Is there an age when you are too young to retire if you are in a financial position to do so?

This is a question that one Reddit user is currently grappling with. The poster is a 37-year-old unmarried single father who has more than enough money to be financially independent. He is ready to quit working, but his family and friends have mixed opinions on whether that’s the right choice, and it is making him second-guess his decision. 

So, can the Redditor give up his job for good, or would he be better off sticking it out at work until he gets closer to a standard retirement age?

Is 37 too young to retire? Others weigh in 

Redditors had a lot to say about the question asked by the original poster (OP), and some of it was very useful advice.

For example, one poster advised simply taking time off,  rather than committing to retiring forever. Testing out what retirement feels like, and looks like, can give the OP a clearer indication of whether it makes sense for him to stop working for good or whether he’d be better off doing at least some work since he’s still so young. 

Other posters advised exploring hobbies that would bring him joy and making a clear plan for post-retirement activities. And, one optimistic Redditor pointed out that retiring at a really early age could lead to much more fulfillment than just continuing to work for an employer — as long as the poster had a plan for how to enjoy all his free time.

The other posters, in other words, urged the OP to be cautious and make sure that such an early retirement wouldn’t lead him to become bored and dissatisfied with the world — but most believed that there’s definitely a way to do that which doesn’t involve working after you have the money and desire to stop. 

Is early retirement at 37 really a good idea?

Many of the other Redditor posters were absolutely right that early retirement can be a great thing, but it’s going to take some work to make life look the way you want it if you follow a non-traditional path.

Retiring at 37 means you have a lot of years to fill, and you need to be sure that you have something meaningful to do to give purpose to the many decades ahead of you. What that looks like could change over time, of course. Since the poster mentioned he was a single dad, he could lean into being there for his child during these early years of retirement. He could coach sports, be the room parent at school, and really commit himself to being a very present parent. 

He should also make sure to think through the social and financial aspects of his decision.

When someone is retired at 37, it could look to others like he’s just unemployed. Is he going to be comfortable potentially facing judgment if people don’t know he’s financially independent and just see a middle-aged guy with no job? 

And, has he made sure that his finanical independence number takes into account all of the life changes he may face in the upcoming years, such as becoming responsible for his own health insurance, potentially paying for his kid to go to college, or potentially finding another partner who has kids or who wants more kids. 

Working with a financial advisor to confirm his financial security and developing a clear plan for what he wants his future life to look like will help the poster determine if early retirement really is right for him. Of course, he can always go back to work and isn’t committing forever, so as long as he’s sure he has the money to support himself, he has nothing to lose by giving early retirement a try. 

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