As the retirement landscape in the U.S. has begun to change over the last few years, the conversation about when and how to approach that milestone has intensified. Some have concerns about the ability to retire in an era when the cost of living is on the rise, while others aren't sure they'd be happy with that much free time.
One poster on the Bogleheads' personal finance forum weighed these concerns in a recent post, asking for fellow message board members’ advice as to whether or not they were "thinking along the right lines" in terms of their plans.
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The post started with the user stating that they were in their 40s with young children, owned their home, had a fully-funded 529 plan, investments worth $5 million, and a net worth of more than $8.5 million.
"Don't get me wrong," the poster wrote. "[I] love my job, just need less of it."
What they were considering, they explained, was dropping to part-time hours but "keeping that going well into old age," rather than working full-time now and retiring at a more traditional age.
This shift would allow them to cover their living expenses and still contribute something towards their nest egg, while giving them more freedom to be present in their family's day-to-day lives and the endurance to continue working for much longer.
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The responses to the post perfectly encapsulated the wide variety of ways Americans view retirement. Some encouraged the original poster to go ahead with his plan, writing, "You cannot buy this time back in the future." Others cautioned him against giving up the potential income this early and encouraged him to ensure he could fill his time in other ways before quitting, to avoid the depression that can sometimes accompany that type of lifestyle change.
Ultimately, these answers reveal that an ideal retirement won't look the same for everyone.
While the majority of people would like to be in the same boat as the poster, able to retire early, studies have shown that many Americans are working past traditional retirement age simply because they can't afford to scale back.
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The best way to ensure you can afford to retire on your own timeline is to plan ahead. Of course, saving and investing as early as possible is tried and true advice, but it’s also important that you clarify the type of post-retirement lifestyle you'd like to lead and be realistic about how much money that would take.
Only at that point do you have the ability to seriously consider breaking up with your 9-to-5.
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