https://www.marketwatch.com/story/i...to-your-health-2019-11-25?mod=fire-retirement See link for Mark Hulbert's take on it. What say you? ----- Voting yes based on anecdotal evidence only, being a baby boomer and having seen the retirement generation that came before me. Maybe play a round of golf or two, take a European vacation once in a while, but for the most part just sitting and waiting for their ticket to be punched to that eternal retirement community in the sky. Not healthy at all.
I'm early retired (4 years so far) and my health has improved. Measured physically by stuff like better blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, and blood sugar and other labs; and measured mentally by way more friends and relatives and places visited, hikes completed, photos taken, books read, etc. So personally, I vote "no." I'd otherwise likely agree with @emmett kelly though...most retirees I've known really didn't have a plan to keep busy and once they retired atrophy (and health problems) began OR they ended up going back to work at least part time, so in that case I'd vote "yes." Since my two votes cancel each other out, I am forced to accept @emmett kelly's 3rd suggestion: "go back to bed".
Wow, this poll is so timely. I took most of the week off and went back to work today only to find out what I missed, that one of my mates decided to retire early. He's a key member of our team and it's going to make things very difficult. There's a rule-of-thumb, Price's square root law, that says the square root of the total number in a domain does half the work. There are ten of us and the law holds up, since 3 of us do more than half the work. Now there will be 2 of us, that is, if the other key guy doesn't decide to retire also, the one who has been contemplating it for the last couple years and the one I thought most likely to go by the end of the calendar year. If he leaves also, then it'll be just me to pick up the slack. I'm not ready to cast a vote yet, but I do know this, if you're good at what you do, your early retirement is not good for the health of those who remain.
It all depends on how active you are while working and when retired. When working, are you physically active at your job? Do you go to the gym after work? Are you intellectually stimulated while working? Are you eating healthy? etc. When retired, are you staying active? Are you working out? Are you eating healthy? Are you staying intellectually stimulated? etc. It's all a lifestyle. Are you trying to improve yourself? If you are, I'd say you're fine working or being retired. Just stay physically and mentally trying to improve yourself and you'll be OK either way.
I would appreciate reading more about your personal trajectory. Not just the financial aspect. I assume you saved, lived austere, and invested well. I'm interested the anxiety of making the jump, finding meaning in retired life, and that sort of stuff. Do you have a blog somewhere?
Yeah, I've hinted at some of this in posts scattered throughout Stockaholics since I joined in Dec. 2017. Thanks for asking . . . I don't have a blog or journal or anything like that. The closest to documenting the transition experience would be via brief e-mail conversations with those few co-workers, friends, and family who have been curious to hear more. I couldn't even recommend a source, either, as I never read any retirement blogs per se, although I used to periodically check in on Mr. Money Mustache who would occasionally offer insights into the jump or managing meaningfulness during retirement. I read him more for inspiration rather than actual planning, but once I made the leap I've pretty much stopped reading anything retirement related.
I think it depends on the individual. If you are a motivated, healthy and active person, the early retirement can be of great benefit to your continue health, passions and ambitions. Just because I'm retired doesn't mean I stop dreaming or working hard towards new goals.
Emmett,... Bedtime! Seriously though, I will be retiring early. Me and mine plan to enjoy everything about life having to offer in retirement, short of the work stresses and rat racing we have been doing since we first punched that first time clock. Saying that people end up dying and unhealthy and old after they retire, is like saying tires are the most leading cause of accidents as the car rolls on them to their ultimate destination, so get rid of tires. I like this question, although I had to take the third answer.
Thank you for the response @The Brontide . Not really following your logic, but maybe I'm slow on the uptake. However, using that analogy, if the car sits in the garage for an extended period of time and gets no usage the battery dies and the tires become flat and irreparable. Likewise if the retiree buys new Nikes but never uses them, he/she too will have body parts that deteriorate. Anyway, enjoy your retirement and stay healthy.
Ah yes, but when your retired, you get old anyway and your body isn't on the upswing. But I have always liked this quote,... “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!” ― Hunter S. Thompson, The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967
