At what age did you, or do you plan to retire?

[surfinJ]

59, only due to union rules. Could have kept it going but decided for free time. Six months later the virus hit. Clobbered and still clobbering my old industry.
Dogged the bullit.

I love it, best time of my life. The financial platter requires adjustment. And exceptantes.
But I feel lucky and enjoy all the ‘free’ stuff.

[Beasho]

I just re-read the entire thread and am Bumping (to the top):

My wife and I used to say 5 years is infinity. In 5 years you could get divorced, have someone die, lose your job, go bankrupt . . . .

In the last 364 days I had my mother die, inherited my father who could not take care of himself and adopted a friend of my daughters who came from an abusive family situation.  We went from a family of 5, and an empty nest, to a family of 7 with 2 more people living in the house.  We now say 1 year is infinity. 

This thread had great insights but is now 5 years old.  In 2017 foiling was in its infancy, winging had not been invented, TSLA was $65 a share and this was all before COVID and the invasion of Ukraine to name a few things. 

People were talking about 2, 3 and 5 year expectations to retirement (some longer).  Most names were well known Zoners.  Some people have disappeared.

Question:  How is it all turning out 5 years later?

[Dusk Patrol]

Beasho sorry about your mom and I admire your taking care of the others who need some help right now.   

AS for me I don’t know….
I’m 59 now, and am getting schedules thrown in front of me: Your benefits are $X, $Y or $Z if you retire at 62, 63, or 64…. that sort of thing. All making it a little more real.  So part of my timing decision will be based on that … when I will personally feel OK with the time/benefit tradeoff. The last red administration was admittedly pretty good for the retirement savings, making me optimistic about actually retiring, but recently that has faded as have the retirement funds. THEN I consider what goes when the job goes … contributing… the daily problem solving at a level that simply isn’t available in private life.  Aren’t I supposed to keep the brain working to stave off dementia? THEN I consider those who say they wish they had retired earlier, and they never look back.   I like my job. But I don’t like the constant weight of never really being free of the work.  So I’m just going to press on for the next few years until the equation becomes more clear. 

[B-Walnut]

I’m 38 now and if I give up windsports could probably retire at 39. Haha.  Honestly targeting 50 for primary retirement but will likely work 1/2 time until my hands and mind give up since I enjoy my work so much.

[PonoBill]

I've been retired for more than ten years now. I have no idea how I ever had time to work. I have a modified outlook on Beasho's 5 years is infinity (but yeah, it is) and that is "hell is other people". My wife and I spend an inordinate amount of time and money looking after family, some of whom are squared away and capable, don't need any help from us or anyone, and some of whom are endlessly fucked, either from their own actions (or inactions), or bad luck, or age and disease. We try not to create dependencies, but family is family and if we can and must help, we do.

It's worthwhile to factor that into your retirement plans. Everyone's situation is unique but you can expect both you and your spouse to start having health issues (I'm dealing with Afib and a bum knee, my wife has two bad knees (arthritis) and type one diabetes). Getting older isn't for sissies, but it's not just you, it's everyone around you.

That sounds a lot like boo, hoo, poor me--it's not. I have a great life and I still play hard. But it does seem like once the stress and effort of making a business run are gone a new set of issues takes their place. It makes some sense to prepare yourself for that.

[SlatchJim]

Bill,
My son has the investment bug and I was telling him about your book on retirement.  Sure enough, I clicked the link and got the "fail" screen.  Is there another way to that gem of wisdom.  We want to go over it together and compair what I've done vs his plan (probably not a ton of variation).  We're sharpening the blades of why we work, what we do, and how we choose to live now.  I really enjoyed your "Man-up and take charge" message for people worrying about retirement. 

(PS...I know we don't all frequent the Zone as much as the SUP heyday, so an answer whenever you get a chance is appreciated)

[sflinux]

I am interested in reading your book The Retirement Trap  too.
Best I could find is the table of contents:
https://web.archive.org/web/20210811175228/https://retirement.pressbooks.com/

[surfafrica]

I retired the month I turned 48. It's been 2 years--I just turned 50. My decision came right as the pandemic was winding down. I had the opportunity to sell my business (after 21 years of hard work) and I realized if I did, and kept my spending in check, I could retire without sacrificing my standard of living. I've been a very disciplined investor since I was 19--nothing exciting, just slow and steady, so that helped too.

My late 30s & 40s were full of injuries and surgeries (15 total), and being so messed up for so long changed my perspective on how I wanted to spend my 50s and beyond. My body is pretty compromised, but I've figured out my boundaries and have accepted them (hard to do). I have to put time in daily for body maintenance--I've become pretty obsessed with it. Zone 2 cardio, strength training, saunas, cold plunges, focused eating, etc. It's helping me participate in some of the things I really enjoy. But it takes time. I don't think I could keep up with it all if I was working. 

So now, I spend my days working on my fitness, enjoying time with my teenage kids, and exploring any wormhole hobby that keeps my mind inspired. I'm rarely, if ever, bored and usually have some sort of "to do" list on the go. I feel privileged to be in this situation and am thankful for it everyday.

[Bean]

I sat with my financial guy just a couple of weeks ago and he asked me this very question.  At age 62, I really don't have a good answer, I like what I do and the people are great.  I suppose there is a certain insecurity and even possibly a fear of missing out in leaving the routine.  How silly is that... 

 

[B-Walnut]

Jokingly, I feel like I retired at 18 but have occasionally worked the odd job for a little extra cash from time to time.

Seriously, I’m 39 and would argue we’re semi retired right now. I’m in the water 150 days a year and could easily work more, play less, to retire sooner, but I like the balance of a little of both and intend to build for as long as I can.

[eastbound]

still running my business and trading lots -- still surfing and skiing as much as possible -- so far, no reason to retire, tho i will eventually -- gotta wake up on the other side at some point -- i am 65yo and have not been unemployed since i was in college -- saver, not a spender, ive saved plenty for me and mine

lotta factors, but hate spending savings, and, if i retire, there will be no situation remotely as nice as ive now -- but im not dogmatic -- a partner, who was the last guy id think would be happy retiring, told me he aint looked back -- sadly, tho the guy is a fitness fanatic, he just had a stent dropped and and a carotid cleanout -- yikes

[PonoBill]

I'm a bit surprised anyone remembers that I was working on a book called the retirement trap. I barely did. I never finished it, it's got a lot of scratch pad stuff in it that I never developed or edited, and it's never been edited for style, brevity, accuracy or even decent grammar and spelling. But here you go: this link should work: https://www.ponostyle.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Retirement-Trap-1663863538.pdf

[Caribsurf]

I go back and forth on this question all the time. I am 63 my wife is 50 and we own a sales agency and rep different brands in the Caribbean. It's profitable,  fun and every island trip a business expense, so I don't see me retiring for a few years but you never know.  `

[PonoBill]

I go back and forth on this question all the time. I am 63 my wife is 50 and we own a sales agency and rep different brands in the Caribbean. It's profitable,  fun and every island trip a business expense, so I don't see me retiring for a few years but you never know.  `

There's no good reason to retire if your work doesn't beat the shit out of you. I have some acquaintances in Hood River who do physically taxing labor, but they are making 2 to 3X more money than they ever did before and can't find anyone to take over their business. Retirement was a useful concept when people died at 60. Not so much when you will probably see 90.

[Caribsurf]

I go back and forth on this question all the time. I am 63 my wife is 50 and we own a sales agency and rep different brands in the Caribbean. It's profitable,  fun and every island trip a business expense, so I don't see me retiring for a few years but you never know.  `

There's no good reason to retire if your work doesn't beat the shit out of you. I have some acquaintances in Hood River who do physically taxing labor, but they are making 2 to 3X more money than they ever did before and can't find anyone to take over their business. Retirement was a useful concept when people died at 60. Not so much when you will probably see 90.

Good point Bill.  The job was grueling pre Covid when I was expected to travel a lot and that sucked at times.  Customers learned during Covid a zoom call can be as good as a physical sales call, so we pick and choose our trips and make sure they are fun and involve water sports and rum.