Seniors: Did you retire from work too soon?

Is your life easier or more difficult now that you are no longer a member of the working class?

Public Comments

1. uh i not work i box and drink soda, i dont remember school, in my country we dont like school.
2. No, the work retired from me, and by mutual consent, we called it quits.
3. Yes. I retired at age 47 due to a stroke. I was too sick at first to miss working but as I recovered I missed being in the work world, at least part time. Now, at 60, however, I look back to the better years since age 47 and am thankful I don't have to keep up that pace anymore. If I could work now, I would want to be a Walmart door greeter.
4. Easier. Don't have to get up in the wee hours of the morning. And I retired early, too. I was fortunate in having a fantastic retirement system, so finances are not a problem. Love it.
5. Nope. I was 65 when I retired and I don't miss having to get up and go to work.
6. I think I did but at the time our company had changed hands, the working atmosphere wasn't the same. My retirement date was May and in December, the new management said my services were no longer required. A very good package was negotiated because the Equal Opportunities Commission would have been appraised of the discharge. With a couple of hobbies and two consulting contracts I was occupied for another two years, took long vacations, saw much of the country and had a ball. Once the ego was satiated, I felt very satisfied being a member of ther leisure class. Also, a few Quid in the investment community and local bank helped ease the " pain".
7. Nope. At age 60 just right. easier, no time clock to worry about.
8. I don't think you could ever retire too soon. Work is the pits!!!!
9. I still work one day a week for financial reasons and most of the time I consider that one day too many to work! I love being semi-retired. My life is much easier and less stressful. Money has always been a problem and continues to be, but I need less than I did while I was working.
10. No, I just lived to long after I retired and ran out of money.
11. Easier. I was 49 when I retired.
12. its great not having to work, the problem is money is tighter,and I have to think before I spend it,but I would not go back to work for all the gold in Fort Knox.
13. got forced out of working for employers due to a back disability. Getting something new going has been a bear.
14. i am unemployed, staying at home doing nothing in the beginning was too bad , now have got used to it, so i make use of what i have, urdu books, russian web, yahoo browser, hindi stories, punjabi food, tamil paintings, learnt that use what life has offered me
15. No, I wish I could have done it years ago...I enjoyed working but never loved it.....
16. no i had my retirement all mapped out so it was not a shock == if life easier -=- yes and no -=== yes not stress and no real worries no -- more physical work since i heat with wood (by choose) and had a lot of pets (big pets) to care for but i would never go back!!!
17. What is Retired? Social Security goes only so far... rent, utilities and dire necessities... Then you have to work if you want to eat... And I like to eat! I work part time to eat and volunteer part time to keep myself busy (and out of trouble with the wife). But like most Pastors I'll never retire... I love what I do too much to retire.
18. Possibly, less income of course -- but I ain't sorry.
19. My life is good since I retired...I still miss some of the people, but the stress is gone, and I am free to do my own thing, when and where, and as I like it.....I live in a very relaxed atmosphere, and have the time to travel, visit, or rest, without having to be at the office, or on call 24/7......Retirement has been good for me.....
20. I am in sort of a forced, not planned, hopefully temporary early retirement..... trying to find work. Yes too early but not my choice.... I miss the money.....I need the money. I don't miss the insanity and the pressure though.
21. No, the time was just right. I was starting to burn out. Life is a lot easier. No more getting up at 5:30 to go to work.
22. I retired because I wanted to, I owned my own business and my daughter took it over. I still keep my hand in occasionally and I do some art work for additional income, but I am loving retirement! My hubby is retiring in June, and that will leave us both free to do some things together.
23. Yes I sure did, its much better to be a working member of the world. Retirement isn't want its cracked up to be.
24. Retiring earlier than I'd expected was not by choice. I had a botched foot surgery & wasn't able to go back to a job that I dearly loved. (prison employee) I had to have a second surgery to repair part of the damage that could be corrected. I still couldn't return to work even on light duty because that wasn't an option offered to me bu Human Resources. I had to accept what was & in the following years, I went through a divorce, but later, I met a wonderful man, & we left Ohio & moved south, so I could be closer to my family. We're financially comfy. I have much to be thankful for, especially since I know that so many others, are worse off than me.
25. I really just changed jobs and took less hours. My life is alot easier and if I could change anything, it would be that I would not have to work at all. Probably because what I do for a retirement job is so close to the bad parts of my past full-time job, I wonder why I retired. My happiness and probably my mental health is definitely better now as is my wife's. Life is pretty spanky.
26. I quit working when I had my kids. I had them when I was 32 & 36 so they wore me out real fast. Now that I look back I wish I would have kept my foot in the door and worked at least a couple days a month. Then when I was about to go back to work my mom became ill and needed daily help so I took care of her for 9 years. Now I feel too old to do what I did back then. So I'm kind of in limbo because I do still have some good years left and I don't know what to do. My life is easier now because my girls are grown and my mom died a couple years ago.
27. I've retired to early, (to raise my son) My life is exremly difficult with all the day to day bills. But there will come a day when I return to the workforce. This was all by choice, and right now I'm not regretting it. I love not having a schedule and the stress.
28. The company I was working for downsized and I was forced out after over 17 years at age 58. I decided to take early retirement. I have been working part time ever since. Although I make only about half the money I was making, I like working part time. I turned 62 last year and get SS, so I'm doing OK. I will continue working part time as long as I can.