Retire On ....you know when it's time to

 How do you know when it's time to retire?

I begged my manager for two years to let me work past my company's mandatory retirement age of 67. He tried, but it didn't work out. He called me 2 months after my retirement party. Was I interested in returning to work? Just what I had been begging for! But by then, I was enjoying picking up my nearby grandchildren from school, and visiting my distant grandchildren every week. So I said thanks, but no thanks. It worked out well for me that I didn't have the option of staying 2 months before that. I might have missed out on the pleasure of doing what I like, not rushing, doing satisfying volunteer work, learning to play the viola, and spending lots of quality time with my grandchildren.

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● My father was the VP Engineering for a fair-sized company. Before retiring at 65 he spent three months training his replacement. Two weeks after my father retired his replacement died of a heart attack. My father was asked to come back to the company, which he did and spent the next month finding his new replacement and then three months training him. Then my father retired for good.

● You retire the moment you can. Hopefully before you get too old so you can enjoy life!

● Yep I woke up one day and told my wife I can’t do this shit anymore ( house painter ) I was 60 and had enough. I called the boss and said I was retiring and asked me when, I said, "now."

edit. Since posting this, my wife almost died, 7 weeks in hospital and now recovering at home but more surgery down the track. So glad we retired when we did, we had 4 years of travel before this and when she is stronger hope to have many more.

● Agreed

● Anyone who keeps on working past the earliest date, if they can financially afford to , has some serious self searching to do… This thought is from a simple person who has a typical mundane life. Anyone who says they love their job and would never leave, again needs to reevaluate their lives…Something is missing in it…. This is reinforced by me being employed in a trauma center for 30 plus years and talking to literally thousands of people on their death beds who talked frankly with me… Not a one said they wished they had worked longer at their jobs for a few extra dollars… The only thing of value is free time and family. Again, if you can afford to, get out as early as you can… Nobody is getting out of here alive.

Agree 100%, I’m so busy since I’ve retired we have go on 3 holidays a year just to relax 😂😂😂

Spot on! I am busy with my own kind of busy, not what someone else decides. You can be as busy as you choose. So many nonretired people think we sit and watch tv all day. So far from the truth. Yes, we enjoy our occasional movies and series but who doesn’t?

Since I posted last my wife has been in hospital so at the moment we actually are sitting around watching tv lol. That will change once she is up and about in a couple of months.

Praying for a full recovery! Understandable.

Thanks mate, this years a write off but big plans for the next.

Sending strength and hope to the both of you!

Everyday is Saturday There are no holidays

I totally agree with you , life is not all about money, it's about enjoying the time we have been given. A friend of ours had a retirement party last month on a Friday night, and by Tuesday morning he was dead. It's sad but true people work long enough to accumulate money and things, but not long enough to enjoy them.

Anyone thinking about retirement must be financially able to retire. For me it came at 62.

63 for me and so ready! I make more now with early SS and pension. Life is good.

No question, and that is increasingly hard for many or most people to to.

Your eyes opened to what life can be like with no restraints and time is yours. Please people, do not spend your latter life wasting away on a job. Life is too short. Enjoy the time with family, hobbies or taking classes that interest you. You will not want to go back.

When the job is no longer fun or giving you an incentive to keep going on. Unless you have to work because of financial reasons, look for other opportunities and never look back. I left in 2011 and I never regretted it.

Funny how flexible “mandatory” can turn out to be when it’s realized what skills they lost.

ASAP and if you’re lucky, sooner than that. If you work for yourself, that’s a good thing. Working for the man making him rich and you just making a living, forget it. You think that they care about you, yea right. Retire and enjoy your life and family!

Retired at 62 to help take care of grandkids. Best discussion ever.

November 2023, I was doing work around the house, I mentally planned what I needed, and went to the hardware store. The guy asked me if I needed help. I sat there with a blank stare. “I couldn’t remember why I came to this store,” I told him. He laughed and said “you have C.R.S.” “C.R.S?” I said. “Yeah, Can’t remember shit,” he said. I just turned 45 and I knew that day, was the day I had to retire.

BTW - Come follow me and answer more strange and odd questions at my new site here: “Brian’s Odd Questions” and get new, random questions everyday in your feed

What’s crs?

can’t remember shit

“grandfather of many” You’re just like Abraham! It’s good to be retired and out of the fast lane, isn’t it?

I wish I could fully retire at 55.

People keep asking this question but there is no right answer. Everyone is different, some can’t wait to retire, some have retired then found it wasn’t to their liking and returned to work, some want to keep working for a variety of reasons. Each to their own. It’s a very personal decision and shouldn’t be dictated by the expectations of others or based on a persons age.

You made a great choice!

time ain’t money, time is just time

60 years 3 months 2 weeks 3 days 1 hour 27 minutes and 52 seconds, is just exactly perfect, for all of mankind.

I cannot understand working till you drop . Assuming you can afford the retirement ( early ) then you have a whole new life ahead when you don’t have the restrictions of working for or with others . I respect exceptions like performing artists, as they are defined by their work but that should not be true of regular jobs . I held high office in large corporations . I could afford to go at 56 and did so 21 years ago . I spend my days pleasurably engaging in hobbies which I can enjoy at home or having trips out on my two large cruiser motorcycles . My pastimes have kept me fitter- much more than when I was in management jobs which I reckon could have killed me years ago had I carried on working !

Great to read the comments here, once you are financially independent (note not rich) able to pay your consumption expenses you need to spend the rest of your time here with people you care about doing things you care about - we all die - no reruns at least not on this journey

I am 77 and still working, if u love to work and can do your job, there is no reason to quit!

If only animals could speak.

Sad, very sad. Rommel had a conscience (me-thinks). ;-(

Why was Erwin Rommel choosing his method of execution?

I am so proud of everything you have overcome. You are incredible! And oftentimes forgiving yourself is the hardest part - even though you were given such an unfair start in life. Thank you for sharing your story!