Will Early Retirement Kill You?

What prompted me to even think about this somewhat morbid topic was reading an interesting post by “Retiring on My Own Terms” in which ROMT countered the argument popular recently in media that instead of saving aggressively people can more easily just work longer/retire later. One of the points he made rather elegantly was that trading time for money is not necessarily a good idea, particularly when your time is limited once you reach a standard retirement age.

Reading that I became obsessed with the concept that there might be an even bigger issue buried in that question. What if the choice of when you retire, whether that be early retirement, slightly early retirement (my choice), standard retirement or late retirement had an impact on not just the quality of your life but also on the length of life, your life expectancy itself? Is it possible Mr. Money Moustache has doomed himself to an early expiration date? What if being a rat on a wheel at a regimented and even unpleasant 9 to 5 extends your life span indefinitely? What if being let out of the cage is something humans are ill equipped to handle, something that will lead inevitably to our early demise? What if post retirement part time or full time work you enjoy, but know in your heart of hearts is unnecessary, is inherently unable to provide the same sense of purpose that a pre-retirement JOB provides? What if volunteer work or endless travel in an RV or a sailboat fails to make you feel relevant? Perhaps things are great until the kids leave and then early retirees sink into a deadly funk? What if Jack Nicholson was right and “you can’t handle the truth!”? Can you tell I love hyperbole?

This is far from a hypothetical question for me. I slightly early retired over two years ago and life has felt very good so far. But life felt pretty good prior to that too. I still work out the same amount, a little more tennis, but the same amount of running. I’m not gaining weight, I’m not sleeping poorly and I am not addicted to anything but it is clear that life feels different. I have not had a single bout with anxiety or depression either and I can honestly say the last two years have been two of the best in my life rivaled only by some early in my marriage, family and career.

I have very little stress but I also have less drive because I do not have many deadlines. The ones I do have are usually self-imposed so they are pretty lenient. In my old life there was a real boogeyman, my CEO, more terrifying than most of my childhood monsters. But now I move at my own pace, and like Frodo, I bow to no man. And it feels good! Undeniably it feels better, but is it better for me? I do not know and that frightens me a little bit. Because I firmly believe we are not capable of objectively assessing our own state of being. So I turned to research for an answer.

And studies show the answer is … whatever you want to believe! Of six reports I looked up one showed that early retirees die early, one showed the opposite, three showed conflicting data that made conclusions impossible and one opined that when you retire makes no difference unless retiring leads to unhealthy behavior, like sitting on the couch and eating bright orange cheese puffs all day. So what is a FIRE devotee to do if there is no great data out there on what is one of life’s greatest questions, “how do I live a long life?”

Here is where I get to throw my twenty-seven cents worth in. And my favorite quotes on the subject. From Vicki Corona, “life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away!” And from Steve Runner, “Life is short, but it should be long enough.” I believe there are two core factors in longevity, one is taking care of your health. That one is the easier of the two. In my case I run and play tennis, a lot. The other factor is much more complicated than getting some exercise and eating right. My personal belief about longevity(outside of good health) is that it is not a pursuable goal. Much like happiness it isn’t won by striving to attain it, it is a byproduct of striving for something else. And there, perhaps, is the answer. Finding your something else, your why, your big hairy audacious goal, your mission, your purpose.

And that, I believe, is the reason the data and the studies show disagreement. Nobody has found a reliable way to measure how closely people’s pre and post retirement lives are satisfying their “Why’s”. Any study that does not correct or normalize the data for an important variable is likely to provide inaccurate results. If somebody’s only or predominate reason to live was wrapped up in their job then it is reasonable to conclude that retirement may well kill them or shorten their life span. That seems to be more of a problem for my generation than with Gen X or millennials. The idea of finding one’s purpose through their 9 to 5 has fallen largely out of favor and barely has a toehold in the FIRE community. But that does not make you any safer from finding yourself in a purposeless life after you escape what feels like indentured corporate servitude. I consume blogs voraciously and even though I’m a boomer I still feel like I understand Gen X and millennials from what they write and from mentoring so many in my career.

It seems to me that the FIRE community is focused on the tech and the hacks required to get to the exit point much more than knowing what they will do when they get there. And that is a mistake, and really the point of this post. If you are on a planned trip to early retirement then start now planning what that life will look like. I think to just assume it will come to you in a blinding flash of insight after you quit your job is risky business that is not consistent with the careful way you are preparing financially. It deserves every bit as much thought and effort as becoming financially independent.

In my case, I recognized that work added a lot of meaning to my life so I carved out a few small consultant part time gigs that I could step right into. This was only possible because I had been planning it for a dozen or more years. No financial need for the income but earning an income always made me feel good about myself and I did not expect that to change, and it has not. It is still one of my “Why’s”. As someone who has been a public figure I like being in the news occasionally and negotiating business deals and my part time jobs let me continue to do that. And I like expressing myself so this non-monetized blog gives me a great outlet. I have a cluster of “Why’s” including several I will not list because the real point here is to get you to think about yours. You probably have anywhere from a year to maybe a dozen or more to plan your exit. You may find purpose in side gigs or in travel or in raising your children together. Maybe your first retirement project will simply be to find your “Why’s”. But I’d recommend not waiting until then. I was much happier starting my slightly early retirement with a plan I had been preparing for decades than I would have been with no plan. Will I live any longer because I’m happy and challenged by the life I’m living now? Seems very likely to me.

How about you, have you spent any time planning or visualizing what life after a full time job is going to look like? Do you think having a plan is worthwhile or would you rather just wing it?