Planning to Retire at the Age of 50? Know the Pros and Cons First!

This post is by Valentina Wilson who reached out to me to write a guest post on this site. Valentina is a personal financial blogger. She loves to analyze personal financial matters and help others manage their finances in a better way. Travelling is also her passion. She loves to travel and explore different places by herself. To connect with her, go to her Facebook | Twitter or visit Bestdebtconsolidation.org

If you would like to submit a guest post please contact me.

I found this article especially helpful since many of us in the physician and healthcare FIRE community are looking to be financially independent at or before 50 years of age. The most common retirement age I hear physicians who want to retire early is 45-50 years old. However, there definitely are pros and cons to early retirement. I personally love my job and don’t plan to retire early. But, I would like to have the option to be financially independent at the age of 50. Let’s learn the pros and cons from Valentina!

Should you Retire at the Age of 50?

Hey! I hope you have started planning for your retirement! And if you haven’t, you should start saving for your retirement at the earliest!

Financial advisors often say that you need to save for your retirement as soon as you receive your first paycheck! So, even if you are a student at present, you can plan how you are going to save money for your golden years when you will start earning!

Because very few people are there who are lucky enough to do the job they love! If not, who loves waking up by that incessant alarm clock? Just imagine, if you could skip the daily grind of your job and start doing the things you love!

Isn’t it appealing enough? So, what if I tell you to retire at the age of 50? Most likely, your answer would be a big “YES”! Obviously, it’s sheer bliss!

It may seem like a fulfilling life achievement. Trust me, you can leave the workforce and spend the rest of your days in full control of your time, never answering to your boss again. But for some people, retiring early may be a distant dream. Or you might be scared to think about retiring at 50!

However, early retirement is not that simple! It requires hard work and effective planning. But before we proceed, you need to decide if early retirement is right for you? And that is quite a tough decision to make!

But don’t worry! To help you in making the decision, we have listed some of the important pros and cons of early retirement!

Here you go!

Pros of Early Retirement

Freedom of time

It is the most prominent reason why people seek early retirement! It doesn’t matter how much you enjoy your work. Work means you need to behold to the limits and needs of others; starting from your boss and clients to your coworkers! After retirement, you can have an absolute “me” time and you can spend the way you love too!!

Better relationships

Yes, after retirement you can focus more on your relationships. During working years, you might not have been that much proactive in your relationship. The reason being, less time and more obligations.

Early retirement can change this scenario. You can prioritize your relationship, spend time with your loved ones. And thereby, you can lead a happy life!

You can be healthier

Yes, you heard it right! Most likely, you won’t be stressed like the way you are during your working years.

Eventually, your mental health will improve due to a lack of stress. Besides, you won’t have to sit at a desk or commute daily to your office.

So, you can be much more active. You can have an ample amount of time to work out and strengthen your body muscles for a quality life ahead!

You may find an opportunity to spend less

During working years, you might be busy with your career, kids, and life. And eventually, you might have got less time to spend your dollars wisely. Thus, you might have taken out loans to meet sudden expenses. And ultimately, you might have been vulnerable to the debt trap.

After retirement, you can dedicate more time to manage your finances effectively. And one of the easy ways to keep your money under control is by following a budget! If you can stick to your budget, you will stop overspending and make a habit of saving dollars.

You can enjoy more time for travelling

Do you have any travel destination in your bucket list?

If yes, that will be no longer limited to one or two weeks a year vacation! The earlier you retire, the more places you can visit.

The reason being, with the growing age, some health issues may arise. And this can limit your mobility!

Bid goodbye to work-related stress

Work-life can be enjoyable and rewarding as well. But some factors make them stressful. For example, toxic colleagues, high targets (if you are in a sales-related field) (*Editor note: or high patient volume and charting requirements) resulting in unreasonable consumption of your precious time!

Stress due to work is horrible and it can impact your overall health. Besides, it can affect your life outside your work.

So, when you are opting for early retirement, you don’t need to bear any work-related stress!

You can get a chance to start a new career

Have you ever thought of switching to the field of your choice?

Now the time has come! You don’t have to repent for being in a different field of work. You can start your own business or you may work for the sector you would love to! (*Editors Note: or start a side gig!)

Well, after knowing so many pros, you might be enticed to plan for retiring at the age of 50! But wait! Before you decide, don’t you want to know about its cons?

So, let’s discuss the negative traits of early retirement which no will talk about!

Cons of Early Retirement

You will need more savings

Have you ever calculated how much you need to retire? Well, that is the biggest question, especially when you are planning to retire at the age of 50.

In that case, you can take the help of a retirement calculator and have a glance at the estimate.

But I would say, it depends on how much time is left for you to attain the age of 50. So if you are on the verge of attaining the age of 50, it might be incredibly tough to save enough to retire early.

And how much you need to save every month depends on the amount you have stashed till date!

So, if you don’t have an adequate amount of savings, it might be a cumbersome task to save for retiring at the age of 50.

You won’t be having access to Medicare

You will be eligible to enroll in Medicare when you will attain the age of 65. So, if you retire before that, you need to have any other health insurance plan. Else, your savings may drain out if you have to bear any major medical expenses.

However, you can opt for COBRA health insurance. It allows you to stick to your employer’s insurance plan even after leaving your job. 

But this insurance plan can be expensive because your employer won’t pay for a portion like when you were employed. And always remember, you can stay on COBRA insurance plan for up to 18 months!

You might feel bored

Well, one of the most common questions people ask is “what do you do for a living?”.

Many retirees slog through a tough time during the transition time from the daily chores of your job to the unstructured life after retirement.

You may also miss your coworkers and wish to return to your workplace. But it won’t be that easy to find a suitable job once you cross the age of 50.

You can’t claim the Social Security benefits

Well, the Social Security Administration defines 62 as the age of early retirement. That means you can reap the Social Security benefits when you will attain the age of 62. But there is a catch! 

If you start claiming as soon as you turn the age of 62, you will receive less amount!

If you want to receive the full benefit amount you are entitled to, you need to claim at your full retirement age (FRA).

To know how much less you are going to receive, check the FRA. That means you have to solely depend on your savings till the time you attain your FRA.

So, what have you decided? If you wish to retire at the age of 50, you should plan it wisely! So, think before you leap! Else, your plan of early retirement might be a distant dream!

It takes hard work and sacrifices to achieve your goal of early retirement. But trust me, once you achieve it, you will know that your hard work is worth it!

Comments from Editor

Thanks so much, Valentina for contributing this guest post! I think most people, including myself, focus mainly on the pros of early retirement. However, there are definitely some cons we need to think about and address before we make such a big decision. The biggest drawback I see is that you can’t withdraw efficiently from your retirement accounts at this age and must have other sources of passive income in order to support your expenses (which will include health insurance). I have personally invested in rental properties for continued passive income and tax benefits. I believe having multiple sources of passive income is one of the best ways to ensure a safe early retirement. If you are looking for a course on how to get started with rental properties check out my last post.

What are your thoughts? Do you think the pros outweigh the cons of retiring at 50?