What are good reasons to retire? It’s probably a question that you asked yourself when considering retirement. Whether you reach the common retirement age soon or maybe just want to retire earlier. There are many reasons people choose to retire from their job.
As part of my research for the articles I write, I talk to many (soon to be) retirees. So I also asked them about their reasons to retire. It resulted in this complete list of good reasons to retire. Ready to get inspired? Let’s find out more!
1) You Reached The Retirement Age
Reaching the retirement age as a reason to retire may sound like an open door. Still, for most people, it is the #1 reason to retire. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average retirement age in the United States is 64 years. Most people look forward to their retirement to spend more time on other things in their lives.
2) You Want To Take It Easy
Are you tired after all those years of hard work? You just want to relax and take it easy? You just found your perfect reason to retire! When you’re close to your retirement age, and you decided for yourself that you want to take it easy, just go for it! This might be your reason to retire.
Going with retirement is a life-changing event, and there’s a lot you need to take care of or get used to. Of course, your finances are important but have you ever thought about the new lifestyle you need to get used to? Taking it easy is one thing, but finding new things to do, structuring your days in retirement, and other lifestyle-related things are equally as important. To help you with this process, I wrote the Ebook Five Steps To Happiness In Retirement. A straightforward book with the essential tips on how to transition to a happy and fulfilling retirement lifestyle. Click here to buy this Ebook.
3) You’re Financially Set
Saving enough money for your retirement is essential to create a budget that you can spend during your retirement years. Being financially set for retirement simply means that your savings are high enough to retire without worrying about finances.
When you reached the retirement age, you’re probably eligible for some retirement benefits as well. Creating a retirement budget is for everyone different because each situation is different. Knowing how much you need to save for retirement is important to create a lifestyle plan for when you retire. This way, you can more easily figure out how much you need during your retirement years.
It’s always a good idea to talk with your financial advisor about your retirement savings. When you don’t have a financial advisor yet, you can find one very easily using the website of the national association of personal financial advisors (NAPFA).
There is a good chance that you saved enough money for only a specific period in retirement. In general, people saved a retirement budget that can last them for around 20 to 25 years after their retirement. However, with longevity and healthy aging in mind, chances are you will live longer in retirement. To avoid having a gap in your budget, you can start saving for longevity after retiring using the application AgeUp. AgeUp provides a guaranteed income for long life. Saving plans start as low as 25 USD a month. Start saving for that extra budget today. Find out more about AgeUp here.
4) To Start Learning New Things
You are never too old to learn. In fact, learning new things when you’re getting older is important when it comes to healthy aging. It keeps your brain fit. According to Harvard Health Education, you need to challenge your brain just like when we train our muscles. Learning new things helps with that. And when you don’t love your job anymore, you probably want to focus on learning new things in life. It becomes a good reason to retire.
One of the best ways to start learning new things is to follow classes and courses. The easiest and most inspiring way to do this is by signing up for MasterClass. The masterClass platform is an online platform where you can follow classes from the world’s most famous and successful people. Learn more about MasterClass;
5) To Spend More Time With Your Spouse
In general, most people realize that it’s important to spend time with their loved ones when they’re aging. Instead of working 40+ hours a week, you want to spend more time with your spouse, doing fun things together. If you feel like this is getting more important to you, it’s time to consider retirement.
When you and your spouse are both working, you might wonder when it’s the best time to retire for the both of you. To help you figure this out, I wrote the article Should Couples Retire At The Same Time?
6) To Spend More Time With Family & Friends
Spending more time with your loved ones also means spending more time with family and friends. It’s funny to see that when people retire, they often meet with their old friends. Or move closer to family. One would say that finding a balance between work and spending time with the people you love is important throughout life. However, most people focus more time on their jobs and make this switch during retirement. When you feel like you’re out of balance and want to spend more time with your family and friends, it’s a good reason to retire.
7) To Be With Your Grandchildren
Both my parents and parents-in-law are retired, and they fill in their retirement very differently. My parents love to be busy with all kinds of crafts, work in the garden, and travel. My parents-in-law are spending a lot of time volunteering and helping others in their retirement community. One thing they have in common, they want to spend as much time with their grandchildren as possible.
As you might know, we are traveling around the world as much as we can. Because of Covid restrictions, we are limited to travel within Europe, which still is amazing. The grandparents of our son are following us everywhere we go. Not for the complete journey, but they’re visiting us at least once a month. It’s amazing to see how our son bonds with his grandparents.
When you’re a grandparent yourself or maybe soon to be grandparent, it’s a great reason to retire. Spending more time with your grandchildren and children is one of the most precious things you can do in life.
8) To Complete Your Bucket List
Do you have a bucket list? A list of things you want to complete at least once in your life. When you feel you want to spend more time completing these things, it’s a good reason to retire! After all, life is short, and spending enough time on the things you always wanted to do is more important than work.
When you’re reading this part and start to think, ‘I don’t have a bucket list, but maybe I want to create one,’ I’m here to help you out. Many retirees find it difficult to create a bucket list, but they still have many wishes of things to do in retirement. In my article, 430 ideas for a retirement bucket list, you’ll find the inspiration to create your perfect retirement bucket list.
9) To Spend More Time On Your Passion
Having something you’re passionate about is important to get the most out of your life. Spending time on your passion makes you happy. And for most people, their passion isn’t work-related.
So, when you feel you want to spend more time on your passion, you might be ready for retirement as well. However, many retirees forgot what they’re passionate about. They spend so much time on work-related things. They need to re-invent their passion. When this sounds familiar to you, I recommend reading my article How To Find A Passion In Retirement.
10) To Volunteer
My parents-in-law, both retired and living in a retirement community, love to volunteer. They’re often busy helping other older people in their community. It’s like they found their purpose in retirement. For many people, it’s important to give back to their community and help out others. There’s a good chance you find this important as well.
When you want to spend more time volunteering and helping out in your community, it’s a good reason to retire and focus on volunteering instead. Volunteering creates fulfillment in life, something that is related to find more happiness. In my article, Why Retirees Volunteer, you’ll read more about the positive effect of volunteering for retirees.
11) Because Of Health Conditions
A bit more worrying reason to retire is because of health conditions. It’s possible that your health is declining with age and that you’re not able to work because of your health condition. When this applies to you, it’s always important to talk with your doctor and employer first before deciding if retirement is the best option. Maybe there are other solutions you can consider as well.
12) To Improve Your Health
For many people, improving their health is an important reason to retire. More and more people suffer from the burn-out syndrome or other health issues that are work-related. According to the World Health Organization, “Burn-out is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”
Going with retirement to improve your health can help make a switch in your lifestyle to improve your health and find more happiness and fulfillment in life.
I suffered from burn-out syndrome myself, and to recover from this is for everyone different. The most important is that you find professional help and take things slow.
13) To Become A Teacher
When you’re close to your retirement age, you probably have a lot of experience—both work and life-related. For many people, it’s fulfilling to teach others about lifestyle or work in general. So if you want to become a teacher, it can be the perfect reason to retire and make a career switch.
It’s possible to both retire and become a teacher and still be eligible for retirement benefits. Of course, this depends on your situation, but there are many possibilities you can consider. You can find out more in my step-by-step guide, Can You Retire And Become A Teacher?
14) Because Of A Reorganization
When you worked in the same company for years, there’s a good chance you’ve survived many reorganizations. To keep up with changing markets, companies simply need to change their working structure as well. However, when you close to retirement, you probably don’t feel like changing a lot in the way you work. This might be the perfect reason to retire.
When your company starts a reorganization, you can talk to your boss about the possibilities to go with retirement. Maybe a bit earlier as planned, and still keep your benefits. Often, when the company need to cut down on salary budget, they’re willing to talk about this, especially when you give them an easy opportunity to save money. However, it’s important to always keep your retirement budget in mind and talk to your financial advisor before making a decision.
15) You Don’t Love Your Job
Figure this, you work for the same company for over 25 years, a lot of have changed during this time, and you feel you just don’t fit in anymore. Sounds familiar? It happens to a lot of people who are getting close to their retirement age. You just lost interest in your job and don’t love it anymore. When you don’t love your job and are close to your retirement age, it’s time to consider retirement. It’s important in life to love the things you do.
16) You’ve Created A Plan For Retirement
One of the best things you can do before you go with retirement is creating a plan for your retirement. Of course, everyone is talking about saving enough money for retirement. And this is a crucial step to go with retirement in the first place. However, it’s often overlooked to create a lifestyle plan for retirement.
Do you already have a plan for your retirement? If you can answer this question with yes and have enough budget for your retirement, you just found your reasons to retire!
However, when you still need to create a plan for spending your time in retirement, you might want to hold off on your retirement. When you have a lifestyle plan for retirement, you avoid getting in a gap where you don’t know what to do. A lifestyle plan makes the transition into retirement much easier.
In my Ebook Five Steps To Happiness In Retirement, I’ll help you create this lifestyle plan. You can get the Ebook here.
What Are Reasons Not To Retire?
In general, reasons not to retire are when you’re not financially ready. You still love your job too much, you’re didn’t reach the retirement age, or you’re not eligible for retirement benefits.
Even when you’re financially ready and have reached the retirement age, some people choose not to retire because they just want to work for a few more years. For many people, it’s fulfilling to keep working, sometimes part-time. They become mentors or coaches for younger, more in-experienced colleagues and make this mentoring role a part of their transition to retirement.
How To Transition Into Retirement?
Most people transition into retirement by making a lifestyle plan for their retirement. A smooth transition into retirement is only possible when you’re financially ready and know how you want to spend and structure your retirement days.
Before you go with retirement, it’s important that you learn more about the five stages of retirement. These stages are emotional periods every new retiree gets through. The way you prepared for the transition to retirement also dictates how you experience these retirement stages.
You can learn more in my article How To Transition From Work To Retirement.