Why Retire Early and Return to Work?

I get asked the following two questions in various flavors. Why Retire Early and Return to Work? Isn’t the whole point of early retirement being able to call it quits and just do whatever you want to do? The answer to the second question is an absolute “YES”. This then answers the first question about why return to work, “Because I WANTED TO do that particular work”.

I have a couple of early retirements under my belt and as I write this a soon ending early retirement side hustle. So I know a thing or two about early retirement. One of the biggest myths about early retirement is that you will never engage in profitable paid work again.

Early retirement is a game changer. Folks need to get over the word “retirement” and forget about the old definitions. I haven’t met an early retiree yet that doesn’t engage in or wouldn’t consider doing something that they were interested in doing for pay. It all comes down to if they want to do it.

My tag-line for several years before retiring the first time was “retire early and often”. At the time it sounded funny to all of us career-mindset engineers and technical workers. Yet it described exactly what my early retirement would be about.

The thing is, retiring early doesn’t just blow away one’s ambition, energy, curiosity, and drive. All of which I think would be common traits among early retirees. That said, I and the other early retirees I know do love the early retirement lifestyle. Whether taking extended periods to travel and other non-paid pursuits or taking on work that pays that is aligned with our passions and interests.

When taking on work that I want to do I control how long I will be doing it. If I decide I am ready for a change then I make a move back to retirement leisure. I believe most people could actually like working for pay knowing that they can quit or make a move anytime they decide to. It’s all about living life on your terms.

That is why I still consider myself retired even if I do return to work. Eventually as I get older I may lose some of my energy and ambition. Maybe I won’t return to paid work or at least as much as I have since retirement number one. But I will be able to look back and say what a ride it has been.

Why Retire Early and Return to Work, these are great reasons.

Why Retire Early and Return to Work? Here's to your health, Prost!To your health. Prost!

There are obviously financial benefits to being open to returning to work that you would want to do and enjoy. But there are non-financial benefits too. That being your health, both physically and mentally.  You will probably be more active and mentally stimulated while on a job you are passionate about doing.

It could be that you are working for the social interaction or for all the high energy of where you are working rather than money. Being where you want to be and doing what you want to do is much healthier than someone retired to the worst case scenario. That being sitting in a life of isolation and boredom watching TV all day long. More than money, improved health is a side benefit that continues to pay you dividends the rest of your life.

Perfect time to do something different.

Why Retire Early and Return to Work? When you retire early it is the perfect opportunity to look at your skills and experiences and pick out the things that you are passionate about doing. There were aspects of my past career that I really enjoyed. There were many that I wouldn’t want to do again. I happened to pick some of my passion-skills and use them to find opportunities in other industries that I was very curious about learning and doing.

As I finish my early retirement side hustle in the next few weeks I plan on returning to full retirement for a while because I WANT TO. If and when I decide to try something new, I want the next go-around to do something completely different. While I am enjoying retirement freedom I will let my natural curiosity guide me and maybe I will take some courses or volunteer to learn more about what I want to target next. I have interest in self-employment and may just decide it is time to go that route.

Financially speaking it is a win.

Why Retire Early and Return to Work? No doubt retiring early and returning to work will improve one’s retirement finances. In my situation where I fund my retirement with 72t SEPP IRA and receive monthly payments until age 59 ½ means while I live off of my retirement funding everything I earn can be saved and added to my portfolio.  I was able to use income from career number two to pay off my near $100,000 mortgage.

The same thing could happen to those who have a pension. In any case even if you didn’t have 72t or pension payments coming in each month and you are funding your retirement lifestyle with your new paying adventure you are delaying or at least reducing the tapping of your retirement savings. If you never added another dime to your portfolio your retirement accounts benefit from compounding returns.

If what you WANT to do is work part-time or your target retirement passion-driven work doesn’t pay a lot, anything and everything you earn is still a financial benefit. So why wouldn’t you consider to return work after you retire early? Nobody says you have to sign up for a long career or continue working forever. It is all about doing what you enjoy doing and if you aren’t getting what you want from it then move on and find what it is you want to do next, a passion-driven adventure in leisure or another paid adventure.

Some Last Words.

Why Retire Early and Return to Work? Well, nobody that retires early should HAVE TO return to work or there was something missed in the retirement plan or an unplanned financial catastrophe came into play. Hopefully if that is the case it is short-term and finances improve enough to be free to only return to work when you WANT TO.

If you retire early and WANT to start a new career, work part-time and/or follow your passions to a paying opportunity then there is nothing but health and financial benefits that can be gained. It can take considerable effort and patience to find the perfect fit but when you do it is nothing but rewarding. If anything, early retirement is a time of options and being able to focus on your health and pursuing your passions. And yes, being able to call it quits and just do whatever you want to do.

Do you have a vision of your early retirement that would include working at something you WANT to do?

2 thoughts on “Why Retire Early and Return to Work?

  1. My dad retired then immediately went to work part-time. They didn’t need the money, but his part-time work is for an organization that helps mentally retarded people and it is something that he wants to do. And he only works around 10 hours per week now, and all on his own terms. Makes sense to me!

    1. Thanks for the comment. That sounds awesome and a great way to give back. I took some crap from retirement purist when I announced my plans to do new working adventures but it is after all our lives that we get to take control of and do what we want with. I believe there are many benefits to this lifestyle and I am now hearing about and seeing more folks tuned into it.
      Tommy

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