Reaching the grand age of 58 and contemplating my future brings about so many thoughts of the past. I am down to 45 months before I reach the age of 62 and am eligible for Social Security income and can officially leave the workforce behind. Sharon is five years older than me and will be leaving the workforce before me. This is something we didn’t ponder when we fell in love so many years ago, but is more than a reality now.
We have worked hard and continue in this matter and along the way lived a frugal life and played by all of the rules, which I am learning are no so common. Our home is paid in full and we are contributing the maximum allowed into our 401k plans. From the outside it appears that we will be able to have a comfortable retirement, but on the inside I feel an overwhelming fear. Can what we are doing today carry us through years of non-employment tomorrow? I certainly hope so. It is not so much I worry about managing our retirement, but the things I fear are those of the unknown. Should we be in a better position before we step into retirement? How long will we live? Will pensions dry up and leave us broke? Will the stock market crash and empty out our savings? What if? What if? What if?
I think about the past, those early years when money seemed to come and go as quickly as a glass of sweet tea on a hot August afternoon. How much crap I purchased that today lays in the bottom of a landfill, how much interest I payed for those crappy items I thought I needed so badly. The desires of youth fuel the economies today and unchecked can leave one in a precarious position in the future. Thank God I caught wind of these behaviors years ago and developed a plan to reverse its curses.
Although I still worry I know that we may be in a much better position than many. Recent stats tell me that at least on third of those in America over the age of 65 are living below the poverty level. Most reasons are self inflicted and others caused by outside sources. The loss of a job, medical issues, the 2008 housing crash, mental health, addiction, and other reason’s.
On the upside we don’t mind and actually find great joy in living a frugal lifestyle. Other than planned trips across the country to see family, our spending is surprisingly low in comparison the the average of those our age. We will continue to do the best we can and pray for a healthy future.
Simple Living Over 50 
I envy you.
With 28 months to go, we find ourselves forced into poverty as welfare has been stopped after 35 years of being told repeatedly that I cannot work by the same WELFARE department.
Such is the hypocrisy and twisted logic of the UKGov in attacking those who can’t fight back.
Thus we get to enter retirement in debt, or jail for me if I can get my hands on one of the top echelon of government who dreamed up this latest craze of attacking the elderly.
All of your concerns are the same for us. We are both less than 4 years away from retirement and are hoping nothing serious happens.
Major life changes are tuff, especially with an unpredictable future. So much planning and praying. Best of luck on your transition.
The simple life is definitely the way to go. There is great satisfaction in keeping debt low or being debt free, especially when entering retirement. I was fortunate to have my first job at 16 be in the field of finance. I worked in finance for 15 years and saw the pitfalls that you spoke of, people living up to the max of their income, in debt, acquiring so much unnecessary stuff. Then when one thing went wrong, job loss, illness, etc, financial ruin followed. Glad I saw all that in my younger years and it has taught me to always live well below my means, just in case unforeseen events happen! Always good to be realistic about needs vs wants. So you are way ahead of the game. Don’t worry so much. You’ve got this ;).
Thanks Kelley, life is so much more about stuff.
Completely resonate with this! Money is but one part of the retirement jigsaw – A ‘sensible’/sustainable and anti-consumerist approach probably sets one up for a happy life let alone retirement. As Charlie Dickens said (to paraphrase and update)
“Annual income £/$X, annual expenditure £/$X-1, result happiness. Annual income £/$X, annual expenditure £/$X+1, result misery”
I’m struggling with the rest of the puzzle having spent most of my career looking after the finances – it’s all the other stuff that doesn’t seem to fit quite right – Corners and straight edges almost done but the filling in is proving quite a challenge – mainly from the neck up – first world problems – having been an achiever and a somebody it hard reinventing oneself as a has been (…or worse – a never was?!) and foregoing driving ambition in part due to lack of energy and passion. Ho Hum – I’ll get there! Still looking for and sharing potentially helpful stuff albeit provoking more than answers!
I know that with more time on my hands will produce more creativity. There are so many directions to point one’s energy it is perplexing.
Is this possible? Really? Well Thanks for sharing.
LOL. Given my past, sometimes I think it’s a miracle.
Yes, I can relate. We just turned 62. Fortunately, we enjoy our work sufficiently that we decided to work for another year and a bit. A few of the books I have read recommend retiring early since you never know what life might hand you. “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.”
I agree. You never know what lies around the corner.