Taking early retirement is one of those crucial life decisions where you need to carefully weigh up your pros and cons, as the impact this decision might have on the quality of your life can be critical.
And while one of the biggest challenges has a lot to do with how you’ll handle your financial matters after the day you retire, the benefits you’ll gain are more difficult to put in numbers and measure but are no less vital.
Here are a few good reasons why you should consider taking early retirement.
You Need a Lifestyle Change
People tend to put off their retirement until it becomes a step they have to take, be it because they lose their job, their health degrades or they simply have to start caring for their ageing partner.
This happens even if they have enough savings to secure themselves and their families after an earlier retirement. The fear of future days of financial uncertainty seems to be a huge issue for them to handle, and they rather go on working diligently until they’ve completely paid all their consumer credits or they are completely done with their resources to build a fat nest egg.
We all have several stories to tell about our colleagues or friends who fell victim to making such a decision and passed away just a few months after they finally made it to retirement or even just a few months before.
Still, others find that delaying retirement can be risky for another reason, the one which concerns the most precious resource they have – time. Being aware of the uncertainty of how long they’ll remain active and have the energy to live their life fully, they successfully choose to beat the fear of financial unpredictability and live their lives according to their own wishes and desires, in early retirement.
If you have some savings you can count on and feel that you need a lifestyle change or that your current employment is restricting you from achieving your goals, consulting a financial or pension advisor could help you sort out when and how early retirement will be a viable option.
You’re Concerned About Your Health
You might feel that your mental and physical health is suffering the negative effects of your job or the very fact that you must spend a considerable part of your day engaged with work-related activities.
In such circumstances, you may not have enough time to focus on what’s crucial for keeping your health in proper order.
To keep and maintain your wellbeing, you need to develop and stick to certain habits, such as:
- proper nutrition,
- everyday exercise,
- taking care of your mental health,
- getting enough sleep,
- nurturing meaningful social relationships,
- practising relaxing activities.
It’s hard to gather enough energy to balance all the negative effects of certain jobs, such as those extremely stressful or physically demanding, especially when you’re ageing or your health is already deteriorating.
If possible, early retirement can be the best solution for your needs, as long as you make sure you’ve done all you can to prevent the risks of potential social isolation which can occur when retiring, and a loss of a daily structure that kept you going for decades. Early retirement can be beneficial only if you remain socially and physically active, and if you avoid falling into the trap of boredom, procrastination, and loneliness.
You Can Still Be Productive
You may be sick of working the same old job you’ve been doing for years and have enough savings to meet retirement goals but can’t stand an idea of early retirement and leading an unproductive life, or you’re too afraid to start spending your retirement money earlier than you’ve planned to.
Early retirement doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t be productive anymore, or that you can’t earn more money. You can look for a part-time job which is more enjoyable, less physically demanding, or comes with less stress. With such a job, you will have significantly more time for yourself and your family, and an additional income to cover for some of your expenses, thus being able to save your nest egg for a while longer. Some of these jobs can be performed from your home too, like working as a virtual assistant, or a customer service representative.
There are also many ways to earn additional income by being self-employed, and depending on your previous education, experience, and current wishes, you can consider offering expert advice in your field, tutoring, bookkeeping, selling crafts, etc.
If you are financially stable and want to retire early, you can still be productive and volunteer. There are many options you can choose for volunteering: you can work with children, teach or coach sports, work in construction, join woman empowerment initiatives, or contribute to achieving public health or wildlife conservation goals.
If planned well, early retirement can be truly a golden age of your life, as you will finally be able to choose to spend your time on activities that you find valuable and meaningful, both personally and socially.
