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February 24, 2020
Late Retirement
2026 - a shocking number.
It was the early 80s, and I was looking at one of the most memorable numbers, and moments, of my life. Sitting at a desk in my first permanent full time job, I had just opened a letter from head office.
Blah, blah, blah, probation over, blah, blah. Then, there it was - my suggested late retirement date - 2026.
I was overcome by SADLOL (sitting at desk laughing out loud).
The letter was like a punch in the gut to my 20-something rebellious sensibilities. I had never before bothered to figure out my official retirement date because it was soooooooo faaaar in the future.
So far. So very far.
It seemed silly to think that I could predict what life would be like so far in the foggy future, but what I really could not wrap my still developing brain around, was the enormity of spending the next several decades of my life honing a daily grind.
I was hit by a fight/flight/fright reaction. I had a strong urge to flee while I still could.
Contrary to the company's advice, I did not file that letter for future reference.
Instead, I began to draft my own way, which has turned into a decades long dedication to living as simply as possible so I could be as free as possible as soon as possible.
I started the final move toward avoiding late retirement, and early death, when in 2000 I took a leave of absence from my teaching position. After a year abroad (we wanted to take advantage of the fact that Linda could still walk at the time), we came home and made it permanent.
I resigned from my full time teaching contract, which meant I was able to take on a wide variety of interesting jobs ranging from chauffeur to environmental educator at a city waste water treatment plant, to groundskeeping.
The thing they all had in common was that they were not permanent full time, something I always found rather onerous. I prefer seasonal and contract work. In this way it is possible to work as much or as little as needed.
If I had to work, I wanted to work at jobs that didn't interfere with my primary interests, which did not include "normal" things like having a career, becoming wealthy, or having lots of stuff.
By 2010, sixteen years earlier than my official system sanctioned date, I retired from paid work. That allowed me to be at home caring for Linda, something we both like a lot.
Financial projections we have done indicate that we will be fine in the long run... as long as we continue not buying anything we don't need.
I am still shocked at that number: 2026.
Except now, rather than being befuddled by how far in the future it is, I am gobsmacked by how soon it will be here.
Life is short. Don't wait. Simplify now.
9 comments:
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needed to read this at this current time. Thank-you so much for sharing your experiences
ReplyDeleteAllison
We could all use a bit of early retirement.
DeleteOh how timely! I will show this to K when she gets home from work. She came home for lunch today and I said to her - how about you cut back to part-time in August? She mumbled a bit about how useful the income is...
ReplyDeleteI, on the the hand, had spent the morning living like a Greek peasant: pottering in the vegetable garden, doing a bit of weeding, then several hours cooking the most amazing food straight from the garden and a thirty minute chat in the middle of the street with our neighbour who was gratefully receiving a dozen cucumbers for pickling. I will do some actual, paid work this afternoon, just for a couple of hours. It's enough!
Life is precious and we do not know what tomorrow will bring. Carpe diem!
Madeleine
Time. It is all about time. Money is important, but only to a limited degree. Health and time are underrated. Both are precious.
DeleteWhat a wonderful article. In England when I was 16 the predicted retirement age for women was 60. This seemed as you say the foggy future. Now with little warning the government put it up to 66. Two years after that it will be 67. Then moving onto 70. They say we are living longer so later retirement. I managed to escape at 56 due to simple living even that was too long.
ReplyDeleteWomen have campaigned and failed. To see woman over 60 job hunting to keep their unemployment benefit is tragic. As you say late retirement die younger and exist. We live once we get one shot. Young people must realise this. Also we are now not living longer due to the stress of living. People who followed the debt way of life. Best wishes to you both.
Congratulations on your escape. Us "little people" have not been making any gains in income growth since 1979, even though people are working more and harder than ever before.
DeleteI graduated in 1979, so my entire working life has been one big scam that saw my earnings siphoned off by the 1%. I don't want to work hard to get some billionaire further ahead. I want my work to get me, and my community, further ahead. If I can't do that, then I choose not to work in that system.
I am always shocked at the amount of money it projects that people will need to retire. Really? if everything is paid for and you live within reason you should be fine. IT is the living beyond your means that does most in.
ReplyDeleteIf one wants to make $75,000 dollars or more per year in retirement, then yes, one needs a lot of savings/investments. But what if I can get by on $20,000 a year, or less?
DeleteAs we age we need less, not more, so what is all that extra money supposed to be for?
It is all just a big gift to the banking investment complex. What a waste.
Perfect advice!
ReplyDeleteLinda