Why Do People Retire? Answered

While some people may plan on working their entire lives, there are those of us, including me, that would like to retire by age 65 or earlier, if possible. About 24% of workers think they need to work until they are age 80 before they can retire. And, about 37% of people said they will never retire. That leaves the other 39% who plan on retiring on or before the age of 65. Not that we are saying you have to retire, but your retirement may come sooner than you think if you are not ready for it. And sometimes workers have no control over when they retire.

Here are a couple examples of people who retire early, but not by choice: Why do people retire?

1. Being Laid Off. Layoffs aren’t a huge issue at the moment, but the economy is starting to pick up. Normally, the older/ higher paid workers are laid off first. As with age, it becomes harder to find a similar job with similar compensation.
2. Declining Health. When you’re young, it’s easy to believe that you will be healthy your entire life, but that not always the case, and some people have to retire earlier than usual do to health reasons.
3. Taking Care Of Others. Another reason workers leave their jobs early is due to caring for loved ones. Parents need more help as they get older and hiring someone to take care of them can be very expensive. Some people would rather quit their jobs to care for their loved ones, rather than paying someone else to take care of them.
4. Hate Your Career. A lot of people complain about their jobs, they dream of quitting and can’t wait to tell their boss that one day. Some people just decide one day that they are done working, and retire. Although, this route is not suggested, or at least not until you have more money coming in than going out.
5. Freedom To Do What You Want. There are people out there that just want to start doing what they love. Maybe they want to be a writer, blogger, live off the grid, vacation more, or travel a lot, etc. Living with purpose is more important to some people than living with money.

It’s totally up to you why you retire, but if you plan on retiring in the near future, make sure you have more money coming in than going out and that you are happy with where your life is taking you.