Are you planning on working in retirement?

[shanti]

61. I retired about a month after I turned 55 three years ago

with a state pension after 21 years. it's not a lot, but I made sure all my bills were paid down before I retired, so I do ok. HOWEVER, about a year after retirement, i had to replace my roof AND my heat pump/condenser, one after the other, which really cut into my savings, which wasn't a lot. i really felt shafted! i'm planning to take SS at 62 which will give me a bit more money to save and do fun things with.

one thing i didn't really take into consideration was the social isolation being retired. i'm single, a loner, and not a social person naturally, so without work as an outlet, sometimes it sucks.

one more thing...i have a sister a year younger. she is married and spends money much more freely than i do. she has a 401k but no pension, and doesn't feel she will ever retire. we both made roughly the same when i was working. our relationship was doing ok until i retired. it seems like she became very jealous of my retired status, and our relationship has gone downhill since.