These were the teasing words of my friend, LM, as a group of us rode to the Capitola Wine and Art Festival a few weekends ago. We were discussing retirement, a popular topic with my friends. Of the five of us on this excursion, four of us are retired. Three of the four, myself included, have continued to work part-time in our retirement. My friend, LM, is the exception and he likes to remind us he "knows how to do retirement." LM loves his leisurely lifestyle that includes playing golf three times a week, and he is fortunate to live in a 55+ community that has an 18-hole golf course among its many amenities.
On the other hand, I do not play golf nor does my dh, and although we have hobbies and interests, we also have ample time on our hands. So we chose to take part-time work, not just to keep busy but also to help the university fill a need. We will continue our jobs until mid-December of this year. Then we will begin some serious traveling that will take us far and away for months at a time. This is something we have planned and are looking forward to... new adventures exploring the big wide world.
The reality is that we Boomers are redefining what it means to be retired, and there is no set way to do it. I recently read an article,
For me, a "successful" retirement means having choices and more control over my life. One of the best payoffs of 30+ years of saving and planning for retirement is that I can live comfortably without HAVING to work. But I know I can choose to work if it is a mutually beneficial situation for me and for my employer. In fact, many of the adjunct faculty at my university are retired from administration or teaching and like me, are enjoying the opportunity to keep mentally active.
So, even though dh and I will not be working (for pay) after December, I have a feeling we will be working at something once we get the travel bug out of our system. And when we feel the need to get involved in something again, we know we can find a volunteer job that is a good fit for us. And who knows, maybe we will even find jobs that pay.
This brings me back to the importance of planning and saving for retirement. According to the AARP article mentioned above, more than half of the baby boomers are in peril of not being able to maintain their standard of living in retirement. Rising health costs and dwindling Social Security benefits will have a negative impact. We are living longer, so retiring later will become the new reality for many. So, if like me, your goal is to retire early (or even at age 66 or 67) and be able to sustain a comfortable lifestyle, then planning, saving, and becoming debt-free will be key to attaining that goal.
September 21st, 2009 at 10:25 pm 1253571902
I was reading recently about couples who do work/travel things. They take short term jobs that in some instances allow them to live on a property short term and get paid. Others take short term assignments all over the world and get paid and stay in their RV or make other housing arrangements.
It's true, we boomers' are blazing a different trail here!
September 22nd, 2009 at 01:56 am 1253584605
Where I work quite a few of my co-workers are "retired" educators. While I do not know the details of their financial situations, I suspect many of them are like you, working part time because they WANT to ... they enjoy the social aspect of work and the mental workout. Some may not consider them retired, but I do. There is a vast difference between working because you must and working because you want to.