I tried to retire and failed

[BISCUT]

I commend your work ethic! I grew up on a dairy farm and know all too well how that instilled work ethic can make you feel. I've made some solid financial decisions and retired at 48. I'm in my mid-50's now. The first 6-8 months were mentally difficult. I felt like a "LL" looser for sure! I adjusted.

I worked as a political consultant and became a campaign manager for a legislator, worked a campaign for a congressman....It soured me for politicians.

I've settled rather comfortably into not needing to work. Looking back, I'm glad! Looking forward I see just how short life can be. I've been able to travel and enjoy it. A week in Italy we were able to comfortably walk over 80km and experience much more than the typical tourist spots. Not so sure we would be able to do that a decade from now.

It's a big decision and I wish you the best. A lot of factors to work out in an unsure world.

 

[alarmguy]

I see retiring as a time when work is no longer your passion and you are financially secure.
No right or wrong time if it is your passion.

For me "retired" full time at 63 but worked part time until 65. I actually enjoyed working and would still be working part time today if the corporate powers that be didnt change things around as far as days of the week working etc.

Ok, so out at 65 and got used to be retirement pretty fast. Since moved to a new home, resort community, lots of people my age and between community stuff (like pickleball everyday) if your a golfer you have that too and all the new people we met. We have the coast here and always things to do there as well.
My new passion to an extreme is my heath, I push myself to stay healthy, love learning, reading and staying proactive with my doctors being I have the family gene for heart disease and have arterial disease yet my heart still in perfect shape, plaque all over the place but have defied the odds that the males in my family have succumbed too such as diabetes and heart by pass surgery. They think I stress about it but I really dont, I enjoy learning and the challenge of eating properly and almost every day still running my heart rate up to an age appropriate peak in the 150s and 160s everyday almost.

Life is short, follow your passion, even if it's working.

 

[Brons2]

At 90 years old, Amegy Bank founder Walter Johnson still comes to work every single day at the Houston bank he started.

Yes, 90-year-old Walter Johnson still comes to work every day at Amegy Bank in Houston, stating he will only retire when "they bring the casket".

Background and History

• Founding: Started Amegy Bank in 1990 with $10 million in capital after selling Allied Bank.
• Growth: Built the institution into one of the region's largest banks before selling it to Zions Bancorporation for $1.7 billion in 2005.
• Recognition: Honored by the City of Houston with an official "Walter Johnson Day" on his 90th birthday in February 2026.

Daily Routine

• Presence: Shows up regularly at the Houston headquarters to mentor young bankers and aid in business development.
• Motivation: Cites his deep love for the business and long-time friendships with coworkers as his primary reasons for keeping active.

Information courtesy of The Business Journals.

I'm never doing that. If I'm blessed to live to 90 and still in good health, I'm going for a bicycle ride every day with my friends. Probably gonna have to get a recumbent trike, but anyway.

 

[Brons2]

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.

That's good, that's younger than my (new) targeted age of 63.

 

[Brons2]

At my job you can retire, collect your pension and work part time 1000 hours per year.

Once I retire I’m 100% done.

I can go back to my old employer after 90 days out, but considering the salary increase in my new position, that's unlikely to happen.

 

[Brons2]

I commend your work ethic! I grew up on a dairy farm and know all too well how that instilled work ethic can make you feel. I've made some solid financial decisions and retired at 48. I'm in my mid-50's now. The first 6-8 months were mentally difficult. I felt like a "LL" looser for sure! I adjusted.

I worked as a political consultant and became a campaign manager for a legislator, worked a campaign for a congressman....It soured me for politicians.

I've settled rather comfortably into not needing to work. Looking back, I'm glad! Looking forward I see just how short life can be. I've been able to travel and enjoy it. A week in Italy we were able to comfortably walk over 80km and experience much more than the typical tourist spots. Not so sure we would be able to do that a decade from now.

It's a big decision and I wish you the best. A lot of factors to work out in an unsure world.

I've had some time in government. You see a publicly elected official in the building, you learn to take immediate evasive action. Run. Hide. In an IDF closet if you have to.

 

[Brons2]

I see retiring as a time when work is no longer your passion and you are financially secure.
No right or wrong time if it is your passion.

For me "retired" full time at 63 but worked part time until 65. I actually enjoyed working and would still be working part time today if the corporate powers that be didnt change things around as far as days of the week working etc.

Ok, so out at 65 and got used to be retirement pretty fast. Since moved to a new home, resort community, lots of people my age and between community stuff (like pickleball everyday) if your a golfer you have that too and all the new people we met. We have the coast here and always things to do there as well.
My new passion to an extreme is my heath, I push myself to stay healthy, love learning, reading and staying proactive with my doctors being I have the family gene for heart disease and have arterial disease yet my heart still in perfect shape, plaque all over the place but have defied the odds that the males in my family have succumbed too such as diabetes and heart by pass surgery. They think I stress about it but I really dont, I enjoy learning and the challenge of eating properly and almost every day still running my heart rate up to an age appropriate peak in the 150s and 160s everyday almost.

Life is short, follow your passion, even if it's working.

For me it's bicycling, not golf. A man can only have so many expensive hobbies. And maybe a weekend gas car or truck. But your point is well taken.

I've gotten the health kick too and I'm feeling it today. 9700 lbs in squats and lunges on the Tonal yesterday at lunch. And then I went outside after work and pulled weeds for 2 hours in the 96 degree heat. At least it was in the shade.

I call it RFD - Relentless Forward Direction.

 

[Brons2]

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.

A web search shows Retatrutide to be on L3 trial? Are you participating in a clinical trial for this? Considering my GLP-1 options. I need to fight the food urges and people say the GLP-1s help with that. I exercise plenty and should be thinner, it's my food habits that do me in. I'm trying to exercise more willpower but sometimes it just gets the best of me. For example I got up last night at 2am and raided the cookie jar.

I am on the generic of Crestor and Repatha injectables for cholesterol and my GP is finally happy with my cholesterol.

 

[Brons2]

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.

I've gone from network engineering to Cybersecurity and now I'm going to be an IT director. I agree with you on the chaos. So many egos and differing opinions, lack of planing and procedure, and crap execution. But, the new place threw enough money at me to make me take it, plus the benefits are so good I'm shocked. Zero out of pocket on anything health or health insurance related. That alone will save me more than $10K/yr compared to my current role I am retiring from.

 

[Brons2]

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.

Wow if I had that kind of time to add to my deal I probably would have done this a while ago. You can only build up a pension so much at my place. Once you hit 35 years you will basically make the same money in retirement and it makes no sense to come to work, it's just going to cost you time and money. I'm not quite that far, but far enough that I was going to hang it up.

 

[Pew]

I've gone from network engineering to Cybersecurity and now I'm going to be an IT director. I agree with you on the chaos. So many egos and differing opinions, lack of planing and procedure, and crap execution. But, the new place threw enough money at me to make me take it, plus the benefits are so good I'm shocked. Zero out of pocket on anything health or health insurance related. That alone will save me more than $10K/yr compared to my current role I am retiring from.

First ticket of the new job: "I can't login to exchange."

 

[Speedy3861]

I retired at age 70, I really liked my work and the people, but the stress caused by a management change caused enough stress because of their increased bureaucracy drove me out. A year later, I returned part-time as a consultant as 3 of us with a unique skillset were needed for compliance and i was the only one available. Did that for 4 years (at a considerably higher compensation)so finally left the hospital at age 76.
I still work part-time as a Gunsmith, keeps my mind active. I'll be 79 in September

 

[Vil_Riker]

The biggest barrier to early retirement in this country is health insurance. Even marketplace plans are unaffordable if you actually need to use them.

Another barrier is our Stockholm Syndrome associated with employment - we just can't imagine ourselves not working. Another big one is our addiction to consumerism and being broke in general as a result.

 

[Vil_Riker]

First ticket of the new job: "I can't login to exchange."

Well, you can't open a ticket if you can't log in. Design flaw, or a feature ?

 

[Pablo]

Everyone I KNOW PERSONALLY says "I wish I retired earlier"

If you can afford it: RETIRE

For me, personally, I'm redoing my childhood. But with money.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Well, you can't open a ticket if you can't log in.

I read that at the same tempo as a certain Pink Floyd song.

 

[Pew]

Well, you can't open a ticket if you can't log in. Design flaw, or a feature ?

It's not a bug, it's a feature!

 

[bruce381]

My wife retired a year ago at 68 and has NO problem with doing nothing, Me I have to be doing something so we try to do new things together but seems ends up somewhere at lunch or dinner out which is nice but I do not need the temptation at my wt.

 

[alarmguy]

For me it's bicycling, not golf. A man can only have so many expensive hobbies. And maybe a weekend gas car or truck. But your point is well taken.

I've gotten the health kick too and I'm feeling it today. 9700 lbs in squats and lunges on the Tonal yesterday at lunch. And then I went outside after work and pulled weeds for 2 hours in the 96 degree heat. At least it was in the shade.

I call it RFD - Relentless Forward Direction.

I get it! I can’t do squats like that for sure but I love pushing myself. Monday it was over 90° and 96° by the time I finish doing what I’m about to say.

Play Pickleball for 2 1/2 hours starting at 10 AM in the morning. Bright sunlight temps were already pushing the 90° mark.

Depending on the day, we are rather large group, maybe three courts going at one time. One guy who used to be a professional international soccer player, he calls me the machine! Yet he is 77 years old and unbelievably quick as hell I couldn’t believe when he told me his age. He’s a crazy man from Spain and a blast on the courts.

Because I never take a rest, I don’t know what it is. I just love pushing myself, my clothes soaked with sweat not a dry piece of clothing on my body.
Anyway, I get what you’re saying, as people are sitting in the benches in the shade. I’m always walking off the court saying who’s next.!

So this was Monday and it was a bit extreme, after those 2 1/2 hours I got home rested maybe 30 minutes in the air-conditioning and then went out and cut the lawn for approximately one hour now we are in the heat of the day at 1 o’clock that I started and finished at two. I have battery lawnmower, which I love and it is self propelled, but to push myself I don’t use the self-propelled. I treat cutting the lawn as a workout too.

I just love it, now with all the above said once I do that I’m completely exhausted and ready to pass out on the couch after I take a shower

I treat everything as cardio, I have had a number of cardiologists over the last six or seven years and it’s good for me to run my heart rate up to the age appropriate rate which is around 155 or so

Every Pickleball day, I set my Apple Watch to Pickleball work out and it records all the data and my heart rate. When I cut the lawn, I set my watch to high intensity workout. and again push myself to get my heart rate up. Typically I peek around 162 give or take three.

We play typically not less than four days a week weather permitting, and as much as six days a week. My only frustration sometimes is some people have had enough for the day and I wanna keep going.

Monday and Tuesday Pickleball. I’m glad I enjoy it because it’s a necessity to keep my arterial disease at bay. As posted I enjoy the challenge.

 

[alarmguy]

I do think Medicare and that magic age of 65 is a concern for many people, including my wife who still working from home
Until 2024 Congress changed it you could get catastrophic health insurance for a period of up to three years. That would’ve worked out well for my wife. However, for some reason, they changed it to three months now.

Anyway, since she works from home, it’s not a big deal but it kind of rubs the wrong way to have to pay $18-$20,000 per year of after tax income to buy health insurance for a couple years. So she decides to keep working and maybe will retire it. Let’s say 64 1/2. It’s entirely up to her. I stay out of her decisions either she wants to pay that 20,000 a year or go without health insurance for half a year.

I have a neighbor who retired at age 60 and went without health insurance for five years until he reached 65

 

[alarmguy]

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.

I never knew you were so young!