How do you define retirement?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I'm pretty sure you're right. on that one. My girlfriend's mother is dealing with that now. While it is true that she really should not be retiring .. she's being forced to retire because of the job market. She can probably get a part time job at a reduced rate somewhere.

Another reason to find a profession that you could do well in your 60's and 70's .. or maybe a "side hustle" .. but you have to start early.

As far as health concerns.. I really have no answer on how to tackle this issue. There is not a single solution that really solves that problem. There are so many gaps with insurance. I know some people preach Long term care insurance but it's so expensive and though I don't know much about it.. i'm sure there are plenty of gaps.

Maybe the answer is to never let your paycheck determine your lifestyle. If you love what you do great. If you don't well don't get too hooked on needing it. Whether you like your job or not it's probably wise to plan as though the $$$ will go away.

The work in the 60s and 70s should be due to choice, not forced. But then again it's really hard because people get sucked into constantly having money.

[disneysteve]

The work in the 60s and 70s should be due to choice, not forced.

Do you think everyone should be retiring by 60? Is that really realistic? What about the healthcare piece? Without universal health care, what are people supposed to do if they retire before Medicare age (65)? Not everyone can afford to buy an individual policy? Many people keep their jobs solely to maintain health insurance even though financially they're otherwise ready to retire.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

DS according to MMM and other early retirees it's cheap to buy your own policy. They said only catastrophic was necessary and Obamacare made it worse. So many early retirees in their 20s and 30s are retiring without health insurance and very little money (IMHO). But they say health insurance is like only $200-300/month. I found it not to be true but I think it's hard to judge. Mostly because most ER people right now haven't hit the years where the cost of health insurance and OOP have really hit. We don't really know what a 55 year old early retiree will pay because most people don't take the risk. At 55 most people probably have a pre-existing condition and used to be uninsurable.

I don't know how it'll play out. I know what I think would be best, but I don't think it's wrong to say maybe a free market healthcare is better.

TH don't you buy your own insurance through a religious organization? And it's cheaper than obamacare? What happens if someone gets cancer? What happens if Obamacare changes and pre-exisiting conditions comes back? How does that affect the plan you've signed up with.

[ygbodybuilder10]

My job you retire after 20 years of service, when i reach that 20 im done working for them and everyone else

[Outdoorsygal]

Retirement for us will still be working to some extent.
At least flipping some real estate from time to time but maybe, include me working every other weekend (50.5 hrs) just to keep the benefits (medical, dental, life, accident, etc.)

The house we are buying right now might fall thru in escrow but otherwise, the plan is to rent out the back part of the house during the summer.
It's in. a touristy area so renting it out is a very reliable source of income.

[disneysteve]

include me working every other weekend (50.5 hrs) just to keep the benefits (medical, dental, life, accident, etc.)

Just out of curiosity, when you are working every other weekend, will you say you are retired if someone asks what you do for a living? Will you say you are semi-retired? Or will you just say no, you're still working?

[Outdoorsygal]

If we are only renting out part of the house during the summer, my reply will be "I do not work but we rent out the house over the summer and flip real estate a little on a small scale"
While officially still working for an employer, I will probably call it "part time work mainly for the benefits"
plus I'll add "We rent out our home during the summer"

Only because I think people ask often to find out how flexible you are regarding social time.

I consider you Semi-retired

[disneysteve]

I will probably call it "part time work mainly for the benefits"

That makes sense and would certainly be accurate.

I consider you Semi-retired

Me? I'm not any sort of retired. I work a full-time job. Until last week, I was working a minimum of 43 hours/week and usually 47 or even 51. As of 11/5 I'll be doing a minimum of 36 hours/week and occasionally more. Nowhere near retirement.