Early Retirement Infidelity

Early Retirement Infidelity

Till death do us part. Easily spoken words, but often premature when you think about it. We picture our relationship with work as stable and unchanging. We live therefore we work. Until, of course, one discovers financial independence. After enough is defined and conquered, many decide to leave the safety of W2 income. A departure which is meant to be final. There is, however, quite a bit more of early retirement infidelity than we wish to admit. Retired people don’t stay retired.

In fact, it is not uncommon to have a regular source of revenue fall into one’s lap. Why?

Maybe when it comes down to it, we are not nearly as devoted to retirement as we think we are. Promiscuity isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s okay to play the field.

Dreams and Reality

Why does retirement not stick? Why is there so much early retirement infidelity? Could it be that we are running so fast away from something that we forget to ponder what we are running towards?

The first few months of joblessness are tumultuous. In the best of circumstances, there is a complete rejiggering of daily activities. One can only relax and lounge so long. Once all the basics are taken care, a new life needs to be built.

A certain percent of the population is not able to do this. As much as they loathed work, it gave them structure and balance. A reason to get up in the morning, and a reason to yearn for the weekends. Robbed of this framework, they find themselves lost instead of untethered.

It’s not a good feeling. So they jump at the next job opportunity that presents itself.

It Wasn’t So Bad

There are other reasons why joblessness is short lived. For many doctors, at least, they eventually realize that they truly love medicine. They just hated the way they were forced to practice it. They skip out on their position as soon as they are financially able.

With time, however, it becomes clear that their identity was wrapped up in their profession. They miss all the identity and purpose that came with doing such emotionally rewarding work.

Early retirement infidelity is just a job application away. Freed from the servitude of financial need, there is space to look for or craft the dream job. This may mean downsizing to fit one’s needs or even a half retirement.

Oops!

The worst type of oops unfortunately. Some plan poorly for early retirement. They miscalculate their budget, follow a poor asset allocation, or fall prey to sequence of returns risk.

A few years into it, it is possible to realize that the money is simply not there the way it was supposed to be. Not everyone pulls off financial freedom successfully.

Thus, it is possible to become an unwilling participant in early retirement infidelity. When the bank accounts are dwindling too fast, the search for a new mistress begins in earnest.

A mistress with regular hours, strong wages, and hopefully a 401K match.

Final Thoughts

I am not a fan of infidelity in any of its variations. Yet early retirement infidelity is both understandable and healthy. The only way to really know what being gloriously unemployed feels like is to experience it for a while.

For some, this will lead to boredom and craving for the structure that a job provides. For others, in those quiet moments, the realization occurs that work was part of purpose and identity.

And for those unlucky few, they will be forced to rejoin the workforce due to financial necessity.