I'll be 58 come this Christmas holiday season. I "retired" when I was 49, ie. I walked away (with a month's notice from what I had been doing for the past 13-14 years). Too many headaches, sleepless and stressed out nights, and so on. Took my 401k and 'left the building' - no pension either and no benefits after-the-fact to take along with me. Was it the right thing to do? Was it the right time to do it? There's never a way to know these answers up-front in many cases. Can you prove to yourself - mathematically, on paper - that you can afford to live on whatever income you'll be getting (pension, other income, social security, pay yourself out of savings, part-time work, etc.)? Will you have to get and pay for your own medical coverage? Can you reduce your debts enough to afford to live on a probably lower income? And can you prove - again, mathematically - that you can continue to run like that for at least 30-35 years into the future, allowing for future inflation, cost-of-living increases, etc., etc.? The medical stuff and cost of living/inflation potential (read: probability) are what really scare me. But there's more to life than lying awake at night worry about all the "what ifs". The wife and I have managed to make it work for the past 8-1/2 years just fine. But we'll have some more adjustments to make when she elects to retire - which will probably be sooner than later! And we WILL make it work when she/we decide that time has arrived, just like when I bolted for the door.
Do what feels right for YOU - and make sure you've done your math and budgeting homework to prove as best you can that financially it makes sense.
Good luck!
Bill
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