I left at 58 2 weeks after my Dad died. I realized, after 34 years of working 24/7...literally 60 to 70 hours a week,
in a high stress environment that this couldn't be all life is. It took a death to see that. Never regretted it, just got less income in my pension, and I couldn't take it until 62. I did a bunch of part time gigs, used my savings, etc. My husband does have the health insurance, so that was helpful. He retired 2 years after me.

Anonymous wrote:Could you tutor to make extra money in a less taxing way? Or maybe have someone who started homeschooling pay you to do some at home instruction? My mom switched from teaching to private tutoring and made almost as much money from just an hour or two of tutoring as she did teaching all day (but she taught high school math - not sure if there is as much demand for non-STEM tutors).

But no benefits.

DH has health care through his job, but I have serious health issues and don’t want to mess around with the exchange.