Where did we get that the magic age to retire is 65? I know there are reasons for this magic number. Recently, I read that some people are now able to retire in their 40s from jobs that were not around 10 to 15 years earlier. Some of those that are in the entertainment, sports, and technology industries can retire long before 40. My retirement age was 56, and I had given it thought. I met all the requirements of the Texas Education Agency to receive full retirement. I even knew what I would do after I signed the papers–I would continue to work in the education field. It sounded crazy to some people, but there was a method to the madness.
Barbara Pagano in her book “The 60 Something Crisis: How to Live an Extraordinary Life in Retirement” gives advice on some things that we should expect in our retirement. She talks about things that we might want to do before we retire, or even if we should retire at this time. Her journey to retirement is one that many of us have had. Retirement is not one size fits most.
Before we even got to the book Barbara and I talked about her journey on a sailboat for 6 months with her daughter. Their journey is inspiriting and fun to hear. It goes to show that her journey was just that–her journey.
The pandemic is winding down so we can restart our journey into retirement. Remember “thisisyourbestyear”. How you retire and what you retire to is up to you.
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