Retirement?

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

This is a very person and in some cases a touchy subject.

I feel compelled to talk about it though. In my almost 50 years in the fishing tackle business I watched thousands of customers, mostly men, go through their lives with me. Anyone reading this amazing message board would probalby be fine retireing somewhat early because they obviously have interests other than TV and work.

For most here I would either try to get semi-retired or retired as soon as finacially possible. I have actually effected many of my customers destinies by just talking about retirement to them. If you wait to long to retire your health or you spouse's health could change your entire situation in a heart beat. I retired at 68 which as far as I am concerned is way too late.

I do have some old friends from my parent's generation who reitired fairly early (50s) and had a good about 30 years of great retirement. Now many are gone or very old now but they had wonderful retirements.

At 68 I will not get 30 years of retirement but as my wife said, I never really worked.

Please just think about this a little more...

According to the large life insurance data, the soon you retire the long you will live. Conversely, the later you retire, the sooner you will die.

Ouch.....

People here like Dan, Lefty and Palph will probably live forever because they have serious passion for life and have been going all over for their entire lives.

Just give it some serious thought for me.....

[Baja Fly Fisher]

I retired at 55. I worked for 31 years and decided that it was time to leave and go enjoy the rest of my life, whatever I have left. At the time, I was doing trips to Baja with my vacation time and then had to spend some weeks without pay but I was still getting paid to fish, what a deal. I HAD a good nest egg built up in the IRA until the market crashed but I wasn't going to let that stop my retirement, nothing I could do about the market. Today, i'm 67 and still doing Baja, I guess you can say I'm still working or semi retired but loving what I do. I still have my good health (except for the little aches and pains in the joints).
Some days, I get bored staying home but with 3 grand daughters who come daily, I keep my self occupied. I just read in the AARP magazine where one guy who is 86 years ago works out daily for his physical part and for his mental part, he works on his blog and does a lot of surfing the networks.

Do I ever regret retiring early and taking social security early, HECK NO>>>> I'm ahead of the game
I recommend early retirement, if you can do it. You'll gain years in life

Jay

[DLJeff]

Work is a means to an end - that end being not having to work any more. I highly recommend retirement to anyone who can afford to live the lifestyle they want to live without becoming a burden on society.

[Darian]

I've been retired for about 13 years and haven't regretted a day of it. I highly recommend it. The only thing I missed were some of the friends I worked with. Some people live to work others, like me, worked to live. Once you have the financial ability, "Sharpening the saw" (meaning staying active physically and mentally) is paramount for good health/longevity.

Retirement can be stressful for some. Particularly, if it hasn't been planned or the retiree has not thought about what to do in retirement. Many choices available, tho. :cool:

[Langenbeck]

Bill,

Retired at 49 and now 72. My only regret was not moving to Oregon immediately after retirement.

[John H]

I just turned 50 and have been thinking about retirement for several years. I am close to pulling the trigger on it. It feels like a leap into a lake you know will be cold but will probably feel good once you are in it. I expect there will be an adjustment period where I rebuild my life and fill the days and months with some new activities and a new routine. I am thinking about getting five boats - one for each day of the week. My work is a big part of my identity and my place in society and has dominated my life for many years so I want to be sure I am ready to let it go. I am looking at June 1st of next year. We will see how that shakes out.

[Darian]

John,.... You still have time to do some planning before you retire. You might consider working part time to test the waters before retiring or doing some consulting; on a schedule of your choosing of course. You might want volunteer in another area to make a contribution; particularly if you have expertise in an area that can use volunteers. I did some volunteer work for California Common Cause for my transition.

I have a couple of friends that had the same concerns you do about retiring. From my experiences with them, I know it's not easy to "let go" but there's really no reason to feel that your self worth is any less in retirement. One of my friends travels a lot and he's very happy. The other is still adjusting but doing well. You will too. :cool:

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

The only reason not to retire or semi-retire from a 'full time job with 2 weeks vacation' is the fact that you truely can't afford it.

Only a few people will retire and go back to work because they really have no imagination or dreams.

Some people later in life are finally really making the 'big bucks' and can't quit.

If you have the money at 18 there is no real good reason to ever work.

Everyone says they don't know how they had time to work after they retire.

I would not retire if you are super thrifty because you won't have any fun anyway.

If your wife won't let you go anywhere just keep working.

We are brain washed into thinking it is wrong to retire too early.


I have a dozen or more stories of men who died before they retired. I guess they were not planning that to happen?

Lots of people retire a little earlier than they palnned after a stroke, 5 way bypass or prostate cancer......

.

[Digger]

I would retire tomorrow, if I could afford to, and then travel the US and the world.

I’ve been in the aerospace industry since the 80’s, and in theory I should be on the cusp of calling it quits.
Unfortunately, I estimate about ten more years of this before I really can.
Even though I’ve made back most of my 401K value of the last 5 years, I lost that time.

I see people that are working, and probably should retire, but they’re hanging on to the bitter end to collect the maximum benefits.
Some have nothing else in their lives, some have reached this pinnacle in their career and their ego won’t let them leave, some have debts or children to put through college, and others could be just greedy, I guess.
I think if you have nothing of true value to add and there are others who could further their careers, then you should probably step aside. (not me be by the way, I’m content with my responsibilities and will be happy to leave before I become unproductive)

It’s a crap shoot in some ways, thinking/planning for that time of your life, and as Bill says if some life changing medical event comes along, then what was it all for?

Tough choices, no matter where you are coming from.
I didn't see a Crystal Ball in the classifieds thread, so I'll keep at this for the time being.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Thanks Digger.....

If you are going fishing yearly while working longer I would say it is worth it.

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A friend who is a very serious "commando fly fisher" and is single, in his 60s, will reitre in the next year or two.

He will sell everything and buy a big diesel pickup and a big 5th wheel with slide outs.

Then he will fish till he can't go anymore...............trout and steelhead mostly.

I think he will probably live a long time with that new lifestyle?

.

[k9mark]

I was all ready to retire this past August when I turned 50. Working in law enforcement for the past twenty five years has taken a toll on my body. All that is gone now. The city I worked for decided they no longer wanted to pay for me so they drummed up a plan to file bankruptcy to do it. They broke my contract and destroyed my medical plan. I lost 30k from my salary and lost my house. My retirement has taken a big hit and my wife had to have two surgeries that my medical plan caused me almost 20k in bills. I've been fighting not to go bankrupt myself. So my future s bleak at best and will have to keep working until it probably kills me. I tell you if you can retire, get while the getting is good. You don't want to end up like me.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

That is very sad k9mark.......

I hope things go better for you in the future.

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I don't want to talk about this but many cities could be going bankrupt in the future and people who are retired and doing well could loose their pension if it is mismanaged.

Also Social Security and Medicare could collapse too.

Our medical plans that we have included in our retirements could go away too.

The way it is going I think all this is very possible.

Maybe some day we will all be living down on a river in an old RV with a blue tarp on it?

.

[DFrink]

Hey Mark, first off thank for your service! That's BS what Stockton did to their retirees. I feel for you.


I was all ready to retire this past August when I turned 50. Working in law enforcement for the past twenty five years has taken a toll on my body. All that is gone now. The city I worked for decided they no longer wanted to pay for me so they drummed up a plan to file bankruptcy to do it. They broke my contract and destroyed my medical plan. I lost 30k from my salary and lost my house. My retirement has taken a big hit and my wife had to have two surgeries that my medical plan caused me almost 20k in bills. I've been fighting not to go bankrupt myself. So my future s bleak at best and will have to keep working until it probably kills me. I tell you if you can retire, get while the getting is good. You don't want to end up like me.

[mar]

Thanks for the thought-provoking post Bill.
I 'retire' every weekend :D Lots of uncertainties in life, no doubt. My hats off the guys what were able to retire early.
As for me, I'll fish as much as I can without getting in too much trouble at home. Weekends, before/after work, sneaking out at night, etc. I'm very fortunate to have a very understanding boss at home and my kids haven't disowned me yet so I'll keep going. Will I be able to retire early or if at all? Only time will tell. I can only control what I can control. In the meantime, I will enjoy my precious time with my family and friends and fish like a madman whenever possible.