Aibu Retiring at 55 - 30 years of idleness?

[Scotsknowbest]

So this is the thing: so many local friends have given up working in the last few years in their early to mid 50s, aibu to think what on earth are you going to do to stay interested and interesting?
I thought perhaps they would shut the house up and set off on a big trip but holidays have been more like 2 weeks in Greece instead of one.
I thought perhaps they would volunteer but that seems too restrictive for them.
I thought some might use their professional skills to join executive boards as NEDs or in advisory roles. But no.
Some have upped their golf or tennis, some are focusing on the garden (what, every day?) some walk the dog, read the paper.
I just think they will become so boring!
In contrast I caught up with 3 old school friends this evening who I see about once or twice a year. I asked them when they thought they would retire and each thought mid 60s.
Many of my friends have inherited recently and I think this has been the nudge. I have also inherited but I don't feel any different!
Just for context I am 57, work in 2 roles, one executive, board level, one professional but different area (social work) which takes me to about 4 days a week but I also run 4 properties as a landlord and have an aging dad who lives a mile away who I help with admin, appointments, organising stuff. I also have 2 grown kids the youngest at uni, 1st year. So, not as busy as when I worked and had little kids, but pretty busy in a good way. Personally I can't imagine stopping working so aibu, is 50to55 simply too young to be retiring even if the catalyst has been a windfall inheritance?

My parents were both dead by 63. I plan to retire (or at the very least significantly reduce my hours) as early as I can.

Well I'm 70. I worked full time until 63, then went self employed and work Monday to Thursday, scheduling appointments round other activities and hobbies . Most of my friends are a bit younger, in their 60s, and have been fully retired for ages. I would be happy to respect their choices if they were happy to respect mine. I've lost count of the number of questions I've had about why I choose to continue to work and the exhortations to pack my work in. No thank you. You all have husbands, partners and family and your circumstances are different to mine.

The day I cease to enjoy it I'll stop. In the meantime it pays for holidays and private medical insurance. I've just had a hip replacement which I'd have waited years for without insurance.

My closest friend was still working when we met but seems to have a lot of free time now to meddle in other people's choices - I have pointed out that I don't need a PA.

Many of us are taking out 4% of our pension pots each year and will have the same amount left when we are 75 with complex care needs as we do now (obviously it’s worth less due to inflation).

You crack on..... it is the beauty of the world that everyone is different.

Personally, if someone wanted to talk about their work, the commute, office politics, how essential they are to the business etc I would zone out and move on as I find that sort of thing incredibly boring.🙄

I don't see why it has to make anyone boring or board to retire early. It very much depends on the person. Although mud 50s seams early, it is not uncommon for people to do this if they can afford it.

Several friends and relatives did. Most had a hobby. A hobby can be anything from golf to a theatre going to a compelling interest in cinema or the cathedrals of Britain.

I'm early 60s, for me aging parents and other family commitments were a struggle to fit in with working in my late 50s but work, colleagues, workplace friendships were a point of focus I personally needed to keep. However, retiring before I'm 67 will probably seem right for me. At the very least taking a part time step.

Regarding charity volunteering. This does work for some, but most have a period of hols and leisure first before they start any regular commitment. I think that's just to enjoy the freedom.

Yeh I dont get it. My mum retired at my age (52) and her life is very very small (at 75). They do walks locally, they dont even like travelling anymore, they have a membership for a local hotel gym and go there most days. My mum is an intelligent woman and I can't help but quietly judge. No volunteering, no hobbies, no passions really. And the level of co-dependence with Dad is crazy (imo). They are desperately happy though so who am I to judge?
Just seems a very boring life to me that has gone on for over 20 years when they still has so much life and stuff to give the world. Mum is an ex-teacher and could have volunteered during covid but didn't want to. All she does is cook, clean, go for walks, and swims at the hotel, - all with dad as well - no friends. No going out for lunch, restaurants, shows, cinema (they don't like any of that). Sounds super shit to me. They weren't like that in their 30s and 40s - I think ealry retirement made them lose their mojo.

Other people’s jobs are so boring, even more boring than when people talk about the dream
they had last night.

Work doesn’t make people interesting. People that talk about work all the time are actually very boring imo! Usually it’s complaining about colleagues, managers or red tape. Yawn.

I’d much rather hear about what people have been reading, watching, learning, playing, making, doing or thinking about outside of work.

I have a rich inner life OP. I think you are BU. I do believe being 'busy' keeps you more energetic but I find plenty of that without 'work' but I have never really enjoyed work, so... to each their own.

If I've worked for 35 or so years I'll enjoy my retirement. If I want to sit and fart the national anthem I will, if I want to help one legged black disabled lesbian single mothers I will. But " give back" - no I didn't take.

I think it depends on how much your work defines you and your identity.

I rarely talk about my job with my friends. I have quite a big job but it certainly isn’t what I think makes me interesting.

I could fill a day quite easily to be honest, but it’s vital that you have hobbies or something to keep you busy.

The most boring retired person I know is someone who retired at 45 and is now on 2 boards. She thinks this makes her fascinating and bores us all to tears with her self importance

Exactly this. As I said earlier in the thread I have reduced to 4 days a week hybrid office WFH. Hubby if fully WFH but does fairly often have to travel within the UK-he works in IT. He enjoys his work, mine is ok but I like the people I work with.
We get good leave 6 weeks or so I can buy extra weeks up to 2 weeks or 10 days which you do at the start of the year snd they take a small as amount of pay over the year which covers it.

So our intent is to keep working but maximise the time we can have off. We both have pensions from our previous main jobs that were final salary schemes so the plan is claim those at 55, but still work (maybe part time, neither of us will hit higher rate tax so we will pay some extra tax but not that much) we already have no mortgage and intend to clear the last of our credit cards this year so will get debt free, with lump sums in the bank and still earning with lots of leave so will enjoy some travel with family and ourselves whilst we can. Then by early 60’s we will both have a second pension in our current jobs and will have about 10 years or do each paid in so will probably retire then. Our intent is to travel and enjoy ourselves whilst we still can as you never know how many years you will have and I would rather have memories with my family and help kids/grandkids when we can. We both may well get an inheritance from our parents as well at which point we think we will sell the house and buy a bungalow to live out our time in, but we will see what happens.

I love this

No wonder you can't imagine what people do with their retirement if all you would have to do with your time is coffees, lunches out and walks.

Retirement is freedom to do all the things you've been burning to do.
I always think that people who continue working when they can stop must have nothing they burn to do with their life.

I retired at 50. Since then, in a decade I've...
Refurbished two houses
Learned to speak French
Taken a three year course in horticulture
Created and built several gardens for myself and friends
Set up and run an allotment that pretty much keeps us in veg year round
Travelled the UK by train with DH and dog
Camped for months on end at beauty spots during the summer
Climbed mountains, swum in the sea nearly every day, ridden my bike at every opportunity.
Kept fit
Seen friends and traveled with them
Run a little side hustle purely for fun
Visited all the major museums and art galleries in London and many around the country.

I loved my career (until I'd had enough of it) but I was definitely bored at times - some years exactly the same as the last.

Since I retired I have NEVER been bored, not once.

I still have enough plans to fill another 20 years. I hope I stay fit enough to do them.

Something else I would add.
Those years between 50 and 60 are years you can reasonably hope to be fit, well and have energy.
After 60 you're hoping you stay that way, but there are no guarantees.
You can potentially use the years between 50 and 60 much more fully than those after. Grab them if you can.

Well Gen X and the generations after, who have got the worse deal ever, are all going to be working until they drop, late sixties and seventies, so it won’t be a topic for much longer. Except for those with unearned inherited wealth. My mother has been retired so long she doesn’t remember what age she retired. She tells everyone it was 66. It wasn’t. She retired at 58.

I don’t mind people retiring early. I do mind the disregard some of them have when they quickly forget how hard life is when you work full time.

Well, they could go back to university, write novels (PD James was 56 when she published her first novel), volunteer at charities, be governor at a local school, become a magistrate, take up a sport, set up a hobby business… lots and lots of things people can do in those 30 years if they have financially planned for early retirement.

Certainly better than waiting to be made redundant at 62-65 because of institutional ageism and then being diagnosed with cancer and spending the last few years of their lives in and out of chemo and maybe having 5 years to ‘enjoy’ retirement. Happened to several people I know. And they had parents who lived into their 80’s too.

One of the girls at work has recently dropped dead in her mid 50’s.
People should do whatever makes them happy or fulfilled, if they have the choice.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

I took early retirement from teaching at 55. I always thought I'd go at 60 but after the Covid shit show, I'd had enough. 5 years on and most days I wake up not quite believing that the day is mine to do with as I wish. I volunteer twice a week at Church and I have a brother with LD who lives nearby in supported accommodation so I can check in with him and go for days out which he loves. It's perfect! But then I only ever worked to live, really and not the other way around.

A former colleague of mine is working well into her 60s and doesn't look like giving up any time soon because she loves networking and being in the thick of it. She no longer teaches but still works in a school in a different capacity. For her, retirement would probably out her in an early grave.
Everyone is different!

And I would add that my otherwise healthy husband dropped down dead at the age of 66. Not even a year of state pension, thank goodness he had retired early on his work pension.

That's fine Many people have plans for retirement but a lot of them resort to tv watching instead( with no health issues before I'm jumped on)

Haha I know right. I've always been interesting and interested in others.

I work pt am late 50s. Dh is semi retired. We have plenty to do. Gym, swim, walking, dance socials and family life. Plus gardening, travel ,reading and socialising with friends. And so much more.

I know plenty who do nothing with their spare time. They watch TV. But that can be interesting and stimulating to them. Dh and I enjoy youtube and tend to watch walking channels or pub crawl ones on there.

Life's too short. I've known people retire and die quickly from cancer or other illnesses. Also know plenty who have died before retirement. People working hard for retirement and didn't make it.

I live and let live.

Having had my kids in my 40s I'll be working till mid 60s earliest! Luckily I like my job. But I'd hate sitting around too, thats how I am. One of my kids is into sport and has a great life, my ambition if I'm healthy is to mentor kids at the club to give back. Im putting a lot of effort into keeping fit though. Health can be a lottery but I'll do whatever I can to help the process

That's more to do with the person than retirement as a concept though.

I would love to retire at 55 but I'm aiming for 60. I've gone down to 4 days a week and ideally would like to stay at that or possibly go down to 3 days a week when I'm in my 50s (am 46). Mortgage is paid off so surplus funds are going into savings to finance early retirement and potential university/property deposit fund for 2DC. Both my parents retired at 55 and they are 83 & 74 and have enjoyed taking early retirement.