I was incentivized to retire at 64 last October. I'm still adjusting to the lack of structure, but other than that, I can't really see a downside. I was in tech/IT, and the youngsters are far more knowledgeable than I am about current technologies. Time for those guys to carry us, I put in my time and did my part.

I retired at 63. My job required weekly travel and international travel became so trouble prone that my stress level increased to the point it was no longer worth it. I would probably have kept going for a few years longer but my wife's disability required me to be home. Not sorry a bit.

I am right there with you. I turn 54 in a few weeks and my second child starts college this fall. So, I feel compelled to stick it out until I know what my true financial picture is, (merely one year from the official retirement windowif 55). That said. I've already worked too long to enjoy hanging with my parents. Dad just passed away a month ago, unexpectedly. I have corporate burn out something fierce (we spend ever more time on how to work rather than actually working), and could not care much less about the dick contest called "jockeying for position within the company". I have enough set aside that I could try another way of earning, with little risk. Medical could be a nightmare, though. Even with full retirement, premiums will cost >$1000 per month, just for me AND with a $3500+ deductible. If my son gets enough scholarships and work under new mgmt is the same old - same old, I might yet hang it up this year.

I was beyond 70 when my time came. The job was very physical and you had to know how things work. The Chinese products being afforded us were made for persons with small hands and mine are enormous. My eyesight was failing. The deciding factors: 1. I surrendered the lead man's position to a man so energetic, I was in his way. 2. Simple tasks I had performed for over 20 years were suddenly not so simple. I knew all those years, for instance, how to wire a new thermostat, but suddenly got the wires wrong and had to ask somebody.

My work is real physical so at some point my body will refuse to cooperate. On the other hand, Fred Becky climbed well into his 90's.

Almost 61, and have a similar vibe. Love my work, would almost do it for free, but am tired. I tend to regard retirement less as not working than as being picky about the work I do. I'm already there, at least as long as my current favorable gig lasts, and so long as I'm not picky about quantity of hours. My strategy is to take social security at full retirement age (66.5 in my case) and then decide whether to cut back. A lot depends on my health (I'm diabetic) and on how much unwanted drama there is in my life. Right now for example my 24 year old stepdaughter is in the middle of a cancer scare, her doctors can't figure out WTF is going on, and that could go either way. If she has a protracted medical situation and especially if she dies, my wife would freak out and life would be untenably ridiculous for a very long time, one way or the other. If (as is more likely) this blows over then some other actor will take a number and get in line to see what they can do to undermine my composure and equanimity. So ... it all depends on how much of a creepshow of unwanted drama my life is outside of work. If I'm distracted enough, I'll probably say "fuck it". If I can't enjoy the only thing in my life that has mostly "just worked" then I might as well at least sleep in mornings and have more time to walk and such. The other factor is that I don't really have as much put away for retirement as I'd like. If I reach a point where I have saved up more, I'll feel better about passing that mental Rubicon of considering myself "retired". I could retire now and get by if I were careful and everything worked out reasonably well but "everything worked out reasonably well" is not the pattern my life tends to follow.

Almost 55. Can't seem to find a job (in fairness, not trying hard enough). Not ready for retirement (half a meg isn't enough, I think)... about to give up...

I retire often, but it doesn't last. 1st time I hadn't turned 30, was at the top of my career, was told about 20 years before my next promotion, was offerred a decent pay increase to stay. But left anyway/ Have done it a few times since, sheesh I guess I would be wealthy if I stayed in any of them, but also may be dead from stress. Maybe I drop out rather than retire. I will be 60 in August, last day of August is planned to be my last day at wotk. Maybe, for now, until next time.

I did not decide to retire. The economy decided for me. I had a very nice part time job close to home. When the economy went into the toilet[thankyou GWB] so did my job.

I have no plans to retire from farming but, I do have plans to reduce the physical demands on me that raising cattle requires.

I worked various jobs before I was 30 then returned to school and completed my social work degree because I had a toddler and needed to earn enough to support him. With a BSW, working for the state social services was about the only thing available. When I started the job in '82 it was hard. Social workers did everything, we investigated abuse/neglect, worked with families to resolve problems, went to court, arranged foster care placement, supervised those placements, worked with families to make changes so their children could come home, if that failed, found families to adopt children who couldn't return home. We were "on call" 24/7, if police picked up a child at midnight they called us to come make arrangement for the child. There were other things as well but you get the idea. Despite the rigors of the job, I liked the job. It was not frequent but there were times when the rewards were tremendous, an abused kid in a great adoptive home, a family reunited after the parents learned better coping skills. Even when things didn't go great it was a job in the field I had chosen. Then the state (governor/legistature) launched into "privitization". First the services with families to prevent removal were farmed out to organizations, then foster care, followed by adoption went that way. Social workers did investigations and went to court. Aside from that our primary duty was "oversight"of the private providers. We were to be ultimately "responsible" for a case and if something went wrong, it would be on the social worker yet it soon became apparent that we had NO power. If we did not agree with a decision by a contractor, such as was it safe to return a child to the home, it didn't matter because we were forbidden to publically challenge the contractors plans or recommendations yet if the child then was injured or killed, WE were the one in the public eye. If the county attorney happened to be concerned and asked us we could reveal our concerns and if put on the stand we could express them as we were "under oath" but often we were not questioned by the CA or put on the stand. Our bosses expectation was that the contractors were responsible for court testimony so.... Dang turned into a long story. To shorten it, the job began to not be so great, then it got worse as tech became more important, we started having to enter data in computer programs about everything we did, then they tightened timeframes, data had to be entered within 24 hours of the action. The last 5 years I worked, after they had closed the majority of county offices, I traveled 150 miles (there and back) per day to cover in a district office outside my base. The only good thing about this was they provided a car because it WAS NOT my base, prior to that I traveled 70 miles a day to my assigned base. I began to hate the job. The last few years I worked it was only because I got insurance with the job and I was several years from Medicare age. I figured I'd wait it out until 65 then retire with 33 years on the job. As it turned out, the state really wanted to downsize staff. Although they ended up paying more for the same services when they privitized, they were committed to it, proclaimed it a great success (VERY red state) so cutting down staff on the state payroll fit their agenda. To that end, they offered "retirement with benefits" to those who had the mandatory "points" toward retirement, which after 29 years there, I did. The "benefits" was that they would pay for insurance for up to 5 years for those who took the out. Needless to say, I barely hesitated. I retired in 2011, they paid my insurance for a little over 4 years, before I turned 65 and got Medicare. I miss some of the people I used to work with and don't see often but as far as "THE JOB" I can say truthfully I have never once regretted the decision to get out! It hasn't all been great, I lost my dad 25 days after I retired and dealing with his "estate" was a bitch and my house is still half full of his stuff, gumming up some remodeling plans I had. But, as a whole, I have enjoyed retirement, probably more than any other time in my life. I go to bed when I want, get up when I want AND I get 8 hours of sleep most nights after YEARS of sleep deprivation. If I want to veg all day in front of the TV, I can. I garden, do projects I want to do (I have enough to last me until I'm 110) and take care of my pets. I know people who are "afraid" to retire because they think they will be bored, that they won't have anything to do. Being a person with a wide range of interests, that was never a concern for me. If you like to read, take walks, work on your car, write, do arts, crafts, visit museums, go antiquing, or even volunteering for local community things like delivering meals on wheels, doing household repairs for others. Pretty much ANYTHING that you might find enjoyable, you have time to do after you retire. Clearly, it is your decision to make but IMO, if you have the ability to retire and have had the "FI&R" thoughts more than a time or two, sit down and think it through in detail. Make lists, pros and cons, things you would LIKE to do but don't have time for, things you will miss about work. Those will help you make the right decision for you. Sorry this turned into a book but hope it was helpful.

Absolutely got to that point. In fact, the last year I worked, I began marking off the calendar everyday and made no bones about it. I was just tired of working anymore and let my manager know I was going to leave as soon as I could begin collecting my pension, which was at 59.5 yrs of age. I still did everything required of the job, but didn't care so much anymore about yearly reviews. That was in 2009, and I still think it was a good decision.

I retired at 56! I never looked back. I had a small military pension and a sugar momma (and a paid off mortgage). I became a full time volunteer. No more answering to others whims just doing what I wanted when I wanted. I had sense of giving back and satisfaction. the world under rates the contributions of volunteers. I am busier now than when I was working for money.

I was a year younger than you and started forgetting words during lectures. When they offered to pay those of us who were vested in the union or had 10 years at the college to retire, I said fuck yeah! I haven't looked back. I loved teaching. However, I LOVE being retired. You can always work at what you love regardless of pay or consult and still collect your pension. It's a win/win for me.

I worked because I needed money to live on. Had I been born into wealth or come about it in any way, I would never have worked. On the day I became eligible to retire I did so and do not plan to ever work again and do not think I will ever have too. Life is good.