Question for you retired RNs

I am also approaching my 41 year anniversary as a nurse. I graduated with my BSN in the spring of 1977. Right now, I am planning on retirement in about 4 years, at my full retirement age of 66 and a few months. But that is a flexible date. Financially, I can afford to retire earlier -- and I might do that if I find myself getting too frustrated at work. But I can also imagine working a little longer if things are going well.

My thoughts change as I have good days and bad days at work. Like today, when I had to get up exceptionally early for a class, I thought, "If I were retired, I could stay in bed longer." But when I want to purchase luxury items, I think, "If I were retired, I might not be able to afford this. I am glad I am still working and can afford to splurge on some nice things.)

Nursing is second career for me, been a nurse since 1992. I will be 60 this year and plan to work till at least 65. I had a bad health issue last year and don't feel safe with just one health insurance - need primary and secondary. Hedging my bets you know

Had 35 years as a nurse and went 2 months before my 62nd birthday.

Don't miss it at all and find things to do, we recently got a puppy so that keeps me active and I volunteer in a museum.

Had a lot of health issues over the years and was taking painkillers every time I worked and was getting fed up of my management and patients. Woke up one morning and said "time to go." Best decision I made. And in 3 years time I get a state pension to add to my works pension.

Happiest nurses I know are the ones who retired in their 60's and now say "I don't know how I found time to work."

I recently retired, age 58 with 36 years of experience. I really liked my last job (still do very occasional shifts) and would have stayed another five years if I'd had it in me. But for some reason I just didn't. It was like I'd suddenly hit a wall.

I'm absolutely loving being retired. Luckily I have a decent-enough pension and I'm able to swing my health care premiums. I also have no debt, drive an old car and my partner and I are both pretty frugal. I'm not the least bit bored because I finally have time to do all the things I couldn't do when I was working. I was always tired, even on my days off. So nice now to be able to pace myself and balance rest and activity to my needs.

If I find myself getting bored in the future, or needing to be of some use to someone again, there is no shortage of volunteer opportunities that sound interesting.

The way I retired (going on disability) was not the way I would have chosen, nor was 55 the age I'd planned to retire. However, I enjoy my life...I'm no longer tired all the time, I can get up and go to sleep at the times God intended for me to get up and go to sleep, and I even get to travel thanks to help from my son and son-in-law. I've been all over the Caribbean and am going to Italy and Greece next year. I never got to do that when I was working.

I also get to focus on my writing, which is something I've dreamed about all my life. I have a blog and am considering expanding that into a book. I have a good friend in California who's done exactly that, and I'm intrigued. We've had some conversations about it, and while I'm not quite ready to go there, it's definitely in the future.

Life is good.

Had my career stayed on trajectory, I would be on year 44. One of my first nursing supervisors, who got called out of retirement three times, made it some number past 55 years. She turned in her nursing license to insure she would not fall for returning a fourth time.

Lately, I've been thinking about retirement more and more. I think that what is stopping me is the fact that I am overwhelmed at all the stuff I have to do to make that transition (Clean, update and sell my condo most of all ... reorganize my finances ... move into the retirement community in another state near my family ... etc.). Once I am settled into the "new life of retirement" that I have planned, I think I will be fine: it's all that work that needs to be done to create that new life. It's the transition I dread and that overwhelms me, not the retirement itself.