With people being healthy till much later in life, the threat of financial uncertainty and the presence of skill shortage, how do we decide when to quit. Retiring can be difficult but what about those people who hang around long after their use by date. There are all the questions associated with can I afford to retire, and it can be very difficult if you feel fulfilled in your job. and are able to share your experience. Why get out when you are at the pinnacle of your life’s work, have so much to offer, and are getting well paid to doing it?
I found a funny juxtaposition this week when Listener Magazine feature article was Time to Quit and then a matter of days after that Issue, another was published about Jacinda Arden, with at least 10 months to run before the election, announced she would be stopping down from being Prime Minister of New Zealand. To me it takes great courage to know when it is the right time to walk away, and often that comes at a time when others think you should stay and don’t really understand why you are leaving.
The idiom ‘quit while your ahead comes to mind and for my wife and I that was in our minds when we retired. We were offered extensions to our contracts that were financially tempting. and we were both in jobs we loved so why walk away. Surely another year or two would continue to be fulfilling and put us in a better financial position.
I have never been a serious mountaineer, but I have climbed over some glaciers to reach a height of over 16.000 feet. One of the things you always has to keep in mind when climbing at high altitude is when to hunker down and make camp and when to turn back. At altitude you don’t realise how much the lack of oxygen can quickly tire you and how quickly the conditions can change.
I remember once in the Himalayas following a ridge and missing the way down in the mist and rain and a relatively achievable 5 hour trek turning into a 12 hour grind including several hours walking in the dark with torches that had gone flat. Fortunately, we found a village tea shop and woke up the owner, who gave us hot tea, food and some dry blankets. We should have turned back as soon as we realised our mistake but like too many people we didn’t know when to quit.
The advantage of making solid plans and announcing when you will retire well in advance cannot be overstated. Spending a year looking at what your spending needs will be once you retire and getting some sound financial advice means you can let go of your income stream with a level of confidence. Of course, some reading this may not have the luxury and need to keep working just to make ends meet but I would say too often people have some over inflated view of what they need.
My experience is your spending tends to adjust to your means and some needs are really just wants or wish list items. The one thing you will have the luxury of is time and a whole new life just waiting to be lived. Many studies have shown that unhappiness in retirement is rarely connected to money. It is things like relationships, a sense of meaning and purpose and continuing to make a worthwhile contribution that bring happiness.
So my advice is don’t leave quitting too late. Too many people work into their seventies saying how much they enjoy their job and miss the opportunities that can only happen when you are in the first stage of retirement. It is a time when you are still fit and healthy and have lots of things you want to do. It’s like quitting and getting a new job – you need to carefully compare the expected value that will be added to your life rather than dwelling upon what you are leaving behind.