Retirement ages

[LivingAlmostLarge]

What do you consider normal retirement age? What is early? And when do you think you'll retire?

[JoeP]

What do you consider normal retirement age?
I would say that most assume age 65 to 67 would be "normal" at least in the US.

What is early?
Anything around 50-55 is early to me.

And when do you think you'll retire?
I'd like to continue working until 60, freelance/consult part time for another 5, and then go into full retirement mode. I know people who retired in their early 50s and had the benefit of excellent health care benefits to bridge; that is a factor that needs to be examined carefully.

How about you and your DH, LAL?

[Like2Plan]

I retired at age 55. DH is 59 and still trying to decide. He could retire any day between now and 62 I don't think he will go much beyond 62 at the latest.

I've always thought 65 for retirement --it's when Medicare kicks in. Full retirement age under Social Security is getting longer depending on the year you were born, though.

But, some of the articles I have been reading indicate that the trend is fewer people are claiming at age 62, according to the SSA website 9 out out of 10 individuals age 65 or older receive SS benefits.
Link to SSA web site

More interesting statistics:

Most people claim Social Security before they reach the age for full benefits. Of people who started getting retired worker benefits in 2011, three out of four (74 percent) received benefits that are reduced for early retirement. Just under half (41 percent of men and 47 percent of women) first claimed benefits at age 62.

Link to: (National Academy of Social Insurance) What is the Social Security Retirement Age?

[97guns]

in my family the average is probably around 50. my grandfather retired at 40, my dad when he was 51, my mom was 55, my brother was 55 and 39 for me. i have another brother 58 still working, my answer is 40-50 considered early and 50-60 the median

i couldnt imagine working past 60 yet most all my intermediate family and friends are or well on their way to.

[AggieLife]

I would say 60 years old is the average. My father is 50 and about to retire from his current job (but he will be finding another one I believe).

In my opinion, anything before 60 is early. My goal is to be able to retire by age 50, just in case, but I will likely be working long after that (what else would I do!).

[jIM_Ohio]

Normal is when 50% of people your age are working and 50% of people your age are retired

Early is before normal
late is after normal

[97guns]

i recently ran into a guy i went to school with and we started talking about our careers. this guy has been with united airlines since he was 20 and has been a mechanic for the past 18. when 911 hit all the airlines took big hits and united filed bankruptcy. everyones pension got wiped out, he said that he works beside guys that are 80 years old that can not retire, one guy just died a few months back and he was in his late 70's, talk about working out of your coffin.

[Singuy]

i recently ran into a guy i went to school with and we started talking about our careers. this guy has been with united airlines since he was 20 and has been a mechanic for the past 18. when 911 hit all the airlines took big hits and united filed bankruptcy. everyones pension got wiped out, he said that he works beside guys that are 80 years old that can not retire, one guy just died a few months back and he was in his late 70's, talk about working out of your coffin.

Interesting sig, you retired at 39 with a net worth of 300k? Sounds kind of low, unless you live in Vietnam or something.

[JoeP]

i recently ran into a guy i went to school with and we started talking about our careers. this guy has been with united airlines since he was 20 and has been a mechanic for the past 18. when 911 hit all the airlines took big hits and united filed bankruptcy. everyones pension got wiped out, he said that he works beside guys that are 80 years old that can not retire, one guy just died a few months back and he was in his late 70's, talk about working out of your coffin.

Did he not have some retirement on the side? I'm all for a certain amount of trust, but even with "guaranteed pensions" nothing is really guaranteed. At least with a IRAs, you have some control.

[bjl584]

I don't know what normal is. Most people will probably say normal is when you qualify for SS.

Personally, for me, my retirement is going to be determined by dollars and cents, not my age. At the point when I hit financial independence I'm hanging it up.

[feh]

What do you consider normal retirement age? What is early? And when do you think you'll retire?

• I've always considered 65 to be "retirement age".
• Early is anything pre-60.
• In 2 years, when I'll be 50.

Answers to the first 2 questions are clearly just MO.

[bennkar]

i recently ran into a guy i went to school with and we started talking about our careers. this guy has been with united airlines since he was 20 and has been a mechanic for the past 18. when 911 hit all the airlines took big hits and united filed bankruptcy. everyones pension got wiped out, he said that he works beside guys that are 80 years old that can not retire, one guy just died a few months back and he was in his late 70's, talk about working out of your coffin.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought when the airlines went through bankruptcy, the accrued pensions weren't eliminated completely, but taken over by the PBGC and benefits were cut back, usually by 1/3 to 1/2 depending on how generous a contract the unions could get. While no one was happy about it, those that didn't bother to save because the union leadership told them they were "set for life" were the ones that took it the worst. Those that saved a little, and had a paid off residence may not have been flush with cash, but they didn't have to work into their 70's either.

[MonkeyMama]

I have no idea what average is, and have never much cared about average.

Our retirement plan is age 50. There are several reasons. This is when our kids will be done with college and our house will be paid off (our two, er three, biggest expenses will be gone). Also, our parents and most everyone we know have been unable to find work past age 50. Mostly due to the economy. IT's also the age when we expect to hit enough assets to retire. So, all of the above converges around that age. {In addition, my dad retired at 57 and my parents are doing spectacular, so I feel 50 is fairly realistic and I have a clear road map of how to get there. Our retirement will look very much like my parents'. They don't have pensions or anything like that. I think about retirement very differently after watching both our parents retire quite well, on the early side. I don't think I thought age 50 was a realistic goal when I Was younger}.

That said, I like working and my job is great for seasonal or temp or part-time work. I don't know that I will full on retire at 50. But, we do want to be financially independent enough to retire at that point. Prepared for the worst. I am fairly committed to working full-time until I see how college shakes out for my kids. Ideally I'd probably want to keep working seasonally for a few decades, after that. But, I think, *who knows*, and it is good to keep options open. (My dad's own retirement is *nothing* that he had planned, but he seems to be enjoying the prime of his life).

[97guns]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought when the airlines went through bankruptcy, the accrued pensions weren't eliminated completely, but taken over by the PBGC and benefits were cut back, usually by 1/3 to 1/2 depending on how generous a contract the unions could get. While no one was happy about it, those that didn't bother to save because the union leadership told them they were "set for life" were the ones that took it the worst. Those that saved a little, and had a paid off residence may not have been flush with cash, but they didn't have to work into their 70's either.

not sure, he didnt go into specifics, just said they got wiped out and lost everything. his situation is not as bad as the old timers because he has more time than them and can save on the side. the old timers were so close to leaving when it got wiped

[Eagle]

What do you consider normal retirement age?
I would say that most assume age 65 to 67 would be "normal" at least in the US.

What is early?
Anything around 50-55 is early to me.

And when do you think you'll retire?
I'd like to continue working until 60, freelance/consult part time for another 5, and then go into full retirement mode. I know people who retired in their early 50s and had the benefit of excellent health care benefits to bridge; that is a factor that needs to be examined carefully.

How about you and your DH, LAL?

I would agree with you Joe. I'd say 65 to 57 is "normal."

I'd like to retire around 55 or 60. Currently though basing my retirement at 67. We'll see how it goes in the next few years.