Retiring at 47 |
INTRODUCTION The end of labour is to gain leisure. Aristotle Who has not, at some period during his working life, dreamed of retiring at an early age? How early is early? To some, being able to leave the wor k force at sixty and enjoy the good life is such a dream. To others, an early age means fifty. For the writer, his dream of an early retirement age had alw ays been to retire 'sometime before fifty'! He retired at forty-seven and never looked back! Impossible to retire at such an early age you might say? Yes, if it is only a dream and no effort is made some years before the magic target date to prepare for it. The first thought which comes to mind is that of financial security. Unless you have been fortunate enough to hit the jackpot at one of the million-dollar plus lotteries, it is quite natural to doubt that you ever be able to amass enough savings to permit you to actually 'pull the plug' at such an early age. However, as it will be demonstrated later, it is quite possible that you have reached that level of financial security without ever having realized it. WHO CAN RETIRE EARLY? Many believe that only those in the professional sector (eg: doctors, lawyers etc) can accumulate a sufficient nest-egg at an early age to permit them to retire early. The truth of the matter is, it is not necessarily so because the majority of these fortunate people have acquired a way of life which makes it almost impossible for them to leave the work force early and still enjoy the good life at a level to which they have become accustomed. There is also the fact that to most of these highly paid individuals, work is almost indictive and many in that area of employment have been known to suffer from a n overdose of workaholism! The person most likely capable of retiring early, provided that he has prepared himself early enough, is the one who has enjoyed a steady income for most of his working life and there are many in that category. We are of course referring to those employed in the Civil Service, the Armed Forces and big corporations. Although this book is primarily intended for this group of people, most of its contents will also prove beneficial to anyone thinking of an early retirement. Expand on Quality of Life in separate chapter. QUALITY OF LIFE You cannot attain this goal of an early retirement unless you have a good grasp on what you expect out of life, quantatively speaking. Much will be said about 'quality of life' and what it all is about. We will attempt to define what we mean by quality of life, if only to reach a common ground of understanding, because we feel that you cannot retire early unless you have a clear definition of what level of 'quality' you are attempting to reach IS THIS BOOK FOR ME? What am I doing here? Author Is it all worth it? Author In order to establish some basis of comparaison, for illustrative purpose, let us take the fictional case of George Hopeful. George has been employed by the same organization for the past twenty-eight years. Having joined the organization at the lowest level, he has now made it to what might be described as the 'executive' level and is enjoying the good life. George enjoys the benefits of a generous company pension plan. Should he ever require it, the company also offers a very comprehensive medical and dental plan which completely frees him of any worry. George, by any stretch of the imagination, is not a rich man although he did manage to accumulate a sizeable chattel over the years. His children have now left the nest, or will do so within the near future. Being forty-five years old, he can still work for the company for another ten years before being given the golden handshake. A rosy picture indeed. George has got it made. He can look forward to another ten years of steady income, accompanied by yearly incentive increases in his pay cheques and, even failing new promotions, he is assured of receiving yearly salary adjustments to keep up with the ever - present inflation. Given the experience he has acquired in his given field and the impressive net of 'connections' he has weaved over the years, George can even look forward to a well renumerated job when he does finally receive his golden watch or his silver platter. After all, he would only be fifty-five years old an d there should still be much wind left in the old bag. But then, as in every fairy tale, there is a fly in the ointment. In the recent past, George has wit nessed or heard about several of his close friends or acquaintances 'kicking the bucket', and they were only in their late forties or early fifties. George also kept hearing, almost weekly, of other friends and acquaintances who had bought the farm only a few years after having retired at fifty-five. George started asking himself some serious questions, the most prominent one being "Is it all worth it?" and the second most prominent one being " Who needs it?". He began putting a value on everything he could think of. He started to think more and more about 'quality of life'. George was a prime candidate for early retirement! If you are a workaholic, happy at the daily grind and looking forward to twenty more years of it, with little thought of leisure and no idea of the meaning of 'quality of life', then this book is not for you. There is much doubt that you would ever find the time to read it through at a leisurely pace for 'leisure' may not be part of your dictionary. On the other hand, if you see a little of yourself in George, this book might be for you. If, during the past six months you have asked yourself more than once "Is it all worth it?" or, better still, "What am I doing here?", then my friend, this book has been written for you. Does this mean that you should, or even, could retire before you reach your fiftieth birthday? Simply put, the answer is 'no'. There are too many aspects to consider for you and, much more so, for anyone else to say that you are ready and capable of surviving an early retirement. The aim of this book is not to make such a vital decision for you as this decision rests with you and you alone. However it is the intent of this book to help you see through the decision ahead by describing how other people in your situation have dealt with it and what thought process they have gone through during their decision making phase. This book will also attempt to describe what happens when you break all ties with the past, the steady income, the job, the friends and retire to a life of leisure, of 'doing your own thing' ... on a reduced income! RETIREMENT: A DEFINITION Retirement is the ugliest word in the language. - Ernest Hemingway A perpetual holiday is a good definition of hell. - George Bernard Shaw A search through dictionaries to define the words 'retire' or 'retirement' can be a most disturbing experience, at least for anyone approaching th e fatal date and even more so for the unprepared! Let us begin with Oxford's definition of the word 'retire'. To retire is to withdraw (, to ease, to retire at, to seek seclusion, to recede, to become recluse, to be uncommunicative or, even worse, unsociable! The American Oxford adds the following cheery definition: to remove from circulation! In baseball, to retire is to cause a batter to be 'out'. Oth er spine chilling synonyms of the word retire (at least in the eyes of a retiree) include such spirit-raisers as : to lie low, to put out, to move back, to resign, to disappear, to abdicate, to relinquish, and the list goes on... The word retirement, by itself, possesses synonyms such as: departure, seclusion, isolation, resignation. Even expressions having the word retire as their basis give the quizzy soul few comforts. For example, a retiring person is said to be recessive, even unsociable. To retire into the shade is synonymous with being a second fiddle, to take a back seat, to bow! It is little wonder then that Ernest Hemingway described the word retirement as being the ugliest word in the language, any language. Even in French, the word is verbally translated to mean 'to retreat', and a retiree is said to be one who has 'retreated'. Such definition is no big comfort to any one contemplating retirement in the near future. "Hey!" you might say, "stop right here. I must be reading the wrong book. This book is supposed to help me make a decision to retire early, not to scare the pants off me about 'ever' retiring!" The sole purpose of listing the above was to define the problem in order to better find a solution. And the rein lies the problem: it's only a definition! However, everything associated with the word is negative. There is little positive about 'dropping out', or 'abdicating' or .... whatever, take your pick! But, instead of thinking about retiring, think how much more positive it would be to think about 're-orienting' oneself. Everything about orienting oneself is positive. Think how much more pleasant it is to think of oneself as 'taking a bearing', of determining h ow one stands, of heading in a different, and hopefully more self-satisfying direction. There is little negative about that. But for ages, mankind has been associating the word retire with near disaster. After all, when armies are loosing a battle, generals 'retire' their troops, don't they? The more subtle general would have stated that he had 're-oriented' his troops to a more advantageous position, even if this meant to go backwards, but few have so stated in their memoirs if only for the simple fact that when you are loosing a battle, you retire your troops, you just don 't pussy-foot about it! The aim of this book therefore is to help the reader shake the age-old negative connotations associated with the word retirement and to help him f ocus on what retirement really is all about: a re-orientation of one's wants and aspirations. Those who decide to use leisure as a means of mental development, who love good music, good books, good pictures, good plays, good company, good conversation - what are they? They are the happiest people in the world. William Lyon Phelps One ought, every day at least, to hear a song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words. What then do you call a person who has left the workforce after much preparation; a re-orientee? Why not settle for 'a happy person '