Please retire as soon as you can.........seriously.

[SeanO]

Some better advice is just try to fish a little more as you go through life because it is more fun when your body works better.

Agree with you, Bill, but with the following..

The other side of the coin is to work on what you have a passion for, and try to make a difference when you can. I can't complain about working at UCD in fisheries genetics!

Best to all you retired guys (I am jealous!) and also to all of the guys who get out on the rivers day in and day out!

[k9mark]

Retire? Unless of course you work for an employer who broke your contract, filed bankruptcy, and caused you to lose 30k of your salary, lose your home, lose your car, oh, and destroy your Healthcare plan....I figure I'll die working now.

[Bob Scheidt]

I retired a month before I turned 58. My wife is 8 years older than me, and her Social Security pays the health insurance. That's a big $$ to figure in when you want to call it quits. I now ride my road bicycle with a friend 23 to 25 miles each morning, 3 times a week, hit the gym 5 times a week, still tying, do my own yardwork and do more fishing. Life is good. No kids, so we tried to save and invest while we were working.
Bill had talked to me about retiring many years ago, while I was tying flies at his store. He was very right about this one. I think the key is to stay busy and have things to do.

[Bob Loblaw]

I have a good 20 years to go! but I don't plan on working a single day past the first day I'm eligible to retire. I've worked my whole career in the private sector so there's no safe pension to rely on and no retiring at 50 or 55. I max out my 401K every month and make sure my wife does the same....and every time she suggests that we dial back on our contributions or even borrow from our retirement savings, I tell her to stop buying shoes! every new pair is one week longer I gotta work!

The hardest part about retiring early for someone like me is paying for healthcare. Until medicare kicks in at 65, retirement looks like a very expensive proposition.

[trouterfan1]

Have to agree with Mr. Kiene. I am grateful to have a job that will allow me to retire at a relatively young age of 50 with full medical for me and my wife. I have 10 years left for a 20 years of service pension but 13 years to reach retirement age of 50! dilemma...dilemma... at the tail end!

[Bob Loblaw]

If I knew then what I know now I'd have become a cop!

[Scott V]

If I knew then what I know now I'd have become a cop!

Or a State worker.

[Bob Loblaw]

Or a State worker.

my sister in law was hired in December by the Department of Corrections and I told her to make sure she signed the contract and was on the payroll by December 31. She didn't think it was a big deal and said she had a month to get the paperwork in.

I explained to her about the pension reforms that passed the Legislature last year and which kin in January 1, and what that would mean for her retirement.....she would be grandfathered in under the old rules if she was a State employee before the end of the year.....I think I saved her about $100,000 if she is retired for 20 years.

That's got to be worth a new fishing rod?

[k9mark]

If I knew then what I know now I'd have become a cop!

Better read my post again.

[midger]

I agree with Bill on retiring as soon as you can with the proviso that you have the bases covered financially so you have the ability to actually be able to afford to do whatever your passion happens to be. This is the sticky wicket in the "retire early" plan, as children needing help, failed marriages, failed businesses, etc can all throw a wrench into the best laid plans. I actually believe luck plays a large part, but planning effectively plays an even bigger part.

I first met Bill in his old store location in 1984 and used to shop frequently there. This was 10 years before my first retirement at age 44 from the military after 26 years. I then taught for enough time to become vested and snagged another retirement, then applied for SS as soon as I turned 62 (you can actually apply prior to your birthday so you don't lose any months of benefit). Like others have said, you can wait and draw more, but who knows what will happen while you wait.

Health also plays a large part, and sometimes we have little or no control over what genetics have dealt us. I've been fortunate to stay healthy and therefore very active. I jog daily, snow ski, hike, and fly fish often, do some pick up construction work when the mood strikes me, and wait for my wife to retire from her job, which hopefully will be soon but she's at the point where each year is really pushing her retirement up a lot, so she's been hanging in there for the last big boost and maximizing contributions to her 403b and our ROTH IRAs. We have health insurance through my retirement so that's covered. Health issues can devastate a retirement and ruin plans more quickly than any other factor so plan wisely.