Retirement

[basil]

My husband is newly/not so newly on a kick of "FIRE" (financially independent, retire early). I think it's an offshoot of Dave Ramsey-ish behavior. Basically building a big enough nest egg that one can live off the returns and never touch the principal. He has been reading books, listening to podcasts, going on forums, etc.

By his estimates, we may be able to achieve this in 10-15 years, working hard and saving aggressively. We have 10 years left on our mortgage so that would be paid off, and we have saved a lot for college. We are 40-42 years old. Since our kids are 5 and 8, this would also occur around the time of the kids going off to college/empty nest time.

But I don't think that my husband actually wants to retire! I really can imagine him working as long as possible. He has never NOT worked since he got his first job in high school. His identity is really attached to his job. He doesn't have any real hobbies and has never seemed interested in picking any up. I'm pretty confident he would be miserable as a 50 year old retired person (and FWIW he doesn't disagree).

On the other hand, I don't have a problem filling my time while I'm not working. I definitely feel like I could work LESS, but I know I would have a hard time with complete retirement. I also have the suspicion that I won't mind working as much once the kids leave the house. Those 6 pm meetings that I hate so much because it means planning dinner ahead of time and rushing home to get there before bedtime wouldn't be such a big deal (and my colleagues who are empty nesters seem to confirm this, as they are the ones always scheduling them!) But I could be wrong and I could love having the ability to walk away from my job when I hit 55.

At what age do you plan to retire? Would you retire early if you could? How do you/will you feel about work once the kids leave home?

[catsnkid]

I can retire at 55 with pension due to having a state job and having started it relatively young. DS will be out of college at that point. I'm single right now. I think I'd like to start a part time job that would be fulfilling and sustain me until my social security kicks in.

[JBaxter]

DH is 53 and realistically plans to work for at least 10 more years my guess is more. Our youngest is 11 we still have a mortgage but thats really the only thing we have and its at some crazy low interest rate ( like 3%) I cant wait for my 16 yr old to head to college ( hes a PITA right now) DH will probably do consulting at least part time when he does retire and golf. I will keep on keeping on. We will probably travel a bit but he likes his profession and I cant see him just sitting home and golfing everyday He'd drive ME nuts.

[marinkitty]

We are planning on 55ish. It isn't actually that far away as we are 49 now. That will coincide with our youngest heading off to college (of course, our oldest will be done and could be back home the way things seem to go with a lot of college grads these days so this is all pretty tentative at this point). I don't think that retirement will initially be a full retirement, for either of us. DH will still do some sort of job, but not his current career that is super demanding, both of his time and energy. I've already transitioned - left big law years ago and now have a hodgepodge of very part time stuff - investment properties, consulting on design and travel projects. I've thought about a more formal job for about the past five years, but for various reasons haven't pulled the trigger and the closer we get to that retirement age, the less I think I'm likely to go back to more traditional work. For me, continuing and maybe building on what I'm doing now works best, I think. The consulting side of things could grow and we might add more investment properties to manage. I could see DH teaching a class either at his alma mater or our law school and I could see him doing consulting work as well. We both want the freedom to travel starting at that age, so whatever we decide to take on will need to be part time and flexible. I think both of us have plenty of hobbies to explore, though DH will certainly have the bigger adjustment from working so much of his time in a professional environment whereas I'm already at home.

[legaleagle]

We are 42/41 and I can't imagine either of retiring for a really long time. Not really in the cards anyway as we have 4 kids (11-4) and not nearly enough saved for college. We do max out our IRAs/401(k). DH definitely enjoys his profession (computer/IT) and has the freedom to move to many different industries/companies because he was an really wide range of experience in various industries, and he's done freelance stints occasionally as well. I'm a lawyer but it's a tiny family firm, I can basically work as much as I want to, and I really like my specialty (estate planning). Neither of us expect to inherit any kind of life changing amounts of money either.

[AnnieW625]

I am 42 and DH is 45. I started working for the state government when I was 22 years old and I could retire at 55 (which is the earliest you can retire without a pension penalty) and I would have 33 years of service and my pension would provide me with 66% of my highest level of take home pay at that time. If I can stay until I am 57 that percentage goes up to 70%. I work in insurance though and it is a somewhat stressful and busy job so I honestly don’t know how long after 55 I will hang in there. Dh will retire the year he is 60 and he will have 30 years of service at that time so he will get 60% of his highest take home pay. There is a lot of consulting in Dh’s line of work (air quality) so he has said he will most likely start consulting after he retires; he just knows he doesn’t want to keep a 9-6 desk job once he turns 60.

Dd1 will be 26 when I turn 55 so she will be out of undergrad and most likely in grad school (she is currently thinking about something in the medical field), and Dd2 should just be getting done with undergrad. If my job isn’t stressful then I could see myself working until 57, but I honestly think after I turn 55 I will be looking at retirement every couple of months to see when it makes the most sense. Tbh though if me working longer helps out my kids in the long run I may chose to continue working as long as both my mental and physical health are fine.

We will most likely be paying a mortgage until our late 60s or early 70s. I think this will be the norm for those of us born at the end of generation X who couldn’t afford to buy houses before 2005. Those who were born in the early part of generation X are still okay especially if they bought a condo for $85k-$150k in the late 90s before the market went sky high the first time. We are buying a house in the next few months in a high COL area (but for CA could be considered medium to high, but for the rest of the US it would be considered high....average home price is $450k) so we will start out with a 30 year loan and maybe refi to a 15 year loan once the kids are out of college, but at that point it may not save us a whole lot of money anyways.

I earned my 20 years of state service this month and now have lifetime medical coverage until I reach Medicare age. I am very proud of this.

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[Melaine]

Retirement doesn’t even seem feasible at this rate. But it’s possible I will go back to work giving us two incomes which would make it easier. We are 38 and 37. Our only debt is the house but still...money is really tight. Hoping DH gets some opportunities for more income. Homeschooling has definitely affected our financial status. Sometimes I wonder.

[ged]

I fear I may never be able to retire Single mom, went back to workforce at age 42 bc ex husband blew ALL our savings. I receive no spousal or child support. Living month to month, if not day to day.

[erosenst]

DH and I are older than many on this board (! ) and therefore have friends who are as well. A surprising number thought that they were going to retire at 55(ish) but then realized the implications of losing healthcare through their employer. For those planning "under 65" suggest you learn as much as you can about that first.

I carry the insurance for our family, although DH has recently been able to get at least 'decent' through his job. I plan to work til at least 65 for that reason alone. DD will be out of college, but just - some will depend on the insurance she is able to get then.

[Liziz]

DH and I are older than many on this board (! ) and therefore have friends who are as well. A surprising number thought that they were going to retire at 55(ish) but then realized the implications of losing healthcare through their employer. For those planning "under 65" suggest you learn as much as you can about that first.

I carry the insurance for our family, although DH has recently been able to get at least 'decent' through his job. I plan to work til at least 65 for that reason alone. DD will be out of college, but just - some will depend on the insurance she is able to get then.

Yes, this is big! Factoring in sufficient health insurance pre-65 adds a lot, especially if you're used to a fairly robust coverage through a job. I too know people who planned retirement around Medicare eligibility (and would have retired earlier if it weren't for that).