How did/will you make your decision to retire? SIAP

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He Who Shall Be Unnamed
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7:41a, 8/5/25
I've been very engaged in this question of late, and I wonder about others in this Forum in terms of how they made the decision to retire, at least from full-time work. Was it based on an age, a dollar amount, frustration with work, all of the above?

Without going into too many details, I have an extremely stressful but also rewarding job. I am in the process of selling my business (unfortunately, not for a tremendous amount), the sale of which will mean I will have a contract to work for the entity full time for 3 more years. After that, the option to work part time should exist.

I am NOT really interested in the FIRE perspective - I am well past that and honestly can't really appreciate someone wanting to be retired for multiple decades of their healthy life. But for the others, especially those retiring before 65, was the decision made by health concerns, you no longer needed money, desire to pursue hobbies, etc.? I am at the point where my investment income is probably exceeding the income I generate - did that influence anyone's choice? Did anyone who retired regret it (I know people who did and do)? Did you build up hobbies ahead of your retirement in order to prevent boredom?

All apologies to anyone who has started threads about this before, but the millionaire's thread a week or so ago was starting to become a retirement thread and I wanted to get input from this Forum. Gracias in advance.
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Sims
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8:43a, 8/5/25
AG
Ultimately, for me, retirement is going to boil down to 1 question...

Can someone obligate or cause me to be obligated to work for their further benefit rather than my own.

If I continue to work when the answer to this question is no, it still qualifies as retirement since the choice is mine and not someone elses.

If the answer is yes, I'm not and can't retire.
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LMCane
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In reply to He Who Shall Be Unnamed • 9:12a, 8/5/25
I am 54 now and gave notice to my defense contractor employer I am leaving in June 2026 to go to Europe for a few months.

May work another two years after that in my field (corporate and trade compliance regulations) and then do fun things starting at age 57.

portfolio (if my parents do give inheritance of $500,000 when they are gone) would be a little north of two million liquid assets. not including home.

decision based on all three of your factors: age/ health, amassed portfolio, annoyance of job.
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Caliber
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9:21a, 8/5/25
AG
I plan to retire from my current career when I've hit my FI number. That should occur in my early 50s

The biggest thing is that I have a lot to retire TO. It doesn't mean I'll never work a job again. My current job has me strongly tied to the Houston area, fairly intense and high pressure. I want out and to live in the country. I may ramp down and go remote with some travel to Houston in the future but right now that isn't really an option. Ultimately my investments will buy me time.

The big thing is I'm designing that life now. We have a big garden already, wife just got chickens. I'm talking with my parents about their land. I'll either be out there or purchasing separately, that isn't determined yet but we love to spend time out there working.

I already have too much that I can't do because of job obligations. I don't define myself by my job, I am good at it but I'm done as soon as I can maintain the lifestyle that I'm designing now.

So, what do you WANT to do? If work fulfills you, then work. There is nothing wrong with that. If it doesn't, you better find something that does fulfill you or you will still be miserable in retirement.

You should never retire FROM something, you should retire TO something, and you should be doing anything that you can NOW instead of waiting.

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JobSecurity
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9:42a, 8/5/25
AG
Related question I've been struggling with: how do you figure out how much you'll spend when you retire? We're early-mid 30s and when I run our numbers it looks fine in today's dollars but I have no idea what anything will cost in 20-30 years.

Say I want 250k spending power in today's dollars. Inflated at 2.5% for 25 years gives you 463k, divided by 0.04 gives you 11.5M for a ballpark target. Which seems kind of crazy. Am I thinking of this in the right way or are y'all using a different method?
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El Chupacabra
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9:45a, 8/5/25
Been thinking about this a lot lately. 46 in a few months.

If we were careful, we could make the money work right now. But...not sure if the added stress of penny pinching is worth it, and we enjoy going places and eating out and buying guns (well I do anyway). My plan was always to work until my kids graduated college...about 12 more years. But where I sit right now...not sure I can make it that long.

I think we'll look at it seriously in about 5 years...and if the money lines up and job annoyance is at an all time high...it might be time to pull the plug.
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BQ2001
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In reply to El Chupacabra • 9:57a, 8/5/25
AG
My plan is to get my kid through college too and then retire. We will see what work looks like then, but retiring mid 50s sounds good to me.
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RightWingConspirator
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10:02a, 8/5/25
AG
I'm in the same boat. I'm 52 and quite frankly I don't enjoy my work anymore. I used to, but a new supervisor has made my job unenjoyable. Further, there are other things I'd prefer to do with my time. Given that my youngest just entered her freshman year, I'll work for another four years and then call it quits. Today, we're sitting on XX plus in net worth. In another 4 years, I'll likely be sitting on about XX in net worth. I don't need to work today, but I feel like I should just for the sake of taking time to figure out what I'll do with myself in retirement. That, and also pad the portfolio a little more.

According to my financial advisor, we have sufficient to spend $130k/year throughout retirement until I'm 95. I'm a type 1 diabetic - I'm not lasting till I'm 95. We're covered under 98 percent of all simulations - poor, fair, stellar market, etc.
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El Chupacabra
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In reply to He Who Shall Be Unnamed • 10:06a, 8/5/25
He Who Shall Be Unnamed said:
I've been very engaged in this question of late, and I wonder about others in this Forum in terms of how they made the decision to retire, at least from full-time work. Was it based on an age, a dollar amount, frustration with work, all of the above?

Without going into too many details, I have an extremely stressful but also rewarding job. I am in the process of selling my business (unfortunately, not for a tremendous amount), the sale of which will mean I will have a contract to work for the entity full time for 3 more years. After that, the option to work part time should exist.

I am NOT really interested in the FIRE perspective - I am well past that and honestly can't really appreciate someone wanting to be retired for multiple decades of their healthy life. But for the others, especially those retiring before 65, was the decision made by health concerns, you no longer needed money, desire to pursue hobbies, etc.? I am at the point where my investment income is probably exceeding the income I generate - did that influence anyone's choice? Did anyone who retired regret it (I know people who did and do)? Did you build up hobbies ahead of your retirement in order to prevent boredom?

All apologies to anyone who has started threads about this before, but the millionaire's thread a week or so ago was starting to become a retirement thread and I wanted to get input from this Forum. Gracias in advance.

I strongly disagree with this. If life and jobs worked in a manner where I could have been retired from 35-55, then go back to work, I'd take that option 100% of the time. It'd be nice to be retired when your body is still in good enough shape to do whatever you want and to spend as much time with your kids as possible when they were younger.

When I'm 70 and my friends have started dying at a faster pace and my parents are gone and my kids are working full time and dealing with their lives and my body isn't what it once was, I'd gladly have an office job that gave me something to do with some social interaction, as opposed to doing it now while my kids are at home on summer break.
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Caliber
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In reply to JobSecurity • 10:16a, 8/5/25
AG
JobSecurity said:
Related question I've been struggling with: how do you figure out how much you'll spend when you retire? We're early-mid 30s and when I run our numbers it looks fine in today's dollars but I have no idea what anything will cost in 20-30 years.

Say I want 250k spending power in today's dollars. Inflated at 2.5% for 25 years gives you 463k, divided by 0.04 gives you 11.5M for a ballpark target. Which seems kind of crazy. Am I thinking of this in the right way or are y'all using a different method?

250k would need $6.25milllion today based on 4%... Do you really think that you need a top 2 to 3% networth to retire comfortable? Inflating that number up to $11.5 over 25 year seems entirely reasonable. Either figure everything in today's money or work it forward with inflation. I work my all with inflation and have a spreadsheet that is done by year. My brain would just rather see the numbers that I really need to hit.

I work my numbers based on life today (which we think is pretty great) but I don't track every penny, just work it backwards. There are things that will decrease but also things that will increase.

I know our take home income. From there I remove all the things that will drop off, savings, 529s, term life, mortgage/debt etc. Then I also use a factor for one off expenses so I can create a yearly baseline. I average that over 3 years to keep a running update.
I then use that number to build back up yearly expense. I add in a $20k SWAG for health insurance, add a percent back for taxes, and then add a 10% buffer just in case. From there I can build up a FI number (I also have a lump sum added on to that to build my retirement home). and calculate that for inflation.

Using all that I can forecast multiple market scenarios and get a good baseline of when I should retire.
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GeorgiAg
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10:22a, 8/5/25
AG
I'll probably be rescheduling my funeral because I have to work that day. I'm a lawyer, so I'll probably just slow down and go to "of counsel" status, vacay a lot, but still have an office to get out of the house and ogle a hot secretary.

Seriously, though, of all the lawyers I've worked with way more than 50% were still working until death or debilitating illness.
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Hoyt Ag
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In reply to El Chupacabra • 10:48a, 8/5/25
AG
El Chupacabra said:
He Who Shall Be Unnamed said:
I've been very engaged in this question of late, and I wonder about others in this Forum in terms of how they made the decision to retire, at least from full-time work. Was it based on an age, a dollar amount, frustration with work, all of the above?

Without going into too many details, I have an extremely stressful but also rewarding job. I am in the process of selling my business (unfortunately, not for a tremendous amount), the sale of which will mean I will have a contract to work for the entity full time for 3 more years. After that, the option to work part time should exist.

I am NOT really interested in the FIRE perspective - I am well past that and honestly can't really appreciate someone wanting to be retired for multiple decades of their healthy life. But for the others, especially those retiring before 65, was the decision made by health concerns, you no longer needed money, desire to pursue hobbies, etc.? I am at the point where my investment income is probably exceeding the income I generate - did that influence anyone's choice? Did anyone who retired regret it (I know people who did and do)? Did you build up hobbies ahead of your retirement in order to prevent boredom?

All apologies to anyone who has started threads about this before, but the millionaire's thread a week or so ago was starting to become a retirement thread and I wanted to get input from this Forum. Gracias in advance.

I strongly disagree with this. If life and jobs worked in a manner where I could have been retired from 35-55, then go back to work, I'd take that option 100% of the time. It'd be nice to be retired when your body is still in good enough shape to do whatever you want and to spend as much time with your kids as possible when they were younger.

When I'm 70 and my friends have started dying at a faster pace and my parents are gone and my kids are working full time and dealing with their lives and my body isn't what it once was, I'd gladly have an office job that gave me something to do with some social interaction, as opposed to doing it now while my kids are at home on summer break.

Agreed.

My dad is my motivation for wanting to retire early. He worked his ass off till he was 65 and now has Parkinsons and other health issues at 73. My stepmom is not very mobile due to a stroke 3 years ago. I do not want that life. I refuse to work till I am into my 60s and then not be able to enjoy the final third of my life. It absolutely breaks my heart to see how this turned out for him.

What will trigger my retirement? I think about this all the time. I am 42 with a great NW for my age and absolutely hate my job, but it affords me lots of travel and a good income to fuel my savings. My current role is set to terminate at the end of 2028 due to my facility closing down, so I will need to make a decision on whether to transfer in the company or find a new role somewhere else. This only gets me to age 46 or so and I need to work till 52 at a minimum with 55 being my ceiling.

My plan really centers around when I get to 52-55 years old, I do not want to work somewhere I am this unhappy or miserable. I am trying to transition to a consulting role given my 20 years in energy. The ideal situation for me would be to consult 6 or so months a year then slow travel the rest.

I want to retire TO a life of service. I have ambitions of volunteering in foreign countries to teach English, provide medical care, minister and other acts. My dream has always been to save what I can to allow me to freely go where God calls me and to serve. A friend of mine is 56 and he and his wife are teaching at a school in Namibia and I am living vicariously through them currently. That's one of many dreams.

I know several retired folks that retired early(before age 59) and none regret it. Some had a lot of hardships to get through in adjusting to a new life, but I cannot think of a single one that regretted it. I know many that regretted working so long.

Good thread topic and discussion.
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DannyDuberstein
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11:00a, 8/5/25
AG
51 now. I'm essentially at my number for a comfortable retirement now but plan to go 55-56. I would just caution that the one thing I see over and over again is that the 70s are hell on people. You can enter and leave your 50s not that different, and similar with your 60s. But most pay the piper in the 70s. So if there are non-work passions you have, that's the window you have to keep in mind. Do not view those retirement years as all the same with the assumption you'll be able to do things later.

My parents were the prime example. Retired at 60 and spent 10+ years hiking, my dad did senior bicycle races all over the country, and that lasted to the early 70s. But then my mom got diagnosed with ovarian cancer at 73 and was dead at 75, and my dad had a series of small strokes and some dementia where he went from racing at 70 to only able to get on his Peloton for 10 minutes by 76. Died at 83 after being largely a shut-in for 7 years. But I see this story over and over again. You might be "healthy" at 80 but your body is unlikely to be up for much at all.
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AgOutsideAustin
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11:08a, 8/5/25
AG
Retiring at the end of this month and I've had every financial and emotional scenario play out in my mind. Watched countless YouTube videos. Had a plan done by Schwab.

One factor overrules everything.

I want to control my time.

I want to do what I want, where I want, with who I want, for as long as I want.
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GeorgiAg
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In reply to AgOutsideAustin • 11:25a, 8/5/25
AG
AgOutsideAustin said:
Retiring at the end of this month and I've had every financial and emotional scenario play out in my mind. Watched countless YouTube videos. Had a plan done by Schwab.

One factor overrules everything.

I want to control my time.

I want to do what I want, where I want, with who I want, for as long as I want.

You must not be married.
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LMCane
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In reply to Hoyt Ag • 11:28a, 8/5/25
You can go volunteer for archeological digs in the Holy Land they cover your expenses.
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AgOutsideAustin
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In reply to GeorgiAg • 11:29a, 8/5/25
AG
I am, to a retired teacher.

Same house, same spouse.

All good.
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LMCane
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In reply to AgOutsideAustin • 11:30a, 8/5/25
AgOutsideAustin said:
Retiring at the end of this month and I've had every financial and emotional scenario play out in my mind. Watched countless YouTube videos. Had a plan done by Schwab.

One factor overrules everything.

I want to control my time.

I want to do what I want, where I want, with who I want, for as long as I want.


I only hope I can make it to 57 to do the same.

that is why I am taking a few months of travel after America 250 Independence Day.

I would rather travel when I am a 55 year old on my own than wait until I am 65 years old

for about a dozen reasons!
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LMCane
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In reply to DannyDuberstein • 11:32a, 8/5/25
great point- although thankfully my parents are still more active than I am at 83 and 75...
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El Chupacabra
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11:58a, 8/5/25
My grandpa retired from the USPS at 55. He died 2 weeks later in his hay field.

My dad retired at 56 after 2 heart attacks. He just turned 72. His sister died at 52 and 2 brothers died right around 60.

Those ages play into my mind a lot when thinking about retirement.
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jokershady
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12:00p, 8/5/25
AG
When I'm making more money on trading than my current job….and then I have to live on that income from trading only for a whole year and not touch the money I make from working….

When I get there….i retire….
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halfastros81
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12:44p, 8/5/25
AG
My decision to retire was a combination of of things including enough saved and invested to sustain lifestyle for the remainder of our lives , kids financially independent , and a very fortuitous merger that allowed me to bow out with healthy change of control provisions. The latter 2 happened within 6 mos of one another . I got pretty lucky and it made for an easy decision with regard to timing.

I'm going to plug firecalc here. Free online financial program that helps you get your arms around what your finances might look like in retirement based on your savings and spending . It takes a stochastic approach based on past market cycles. Pretty nice little free tool imo.
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insulator_king
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1:13p, 8/5/25
AG
Funnily enough, I am retiring 30 SEP this year. I'll be 63, taking my Social Security now [well starting in OCT].

I was working for the VA in the fed gov., and when I got the DOGE 'Fork In the Road' email, it was golden for me! I signed right up, last day worked was end of FEB.

I've been slowly cleaning up my place since the 1st of March, while still getting my full salary and benefits until 30 SEP when I will get my small govt pension. Been packing away the max into the TSP, and I hope to let that sit for a few years before tapping into it.

I live in the mountains of New Mexico at 7600 ft elevation on ~50 acres that back up to National Forest. It's great! NM increased the veteran property tax exemption, so my property taxes are about $457/year.

Just me and my 2 cats, and I am quite content.

Go to ABQ 2x a month to dance [at the Dirty Bourbon] hike and play volleyball. Feel like I'm in pretty good shape, hope to live to 90.

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LMCane
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In reply to insulator_king • 1:38p, 8/5/25
That is some great luck right there!


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one safe place
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1:53p, 8/5/25
I never liked work, it was a means to an end. Most of my career was spent in businesses I owned. Made a good bit of money all in all, but I am not Texags wealthy.

I decided to retire when I was no longer willing to give up another year of my remaining life for the money I could make in another year of work. When there was no reason to add X amount of dollars to the pile of money we would likely never spend anyway. I live in a smallish town, 8,000 or so folks, though we live out on some acreage. Point is, most people know a good bit about other people, particularly about those of us who grew up here. I have been amazed at the number of professionals who just can't retire, even though they can more than afford to (my point about people knowing about people). Lawyers and CPAs and doctors and dentists who work until their late 70s or early 80s. I suppose they "like" their work, or at least they say they do. Most, if not all of them, have no hobbies, a few used to play golf but seldom do any more. Some hunted and/or fished in their 40s and 50s. I think they continue to work because work was their life and they would feel empty, unwanted, or unneeded without work. I never asked any of them, it isn't any of my business, and if they are happy good for them.

Glad I did retire. Every morning I have to pause a moment or two to figure out what day of the week it is. I pace myself, lol. If I don't get it done today, there is tomorrow, or the day after, or next week, or even later to get the thing done. For me, it is the freedom, the not having a schedule to adhere to, and not having clients calling me or coming by the office that appeals to me.
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DannyDuberstein
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2:08p, 8/5/25
AG
I think everyone should take a week or two staycation at some point to get a better sense of what is ahead. Then spend it living that retiree life. When I've done this, it only solidified in my mind that I'm going to be quite happy and fulfilled. I don't need my career to offer that. It's going to be amazing to spend the day on the things I want, all the time. I eat reasonably healthy and exercise now, but those are things right now that I have to work in around a career. I can't wait for the day when they become my "career". I am going to have no trouble burning a day, a week, a year relaxing, taking care of myself, and doing the things I enjoy most
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infinity ag
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In reply to LMCane • 2:21p, 8/5/25
LMCane said:
I am 54 now and gave notice to my defense contractor employer I am leaving in June 2026 to go to Europe for a few months.

May work another two years after that in my field (corporate and trade compliance regulations) and then do fun things starting at age 57.

portfolio (if my parents do give inheritance of $500,000 when they are gone) would be a little north of two million liquid assets. not including home.

decision based on all three of your factors: age/ health, amassed portfolio, annoyance of job.


What will you do about health insurance?

I am good with money and don't need a job but haven't figured out what to do about health insurance. healthcare.gov?
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Hoyt Ag
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In reply to infinity ag • 2:52p, 8/5/25
AG
Yeah, a bronze plan. Then when travelling get Genki or something similar.
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DannyDuberstein
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3:19p, 8/5/25
AG
Yeah, healthcare.gov. Say you are both late 50s with taxable income of $150k, a bronze plan will run about $700 per month with a deductible in the $14-15k range. A silver plan would be more like $1200/month with a deductible in the $10-12k range. Out of pocket maximums run in the ballpark of $18k. Big picture, my rough estimate is to budget around $25k for health care. Hopefully come out ahead by only needing to pay the premium with minimal visits due to still being healthy, but you never know.
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herewegoagain
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3:30p, 8/5/25
Great and important thread, thanks for starting it. This is a repost from something I wrote on the millionaire thread last week:

I want to chime in on the "when is enough enough?" conversation in the hopes that it might be helpful.

I'm 42 with four kids and have a net worth of just over 5M because of a successful startup exit plus some good investments a few years ago. When I walked away it was knowing I was trading likely doubling my net worth over 5 years if I was willing to stay on. But I wasn't. Not the ages my kids were and what it would have cost me in physical and emotional presence during those five years. At the end of the day I had to ask "what would I do with ten that I can't do with five?" and the answer was nothing more important than our family.

Most of our money is in real estate which throws off enough for us to live on. So I get to spend my time doing stuff that feels meaningful, and I have complete control of my time. I can always go grind again if I choose. But I'll never get this time with my kids back.

Really consider the cost of what you're missing alongside the money if you think you have enough. I'm so glad I did even though very few people I know have done the same at my age.

One more thing, my mom and uncle both died very suddenly in their early 60's. That s*** messes me up every time I think about it and is a huge motivator to not grind until some mythical age to only die before I even get to the things I've waiting my whole life to do.
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jokershady
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In reply to DannyDuberstein • 3:30p, 8/5/25
AG
DannyDuberstein said:
Yeah, healthcare.gov. Say you are both late 50s with taxable income of $150k, a bronze plan will run about $700 per month with a deductible in the $14-15k range. A silver plan would be more like $1200/month with a deductible in the $10-12k range. Out of pocket maximums run in the ballpark of $18k. Big picture, my rough estimate is to budget around $25k for health care. Hopefully come out ahead by only needing to pay the premium with minimal visits due to still being healthy, but you never know.
wow my insurance is awesome!
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He Who Shall Be Unnamed
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In reply to El Chupacabra • 3:42p, 8/5/25
El Chupacabra said:
He Who Shall Be Unnamed said:
I've been very engaged in this question of late, and I wonder about others in this Forum in terms of how they made the decision to retire, at least from full-time work. Was it based on an age, a dollar amount, frustration with work, all of the above?

Without going into too many details, I have an extremely stressful but also rewarding job. I am in the process of selling my business (unfortunately, not for a tremendous amount), the sale of which will mean I will have a contract to work for the entity full time for 3 more years. After that, the option to work part time should exist.

I am NOT really interested in the FIRE perspective - I am well past that and honestly can't really appreciate someone wanting to be retired for multiple decades of their healthy life. But for the others, especially those retiring before 65, was the decision made by health concerns, you no longer needed money, desire to pursue hobbies, etc.? I am at the point where my investment income is probably exceeding the income I generate - did that influence anyone's choice? Did anyone who retired regret it (I know people who did and do)? Did you build up hobbies ahead of your retirement in order to prevent boredom?

All apologies to anyone who has started threads about this before, but the millionaire's thread a week or so ago was starting to become a retirement thread and I wanted to get input from this Forum. Gracias in advance.

I strongly disagree with this. If life and jobs worked in a manner where I could have been retired from 35-55, then go back to work, I'd take that option 100% of the time. It'd be nice to be retired when your body is still in good enough shape to do whatever you want and to spend as much time with your kids as possible when they were younger.

When I'm 70 and my friends have started dying at a faster pace and my parents are gone and my kids are working full time and dealing with their lives and my body isn't what it once was, I'd gladly have an office job that gave me something to do with some social interaction, as opposed to doing it now while my kids are at home on summer break.

This seems as if it would be a difficult situation to find. I know that, personally, I would not be employable in my current line of work if I took 20 years off of work and then tried to re-enter the job market at 55. Obviously, someone who made or inherited a tremendous amount of money early in their career could consider such an option, but I certainly wouldn't think it would be easy to find a well-paying job at 55 after a 20-year hiatus. I suppose owning one's own business and having a great "second in command" would be ideal in that you could tailor your work schedule to your family schedule.

Maybe I am old, maybe I am chauvinistic, maybe I am stupid, it just seems to me that especially for ME being gainfully employed is a good thing during your middle years. I have a good friend who is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He still works, but it is "on his own time". When I have spoken to him about it, he has related that it's also important for him to project an image to his kids (who all know that they are going to be inheriting a crap ton of money, obviously) that it's important to work.

No criticism, I just think finding a situation like that would be difficult, and re-entry into the work force would also be difficult. When I say I can't appreciate..., what I mean is that I can't wrap my head around that for MYSELF. It might've come off wrong. Obviously, though, there are large numbers of people who are aiming for that nowadays. Thanks for your response.
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Its Texas Aggies, dammit
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4:44p, 8/5/25
AG
A long-time friend recently introduced me to the concept of "the youth of your retirement years." All other things being equal, you will be the most physically capable during the first 5 years of your retirement. Then I read that the average American man has a life-changing health event at 66.1 years of age. Then I remembered how my father died a month short of his 60th birthday due to a freak medical condition. All of these in combination have me spending a significant amount of time figuring out how quickly I can check out of what I'm currently doing.

In similar fashion to some others, I'm good at what I do and like it OK but it in no way gives me purpose or has any real meaning other than a paycheck. I started a new job three years ago after having been at the prior place for over 15. None of these people are truly my friends, and I recognize that, if I were to die, maybe 3-4 out of a work location of 80 or so would attend my funeral and then they would figure out how they would reassign my work. I'm not bitter about this. It is just reality.

My plan is to gradually "retire in place." The start of this has been that I don't do stuff that is extra and does not really benefit me or the company but is done for political purposes. I strive to be pleasant and in no way indicate that I am eyeing retirement. I say "no" diplomatically and with a smile. The next step will be to start delegating more and more to younger folks and taking more three-day weekends and vacations while my portfolio grows and I get my last kid off the payroll.

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infinity ag
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Thanks for the healthcare info. I am not there yet, as my wife is working and I am on a break but I don't think I will work more than another 10 years, so I need to figure this out.

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jja79
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I've been retired for 1 year and 2 weeks. Turned 68 this spring. I'm not Texags rich so these numbers boggle my mind. I have former colleagues chasing one more dollar and suspect some will chase it to their grave. The friends I've made in retirement aren't Texags rich either.

I've subscribed to the "youth of your senior years" for some time. I lived the last 28 years in Houston before relocating to Arizona. The bank for which I worked let me continue to work for a year after I moved. That let me test drive living here as well as see what retired guys do. Had I not liked it here I could still go back and pick up where I was.

My goal at retirement was to live 2 years off my last year's earnings plus SS without having to withdraw. I'm on track.

I do whatever I want whenever I want. To me that's the dream. My retired friends here are probably similar to me financially. We play golf 4 days a week, go to Diamondbacks games, ASU hockey games and spring training.

I don't suggest moving 1,200 miles to a place you know no one to anyone else but it's working for me. I had thought about getting a golf marshall job but haven't and might end up not doing that.

No one plan works for everyone obviously.
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