Has anyone retired early and regretted it?

[50andup]

I'm in my 50s, have always saved into pensions/ISAs and am now in the very fortunate position of being able to afford to stop work if I want to.

I know lots of people would think - that's brilliant and be off! But I'm wondering if I'll regret retiring early? After all, if I live to 100 , that's 45ish years of effectively being on holiday!

I've got loads of friends, already volunteer and have interests I could invest more time into, but is that enough? No desire to travel the world (done that already) or any very significant plans, so wondering if I'll get bored after a bit...

Has anyone else retired early and then regretted it later?

I retired early 60s a couple of months before Covid struck so its been a weird first year and things quite didn't pan out how I expected .. but I have absolutely no regrets at all ..
Have enough to live on with my work pensions but not riches .. I bought a campervan ( dont care if its a cliche) and now we are using it as much as we can ..

Retirement is fab .. and having no boss is fab-ber..

I envy you. I never bothered with a passion and have been self employed for 30 years and am now 50 and terrified -- so well done you!

Nope - I stand by it. It takes the edge off people, removes the ‘current’. For loads of retirees that’s exactly what they want - calmer time to spend on less frantic things. But there’s no denying it can often make people seem duller.

I retired just before my 57th birthday and I haven’t regretted it for a single second..
My DH retired 5 years before I did ( aged 54) ,but I wasn’t ready to retire then.We fill our days pursuing our hobbies ,some together ,some on our own.We meet friends for walks and lunches and have tackled some home improvements.
DH and I have said more than once that we wondered how we found the time to work.

Been retired almost 6mths, my DH still working for now (we 58 and 57). He suggested that I finished in spring so that I was not starting retirement in autumn/winter and it has definitely been a good move. I also did 3 days, didn’t hate the job, but had got very cynical about the politics, and we could afford for me to finish, so why not.

I love the fact, as @amillionmenonmars says, that I can decide what to do at the drop of a hat, unless I have other plans that day. It might be a cliche, but I also do wonder how I ever had time to work!

We have a caravan, so have done a few trips in that, including one where DH worked and I took our Labrador off walking. I joined an organised walking holiday with a friend at short notice. Organised a trip back to home town last week to see relatives and a friend of mums. Have a trip to see relatives in Ireland at end of October, and a cottage break with DH before that for our 25th anniversary. Hoping to do another walking break in November but not sure if I will fit it in 😂😂

I have just joined a local walking group, intending to do a weekday walk with them each week.

I meet friends for walks/lunch/coffee (some also retired, some not) and am just starting to take myself off to local cities for the day to see a museum/cathedral, also have plans to visit NT houses once life is more normal.

It is early days but my only problem at the moment is ensuring that I pace myself, so not booking up too much in the week, and giving myself some time to chill/read.

I am looking forward to DH and I eventually travelling together, but in the meantime, enjoying the freedom to do what I want when I want.

A cousin of mine finished at 52, her DH at 55. Now almost 20 yrs on, she has no regrets and wouldn’t have changed a thing. My inlaws finished around 57 and only just slowed down in last few years (now 80).

The decision was sealed for me on the day I heard that the DH of an acquaintance had dropped dead last December, mid fifties. Good career, a great retirement to look forward to, but he never made it.

Covid speed my retirement and I often wonder how I ever had time to work.

I used to feel I was missing out on work related contacts in the past but now, oh my, I am more than happy to be out of it.

I go on meetup walks, meet friends, I do have my young adult disabled ds at home so that adds some structure i suppose.

Also UK travel at a drop of the hat.

Duller?!😲

I’m no longer knackered and exhausted. I’ve got time and energy to do what ever l want and meet people whenever l want without worrying about work

How on God’s earth does that make me duller?! I’ve got more energy, more interests and more friends than l ever had at work!

How on God’s earth does that make me duller?! I’ve got more energy, more interests and more friends than l ever had at work!

Totally agree, duller is such a broad ridiculous word to use. Maybe you are the dull one PersonaNonGarter if you think only work defines you?

I was fortunate enough to be able to retire in my mid-fifties. 11 years on, it's one of the best things I ever did. I can do what I want, when I want. I volunteer 3 days a week in a role which keeps me physically fit too. No worrying on a Sunday about work on a Monday.
I only wish I could have retired earlier.

I am about your age. Everyone I know who has retired early has got mentally old before their time. The only exception has been one woman who has studied for qualifications and used them for volunteering.
Generally people I know who have retired early keep physically fit and active. They seem the same until 18-months/two years after retirement when they begin to mentally get much older.

retired a year ago at 58. Love it but chose it partly because i couldnt get on with my boss. she did me a favour. only time i have been bored was the jan-march lockdown. I have hobbies, and am looking forward to travelling more. its great not to have to rush everything all the time. my father died early and i'm keen to enjoy time doing things with my husband before we get too ill

They seem the same until 18-months/two years after retirement when they begin to mentally get much older

More rubbish. I’m going to 2 gigs next month and have got 2 children (older) still at home.

But I’m mentally so much older and am going to start doing ‘older person things.
I will become more narrow minded every day.

What a load of bollocks.

I have been working for 42 years. Just about to jack things up with a new business over the next decade. That will sit alongside my other business. Delegation means I can free up my time. In an earlier life I did the travel and had much fun. Career changes have satiated my desire to do many things and the last decade or so has delivered all the financial benefits I could want. Its the challenge that I like. And I can take December and all of January off and August too. It is easier when I do not have to, but choose too. This is my kind of retirement.

Been retired for 3 years after 22 years working for a newspaper as a advertising manager, so gone from showering and getting booted and suited to putting on t shirt boots and shorts and doing 6 mile walks with the dog and wife, I work part time in the afternoons for Amazon Flex so can pick and choose what days I want to work etc, 3 years has flown by ,for the first 6 months it felt a bit weird but once you stop waking up and thinking I have to go to work its fantastic I think about as I'm the boss no one tells me what do do anymore I answer only to myself.i don't like the word retired I think about as a re-evaluation of my life.

I think whether it "ages" you or not very much has to do with who you are. Some people are narrow minded and insular long before they retire!

Everyone I know who has retired early has got mentally old before their time.

That may be true of some, but certainly not my cousin who retired from teaching English at 52! She is still a voracious reader 20yrs on and no signs of mental ageing.

I was an engineer, so whilst I like reading, I love puzzles too of any kind.

My DS (bright 24yo scientist) and I race each other to do the Times sudoku every Saturday, I am certainly not mentally old by any stretch. I am looking forward to the mental stimulation of sorting out our family tree now I have the time.

I think this thread shows how many people have stereotyped retired people as boring, mentally unfit, dull etc, when that is so far from the truth for the people I know who retired in their 50s and now range from late 50s to 80!

I do wonder if the naysayers on this thread just wish they could retire themselves? Virtually everyone has been positive about my retirement, except one friend who has made quite a few negative comments, I can only assume she is jealous.

I wish I could retire earlier, but I've got a while to go.

Could you find an ‘easier’ version of your current job? A friend retired early 50s after a big career in retail. After a couple of years she went back part time, again in retail but at ‘shop floor’ level which she loves.
My mum finished work and started volunteering, she did more hours than when she was working.

It's great to see that everyone on this thread who has retired has no regrets.

I like a PP's phrase "re-evaluation" rather than retirement. In fact some of you sound so busy that "regeneration" or "rejuvenation" would be more apt!

I like the idea of being busy, but being busy with things of my choosing.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

They seem the same until 18-months/two years after retirement when they begin to mentally get much older

More rubbish. I’m going to 2 gigs next month and have got 2 children (older) still at home.

But I’m mentally so much older and am going to start doing ‘older person things.
I will become more narrow minded every day.

What a load of bollocks.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

No. What the previous poster said is not bollocks. Very aggressive of you to say that.

There is most definitely a link between failing mental health in certain professions and sectors who work for decades but then get the 'cliff edge' retirement. That type of transition can be tantamount to two tectonic plates colliding inside the human soul. One of my businesses provides services to manage that 'retirement' transition as part of its corporate finance services. What the previous poster said was correct - and the 18/24 months is spot on when things start to wobble. It is typically in that timeframe that bad decisions are made over lifestyles and financial assets.

If you are OK Arse - good for you. Many people had different life experiences and were part of something bigger that retirement is an anti-climax rather than an escape from purgatory.

They say that men can struggle with retirement more than women. If you are very mentally challenged at work, you may suffer mentally from losing that. Become less sharp and on the ball. And if you're someone important at work, you may miss being needed and respected.

But how does people. ‘wobbling’ make them mentally older?

The exact same thing happened to my brother, he suddenly slipped into depression about 20 months into retirement. But it didn’t make him ‘mentally older’ it made him mentally unwell.

Age and illness are being confused here. Just because someone older may slip into a depression doesn’t make them mentally older.

It just means they are x amount of years with a diagnosis of reactive depression.

I’ve had reactive depression all my life. If l get it now does it suddenly make me ‘mentally older?’

The thing that I find about being retired in my fifties is the lack of respect many people now have for my time - my MIL assumes I have nothing more important to do than look after her, likewise working friends assume I will do the organising, travelling to meet up etc.
I don’t go along with it, but sometimes the attitude gets to me.

@Ichangemynameagain

Can you go back to work if you change your mind?

I work in a sector where people generally retire after 30 years then come back and do a back office job for another 15-20 years.

NHS?

I think you need to plan for this phase of your life. What do you want to get out of the next 30 years (mind boggling). Are you someone who easily motivates yourself, pursues interests and is generally content? Do you need adventure? Would you like to develop some different work or other skills? Get a qualification? Stretch yourself in a new direction? I am due to retire at 55 and I am 5 years away and wavering, I finally love my job. Hopefully I will be fed up with it by then but if not even better I can earn more and save for the dc.