I tried to retire and failed

I forgot to retire at 65 and just kept on working. But now I work hourly, 4 days a week and take several weeks of vacation. I have a rare but needed skill in the area of mainframe security.

Time to think about asking for a higher rate/hour. I have been at current company for a year. The manager is someone I worked for years ago at a different company.

But not not going to work forever.

I do have one problem. We have low expenses in DE and a house paid off. I get 2 pension checks and social security. The money I get from working I don't really need. It goes for cruises, and sound equipment for church and church camp and my boat.
 
I turn 66 in a few days, and always thought I'd retire before my wife who's a couple years younger than me. Last year, her company offered her early retirement with a great severance package. She took them up on it and her last day was Dec 31st. So she wouldn't have to shop on the open market for health insurance, I've chosen to continue working until she's eligible for Medicare next year.

My company is based in London, so I (and sometimes my wife) get to spend time in London on their dime. The majority of the year, I work from home and pretty much set my own hours. Vacation hours are unlimited. I take the dogs out for walks every morning and disappear as needed for appointments or other things I need, e.g. Harbor Freight sidewalk sales, etc.

My wife was the primary breadwinner, so I will start my Social Security sometime next year and postpone hers as long as possible. We're not rich, having spent too much helping our kids along with way, but we'll be comfortable enough to do most of what we want.

Would I prefer to be retired already? Yes. Will it change much of what I already can do? No. It's a small sacrifice to give my wife piece of mind.
 
72 still working may go to 4 days then 3 days My biggest thing is NOT GETTING board.
I can only garden, work on cars, work around house or shoot guns only so much.
Need more things to do wife wants to travel more
 
Cujet said:
Retired at 60 1/2, I waited too long. Health started failing pretty hard, and by the time I retired, things were not going well. Now that I am coming up on 63, it has become clear that I spent WAY TOO MUCH TIME AT WORK, despite having an awesome career. I missed out on so much, did not earn more than my peers who worked normal hours and were not required to live in multiple locations AND pay for their own travel. Decades without vacation, weekends off or any real free time, as paperwork was done the few hours I was home.

Retirement has been wonderful.
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This is a good reminder why I plan to retire at 58. I've invested heavily since my first real job at 18 and should make more in retirement than I make now, god willing. My house should be paid off and I should be able to buy a new car every year for the wife and I, if we want, just like my grandpa did.

Just hope the health holds up.
 
GON said:
In August 2026 I will turn 62.

The tentative plan is I will retire from my current organization on 31AUG2026 after 32+ years. I will complete the third (and final) part of a resident professional development course in San Diego on 03SEP2026 and fly out of San Diego that evening. On 4SEP2026 will be my first day at my new employer.
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Congrats:cool:
Will new gig require as much travel?
 
Brons2 said:
Trying to get under 300 by the end of the summer, which would be the first time since probably 2016 or 2017.
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I will be 63 soon. Due to 4 autoimmune diseases, I ended up on high dose prednisone. In 3 years I packed on the weight and raised my normal blood glucose into the diabetic range. Then the problems really started. I used Retatrutide to lose weight, and it was flat out remarkable. My labs went from danger red on just about any important marker, to solidly in the green. With the exception of Cholesterol, which is markedly lower but remains above 200.

It did not cure my autoimmune issues, but Retatrutide knocked out 70 pounds in 5 months and put everything else into remission. And I mean everything. Blood sugars, arthritis, skin disasters, poor kidney function, poor liver function, nerve issues, etc. I am down to my college weight and belt size! Even my vision is better.
 
I quit full time work last September with the intention of retirement. I've spent the last 27 years in various roles for IT departments and software companies, mostly solutions engineering. It's gotten way to stressful, mostly due to lack of consistent strategies, planning, and execution at least in the areas I worked the last few years. I couldn't quite make the transition and in a way wasn't sure who I was after leaving, so I started working part time with some friends to ramp down a bit slower. If all goes well, I'll stand down January 2028.
 
My story is long and boring so I won’t burden you all with the details.
I started planning my retirement at age 15-16 years old while working summers with my Dad.
He said to me on one slow day at his shop…
“You only have 2 more years of school, have you thought(not decided) about what you’d like to do after high school”? We talked about it regularly from there on!
 
I retired at 58 and am now 78. NO REGRETS!! I could never understand the guys where I worked who would not retire. It was not a money issue. They had absolutely nothing else to do in life. No hobbies, no interest in travel, did not read, etc. One guy turned down having 10 years added to his age and five years to his service to calculate his pension!!! He was in his early 70's and totally incompetent at that age. They fired him a few months later and we all thought he would die within a year. He in fact did.
 
Brons2 said:
I'm even leaving my current employer, having a big retirement party and everything.

But then something came up before I even hit my last day. It was too good to pass up. Great pay and amazing benefits. I decided in the end I would enjoy my eventual final retirement more if I took this opportunity and saved this money.

When do you decide it's really time to hang it up? I'm in pretty good health overall, but I don't want to be like my dad. He worked until the cusp of his 70th birthday and had a couple of good years retired, but now it's pretty much terrible, he poops himself all the time and his brain is going to mush. He shuffles around the house and I've gone over and gotten him off the floor about 8-10 times now.

I'm thinking 63 might be a good time for me. I've also gone back to lifting weights and doing more cardio, trying to build strength and maintain it for as long as I can. We bought a Tonal, which I love, and I'm giving my bicycles more attention, trying to get a 15-20 mile ride in a few times a week. I've cut about 20 lbs the last 3 months. Trying to get under 300 by the end of the summer, which would be the first time since probably 2016 or 2017. For reference, I maintained 240-250 for about 20 years after college in the 90s, so I still have a ways to go. I think my all time low was high 220s in 2008, when I was doing centuries on my bicycle practically every weekend.
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When I worked at a retirement home in high school one of the residents taught for 30 years as a college professor. He retired got bored then went back and taught for ten more years before finally hanging it up.
 
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