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[Bar-B-Lew]

I believe that a good way to prepare for events in life is to learn from others experiences.  That is the background for these questions.

How did you know you were ready to retire?
How did you replace the time you had filled with working hours with something else?
What were your biggest surprises to date in retirement?
Would you retire at the same age if you could do it over again?

[Brushpopper]

Here's part of my reason why:

How did you know you were ready to retire?  Tired of shift work and having to get into physical altercations frequently.  The folks we were apprehending stayed the same age and I was getting older and slower.

How did you replace the time you had filled with working hours with something else?  That's easy.  Became a step and fetch it for my wife.  And finally watched Game of Thrones, The Pacific and Band of Brothers.  And I found out about pellet grills.  Best thing ever!

What were your biggest surprises to date in retirement?  It was easy to find part time work doing what I do now.

Would you retire at the same age if you could do it over again?  In a heartbeat.  Finally getting to be a dad to my teen daughter.   

[Jcorwin818]

I was going to retire at 62 at the end of 2008 but the company made me a buy out offer in March of 2008 which I could not pass up.
First couple of years the wife and I traveled a lot and just enjoyed ourselves.  After that she was having trouble with me being around 7 days a week so I got a part time job at Ace Hardware, also went through or local Citizens Police Academy and Fire Academy and do some volunteer work plus like working in the yard and around the house.
Would I do it again at 62 heck yes.

Good luck and enjoy what ever you do.

[Kristin Meredith]

How did you know you were ready to retire?
-- Kind of a long and convoluted story.  If you really want to know all the ins and outs, pm me.  But the biggest factor was financial security for the lifestyle I wanted (which is pretty modest,but I didn't want to have to worry about it, especially financing my own health insurance from 57 to 65).

How did you replace the time you had filled with working hours with something else?
-- I took a class and became a Cooperative Extension Master Gardener and spend time doing volunteer activities in the community with gardens and education (have have several events planned at James Madison's Montpelier this spring if anyone is in the area  );  raise service puppies (lots of organizations need puppy raisers for any of you folks out there looking for something in retirement);  joined the local Volunteer Fire Dept Aux and now do lots of cooking to raise funds for our FD;  taught English as a Second Language with our local literacy council (there is a big need for volunteer ESL teachers and you don't need a teaching background); design, plant and maintain my home landscape -- a never ending project -- and pretend to be a vegetable gardener; participate in our annual logging operations; help with this forum; be a slug a lot of the time which is easy for me. There are many more things I could volunteer for -- volunteers are in very short supply anymore -- libraries, schools, civic clubs and groups, food closet, our local winter inside shelter for overnight supervisors, Habitat for Humanity.  We desperately need Master Gardeners and Aux members and puppy raisers, so I know all these other groups do also. I am now looking into taking on-line history classes through Oxford University.  If I lived in a town with a University, I would probably take some classes.
 
What were your biggest surprises to date in retirement?
--How much my health insurance premiums have gone up each year.

Would you retire at the same age if you could do it over again?
--yes, probably even earlier if I wasn't so paranoid about having a stock pile of money so I didn't become a bag lady.

[hughver]

1. I'm basically lazy and I only worked because I needed to eat and have place to live, Oh, and support my wife and five kids. Retired at 57, kids all gone and divorced wife.

2. During my working career, I had nearly a hundred of my employees ask me the same question. My advice to them was to make a list of all the times during their life that they were somewhere or doing something that they could not either stay or do more of it because of work and prioritize the list. Start with doing the first item and proceed down the list. I'll almost guarantee that you  will not reach the end.

3. No surprises other than that getting old sucks, I followed my own advice above.

4. Heck yes, earlier if I could have afforded it.

[silverbullet]

I retired a month (March) before I turned 62. I hauled U.S.mail for the past 13 years working a split shift 6 days a week. I couldn't do it anymore. My boss was getting worse by the day, Trucks were junk.
I got sick, So sick I couldn't recover so I was put on antibiotics. Then I got a condition called C Dif from the antibiotics, Got some meds to treat that & had a allurgic reaction from that. I was a sick dude for quite a while.

I took my three weeks vacation & never went back to work there. Took the summer off, Rode motorcycles, Camped, spent a lot of money!

Got a part time job at a catering company, I love it! The lady is super to work for. 8am to 2pm Monday to Friday. I drive a Lunch truck, I do a morning route come back load for the lunch route, Have lunch, load truck with condiments & leave. Its easy, I interact with people, It keeps me active. Keeps me in fun money!

[Canadian John]

 Retired @ 54. Conditions were right so I did it.  As how do you know - It feels right..  What do I do to pass the time?? Not an issue as I have lots to do and more..I just can't sit around doing nothing..The house, car and cooking work is endless as I like to maintain and repair things..I am a big believer in preventative maintenance... Then there are the grandchildren.

[dk117]

bump.   Those of us with 10 or more years to go until retirement are watching this thread with interest.

DK

[rwalters]

bump.   Those of us with 10 or more years to go until retirement are watching this thread with interest.

DK

BUMP x2

[Bentley]

Thought it was just me...

1. I'm basically lazy and I only worked because I needed to eat and have place to live...

[hokiepop]

1. When I physically could no longer perform my job.   Getting on roofs and crawling under houses is for younger folks!

2. I am still struggling to fill my time during the day, especially during the winter when I can't garden or fish.

3. How much less income I need to maintain my lifestyle-listening to all the so called "financial experts" had me convinced that
    I could not retire until was 70.

4. I tell everyone who asks me to retire as early as you can while you still have your health.   No amount of money can
    recover the years lost.

[okie smokie]

I believe that a good way to prepare for events in life is to learn from others experiences.  That is the background for these questions.

How did you know you were ready to retire?
How did you replace the time you had filled with working hours with something else?
What were your biggest surprises to date in retirement?
Would you retire at the same age if you could do it over again?

Age 67, had a good IRA and annuity income and figured that 6% or better return a year would last
First I fixed everything in the house, delivered meals on wheels, and did some traveling.
Biggest surprise was how easy it was to get bored if not busy.
Would probably wait till 70, as I had great health.
(solution to the boring part is I discovered golf and now it is my profession.  Playing 3 times a week (even in the winter if weather allows).  Never played before 70.  3 holes in one--all in the first 18 months. Now 82 and still playing.  What more is there?

[pz]

Retired as soon as I could at 62 even though I loved my job. I do not have longevity in my family history and wanted to be sure to experience what it is like to be a kid again, with no responsibilities. Now just over a year into retirement, I can say that I have absolutely no regrets. Of course I've heard the stories about being bored, regretting retirement early and such, but I've not experienced that even for a moment.

As to the experience so far, it has been one of the best of my life. I do not plan my days, do not ever have an agenda, and each day I wake up wondering what I will do that day. At the end of that day I find that I have either accomplished something useful, or that I have done nothing that an adult finds "accomplished". Either way, I feel completely satisfied that I have survived another day, and look forward to waking up the next morning to do the same.

As an example, a couple of moths ago I woke up that morning and decided to build a generator shack that included places for garden tools, which morphed into the addition of a wood shed - a project I would not have done when I was working. A spur of the moment decision to do something that was very satisfying, and since then I have done many things I never imagined I would do.

The bottom line for me is that retirement has become something I never would have dreamed of, and I am thankful that I decided to retire as early as I could. Of course, financially preparing for retirement is an absolute must. For me, investing in my own retirement packages to the point where Social Security is not needed was the target point.

To sum it up, imagine what it felt like to be a kid on summer vacation all those decades ago, and then apply it to how you would feel today being on vacation for the rest of your life.

[jeff_in_md]

I retired almost 2 years ago exactly.   I had been eligible for about  a year and a half and then had a pulmonary embolism that just about killed me.    Something like that makes you really contemplate your work/life balance.    About six week later my father went into hospice.   After that I said screw work, life is too short and I was lucky to have a second chance at it, so I filled out the paperwork and said good bye.

Retiring was one of the things that motivated me to get a pellet grill!  I knew I was gonna need a hobby!       Walks, biking, going to the movies more, flea markets, etc.

All the previous times I had considered retirement, I thought I'd really miss work.   Guess what, I don't!  I thought it would be a tougher transition but it was very easy.

I would definitely retire at the same age, if not a little earlier.   Though I had the PE, I'm still able to be pretty active.    I saw far too many people still at work using canes, walkers, lots of mobility & health issues.    What's retirement going to be like for them, presuming they ever take it?     

[Bar-B-Lew]

keep the replies coming as i appreciate the information

common theme....most would have retired earlier