At what age do you plan to retire?

And to answer the question about age/change: I've never had much money (too many years coaching) so I've really never imagined a not-working time. My spouse is nearly 67 and she too has no plans to stop--works at a medium-size firm in the financial industry and the culture there is work-till-you-drop, which suits her fine.

About to turn 50. Plan has always been to retire at 55. I qualify for a pension that will provide most of what I need to live. I also have side investments to add to that. I will consider retiring at 52 or 53, but if I do so the pension doesn't kick in until age 60. So I would need roughly $50k per year to live on from age 52/53 to age 60. This would be cash that isn't in an investment account for retirement. I have $340k of it right now. My wife is six years younger than me so that helps.

The answer to the question, "At what age do you plan to retire?" is, "As soon as I'm financially able."

I'm 47 and have a net worth of about $1.4M. I'm on track to pay my house off by age 55 and my kids would be on track to finish college (undergrad) when I'm about 57.

That would be the absolute earliest, age 57, albeit unlikely. But a lot of it depends on how my investments do, how expensive my kids college educations end up being, inflation, what lifestyle I'll likely be living when retired, potential inheritances (or lack thereof) and other factors.

For now, the plan is to keep hammering as much money as possible into the 401K, accumulate as much company stock as I can, pay off the house, and get my kids through school. I know that the more I do those things, the closer I'll be.

64 now. When I was young I thought I’d want to retire as early as possible — say kid-50s. We have $2M saved so could retire but I’m making bank and still enjoying my work. Not sure exactly what I’d do with myself with 365 days a year of vacation.

I’m 50.

I used to think 65 was the target.

Then 65-70 range.

Right now I don’t have any goal age for retirement.

I don’t plan for it all.

If I put an age on it, maybe 80 for regular work.

But that would be in an ownership or leadership position where I am overseeing the work of others.

I don’t plan for it because I don’t want to look forward to it. I want enjoy the now.

The future is just closer to death or at least slowing down.

Maybe that will change again.

I feel like crying reading these threads.

I’m 46 and picked the wrong profession.

I’m a Physical Therapist and spent the first seven years out paying off debt. Then my wife’s debt for her advanced nursing Masters.We have no kids and are minimalists.

No TV , rare vacations, don’t buy gifts for relatives Bday. No toys, only trail running shoes and a nice Vitamix. Cars 7-10 yrs old and paid off. Wife decided she no longer wants to work. She’s happy now so all good.

We finally bought a home last year. Hey California is hard to buy a home in when you get zero family help. Yeah I’m somewhat envious that our families suck and that we both picked professions where we work out a$$es with no big compensation. I’ll never retire. Just basic living costs a fortune out here. The rest of you guys make me want to crawl in a hole and die.

I thought nurses made decent money, in NY they do. The important thing is that you enjoy your work. If you do then don't think about retiring. More important is that you and your wife enjoy each other.

I have worked with a financial planner for the past five years. Im 42 and and we have penciled in age 62. The wife and I have a combined $1 million in the bank, but we have a child in elementary school right now and college is on the way in a decade and some change.

I’m currently contributing 15% of my paycheck to retirement.

My hope is that I can continue to work in my field (tech) without ageism rearing it’s head. I’m very concerned about this, to be frank. I’m not sure I can make it through unscathed in the next 20 years.

Age 62. 2.5 more years. Hope I can make it tell then. I have an extremely stressful job that I don't like right now that I've been at for 3.5 yrs now. Wish I hadn't made a couple of mistakes that I did. If not for that I would have retired at 56.

What is your income? At our peak, we earned $200k but managed to amass a net worth of $2.5M at 45 and it has increased in retirement to $3.5M.

If you own a home in California then you'll probably have a ton of equity in 10-20 years. You'll definitely be able to retire if you're willing to move, especially if you go to a cheaper area of the world. A lot of retirees live really comfortably in South America on just Social Security.

Maybe your wife should get back to work.

Almost 59 now. I was an hourly electrician until I was 35 . Still single no children , from that point on I began a life of semi-retirement without financial security. Got married , wife 36 me 38, and had starting having kids. I was doing some projects and had a nice house almost paid for but no savings., Wife had no money> I paid off her last 10 or 15 k or college debit, I don't remember what it was. She was a part time college teacher. We split the income earning and stay at home thing pretty evenly and she gradually gained , a part time contract ,then a full time contract . I took care of the kids more, which I made clear I wanted to do when we started "getting serious" dating. She said she didn't want a man who upset her career ambitions.

So I got married without a real job, have a terrific wife who is now a college administrator, two houses paid off, one a rental, social security kicking in soon (and I will take it as early as possible), brand new 20 year life insurance policies. Wife about to inherit . Wife will gain decent retirement but work until 65.

Yes, it was hard living without financial security and I have worried a long the way. My wife doesn't really tend to worry.

Still not a lot of savings but not real financial insecurity either.

Lately, I have been volunteering quite a bit as a public advocate, giving it my all, because it is a type of philanthropy I can afford.

I consider going back into the workforce, but don't have to. It would be to ease the cost of college and find something I like to do. Maybe property management.

Marriage is a huge part of retirement planning.

Divorce throws the calculations out the window.

lease wrote:

Just turned 69. Plan to work as long as I'm physically able.

That said: I've scaled back considerably on my temp law gigs. Plan to continue college coaching (currently: part-time pay, full-time commitment) until I can't get a job anymore.

Same here. Wouldn't know what to do with the extra time. I'd rather work and pay someone else to do things like decorating on the house.

I'll retire whenever I want. I work on my own terms and have various ways of making money. I'm not a retirement sheep who has set guidelines and restrictions to follow from a smug authoritarian figure. I could retire tomorrow and not give five damns about it. Since I work on my own terms, I kind of feel "retired" already. I ain't in no rat race and I will not be controlled by a selfish totalitarian entity.

X-Runner wrote:

Marriage is a huge part of retirement planning.

Divorce throws the calculations out the window.

If it happens at the wrong time ,for sure, We could live independently, but even if we didn't like each other too much it would be stupid. I don't usually like the substitute "partner" for wife, spouse, husband, better half etc. but that element of partnership is big in so many ways.

Just turned 40. Retiring at 43. Military. Not wealthy but with retirement pay I should be able to be comfortable. Wifey will probably work, at least part time. She wants to.

Sorry, Dear God. But your life is good. Those of us retiring early often sacrificed some prime years to make the extra money.

I'm 55 working two days/week because I'm too burnt out to work more. I'll probably retire at the end of this year, not because I'm sure I can afford it, but because I'm sure I'll die young and miserable if I don't.