The Best Age To Retire

[BKK90210]

There is no exact best age to retire. It greatly depends on the individual . Everyone has different goals and needs. The best age to retire is when you think your life will be more meaningful elsewhere, or by doing something else, and of course with the means to do it …..whether be financially, physically, or mentally.

What is the meaning of “retirement” anyway. It has diff meaning to each one of us. For me “retirement” means I now can be sitting somewhere watching the sunset, eating pork leg over rice, while writing my 3 engineering books that I have started couple yrs ago and never have found the time to finish them. As for fulfilling the emotional and spiritual side, I+my wife(thai) are planning to either fostering or adopting couple thai kids, once we “retired”, hence giving them the opportunity for better future and knowing that, yes my excess hard-earned money can indeed bring the happiness of diff kind and at the same time is making someone else life better. Those are the meaning of life and retirement for me.

Let’s see I’m now 43, so next year or the year after next will be just perfect for me…..right now too many obligations here to fulfill first.

[dclaryjr]

I am 55 and I'm ready right now! But I'm still a ways off because my wife and I are heavily involved in raising our grandchildren. I'd love to go now while I have the health to really enjoy it. I have a low-stress but boring job that I could leave with no regret. So it looks like I'll be attending a high school graduation, and then boarding a one-way flight to LOS the next day!

[Naam]

I could never retire, only becuase I like to keep busy. I may change jobs, but i will never retire.

that's (in my not so humble view) a widely spread misconception. the fact is that -once retired- one is running out of time because of all the things one would like to do which was not possible during a professional career with work week of up to 100 hours.

for me the day could have 36 hours and i still wouldn't be able to accomplish each and every task i have planned to do.

p.s. i am happily retired since 17 years, 3 months and 16 days.

[Gary A]

I would have liked to have retired earlier but ended up waiting until I was 58. The reason was financial. I am pretty conservative and wanted to be sure that I was fixed for the rest of my life. Having to live on a budget is NOT my idea of a happy retirement.

Thinking about working even part time for anyone makes my stomach turn. I have many things to occupy my time. I can tinker around in my workshop, work in the garden, surf on the computer and never get bored. My wife complained that paying for UBC TV was a waste because I never watched it. She has since had it discontinued and plans to have it hooked back up for NFL football season. It's great to be able to go on little trips without having to worry about DUTIES. I really think that if I were a young man, knowing I had years of work ahead of me that I would be suicidal.

[ThaiPauly]

There have been some wonderful and inspiring replies to Guesthouse's well thought out post.

I retired at 49.

Apart from supervising the building of my house which was akin to a full time job I have not done much. I tried a few things but they did not work out over a breif period of time.

I just wish I could get it through my thick head that I don't need to work, but I have difficulty with this because I feel my brain is going soft.

My health has deteriorated tremendously since I stopped work and it is a full-time job just to try to stay as healthy as I can. My problem is I have no hobbies and I should really get some, but my health gets in the way.

I am currently in the process of starting something new ...but after reading how happy most of you are with your decision to stay retired it makes me have second thoughts. Do I really need the stress...?

I don't know if it would improve my life or not now...I find doing nothing quite stressful...even a trip to Tesco seems fraught with stress to me...crazy isn't it?

Like many of you I was in a position that carried a lot of stress, running my own company and to begin with I was glad to be free of it...now I would love to have it back...but I could not do it in my current physical condition.

I am happily married to a Thai woman..she treats me like a King..I don't have to lift a finger and that is probably part of the problem.

My commitment to my business has given me the finacial security I need for life, but I don't find retirement fullfilling right now.

This thread has given me a lot to think about..thank you for everyone's contribution, there have been some woderful posts.

I think I just need to "Get A Life" !!!!

Regards

TP

[PhilHarries]

I would have liked to have retired earlier but ended up waiting until I was 58. The reason was financial. I am pretty conservative and wanted to be sure that I was fixed for the rest of my life. Having to live on a budget is NOT my idea of a happy retirement.

My exact line of thought.

Like GH I am in the oil & gas industry and currently earning in a week what I got for a month five years back. So I'm riding this wave for as long as it keeps going then I'll "retire". When I say retire I mean I'll be in a financial situation, almost there now, where I don't have to work. Then I'll just sit back and relax taking the odd six month or so contracts when I feel like and choosing the locations that suit me. I don't want to find myself at 60+ busting my balls out somewhere like Saudi Arabia, Sahkalin island or Khazakhstan, that's for the young guns.

My retirement location will be south east Asia for sure, just haven't worked out the exact GPS coordinates but it's sure a lot of fun checking them all out. . Thailand is still top choice for me but PI, VN and MY all figure in there somewhere, maybe I'll just drift round all four doing three months in each. That panders to my nomadic tendencies.

[cloudhopper]

My chance for retirement came at age 43. I took it and the best days of my life have been ever since....

[philliphn]

I am almost 52 years old. I dream of retiring in Thailand. In 3 years 3 months I will get my State employee pension. I need this money to be able to retire comfortably. I would retire today if I could. I have a stresful job that is not getting any easier.

My father on the other hand is 83 years old. He has the money to retire in great comfort if he wanted to today. He says he has thought about it but he would not have enough to do. However, he has a very highly paid job as a professor of medicine. His life has been his work. He will work until he is not physically able to any more. He works 7 days a week and long hours too. This is his choice.

I don't think that I will be bored in retirment. Rather, I will be relieved of alot of stress. I will travel and experience a new culture and develope a new way of life. Swim for hours every day. Read books, relax, and find myself some posative female energy to be around. I count the months on my calendar!

[sfokevin]

I will retire in one more year at 47... I could continue to work and retire at a traditional age (65) but the the next 20 years of life experiences is more important than the the additional money I would accumulate and most likely not enjoy in my old age...

[PeaceBlondie]

To each his own. Some people are never ready to retire. Also, it depends on your definition of retirement. I quit my stressful government career at age 56, and never regretted getting out of the rat race. But if I'm not quite a workaholic, I found that I had to keep busy. Sometimes I would do volunteer work 24/7 for several weeks, then go back to the beach house and get bored swimming. Then I came to Thailand and spent two years full time teaching, which was stressful but rewarding in certain ways. Then my new pension said I couldn't work full time, and I fell off the bike and got infected, the dog on the beach bit me, I moved away and came back....I wrote a double novel of 260,000 words...I spend countless hours on the internet...did I ever quit living?

I would go crazy sitting in a bar all day with nothing to do except exchanging the same macho, exaggerated tales with my mates on the next bar stools. "When I was in the CIA/SAS/Rangers/FBI/IRS, we used to smash the guy's head in and feed it to the dogs..." In reality, I left the IRS and then listened to indigenous men tell us stories about a Zapatista rebel turning into an eagle, eating the head of the paramilitary troop, and flying away. Truth is stranger than fiction.

[nick2k]

have you heard of the boeing study on longevity vs. retirement age? basically, the study concludes that for every year you work after the age of 55, you lose 2 years of your life.

http://www.seeya-downtheroad.com/Informati...etireYoung.html

[Barney_the_Dinosaur]

I want to keep working (till I drop). I had a bout of retirement in Thailand and I hated the inactivity. I kept scheming ways to get back to the game again.

If you're wealthy - fine, you just retire whenever, age is immaterial. If not, you end up cutting costs, boozing, playing on internet forums.....& there's only so many books to read and cheap thrills.

Worst thing is to feel obliged to become an English teacher just to make ends meet. Yuk.

Edited March 16, 2007 by Barney_the_Dinosaur

[Sheryl]

I'm semi-retired at 54, have been so since about 50 and it is perfect for me. By semi-retired I mean that I work sporadically on short-term consultancies. I find that about half-time (6 months out of twelve but not all in sequence) is just right. More than that and I feel resentful at not enough free time, too much less and I get bored.

Although at the time I stopped full-time employment I felt like I just wanted to retire altogether I find now that I don't, I really do still need the challenge and satuisfaction of professional work...just in smaller doses that provide more of a balance to life than full time work does. The need for free time is kind of like when you're hungry and feel that food is all you want or need..once you're full you realize it's not.

course not everyone is in a line of work that allows for part-time. For those who aren't and want to stop working while still young, I'd advise finding some sort of work -- even if on a volunteer basis -- that you can do on a part-time basis...or write a book, or something like that.

Definitely as we get older we need a total leisure..at least not in my case.

[bendix]

Great thread and interesting the number of 'semi-retirees' around.

I've been in the same high stress job for nearly five years, the last 2 and a half located in Bangkok. I'm in the middle of negotiating what I am calling a part-time sabbatical. Basically it will mean downgrading my time commitment to only 3 days a week, and I'll rest, play golf or find other things to do for the remaining 2 days a week. I think they are going to agree, and I'm really looking forward to it.

The money aspect isnt an issue - I'll still get more than a good salary even working three days. The challenge will be to not work too hard in the days off; already I'm getting calls to 'come and have a chat' with other companies I know.

But I will resist. My ultimate aim is to treat this almost as a semi-retirement with a view to seeing how I like it. And I want to use the time to find the next 'thing' for me.

We will see . . .

[Naam]

I want to keep working (till I drop). I had a bout of retirement in Thailand and I hated the inactivity. I kept scheming ways to get back to the game again.

If you're wealthy - fine, you just retire whenever, age is immaterial. If not, you end up cutting costs, boozing, playing on internet forums.....& there's only so many books to read and cheap thrills.

Worst thing is to feel obliged to become an English teacher just to make ends meet. Yuk.

it all depends on the individual and of course his/her spouse. if i was a bachelor i could live (and enjoy!) in the wilderness of Thailand in a moderate accomodation spending a fraction what i am actually spending nowadays. BUT i do not complain and i am proud that i can afford to provide a luxurious lifestyle for a good wife of nearly 28 years.

[andook]

Personally speaking, I plan to retire in about another 10 years. I'm 41 now, and all things going to plan, I should be able to do so in style. Hopefully....

Having said that, I still enjoy my job. It doesn't stress me out too much, and the hours are civilised.

I can understand the "rat-race" players wanting out quickly, and also the construction expats working in some real arse-hole locations in sometimes dangerous conditions. I plan to keep as active as possible in the meantime and keep enjoying life in style, and the company of good people.

Don't rush to the finish line, it might be a huge anti-climax.

[jaiyenyen]

I've been self employed for the past 30 yrs, working long hours mainly, with a fair amount of stress. Two years ago, i married a Thai lady. Got a house in Bangkok, and made a commitment to take care of her three children. I suddenly realised one day that life is short, and this is not a rehersal for the main event, having had at least four friends die the previous two years.

I've just closed my business, sold my house in the UK, and next month will move to Thailand to live full time.

I am 49.

I cannot wait for this next stage of my life to begin, i suppose i will be retired.

I do worry about waking up in the morning with nothing to do, and i know this sounds stupid, but i know i will feel guilty about me doing what i want with my time, while others go to work.

However, i will be working very hard at having a good time with my beautiful wife and her three great children

Life BRING IT ON !!!!!!!

[PeaceBlondie]

That study by the airplane companies, based on their pensioners, may be out of date, but it's amazing. It indicates that the longer you wait to retire, you have far less chance of spending many years in retirement (and the final years are often the least enjoyable). Plus, I saw lots of folks die before they retired; or they were wheeled out the office as totally disabled, and then retired.

You may discover that by waiting too long, you won't get your money's worth out of your pension, when and if you do retire.

Barney, there are far worse fates than being an English teacher. Most folks couldn't hack it, regardless of their age. It would be a crying shame to be reduced to nothing more than having to open an expatriate bar 7 days a week, and spending all night listening to the whingers.

[bendix]

You may discover that by waiting too long, you won't get your money's worth out of your pension, when and if you do retire.

Funny, cos someone made an off the cuff remark to me in passing the other day, which really made me think.

Along the lines of every day that he works he gets just a little bit richer, but with one day less in which to enjoy it.

[Barney_the_Dinosaur]

Now Bendix is married he'll find that every day is less enjoyable anyway.

I presume he fell for the "After we're married, i'll be even nicer to you' line

bah!

[ilyushin]

50-53 years old would be ideal. I can always find enough to keep me busy or entertained.

Though that I would retire at 40 yrs once. That has come and gone. The next target hopefully will not be missed.

[suiging]

My age !!!

It doesn't matter when I say it either !!!!!!!!!!!

[andook]

Now Bendix is married he'll find that every day is less enjoyable anyway.

I presume he fell for the "After we're married, i'll be even nicer to you' line

bah!

Cheeky. She suddenly retires from bj services, too.....

[Barney_the_Dinosaur]

Post marital celibacy is a good topic. I wonder how many expats here are not giving their wives regular service anymore.

[bendix]

Post marital celibacy is a good topic. I wonder how many expats here are not giving their wives regular service anymore.

Ummmm . . . . I can assure you that married life is INFINITELY more enjoyable and preferable than single life, but thanks for your concerns gentlemen. It's a reason to get up in the morning.

Now, back to the topic at hand . . . .

[Barney_the_Dinosaur]

Post marital celibacy is a good topic. I wonder how many expats here are not giving their wives regular service anymore.

Ummmm . . . . I can assure you that married life is INFINITELY more enjoyable and preferable than single life, but thanks for your concerns gentlemen. It's a reason to get up in the morning.

Now, back to the topic at hand . . . .

Still in the honeymoon period.... !

[GuestHouse]

Perhaps such things could be the stuff of another thread. (Household plumbing seems a good choice).

Eitherway, it would be a shame to drag this one down.

[Naam]

Don't rush to the finish line, it might be a huge anti-climax.

the real anti-climax is when your friends stand at your grave and sing later (in a pub in chorus with your widow) "he WAS a jolly good fellow... that nobody can deny".

[Chris.B]

Howdy Guesthouse,

Mate, i cant stop thinking about what you reckon is enough to retire on. I have tried to do the sums, but i need more x perience in LOS before i can come to that conclusion.

Let me ask this: How much money per week would you need to retire on for a family of 4 living in Country area of LOS. ? I guessed 3000 BHT Week. What are your thoughts.

Oh, That is if you own your home, but still got rates, elec, water etc.

429 baht a day? I don't think so. I would hazard a guess at 7000 baht a week or 30,000 baht a month minimum if you are living upcountry. Living somewhere like Pattaya would need a higher income.

[CaptHaddock]

Finances are sorted, but do I actually want to retire? And what is the right age to do so?

This is clearly a topic near and dear to the hearts of many, mine included. It is plain that some succeed in retirement, early or otherwise, and many do not. I am working on the basis that what determines whether your own retirement is successful is how well you are prepared for what you retire "to." While we understand very well what we are leaving, the stress of work life in most cases, it is in the unknown future that we retire to where we will be content or not. So, my own process at age 57 incorporates these steps:

1. identify the sources of enjoyment in your current life: my own are fairly typical:

a. daily life with my Thai wife

b. dinner with my close friends of long-standing

c. two hobbies that I pursue, birdwatching and photography

d. exercise: daily six miles of walking (often the best part of my day)

e. satisfactions of a job well done at work with other people

2. plan how to accommodate each need in retirement.

a. Thai wife will be there, whether we retire in Thailand or remain here in the US

b. if we go to Thailand, leaving my old friends behind is a problem since new friends are just not the same. Friendship might be a reason not to leave.

c. these hobbies can be pursued in old age in most locations

d. walking is not an option in BKK so I would have to switch to a gym-based activity

e. not sure how essential this would prove to be in Thailand, but I might do a little light teaching to satisfy this need. I hope that I can find a better solution though.

Now, all this sounds too straightforward to need explaining, but many, perhaps most, people fail to plan even to this extent. My own parents never identified their need for companionship with peers and have felt lonely and isolated for twenty years of retirement. About five years ago I found myself in a job that stressed me out to the extent that I had to admit that I had no source of enjoyment in my normal day. So, I took up first one then the other hobby and now I am developing my interest and skills in both with a view toward spending more time at them in retirement. In addition, I am learning Thai to make the Thailand option more realistic. Since my wife, who is younger, will be pursuing a career while I am retired, the choice between Thailand and the US will basically depend on her career preference.

The financial problem is the largest one for retirement, but realistically planning for satisfaction requires inventorying our individual needs and sources of enjoyment.

If we go to Thailand I would retire in four years. If we stay in the US, I would work two or three years longer to meet the additional financial requirement. My current job is well-paid, low stress, but fairly boring. So, I would leave it now happily if there were no other considerations. But since there are, I consider myself lucky to have the options that I do.

Hope this helps.

Capt Haddock