Aibu Retiring at 55 - 30 years of idleness?

Another vote for this.

I am not even sure that I want to be an interesting person. Further on from that, who gets to decide who is "interesting" and who is not?

Also, what's wrong with being idle?

but its all about definition and choice. People might look at my life and think "idle and routineless" but I am doing what I enjoy when I enjoy it. I do have goals but don't work hard at them or want to. I am done, so done, with big projects and competition.

Why would work make you an interesting person? Reading and having many interests makes you an interesting person. I'm not even sure that travel makes someone interesting really. I'd be more interested in someone who knows a lot about local wildlife and history.

You sound quite a boring person to just reel out stupid clichés.

I think its the other way around. He was already developing dementia before it was recognised and this affected his ability to be a consultant and also his confidence. More and more its being recognised that dementia has a long pre diagnosis lead in and the initial signs may not be recognised by those closest to them.

my late husband retired at 58, died unexpectedly at 61. I retired just before him in my early 50's so all our retirement plans went down the toilet. It was bloody hard getting used to being alone but I have a reasonably happy life and a life that is as busy as I want it to be. I don't volunteer or do community stuff although I could if I wanted to. I definitely do not. I have no patience or tactfulness left. Personally I think people should keep their beaks out of other people's life choices!

TLDR: no one can rely on even getting to retirement or enjoying any of it when they get there and nobody should make judgement about other people's life choices.

Nice if you can retire at 55. My Dad medically retired at 65 and passed away at 67. My Mum was widowed at 62. She has a very busy time looking after our 3yold 1 day a week as well as attending walking group, 2 x running groups, Spanish class, Italian class, church. She also has trips away with us, family and friends. She's considering doing some studying with OU. I think retirement is what you make of it.

This

Does seem strange if they retire and just stop doing anything though . Could understand it maybe if they just worked and had no interest in other stuff before

It's a fine line. My dad took early retirement at 50 when his job became obsolete. That's a year younger than me now, and I can't believe at that young age he was paid for doing nothing (he had an insanely generous non contributory pension). He did a token bit of consultancy, but as his contacts fell away his knowledge became less relevant and this dried up quickly. He didn't have the confidence to find another. He did a bit of volunteering but became very scatty by his early 60s. He lost even more confidence and he and my mum just irritated the hell out of each other. My mum lost all respect for him. At 68 he was diagnosed with dementia and he was dead by 73. I firmly believe his retiring early and doing nothing much contributed to it.

OP lights the touchpaper and then fucks off. Nowt to do with you if people can afford it. I'm in my mid 50s and know of several people my age who have sadly passed away. I'm retiring in no more than a years time.

I don’t think it’s really about being “too young” — it’s about how differently people define a good life.
From your perspective, being busy, productive and contributing in multiple roles clearly gives you purpose and energy. But not everyone gets that from work in the same way, especially after decades of it. Some people are quite happy to step off the treadmill and just… slow down.
Also, what looks “boring” from the outside (walking the dog, gardening, reading, a bit of travel) can actually feel like a huge luxury if you’ve spent years juggling work, family, and responsibility. Not everyone wants to replace one structured life with another (boards, volunteering etc.).
That said, I do think there’s a middle ground — people who retire very early without any sense of purpose or curiosity might struggle over time. But equally, working into your mid/late 60s isn’t automatically more “interesting” if it’s just habit or identity.
Losing friends in their early 60s really does shift your perspective too. It’s a reminder that having the time and health to enjoy life isn’t guaranteed later.
So no, I don’t think 50–55 is inherently “too young” — but I do think the key question is: what are you retiring to, not just from?

@ForCosyLion My job is my lifelong passion and hobby, so anything else does seem boring to me.

Well, that's nice for you, but many people don't love their job and just do it for the money. They may have some other passion that they can't fulfill until the have more time, by ditching their boring job.

I retired at 55 from a very big job, and following a close bereavement and trying to cope with that at the same time as support DC through it. I was done, burned out and had nothing left to give.

It took me a year to find my rhythm, but now I have two big projects I'm working hard towards and have taken up a competitive sport, which I have a serious focused training plan for.

I do think you need goals and routine, and that can take a while to establish, but I don't expect to be "idle" for 30 years.

That is one of the smuggest posts I’ve ever read! But even smugger are all those people desperate to tell us how busy they are since they retired-learning languages and designing gardens. Retirement is precisely that-you can do what you want. If that involves binge watching All Creatures Great and Small, it doesn’t make you a lesser person. There is so much judgement over what is the ‘right’ kind of retirement. If you’re lucky enough to be able to decide whether to work or not, just thank your lucky stars you have the choice and focus on your own life rather than what you think others should be doing.

How tragic that you can only conceive of your job to make you interested and interesting! I certainly think for the vast majority of people, their paid employment is the least interesting thing about them.

I'm in my mid fifties and semi retired - I used to run my own business, but now I work in a coffee shop a couple of days a week - and I've never been happier (I seem to get an immense amount of pleasure doing latte art!) I also volunteer as a scout leader, which takes up a lot of time, plus I do more gardening, go the to the gym, travel more etc.

BUT I'm not so self absorbed as to not realise that different things suit different people. If someone who is retired just wants to just sit around the house, do some gardening, and go for two weeks to Greece, good on them. That's the point of retirement isn't it? To just be able to do what you want to do. And if they want to do that for 30 years (if they are lucky), then why not - it's their life to do with as they please. I don't think they will necessarily become boring (unless all you ever talked to them about was their job!). There's more to life than work!

All right, all right, calm down, dear! My job is my lifelong passion and hobby, so anything else does seem boring to me. It's a creative arts job. Volunteer work and organising jumble sales for the Rotary (the kind of thing my parents did) and endless travel does seem boring to me in comparison. And it's common sense that your brain is going to have less stimulation in retirement than if you're working at an interesting job. Sure, you can keep stimulated if you're motivated and determined enough, but I think more people give in to not HAVING to do that, and settle at a lower level of stimulation. That's one thing when you're eighty, but if you retire before 55, you're risking early decline, unless you really push back on that.

For your social connections, your brain connections, and your general health, I do not feel that retiring in your early 50s is the healthiest choice for the majority.

(Of course, someone might have experienced ill-health, and that is different and changes the picture.)

This, my friend has stage 4 cancer and is the same age as me, 50. My friend's husband died of cancer at the same age a couple of years ago. My uncle died of a heart attack at 46. Lots of people won't even make it to state retirement age. Life really is too short.

The worst deal ever?! Not so long ago there was no maternity leave, no benefits, no contraceptives, no washing machines or dishwashers or the countless other things we take for granted.
My grandmothers mother died when she was 12 and she then brought up her 8 younger siblings with no electricity, no running water and an alcoholic father. No social care. No nhs.

Retiring at 55 is the dream!

It's not necessary to work to be 'interested and interesting'. Indeed, work can often sap a person's energy to the point where they don't have the time/energy to develop their interests. I've certainly found it to be the case in my life.

I'm 58 and I'd retire tomorrow if I could. I have a hobby I'm passionate about, that there never seems to be enough time for, and being able to indulge it to the full would be like a dream come true.

What an offensive post!
Opting out? What on earth do you mean? Work isn’t the only thing in the world. Retirement is opting in for many of us - in to hobbies, volunteering, travel, reading, education etc etc.
Out of the cut and thrust of the world? Retired people live in the world too you know. They deal with the same issues everyone else does.
This bit If you retire in your early fifties and live to your early eighties or nineties, that's 30 or 40 years of doing either nothing or low-level boring volunteer work and not being part of anything is particularly grim. Nothing? Low-level? Not ‘part of anything’? What a horrible, reductive view of local communities and society.
I guess we could feel sorry for you if you have nothing that’s worth anything to you other than work.

I'm with you OP. It's why I didn't let me husband retire at 60. He was annoyed at the time, but now he gets it. He loves contributing via work and is stimulated by it. He could very easily sink into 'old manhood' and we are surrounded by those in our neighbourhood. Part-time work is giving us a good balance.