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?

@LoremIpsumCici I am really interested in why you think that if someone is healthy and has no caring responsibilities retirement will get boring very quickly?

See above. I meant to limit my reply to just the circle of OP’s retired friends who seem to live boring lives.

But why would that be all there was to your life?
You were generalising though. Just ‘a person’.

People who work and who bang on endlessly about their job are not necessarily any more interesting than people who have retired.

Well as.my perfectly healthy fit mum died at 60 without enjoying her pension or any retirement bloody good for them!
Whats it to you if they're not busy or get boring?

Why would it be my life? I didn’t mean to generalise, by ‘ a person’ I was alluding to the OP’s description of the persons she knows.

I retired at 57. No long trips. Not a volunteer. I do what I want, when I want and sod all else.

It is wonderful!!!!!

my mum was 63 when she died and I couldn't agree more, enjoy as much time as possible doing what you love.

Nothing-No volunteering, no baby sitting, no hobbies apart from the odd attempt at crochet, no batch cooking, no gardening other than sitting in it. Getting up late, watching tv, reading , eating unsuitable foods is what is keeping me so sharp and active! In a past life I must have been a sloth, though somewhere I did fit in marriage,kids and a career!

Yawn

I’ve been wrestling with this since I was 57 - I’m now 63 and still working in a self-employed capacity in a role and with colleagues that I love, though I’m absolutely certain most people would find it boring. What I struggle with is how I will maintain a sense of purpose when I retire. I like being good at my job, being needed, being able to be generous to my family. Once I stop and live on a more fixed income, though by no means a small one, I fear my sense of purpose will dissipate and I’ll grind to a halt. For example, travel is great but I feel it has no real purpose if it’s not for recharging batteries before entering the fray once again. Plus I travelled a lot when younger so there aren’t many places that hugely appeal. I’ve tried to reset my brain on this to no avail. I guess in the end it will be my creeping sense of tiredness and disgust with the world at large that will see me off to the gardening and the dog walking!

I would fine someone that talks about work constantly boring.
some people work to live not live to work

Being interesting to other people isn't a key arbiter of my life either! Sometimes I am definitely boring about things that are very interesting to me.

For me, I will retire when the constraints of money are outweighed by the constraints of time.

I can save and create money. I can save a bit of time, but if I could create it, well, I'd be a billionaire.

A few of my relatives and DH's relatives worked in the public sector and retired at 60. They don't appear to be hard up but of course they all bought houses when they were cheap.

I was going to say, 30 years of idleness (ie doing what I want) sounds great to me!

Congratulations on living the good life!

If your only purpose in life is work (however worthy) I’d say a bit of introspection to come up with something else might be in order. For example -travel isn’t just to ‘recharge’ to be fit for work. It’s to see beauty, experience new things, understand different perspectives. All of those are more purposeful than simply doing it to make you able to go back to work. You are suggesting a very narrow world view with that comment.

I always think people should retire as soon as they can (unless they are particularly passionate about their job) and enjoy the time they have. None of us know what’s round the corner. My Gran and Grandad retired together at 60 and were so excited to move to the seaside to start their new lives. My Grandad was diagnosed with terminal oesophageal cancer shortly after that and 3 months later he was dead.

I agree, as I said - I’ve been wrestling with this for a while! My introspection about it is constant, but I keep coming back to the same place. Yes, beauty, new experiences, different perspectives are great - but to what purpose will I put them? How will my experience of them make the world a better place?

I started saving and investing at least 10% of my gross salary from 30 years old. At times it was difficult to keep up and it meant not being able to do everything I wanted to do. I was planning to go PT mid-50s and retire at 60. Instead I received an early inheritance a couple of years ago that was about half of what I had in my own pensions and investments, and I retired last year at 55. I’ve just had the best year of my life! DS is 14 and we’ve been able to go away much more as a family because work doesn’t restrict or block times when he’s not at school, I’ve had a solo trip away at an art retreat, and another trip with friends while OH steps up. And I ve also enjoyed being in the location we live in even more.

When not away, my weeks are filled with daily exercise classes, learning a musical instrument, cooking new recipes, cinema, gigs, theatre, reading, learning to sail and studying for my Day Skipper qualification. I’ve just qualified as a first aider and I volunteer with that at local community and sporting events. I’ve never been busier or as active. And not a day has gone by when I would rather have been a work regardless of the job I did suiting me well.

For anyone that has the financial wherewithal to stop working but has nothing they would rather do, then that’s brilliant! Keep working!

For anyone else, pay as much into your pension as you can and consider finding more about FIRE from different sources to help you on your way.

The purpose of making you a better person and your life a better life. Things don’t have to improve the whole world to be worthwhile.

Until I feel that’s enough of a purpose I guess I’ll just carry on working then!

You were very fortunate financially
and health wise, but some pour all their spare money into a pension and drop dead three months after retirement!

They make YOUR world a better place?

That makes me sad. You don’t value yourself enough to think making your life better is sufficient purpose for doing something.

How many coffees, lunches and walks can I do?

• *If you can’t imagine a way of spending your time other than those you’ve listed, you’re probably less interesting than you think you are. if early retirement isn’t for you, don’t do it, but don’t judge those of us who are loving retirement &. never bored.