Open Thread Update: Retirement. Ready?
Last time I mentioned my thoughts about retirement – I”m not planning to quit my job because I love it and hope to do it forever…
…but I am starting to consider what life would be like at that stage…where I’d be, how I’d spend my time….and if I’d have enough money.
(Pause for a commercial break here about the deceptively named TRUST act – learn more here – and its attempt to use backroom deals to deny me and my peers a voice in any changes or debate. Please notify your Congressperson!)
There weren’t very many responses, but every one of them was thoughtful and insightful.
“I’m now taking the time to be introspective and gradually transition into my new way of life. This will guide me to my “what’s next.” The possibilities are endless. And that I will pursue with vigor!”
-Dee Gee
The comments, like Dee Gee’s, are thoughtful and inspiring. How about you? Share your stories or tips in the comments!
Virge Randall is Senior Planet’s Managing Editor. She is also a freelance culture reporter who seeks out hidden gems and unsung (or undersung) treasures for Straus Newspapers; her blog “Don’t Get Me Started” puts a quirky new spin on Old School New York City. Send your suggestions for Open Threads to her at editor@seniorplanet.org.
Photo by Sean O. on Unsplash
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Comments
I am so happy to hear friends and other people having a successful retirement planning and/or enjoying a comfortable retirment life. I retired at 67, April, 2021 with the “permission” of my financial planner that I have adequate retirment funding. Unfortunately, after retirment and in the last 6 months, I did not have any part of the retirment life that I had envisioned, I was and still am confronted with non-stop maintnenace/repairs work in the condo I am living in and started to realize that my retirment asset will be draining away faster than I can catch my breath. I really like to learn from someone on how did they finacially plan their retirment. It seems that I have missed some important parts of the retirment planning. I would like to get advice from the readers.
Changing your lifestyle ,location and lliving affordably and luxuriously is not retirement necessarily ..but a new phase offering new possibilities and could be a dream come true. I’ve moved to warmer climate out of NYC to tropical locations abroad… And it’s been great for my health, my social and financial life adding many pluses and benefits to this extended lifestyle..
My retirement is a work in progress that I’ve been working on since 2018. When I was 58, I started looking for the place to retire with the right amenities and good value. I did the research and followed advice from people and sources I trusted. I’m now 61 and found a place to live and have no mortgage. I have a financial planner and follow their advice. I can now retire on my timeline and this could be anytime from the end of this year up until my 67th birthday. It’s all about the planning.
I’m 66 and ambivalent. I’m financially comfortable and currently work two days per week (at home due to COVID lockdown), though I could probably work more if I wanted to. On any given day I would rather not get up and work, but on a mega-level I can see that I get benefits from it – a professional identity, satisfaction of doing something I am good at and collaborating with other people to achieve goals, engagement with fellow humans and the universe in general, and a licence to pursue interests and experiences I would not otherwise have. Yes I could get some of those things as a volunteer, but volunteers rarely have the same level of agency as employees. And I haven’t quite got my head around doing stuff for free that I’ve always been paid for. People always say they plan to retire at X age, but I have no idea. Even if I retire from my regular job I think about doing freelance work. I’m hoping that one day it will just feel right and I’ll do it. Till then ?….?….?…..
Don’t think of it as retiring “from” something; think of it as retiring “to” something else. And if you don’t know what that something else is, you’ve got a problem.