I’m a 61-year-old retiree and thanks to strong investments, I’m now sitting on $7 million – here’s my advice for anyone considering retirement

A Reddit user with a $7 million nest egg has shared some important advice with people who are considering retirement.

The original poster (OP) said he’s been very happy with his lifestyle after leaving work at the age of 59 but there’s one change he would have made — and one thing he wants others to do before they decide to stop working themselves. 

Here’s the Reditor’s advice based on his experience as a successful retiree. 

Give retirement a test run before you stop working

One of the key pieces of advice the Redditor had is that you should take a trial run of retirement and spend a few months away from work doing whatever your heart desires — especially if you are considering early retirement. If you do this, you may discover that your heart isn’t pleased with the freedom and that working will actually make you happier than retiring — or especially retiring early. 

The Redditor believes this is important because while living a life of leisure has come easily to him, that’s not the case for everyone — and some people will actually end up miserable if they don’t have the fulfillment a job provides or don’t have work to give structure to their days. He said his partner, who is seven years older than him, is still working and that some people simply aren’t built to live the retirement lifestyle.

This is really good advice because the reality is that retirement is a major change that can leave some people feeling empty. When you have all day stretching before you and no job to help you fill your time, you need to be self-motivated to create the life that you want. This may mean finding friends and social activities or being able to genuinely enjoy the quiet solitude of days spent engaging in hobbies you create for yourself. 

Don’t put off retirement if you want it and can afford it

The Reddit user also had something else he wanted to share. He explained that he had $4 million at the time of retirement and that he wished he had retired earlier because his nest egg has now grown to $7 million. He has more money than he needs, and he could have left work younger and had more years of enjoying life since he ended up with so many assets.

This is good advice too. If you have assessed the situation and you do have a plan to thrive in retirement, delaying retiring past the point where you have enough money can be just wasted time. You should do the math on what income your investments will produce at a safe withdrawal rate, and how big your account balance can grow over time once you have a lot of money invested. If you discover you can live on less and keep your balance growing even after retiring, then this may enable you to stop working sooner.

A financial advisor can help you look at the current state of your investments, your projected future returns, and your spending needs as a retiree to help you decide when it actually makes sense to stop working. With this information in mind, you can quit work at the right time given your vision for a dream lifestyle, so you can enjoy your chosen retirement at the time that’s right for you.

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