At what age do you plan on retiring from nursing?

Music in My Heart · May 17, 2009

I'm in your boat... I'm planning to work as long as I possibly can... FT to age 70 then PT to 75... Moving on at 80.

Ambitious, I know, but I'm faced with little choice at this point in life.

I just met a 74-yo nurse who's still doing the grind so I know it can be done, at least in some cases.

catlynLPN · May 17, 2009

I will be retiring from my state job at age 63, 7 years from now.

And if at all possible, if I have enough income I do NOT plan on working.

I will have my state check, and can also draw on my ex husbands SS.

So if I need any extra money I'm sure I can pick up a day or two at the LTC

every couple of weeks and not go over my limit for SS.

I can't wait. I am really looking foward to it.

TuTonka · May 17, 2009

Until they pry my stethoscope for my cold lifeless fingers!

TuTonka

oneLoneNurse · May 17, 2009

Me too. I plan on decreasing my hours of work, BUT plan to continue working.

OC_An Khe · May 17, 2009

As long as I enjoy the challenges of nursing and am healthy I will continue to work. I am of social security age now but have no plans to retire. Being a nurse is akin to being a marine. Once a nurse (marine) always a nurse (marine) whether employed in that capacity or not.

oramar · May 17, 2009

First I retired at 52, I mean I was really fed up and thought I was done with nursing, ended up off for 3 years, then came back. Then I quit again at 58, this time I said "I am just taking some time off I will go back in 6 months". Now I am 61 and still not working so this time it looks like it has turned into a retirement. That is the way my work history has always been. I have never really been sure where I would be or what I would be doing at any given time. I lived that way because it suited my nature. However, people these days never know where they will be or what they will be doing because the work world is so unpredictable.

rngolfer53 · May 17, 2009

Don't really know. As long as it's still rewarding and fun, I'll keep at it.

I don't plan on working full time much past 65, but that will depend in part on health, income, etc. I think by necessity, if no other reason, there will be more PT and PRN jobs as current nurses retire from full-time work.

I'd be bored if I didn't work some. In my experience, hobbies etc are most rewarding when they're something to look forward to as a change, but they lack the reward of accomplishment in a profession. In other words, you can burn out doing nothing as quickly as being overworked.

llg, PhD, RN · May 17, 2009

I hope to be able to phase into retirement during my 60's. Ease into part time in my late 50's or early 60's and fully retire sometime in my late 60's. I am 54 now and learning that I can't always control my health. Age is catching up to me and I doubt I will be able to work full time for more than a few more years -- and I have an "office" job now.

... though I will need to keep good health insurance until Medicare kicks in. That's a major factor in the equation.

RNperdiem, RN · May 17, 2009

When my old age comes, I doubt that I will have much choice. I will work because I have to.

There is a generation change in attitudes towards retirement, I think.

My baby boomer generation parents are in no hurry to retire; they recognize the benefits of working. Of course most people have seen what the economy has done to their retirement savings.

Be_Moore · May 17, 2009

Age 55 I will retire. 24 now, and instead of buying cars and having a car note I invest heavily into retirement. I work to live, I don't live to work. Nursing is a great career, but any career impedes into things that I want to accomplish in my life.

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · May 17, 2009

Thanks for all your responses. This is precisely why I wanted to ask this question. Because this economy had forced many soon-to-retire nurses to continue working I was thinking that perhaps the downturn in retirement would somehow affect the notion that nurses are needed to replace the ones that will be retiring. By the same token, I am thinking that even if many boomer nurses decide to stay on for a while, the effect on the shortage will be negligible.