7 Undeniable Reasons Americans Should Retire as Soon as They Can

If you’re like many people, you’re counting down the days until retirement. But what if someone told you to push that date up even further?

Most Americans work until the full retirement age, which is currently 67 as of 2024. Some work even longer than that because they don’t have the resources to call it quits.

We’ve curated a list of reasons financial experts say you should think about quitting the workforce sooner, rather than later.

1. Your Freedom

This is first and foremost and cannot be stated enough. You spend so long tied to the workforce that you never really live. Sure, there’s vacation time, but that comes and goes in what seems like the blink of an eye.

When you retire, whether it’s at the retirement age of 67, or hopefully much sooner than that, you gain freedom. Freedom from watching the clock tick until your shift is over and the freedom to live your life the way you want to.

2. Your Health

Working, and especially overworking, can be a drain on your mental health. If you’re not happy in your job, that only adds to the strain.

Working can also impact you physically. Sitting at a desk or standing on your feet for 8 to 12 hours a day can be punishing on the body. The sooner you retire, the sooner you can make lifestyle changes that improve your overall health.

3. You Own Your Home

If you no longer have a mortgage, the number one expense that keeps people working longer, you have a better chance of settling down sooner, rather than later. In fact, you should be putting what you would spend on a mortgage each month away.

For the best impact, this money should go into your retirement account or other investments. The more you put away quicker, the less time you have to hit the daily grind.

4. You Want to Start a Business

This is probably one of the best reasons to retire; you get to define your own future. Yes, there will be tough times, and yes, you will have to work harder in the beginning to establish yourself, but the payoffs can be huge.

For one, you’ll have more freedom to do what you want to do, especially if you get to the point where you’re hiring employees. And two, you’ll have the opportunity to grow your business as small or as large as you like.

5. You Want to Travel

The United States is just one of 195 in the world. There’s so much to see in this country and other nations, that you can’t do while tied to the time clock.

Retiring early will give you time to travel to the countries you want to see most. You might not be able to see them all, but you could put a good dent in your bucket list. Even if you don’t want to travel the world, there’s plenty to see in the US as well.

6. You Invested Smartly Over the Years

If you’ve been smart and tucked your money away every year into wise investments that have since paid off in dividends, you might very well be ready to retire now. If you no longer need to work to pay the bills, you’ve gained the financial freedom everyone covets.

The good news is you’ll still qualify for Social Security payments, as long as you paid into the benefits over the years, but if you retire early, you’ll likely receive a reduced amount unless you wait until 67 to collect.

7. You Only Want to Work Part-Time

Full retirement isn’t the only solution. You could decide to work part-time to give yourself a bit more of a work-life balance, which is hard to do when you work 40 hours a week, plus commute time. This quasi-retirement definitely requires you to have a good sum of money put away.

As an aside, you’ll also continue to pay into Social Security until you’re ready to hang up the boots for good.

What Can You Do to Retire Early?

There are a number of things you can do today to start preparing for retirement and hopefully knock off a few years that you’ll need to remain in the workforce. The smart thing to do is invest as much as you can.

Put away money into your retirement plan, and if you work for a company that matches, try to pay the maximum it’ll contribute, because it’s quite literally free money.

What Kind of Investments Can You Make?

There are a multitude of options you can take to start investing today. One of the easiest ways is to buy stock. If you’ve never invested before, I highly recommend working with a professional and not taking advice from Sally down the block who swears the market will turn any day. Also, start slow. Don’t dump a ton of money into stocks right away.

Index funds are a great way to get started with stocks and come with less risk. Each fund will contain a bundle of 30 to 100 stocks that won’t set you back a ton of money.

What if You’re Not Ready to Retire?

That’s okay. Nobody’s forcing you to retire, but you can definitely make some changes in your life. You can opt to start a new career, for example, or start a part-time gig that aligns with your values to keep you busy.

Set a realistic goal and outline the steps you need to achieve it. Your financial freedom isn’t as far away as it might seem.