I recall taking an online quiz to determine whether I was a good candidate for early retirement. I scored quite well.
There are some people who feel guilty if they are not "working". Some think they need a reason to get up in the morning. Some wouldn't know what to do with their time if they didn't have a regular job.
I am none of those people. With all the things I enjoy doing, there are not enough hours in the day.
If you can, hold out for 66 1/2, for you I think, then you get full SS and no reduction if you work. I plan on working until 70 if my industry holds up. If not then I will do the best I can. I will take my SS at 66 1/2 or so. And pack that away. Gotta protect my wife. FWIW. Good luck and happy retirement.
With a small pension and cash in the bank to back it up, we live comfortably on our limited income because we paid cash to build our house and have no mortgage. No auto payments. No credit card bills. Just monthly utility and insurance and regular living expenses that everybody has. We can go our to eat every so often or take in a movie. We travel three or four times a year.
We own three other homes besides our residence. A rental in Arizona, and beach home in South Carolina and a lake house just ten miles from our homestead. Only the rental in Arizona has a mortgage. The others are free and clear.
We live on agricultural acreage in rural Florida and get an exemption from country property taxes by raising cattle on the land. We sell our calves in the late summer to pay for the taxes on the house in the fall. We both are veterans and get our medical care at the VA in the big city about a 1/2 hour from here.
We're not well off by many standards but we have a nice home, decent cars, and a property that brings us income to cover taxes. We also have farm equipment, tractors and trailers to run our farm. We are not wanting.
Retire when you want and go with your gut. If you don't have the money, cut back on your lifestyle or get part time jobs to make up the difference. You can do whatever you want if you want it bad enough.
Have something to do. Hobbies, volunteer, travel, gardening, etc. We bought a farm and it keeps us busy, healthy and active. Without it, you'll die quickly if you are just bidding your time rocking the time away on the front porch.
I tell people I am retired but run a 25 head beef cattle operation. They object that isn't retirement but just more work.
But I say that I don't have a boss, a time clock to punch, a commute to make, nice clothes to wear, or co-workers to put up with. Never been happier in our lives.
Good luck and go for it.
I retired at 62 and started taking SS right away. The breakeven point is 82 for me. I don’t know if I’ll live past 82. I’ve already had a bout with cancer. I’m still working to keep busy though. Sitting around doing nothing gets boring real quick.
One of the best functioning government departments is the SS admin.
If you call them and ask questions the CSRs will bend over backwards trying to help you understand your benefits and calculations and altho they can’t ‘advise’ you they will be happy to discuss pros and cons.
I've always wanted to be self employed. Seven years ago next month I hung out my shingle. I long ago crossed the line from fearing the phone wouldn't ring to catching myself wishing it would shut up.
As the business grows I surrender more responsibility. I hope to reach the point where I can watch the business and spend 3-4 months per year traveling.
I really enjoy having full decision making. I can't imagine retiring.
Do the math - if it works out I highly recommend the retirement route. Wife retired at 62 and 2 years later I did same. Both immediately tapped Social Security and moved IRAs to a safe fund.
Well it wasn't, it was the start of a new life of fun......