Del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon
How to Plan an Early Retirement
When Arie Eisner was 57, he considered retiring from his job as an assistant supervisor in the Applied Physics Lab at Johns Hopkins University. The Columbia, Maryland, resident wanted more time to travel, work on his many building projects, and visit his grandchildren. But he decided he wasn't really ready, because he loved his job too much.Then Eisner discussed the matter with his supervisor, who was happy to have him stick around for a few more years on a reduced schedule. He let Eisner switch to a three-day workweek and collect three-fifths of his pay and benefits. At the same time, Eisner encouraged his wife, Fern, to cut back her hours in her photography business.
The Great Escape
Today, four years later, both Eisners have enough hours away from the job for long weekend trips and more extended travel. By continuing to work, they have been able to save extra money and avoid tapping their retirement funds. And most important, says Eisner, now 61, "It feels wonderful."
You say you want to get out of that cubicle, but you're too young? Take heart. Even though retiring early takes a lot of planning, a host of new options, from changing tax laws to accommodating employers, may make it more practical than you might have assumed. And it's especially doable if you're willing to save a little more, spend a little less, and, like Arie Eisner, redefine retirement to include a part-time job.
Apparently, many people are prepared to do that. According to a survey by Strong Funds, a Wisconsin-based mutual fund company, 42 percent of all workers today say they want to retire before the so-called "normal retirement age" of 65, and 65 percent say they expect to supplement their retirement income with part-time work.
Lee Rosenberg, a financial planner in Valley Stream, New York, has already met some of them. Many are investors who made a killing in the stock market, small-business owners who sold their creations for a big chunk of money, or Steady Eddies who stayed in a single job for 25 or 30 years and now have sizable pensions waiting for them. They tend to have one other thing in common, says Rosenberg: "Their mortgage and college tuition cycles have ended." But even people who are not so well-situated may be able to retire early without running out of money. For them "part-time work is going to be the answer," suggests Les Abromovitz, author of You Can Retire While You're Still Young Enough to Enjoy It (Dearborn Press, $17.95). Abromovitz himself gave up law in 1993 at the age of 42 and began working part-time as a writer.
Advertisement 
Your Comments
See all
...