year old trust fund baby who never worked or worked for 1 year can retire? No way. The word doesn’t mean “I have enough money that I decided not to work.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I say that I’m a retired investor living on a pension.

What does this even mean? You retired from investing or you invest now? Everyone is an investor. This is nonsense.

[Anonymous]

I would say, “I actually don’t work at a paid job anymore. I volunteer and play a lot of golf.” Or whatever it is you do.

[Anonymous]

I’m a SAHM of teens who is not going back to work. If I am asked, I just say “oh I don’t work.” DH is retiring in a few years so when he does I will probably switch to “retired” then because the kids will be out of the house.

[Anonymous]

I retired at 51 and say I don't have a job right now. I may get bored and work again, so I don't like to say retired. Honestly, nobody ever asks.

[Anonymous]

This thread is a gathering of the Internet Retirement Police

[Anonymous]

I left the DMV so I don't get asked "what do you do" anymore. It's a very DC question.

I just learned the other day that a woman I've known for 6 years worked in insurance. Another man I've known just a long was a real estate attorney. Never knew, because it's irrelevant to their lives now.

[Anonymous]

I say “I’m retired”.

[Anonymous]

I say I do importing and exporting.

[Anonymous]

Office stuff

[Anonymous]

When I was in my 50s I said I was managing my investment stock portfolio. Which I was actually doing. Now in my early 60s, no one cares. Just say "I'm retired." Like I said no one really cares esp in the DMV.