Fellow NPs: What's your strategy for retirement?

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Fellow NPs: What's your strategy for retirement?

1) Retire by X age and let my license lapse (since will have no practice hours to renew license); Ball out and party and hope nothing happens to nest egg

2) Keep working the minimum amount to keep renewing your license; maintain the nest egg

I'm going with option 2, because I worked like a dog to get my FNP license, and can't stomach the thought of losing it and my skills upon retirement. Plus, if my family or relatives ever get into financial trouble, letting my license lapse wouldn't allow me to jump back into the workforce.

Currently I am credentialed through AANP, which requires 1,000 practice hours every 5 years. I've broken this down into 1,000 hours / 5 years / 8 hour shifts = 25 shifts per year.

I could basically work 2 shifts per month to maintain my license and go until I'm 80-85.

I think it's doable. I work in a clinic where our oldest practitioner is an 83-year old MD (he got bored staying at home doing nothing and came back).

What's your plan? Or even more interestingly are you already at retirement age and have already made the choice?

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Good questions. I'm 58, work full time and a second part time job, I volunteer on my fire dept and with a prison activist group.

I plan to work and do everything as above at least the next 10 years.

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What about when you turn 68? Will you cut bait?

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

Excellent topic!

I am frustrated by 70-80 year old doctors and nurses who continue to practice long after they are relevant or competent. I will be damned if my colleagues or the board will have to come asking me to turn in my license... for that reason anyway, lol.

For those of you who are young you won't believe the changes that take place in later years. I'm about a decade away from being as slow and wifty as I'm willing to get while still practicing. My plan is to retire at 62 or 65 if I'm not able to secure some sort of health insurance and need to wait for medicare.

I have lived simply, saved plenty of money, invested in real estate as well as stocks. I have no intention of helping out any relatives as they have plenty also and I'm not worried about large, unforeseen medical bills because even at this age I'm not interested in any extraordinary treatment. We have plenty of friends and interests so I seriously doubt I'll be bored but if so can always volunteer.

My nest egg was created to fund my retirement so its getting spent. The plan is to spend nearly every penny I have prior to being unable to care for myself and signing in to the cheapest, most horrible nursing home where my iron clad advanced directive will result in nothing but pain meds until I quickly croak from sepsis and/or neglect.

Thats my story and I'm sticking to it. :D

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Certainly, I agree with what you say: one should not practice if one is not mentally or physically able to meet the demands of the job.

I've worked my entire life since I was 14, and I guess I have some anxiety about being out of the workforce, even if I have enough of a nest egg. I save more than 1/2 of what I make every year, max out my company retirement plan and then my own retirement accounts as well. The rest of it pays of mortgage and student debt, which are both rapidly going to zero. After that I'll look at post-tax investments.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

I like my job - I don't LOVE my job though. At 58 I don't think I'm too old, too slow or too dumb to cont working - lol . (Although maybe I should go work with Jules and then decide - lol)....

I am very fortunate that because my hubby gave 23 years of HIS life to the USAF that we have Tricare as a secondary insurance so even if I do decide to retire now (well before I qualify for Medicare) I will still have insurance.

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Specializes in allergy and asthma, urgent care.

I'll work full time until I'm 67 or so, and then hope to work a few shifts a month at Urgent Care or at a college health service. I've saved, but I won't be comfortable without some income stream to fund my (hopeful) travels. Longevity and good health run in my family and I hope to be able to enjoy my retirement for a long time.

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

Not an NP but am MSN educated. I plan to continue teaching at the local community college on a part time basis once I retire, likely in my 70s.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.
Certainly, I agree with what you say: one should not practice if one is not mentally or physically able to meet the demands of the job.

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The big problem with regard to mental soundness is that when we are no longer sharp we don't realize the extent, or think we can confabulate our way around the deficits, which is why I believe its important to have an expiration date line in the sand now.

TraumaRUs hopefully we have a few good years left, definitely come work with me. Its challenging but we laugh like idiots most days.

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Teaching sounds like an option. I thought teaching A&P at a community college might be fun. I don't think I want to teach nursing at age 70; something different but related would be a nice change. And A&P still fascinates me to this day.

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Full time as an NP until 65, then part-time (4 days/week) at one of my nursing homes (unless something drastically changes with the company I am currently with, if it does I will stay on,) then per diem at age 70. I currently teach part-time also, and I will keep doing that (1-2 clinicals/month, and substitute in the classroom as needed and able to around my schedule.)

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I never plan on retiring as long as I have a sound mind and body. I enjoy working. I couldn't imagine not working. Age 48 now. At a minimum I have another 25 years of working ahead of me until I croak. Most of my relatives drop dead in their late 70s.

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