The primary person in on the decision should be your spouse, if you have one. After all, if you need that person in order to maintain health insurance and a regular stream of income, it puts pressure on them. This is not the type of situation where asking forgiveness is preferable to asking permission.
Then, consider what your life would look like. Your spouse and children, if you have either, may not want you around so much. And if you’re single, silence may be rejuvenating for only so long.
Michael Kay, 67, is selling his shares of Financial Life Focus, a planning firm in Livingston, N.J. He doesn’t intend to stop working anytime soon, but many of his clients already have.
Some of them fail to reckon with how they will spend their time in a way that is still connected to something — and whom they will be connected to when they inevitably want some of that again. “If all my besties are still working, where do I find social interaction with peer groups when they are still working 9 to 5?” he said.
Only after the self-examination come the financial practicalities.
In an ideal world, you have savings that you can use without any restrictions or tax implications — or some kind of passive income, such as from a rental property. Perhaps there is equity in your home that you can extract, or an inheritance.
But if you don’t reside in a world of such privilege, there are workarounds. For instance, some people can draw on their 401(k) or 403(b) money without penalty as early as the year they turn 55. Public safety employees can do so starting at 50.
Did you start a Roth I.R.A. when it first came into being a couple of decades ago, and do you lack other savings to draw on? You can pull contributions (but not earnings) out tax- and penalty-free.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/11/your-money/work-time-out-career-longevity.html
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