What to Do When You're Not Quite Ready to Retire

I'm 78 years old and still working. I didn't claim any S.S. until I was 70. I work because I wouldn't know what to do sitting home. I'm active and still in fairly good health. I think "retirement" for one isn't necessarily defined the same for everyone. I still work 6 hours everyday, have my vacations and enjoy life the way that good for me.

I love retirement! I now live in Southwest France on the Atlantic Ocean. On Saturdays, I ride my bike 3 kilometres to the beach and watch the girls. When you are retired the week is six Saturdays and one Sunday. On Sundays I also ride my bike to the beach and watch the girls. Sometimes I surf cast; no fishing license is required here. Do I get bored essentially doing nothing? Yes, sometimes, but then I ride to a different beach and watch different girls!

If you don't like your job, and can afford to retire, then retire. Life's too short.

I retired at 67 and was missing the social interaction and daily routine so I took a job as a Volunteer Driver for the needy in our County 4 days a week and volunteer at the Warming Shelter the other day. Seeing the unfortunate poor on a daily basis makes you thank the Lord for your own Blessings. Our state does have a strong safety net and those poor that I see are getting help to get back on their feet- methadone clinic for the drug possessed, counseling for the mentally ill, and rehab for the lame. Despite what the Tea Baggers would have you believe, many of these people will never have the ability to function well in society. I do admire the mentally retarded folks who manage to work at a job and from all outward appearances seem happy with their lot in life. We are fortunate to have people with the patience to serve all of these, God's Children!

"Nearly three-fourths of Americans expect to work after retirement."

Then, by definition, they are not retired.

So I retired at age 57. That first year I played more golf than I thought possible. Played over 130 rounds and had a great time. Went on a trip to Europe, then came year 2. My new retired friends from the golf club are all between 8-20 years older than me , so where are all my friends from when I was working , THEY ARE STILL WORKING. So I got an offer to work at a very low pressure job making much less then I made when really working and I have a place to go and people my age to interact with. I never work late and never bring the problems of work home like i used to. So maybe retiring before 62 is not as normal as we all thought . Hopefully the economy will improve and more people my age can retire and I will have my friends to play with , because retirement should be like a second childhood , fun and payback for a lifetime of breaking our backs to earn and save.

Take care of your health. Good health will be your biggest asset.

Do not retire - I was 74 and I should have stayed - Retiring is just that - quitting . You will only know when it happens to you - stay as long as you can and take the social security ASAP - before the politicians take it away.

This sort of thing is in my game plan. Volunteer work is satisfying to the soul, but is financially rewarding as well in a way not discussed in this article. My wife likes to say, "If you're not making money, you're spending money". In other words, once we retire we need to spend money to entertain ourselves. Volunteer work may not pay much (or at all), but it has the singular advantage of keeping you busy without costing much of anything. That's money in the bank.

If you have to work out of necessity during retirement, then you aren't retired!

I retired at 50, I'm now 65. Every day is Saturday , some regrets but not many.make sure to have a plan, stay healthy and be certain you can afford it.

Let's see, you lost your job and then most of your savings and home too... AND now face a terminal illness. The Republican Answer: Go in a corner and die quietly.

And please, above all, don't go to an emergency room! It will raise their health insurance rates!

The Republicans think this is fine and dandy.. until it happens to them. Then they cry like the little children that they are.

The problem of retiring before 65 is very costly health insurance. Medicare kicks in at 65 and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. You should however, get a medigap policy to cover what medicare does not cover. Good luck in retirement. I know I am enjoying it to the fullest.

It seems pretty pathetic to me that many of these posts are actually concerned with whether they will be able to play a lot of golf when they retire.

GOSH... HOW SAD AND PATHETIC.

How about using your talents to contribute to the strength and future of America. Take some risks and start doing some work that really matters!

GOOD GRIEF!

I retired at 55 and love it! It's only when you have become your job is when you have problems.

If your investments are going to be a big part of your retirement income then you will need
2 years income in reserve for the next big panic correction.

The last thing you want is to have to sell some investment's for a loss just for living expenses !

You could easily jepardize your retirement by not keeping cash in reserve !

how refreshing to see a topic in which at least half the posts are rational comments without devolving into hateful rants against someone to blame, the government, the 1%, obama, whomever. post-retirement is a legitimate area of concern and the more we share our thoughts the better. I am 69.5 and still working because I am healthy, I know I am making a contribution, and I do not know what I would do with my time once I exhausted my interest in daily golf. I just keep my eyes open for my next opportunity whatever it may be and hopefully I will be able to take it when the time is right.

Our savings were not wiped out in the recent recessions, thanks to prudent conservative investments. My retirement is as busy as work putting in 40-60 hours a week at non profits without a paycheck. Then again, we started planning for retirement in our 20's, never spent more than we earned, and were debt free by the time we reached 50. For those who lost money in the markets or through bad decisions, or have no retirement savings, are we supposed to support you? All the whiners here who claim it is the banks, or the government, or the 1%, take charge of your own life and stop blaming others.

Do not take SS at age 62 or before your attainment year....unless you know you will not work again ever or if you do not make over 14,100 a year ...1/2 of SS will be taken away
for earnings over the limit which was 14k when I retired in 2008

Let's face it it is less about money and more about healthcare, I can draw SS early at 62 and will if they don't change the rules, but Healthcare only will deplete any regular persons savings before they hit 65!