Recently I have been reading a few articles on retiring early. Most of them are backed by research that says that retiring early will actually increase your life expectancy. In Holland, public sector workers that took early retirement had a 42% lower five year mortality rate than those who continued working into their 60s. In the US, a different study foundthat seven additional years of retirement can be as good for your health as proactively reducing your risk of serious diseases such as heart conditions or diabetes. There is also the infamous study of ex Boeing employees where, on average, employees retiring at age 65 received pension checks for only 18 months before their death, whilst workers who retired ten years earlier at age 55 continued to receive checks into their 70s and 80s (this study is a little skewed due to the relatively small data population).
Before you rush off and to hand in your retirement letter and start taking it easy, other studies contradict these findings. In his book, Helplessness: On Depression, Development, and Death, Martin Seligman included studies that showed that those who quit the rat race for a life of leisure lived significantly shorter lives than those who continued working or took up other productive “second career” jobs. It seems that we need challenges to keep up our self-worth and self-esteem. Without the stimulation of work, or something like work, we grow depressed and let ourselves go. This then affects our health and vitality.
Also retiring early generally means less money. The maths is simple: the later you retire, the bigger your pension pot is likely to be, and you will also be spending it over less years. So work a bit harder now for jam tomorrow.
In my experience, it is all about how you go about it. The key to a successful retirement is all about continuing to stretch yourself and get outside your comfort zone.
I do not have a silver bullet for you, but you are going to need a plan and that will require some time and effort up front. Prepare the foundation for that new future. This needs to cover your financial, physical and spiritual needs. I have started that transition, focusing on new projects and opportunities whilst slowly weaning myself off the “old career job”. It is also why I have focused on new ways of earning a living and on mobility, and this has included learning the world of digital marketing of which I am a big advocate especially for my 50-something generation.
All this has given me the chance to cut that “ambilocal cord” with London and become location independent, and give me the time to pursue my dreams of seeing more of the world with my wife. The extra time has given me the chance to develop new interests. All lives are a race against time, and in the end, time always wins. Remember, you can always get more money, but you can never get more time.
YOU ARE NOT YOUR JOB. To have a successful retirement (or retire to a new career choice) leave the office behind and think about who you are. If your interests and social life have always revolved around work, then you are going to have to work on new relationships and ways to use new found freedom ways that mean something to you. New challenges, new attitudes, and not a new you, just the REAL you. Ironically, getting to know the real you will take a bit of stepping outside that current comfort zone.