Retirement Regrets

[bsman]

This thread is great timing for me. After 14 years at the Electric Power Research Institute, 15 years at Stanford University (I retired from Stanford) I've spent the past two years at a startup in Santa Clara (my first venture into the for-profit world). I am ready to retire. Even though I just turned 63, I am tired of all the hassle and bother - meetings, due-dates, pointless discussions, etc. I told my boss a couple of weeks ago that I want to be gone by six months from then...

[robj144]

Technically, I get a "full" pension in 16 years, but I'm looking at every possible way of retiring well before that via other investments.

I have a ton of hobbies to keep me busy in retirement. I'm not worried about being bored. I want to able to retire with a lot of good years left, hopefully.

[robj144]

By the way, a colleague of mine is, I believe 77 or 78 now and still working. He strongly believes that if he retires, he'll just sit around and literally die from boredom. So, he's doing everything possible to keep working.

[srick]

Originally Posted by robj144

By the way, a colleague of mine is, I believe 77 or 78 now and still working. He strongly believes that if he retires, he'll just sit around and literally die from boredom. So, he's doing everything possible to keep working.

We all handle it differently, Rob. I think it certainly helps if you know yourself and you understand your own motivations. One of my motivations for working till almost 68 was that sense of control, which my guess is what your colleague craves. And yet, on a beautiful Spring day like today, I have been thinking about the hundreds of Spring days I have missed over 41 years, all for the sake of, ‘control’, whatever that is.

A one and a half months into retirement, I am loving the quiet, the sounds of the birds, and the smell of the spring.

Rick

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by robj144

Technically, I get a "full" pension in 16 years, but I'm looking at every possible way of retiring well before that via other investments.

I have a ton of hobbies to keep me busy in retirement. I'm not worried about being bored. I want to able to retire with a lot of good years left, hopefully.

Rob, you have at least 2 great hobbies I'm aware of, guitar and astronomy. And a third during Sundays during the months Sept-Feb .

[valleyguy]

Of course everyone is different. You have to consider your health, your energy level and how much you like your job. I can't imagine staying at a job I wasn't happy at if I could retire. However, at 60 I was not ready to hang it up, if I didn't like my job I would look for another. I'm 74 and planning on retiring next year, but I still like my job, and get a lot of stimulation and satisfaction from it. However, I find my energy level is not what it used to be ( it is an office job), have three grandkids that will take my time, and I have a hammock awaiting afternoon naps.

Good luck..

[Wade Hampton]

I retired at age 63. I’m fortunate enough to be financially comfortable, and in the space of two and a half years my wife and I took three cruises - Norway to Quebec via the Shetlands, Iceland and Greenland; Australia to New Zealand; and Buenos Aires, Argentina to Santiago, Chile via Uruguay, Patagonia, the Falklands and Chilean Patagonia.

It was when we were on that trip around the southern end of South America that we started hearing about this possible pandemic, but fortunately we got off the ship and back home without being quarantined.

A week later and we would have been.

Since then our lives have been in pandemic suspension, and - yes - boredom has been a factor.

The pandemic adds some extreme circumstances to the mix. With it factoring in, I’d suggest you hold off retiring for now. Keep those relationships going while you’re still employed.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

[KenL]

I was able to retire at the age of 55. Our plan was to move to the mountains eventually, but I had to hang around for 7 years until my wife could retire.

Then the phone started to ring, and the caller would say, "Hey, I hear you retired? Would you like to help me with something?" I ended up with several part time jobs, and never applied for a single one of them.

I was a PT campus cop at a community college right behind my house, and a house painter in the summertime with a couple of teachers, the lawn boy for the widow next door, and a middle school basketball coach. The best job, though, was as the bus driver for the local school district sports teams. The district paid for my CDL, and I drove all over the state. Got to know some coaches well, and was often requested. I drove so much that the school district put me into their pension plan, so I now get a monthly check from them.

I was so busy in "retirement" that I had to buy one of those At-A-Glance calendars every year to keep track of myself! My only guideline was that I didn't want to be anybody's boss or have to tell people what to do. Had enough of that.

We finally moved to the Rocky Mountains, where I live in a small town. I'm a volunteer docent at the local heritage museum, which is enough for me these days.

No regrets. None.

[Photojeep]

12 days...

PJ

[Watt]

I'm retirement-eligible but not ready to retire. My work as a public sector lawyer is often challenging and interesting (to me). My days are largely spent strategizing, researching, and writing. When I retire, I'll probably do more of the same, but on projects of my own choosing. There are days when I prefer to take a long walk or to play my guitar for a few hours. And I generally have the flexibility to do that, particularly with the current telework situation. Perhaps when (if) we are forced back to the office my thinking will change. In the meantime, I consider myself fortunate.

[catndahats]

retired 3 yrs ago...on my own terms at the top of my field; no regrets. I knew it was time.
Getting ready to sign up for Medicare now...

[rllink]

Originally Posted by KenL

I was able to retire at the age of 55. Our plan was to move to the mountains eventually, but I had to hang around for 7 years until my wife could retire.

Then the phone started to ring, and the caller would say, "Hey, I hear you retired? Would you like to help me with something?" I ended up with several part time jobs, and never applied for a single one of them.

I was a PT campus cop at a community college right behind my house, and a house painter in the summertime with a couple of teachers, the lawn boy for the widow next door, and a middle school basketball coach. The best job, though, was as the bus driver for the local school district sports teams. The district paid for my CDL, and I drove all over the state. Got to know some coaches well, and was often requested. I drove so much that the school district put me into their pension plan, so I now get a monthly check from them.

I was so busy in "retirement" that I had to buy one of those At-A-Glance calendars every year to keep track of myself! My only guideline was that I didn't want to be anybody's boss or have to tell people what to do. Had enough of that.

We finally moved to the Rocky Mountains, where I live in a small town. I'm a volunteer docent at the local heritage museum, which is enough for me these days.

No regrets. None.

My entire working life I've been very responsible, very dependable, always there. Never taking sick leave if I wasn't really sick, everything one would want from an employee. That isn't me, but that is how I was. That is how I made myself. When I retired I became the real me. In retirement I am not punctual, I am not dependable, I'm the first one to leave and the last one to get there. I'm a slacker and spend more time standing around talking than I do working. At first people tried to take advantage of my retirement time, but soon decided I was the last person they would call. It has worked well. No one wants to hire me anymore.

[Denny B]

Originally Posted by rllink

My entire working life I've been very responsible, very dependable, always there. Never taking sick leave if I wasn't really sick, everything one would want from an employee. That isn't me, but that is how I was. That is how I made myself. When I retired I became the real me. In retirement I am not punctual, I am not dependable, I'm the first one to leave and the last one to get there. I'm a slacker and spend more time standing around talking than I do working. At first people tried to take advantage of my retirement time, but soon decided I was the last person they would call. It has worked well. No one wants to hire me anymore.

Congrats on a successful retirement!

[220volt]

I am about 4 years away from early retirement at 50, so I can't comment on regrets yet, but I've seen many fall for the dreaded "just one more year syndrome". And before they know it they are 85 and still working.

This is what is in the financial world known as Dysfunctional diligence — being afraid to spend money, over saving and not having any interests and fun. It can become the source of incredible anxiety for retirees.

[rllink]

Originally Posted by 220volt

I am about 4 years away from early retirement at 50, so I can't comment on regrets yet, but I've seen many fall for the dreaded "just one more year syndrome". And before they know it they are 85 and still working.

This is what is in the financial world known as Dysfunctional diligence — being afraid to spend money, over saving and not having any interests and fun. It can become the source of incredible anxiety for retirees.

Interesting comment. I spent forty years saving and investing toward retirement. Now I meet with my financial guy at the bank four times a year, whatever he calls himself. Every time he asks me if I want more money and every time I tell him that I'm making do. Every time I meet with him he tells me I don't have to make do. Every time I still make do. Even though I don't feel like I need to work and get more money I am tight fisted about spending it. To the point I worry about it sometimes. I think a lot of retirees are like that, they worry about money even if they don't have to.

So I got to thinking about getting a truck last month and I called him up just to talk about it. To see if I could afford one of if I should wait. He just said, by all means, get a truck, buy a new one, pay cash. So I did that, but it was very scary. I almost financed it because I was nervous about shelling out that much money in one lump. The financial guy called me up right in the middle of it all to tell me he had freed up enough money to buy a new truck and to not finance it, almost like he was reading my mind.

He works with a lot of old retired people. It is difficult to change from a lifestyle of saving and planning to spending and not thinking about it. That is a real thing.