Leaving Job Early Doesn’t Work for Everyone

Do you really want to retire early?

Many people say they do, but staying in a job might be advisable for those who find change or uncertainty difficult to handle.

The most content early retirees are people who have developed outside interests while working. They know how they’ll fill their free time and finance those activities.

“It’s not just simply the ability to say, ‘I can afford to retire.’ When you retire, there are all kinds of issues you’re going to be faced with,” said William L. Ayers, president of the Ayers Group, an employment consulting firm.

“Do you want to sit home with your spouse for the next 20 years? How will you maintain your relationship with your parents? With your children? What are you going to do with the rest of your life?”

Those who can easily come up with at least 15 things to do after leaving work are probably good candidates for early retirement, says Robert C. Atchley, director of the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Atchley says he asks individuals attending retirement planning sessions to first make a list of their outside interests and the costs involved.

“Some people could easily write down 30 things they like to do. (But) others would write down a couple of things and then have this pained look on their faces,” he said.

Atchley says individuals should also identify activities they can do by themselves to get a sense of how vulnerable they are to the loss of relationships.