Introducing The 90/10 Rule of Retirement

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I never thought it would happen to me.

Sure, I’d heard about the phenomenon from folks who had retired before me, but it didn’t seem possible. 

Not in my case. 

But, I was wrong.  Now 3 years into retirement, I’ve realized those folks were right.  I never thought I’d write these words, but I’ve changed my mind on this mental shift that I’d been warned about.  Until now, there wasn’t a name for it.  Today, I’m changing that. 

I’m introducing a new rule.  A name, if you will, for the phenomenon I’ll be discussing in this post:

“The 90/10 Rule of Retirement”

I was warned this would happen when I was planning to retire, but I never believed it. Now, I do. Introducing the 90/10 Rule of Retirement. Click To Tweet

the 90/10 rule of retirement

The 90/10 Rule of Retirement

I had coffee recently with Tom, a long-time reader of this blog.  He’s 2+ years away from crossing his “Starting Line” and wanted to meet me while he was in town on vacation.  We had a great chat, and I’m pleased to report he’s doing all of the right things as he prepares for retirement. 

Like many of us do as we’re trying to figure out “When Can I Retire?”, Tom is running “his numbers”, and he’s done some excellent work.  We spent a fair bit of time reviewing his spreadsheets, and it brought back a flood of memories from when I was going through the exact same process in the final years before my retirement. After we got done reviewing his numbers, I told him I thought he’d be in good shape to retire on his targeted timeline. 

And then, a thought struck me.

I recalled discussions I’d had with retired folks when I was in Tom’s shoes, and how they told me something that had stuck in my mind.  I later found it to be true in my own life, so I shared it with him:

“When we’re planning for retirement, it’s amazing how much time we spend working through the numbers.  What I’ve found interesting is how little time I spend focused on the numbers now that I’ve retired.”

Tom, knowing I enjoy metaphors, suggested the time spent analyzing the numbers in pre-retirement is a good example of “sharpening the axe”, where the effort spent “sharpening” on the front end (crunching the numbers) leads to an easier job of chopping down the tree (enjoying a worry-free retirement).  Smart guy.

Bonus points for Tom.  He bought my coffee, he used a metaphor, and he added value to the discussion.

Thanks for stopping by while you were in the area, Tom.  The pic below is for you…

rule of retirement - sharpen the axe
Running the numbers = Sharpening the axe.

The 90/10 Rule of Retirement:  Defined

I hearby declare “The 90/10 Rule of Retirement” as follows:

“In preparation for retirement, most people spend 90% of their planning time on the financial issues and 10% on the non-financial issues.  After retirement, the ratio reverses, and most retirees spend the vast majority of their time focusing on the non-financial issues of life.”

In full transparency, I cannot claim credit for this “rule”.  While I’ve thought a lot about the topic in the three years that I’ve been retired, I had never summarized the phenomenon in words.  That honor goes to my friend, Kevin Lyles (AKA “Beach Walker” in Roger Whitney’s Rock Retirement Club). Recently, I appeared as a guest at the Retirement Coaches Association Conference. In this LinkedIn post promoting the conference, Kevin left the following comment: 

kevin lyle's rule of retirement 

For history’s sake, I’m hereby claiming that the posting by Kevin was the first public declaration of the 90/10 Rule of Retirement.  Congratulations, Kevin.  You’ve once again proven your wisdom, and I value your friendship.

The Implications of the 90/10 Rule of Retirement

We could argue all day about the “90 or the 10”, but that’s not the point.

Rather, the point of the 90/10 Rule of Retirement is to make soon-to-be retirees aware of a likely shift in their pre- vs. post-retirement focus.  As Kevin said in his comment above, “if retirement coaches can help get these more in balance before retirement, their clients will have much better transitions”.

Amen.

Obviously, there MUST be a focus on the numbers when you’re determining when you’ll be able to retire.  Likewise, the numbers remain important post-retirement, but somehow they seem less important than they were when you were deciding when you would be able to retire. Maybe for you, it’s 70/30, and it’ll move to 50/50.  Perhaps it’s not a “Rule” at all, but rather a guideline to emphasize the reality of a phenomenon that many retirees experience.   And, of course, I realize that many retirees struggle with money throughout retirement, so there’s that.  This concept, then, most likely applies to folks like you, the readers of personal finance blogs who make the effort to plan their financial futures.  Apply it as you wish, but it’s a big mental shift to be aware of as you’re planning for your retirement.

Whatever you want to call it, consider it valuable advice from those who have walked the path before you.  Your perception of, and focus on, “The Numbers” will likely change dramatically after you cross The Starting Line. Recognize it, and try to focus a bit more on the non-financial aspects of your retirement during your planning years.

Perhaps it’ll be helpful to share what I was thinking about when I was in my pre-retirement vs. post-retirement years.  What better way than to take a journey through Every Article I’ve Written, which I’ve stored chronologically so you can jump in and read regardless of where you are on your journey. 

Pre-Retirement Thinking:

If you’ve not yet retired, you’re likely very focused on the numbers.  I know I was.  Looking back, I would consider myself nearly obsessive on the topic.  I enjoyed the process of laying out spreadsheets to determine if my retirement income would cover my expenses.  Playing with different scenarios, spending shocks, bear markets, long-term care, longevity risks, etc.  Fun stuff, actually. Interestingly, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve opened any of those spreadsheets since I’ve retired.

A good way to demonstrate the pre-retirement thinking of many of you, perhaps, is to lay out my Top 10 posts (based on the number of views).  “The Numbers” are clearly a topic of interest, which makes sense given that many of my readers “find” me when they’re starting to plan for retirement:

 
I would argue that all but #9 (The Dark Side of Retirement) focus on the numbers.  Validation enough for Phase I of The 90/10 Rule of Retirement, “in preparation for retirement, most people spend 90% of their planning time on the financial issues and 10% on the non-financial issues.”
 

Post-Retirement Thinking

If you scroll through my archives for all of the articles I’ve written since my June 2018 retirement, you’ll find a significant shift in focus, which reflects the reality that I’m now thinking more about the non-financial aspects of retirement.  

Looking through the history of my mind as captured in my writing, here are the most frequently read non-financial articles since my retirement: 

I find it interesting that all of my “Retirement Reality” Series (#1, 5, 6, 7, 9) posts have been among my most popular post-retirement articles.  I didn’t realize that until I compiled the list above for today’s post, but I’m pleased to see that folks are interested in the “reality” of my retirement transition. 

Bottom Line:  I’m spending a lot less time looking over “The Numbers” these days, and a lot more time focused on the things that bring true contentment in life.  It shows in my writing, and it’s a reality in my life.

The Key Take-Away of The 90/10 Rule of Retirement

If you remember nothing else from this post, remember this:

The numbers are necessary but insufficient for a successful transition into retirement. Find a way to focus more on the non-financial aspects as you're planning for retirement. Click To Tweet

To ensure your best possible transition into retirement, find a way to bring a bit more balance into your retirement planning.  Increase your focus on the non-financial aspects of retirement.  It’s been demonstrated that those with the smoothest transition were those who spent the most time thinking about what their life would be in retirement.

Finding a way to focus on the non-financial aspects of retirement has been a major topic of mine in the 3 years since I’ve retired.  Heck, I even wrote a book about it.  Consider this “90/10 Rule of Retirement” my humble attempt to shine a bit of light into the unknown world of retirement for those who haven’t yet experienced it.

If you’re like me (and countless others), you’ll soon realize that a successful retirement is about a lot more than money.  If you do it right, you’ll also find yourself thinking about it a lot less after you cross The Starting Line.

Sharpen The Axe.

Then, Enjoy Cutting Down The Tree.

Conclusion

The 90/10 Rule of Retirement is intended as a simple reminder that you’ll be thinking more about the non-financial aspects of life after retirement.  Sure, you’ve got to get “the numbers” right when you’re figuring out when you’re going to retire, but don’t stop there. To ensure your best chance at a successful retirement, find a way to focus more on the non-financial aspects of retirement in your pre-retirement years. 

Your future self will thank you.

Your Turn:  Not yet retired?  Do you think this rule will apply to you?  Why or why not?  Already retired?  Have you experienced the shift in focus I’ve attempted to explain with this 90/10 Rule of Retirement?  What have I left out that those approaching The Starting Line should be aware of?

74 comments

  1. As I get closer to full retirement I’m an exception here. My 4 year semi-retirement (and copious stache o’ funds) has allowed me to not worry or focus too much on the money stuff. I’m spending lots of time planning/wondering/dreaming of what my next act will be like. It’s fun and stressful all at the same time.

  2. No – not in my case… Retiring in a few months at 52 and having been checking your content for quite a while I became a bit perplexed as to “why is this guy tying himself in knots over the money” – clearly you have a lot of it and you know how to manage it. Job done. Move on to the real questions of how to adjust and make sure you have appropriate structure balanced with time for creativity, growth (not ‘stuff’) and being who you really want to be. It looks like you got there now though so good for you!

    For me, once the numbers added up and the buckets put in place to offer some risk protection (heck, over the next 30 years there will likely be several massive market corrections – you can’t defend everything) I closed the book on financials and have focused entirely on figuring out what I will do with my freedom from the chains of the paycheck and build a plan that will be truly satisfying before I wake up on day one of my real life. So, in pre retirement I am probably an 20/80(?) – good stuff and all the best to you Fritz.

    1. Congrats on crossing The Starting Line in a few months! You’re doing it right, and I’m pleased to hear you’ve turned your focus to the “non-financial” thinking in your final few months of work. I suspect you’ll enjoy a smooth transition. Enjoy the ride!

    3. Hi John – wishing you all the very best in retirement. I have been living in Brisbane for last 43 years and Queensland is the best place in Oz to retire. First few months into retirement feels somewhat strange but i made sure I got myself into a routine which meant I started my day walking 10,000 steps first thing and this helped me appreciate the beautiful journey this next chapter in life was going to take me on. Once colder months came in I got out of bed at 9.30, once again helping my body & mind heal after 40 yrs in a tough industry where I often survived on 5 hours of daily sleep. I now go to golf driving range 2-3 times per week and play 18 holes fortnightly. Family, fitness & finance are all equally important in retirement and other than that, I really don’t give a F about anything else or anyone for that matter. Trust me there are many ways to keep your mind healthy & soul at peace. All the very best!!!

      1. Cheers Bipin and we’ll done to you too. I love Brisbane and have lived there (and my daughter does now). I plan a few months of volunteering in a community service organisation for which I am completing a diploma until middle of 22 and then start on a degree part time just for the mental challenge of it rather than the piece of paper and to meet interesting people (and use the on-site gym and pool lol) and mix that with the volunteering to keep some structure without tying me to anything I can’t walk away from. Oh, and to try my hand at painting. I also play in an amateur rock band and have other interests – so I guess I will keep busy, cos I figure I need to maintain some structure but on my own terms…at least at the start!

  3. I too obsessed over the numbers, but after retiring In August 2021, it’s true – I set my bank accounts on autopilot and barely look at them. Each day is a new adventure figuring out what house project that I put off for decades to work on next.

  4. Fritz I’ve been sending the same message out to people but you say it so much better!
    During my retirement presentations I’ve been conducting a poll asking people what their biggest retirement concern is and what I found is that for pre-retirees their biggest concern is having enough money saved for retirement which is not surprising as the financial services industry spends millions pushing the importance of saving for retirement. What I found interesting is that when I ask the same question to a group of recent retirees the answer switches overwhelmingly to finding purpose in retirement.
    These results match up well with polling done by Ken Dychtwald over at AgeWave where 92% of retirees agree that finding purpose is key to a successful retirement. 93% of the retirees surveyed believed it’s important to feel useful in retirement and 87% agree that being useful made them feel “youthful.”
    Purpose the right purpose can serve as our own personal fountain of youth. I think building dog houses might qualify and for the record you are looking younger all the time Fritz!

    1. We’re kindred spirits, Mike. And…fellow Retirement Rebels!

      Keep preaching. You’re making a difference. Also, I appreciate the polling data you shared, nice confirmation of the 90/10 rule. Looking younger all the time? Working hard at it, feel like I’m in the best shape of my life!

      #ILoveRetirement

  5. be a “financial lumberjack.” i had used a wood chopping metaphor but in another context, but i digress, fritz. you bring up a great point. now i know we have enough money and i think about what life will ideally look like once i stop working for the man full time. it’s a bit stressful, like dave mentioned. it’s almost like i ought to purposely use some vacation days just to be at home and have a trial run. i think the focus stays on the numbers for some because they’re so much easier to ponder than something more vague and wide open like “what do i want to be when i have all the time in the world?” nice article, amigo.

    1. Freddy, I love the “financial lumberjack” line! And yes, you SHOULD take some vacation and do a retirement trial. I did exactly that when I was ~9 months from retirement, one of the best things I did. I wrote “A 10 Day Retirement” about the experience, hope you find it helpful.

      Also, a point about it being more challening to ponder the “soft” stuff. Insightful comment, definitely a mental muscle that needs exercise after our mind spending decades beyond forced into a compliance state. Exercise that muscle, a great way to start is your test retirement. Enjoy!

  6. Thanks for the shout-out Fritz. And thanks for figuring out “this retirement stuff” and sharing your wisdom with the rest of us. Your blog posts are great but the example you set with how you are rocking your retirement life is even more meaningful to those of us who follow The Retirement Manifesto.

  7. Spot on Fritz! I’m closing in on 2 years since crossing the starting line, sometimes I feel guilty for not constantly “running the numbers” constantly like I did prior to retirement. Planning on a “revisit” to our plan this winter – but in the meantime I’m too busy!

    1. No need for guilt. You’ve sharpened that axe, enjoy your time cutting down that tree! I love all your pics of biking and boating on the shore of Lake Michigan, great memories of our time together last summer. For the record, I’ve been planning a “revisit” of my numbers, as well, but have also not found the time for it.

      #NoGuilt

  8. Fritz, since retiring in July 2020, it has taken me a while to wean myself away from checking my account balances too often and focusing on the more enjoyable side of retirement. Once I got my buckets in place and set up our accounts to pay out the dividends and interest to replace my paycheck instead of reinvesting them, it’s pretty much on autopilot. Now I do a quarterly update of my bucket balances and a monthly tracking of our expenses. This frees up a lot more time to do things I enjoy around the house, to travel to see our kids and grandkids, and to just relax. With 15 months of retirement behind me I’m still trying to sort out my priorities, and once my wife retires in a little over a year, things will change again, but we’re both looking forward to the freedom that will give us.
    As always I appreciate your words and look forward to each new article.

    2. Hi Fritz. I’ve really enjoyed reading about your journey over the last couple of years. Thank you for sharing it with those of us who a little further behind you.

      My wife and I were almost to the level of savings I thought we’d need for retirement, and after her father passed away last year, her inheritance put us far enough beyond it that I stopped fretting over the total. After I did my spreadsheet modeling (I’m a numbers guy) and saw how the flows between pre-tax and post-tax accounts would work, I have stopped worring about it completely.

      We had just started to talk about the 10% last year, assuming that we retire in 2022 sometime—probably at the end of the school year since she is a teacher. She’s a little afraid of it, to be honest, while I’m so burnt out I can’t wait. There won’t be this structure to her day that she’s had for so long, and she worries that she won’t know what to do with herself and all this free time. Comparing it to what she does during summer vacation doesn’t seem to help. She needs to have a routine, clearly, but because a self-established routine is not “required” and you don’t get in trouble for not sticking to it, it’s almost like she needs a part-time job to ease into retirement, or something like that.

      I’m curious if you or any readers have run across anything that people have done to combat this.

      1. An ex-teacher has many options to continue work: as a temp teacher (likley as the same school she is at now), on-line tutoring, one-on-one tutoring (free or paid). Teaching English on-line. Volunteering at the library for children’s programs, etc. Brainstorm and try some activities that you have always considered but never took the time to get around to.
        I’ve found that once you start pet projects, volunteering, etc. you have to start turning down more opportunities to maintain your free time!
        Redirect some of your new freedom toward maintaining your health. Both group and individual activities.
        In large metro areas, the local county rec centers offer a litany of activities. Classes, activities, exercise groups….
        Many apps that help available: “Meetup” for example.

        1. Thank you for the suggestions. I think once she gets rolling, she’ll be ok, but will just take a little while to find her new set of activities.

  9. Having been retired for a little over 4 years now I’d say we’re much closer to 50/50. Pre-retirement we were probably like 70/30. At that point, knowing “we could” far outstripped “what will we do”. Since our finances need to maintain our lifestyle and support our needs, we keep pretty close tabs on our financial status. We didn’t retire with multiple millions so we’re closer to “middle-fire” than “fat-fire” for those who are familiar with those terms. I can say, however, that our spending has increased significantly since retirement (primarily because our investments have done well and we’re spending some of those gains).

    We had a good sense of desired activities after retirement but they have morphed over time to fit the reality of our life here in a new state. We spend far more time socially than we thought we would and that’s a good thing, especially for my wife who thrives on social interaction. We also mix in physical activity along with maintaining and improving our home. I still (even after 4 years) have the sense that I’m not productive enough… it’s seriously hard to go from type “A” career hard-charger to a life where there are few, if any, demands.

    I’d suggest to Freddy that you you take waaaay more than a couple vacation days to test retirement. We vacationed and rented for weeks at a time during our search for a new place to live. Then we bought a house and spent even more time, pre-retirement, trying to live as we anticipated retirement to be. For the most part, this helped us be more confident in our plans.

    1. Great comment, Dec1. I had a mental response to almost every line, may have to compile all of those into a future post. Would you mind if I used your comment as a launching point? So many thoughts on your comments, and so representative of the mental shifts that we all go through as we transition into retirement. Great comment, indeed!

      1. That would be fine Fritz. In fact, if you’d like me to expand or elaborate on our experience I’m happy to do that. You have my email. Reach out any time.

  10. At 58, I’m in my fourth year of retirement and loving it. I would agree with your 90/10 assessment. But I wonder if the reason there is such a focus on the numbers preretirement is because this is something concrete and understood. We can easily manipulate and massage the numbers to determine where we fit in our ability to retire. The unknown (retirement) is hard to comprehend. Spreadsheets are easy to understand. We have a tendency to feel more comfortable with things we can comprehend and control. Retirement is a whole different world. But, I can guarantee, if you are prepared financially, then it’s time to pivot and plan for a fantastic chapter in your life.

    1. Is Freddy Smidlap your brother? Wink. (See his comment, and my response. You certainly think alike.)

      Retirement is a time to pivot, for sure. And I couldn’t agree more with retirement being a “fantastic chapter in your life”. The best chapter I’ve experienced to date, in fact.

  11. For someone who found themselves retired rather early, a large part of my concern right now is around sequence of return risk and how to remain flexible under any market conditions.

    So I think I tend to worry about the financial aspects more than I should. But I’m also not your standard retiree either.

    But I can definitely see how many people get too overly focused on the numbers, and less focused on how to make their newfound time as enjoyable ride as possible.

    1. Valid point about Sequence of Return risk having a longer “life” for early retirees, had that same discussion during my coffee with Tom, we both agreed that SOR could be a legitimate thread for a decade or longer for earlier retirees. Build your defenses, then get on with living life!

  12. Agree 100%..in 2 days I celebrate my first anniversary in my retirement after 4 decades in finance sector. In Pre-retirement, atleast for 10 yrs I spent up to 10 hours per week on my spreadsheets that is the blueprint of my own treasury dept in retirement. Now i barely spend 2 hours per month on numbers. What you need in retirement is s good BMW (Body Mind Wallet) for health, wealth & happiness. If you do not have a ‘life’ before you retire then you ain’t going to be able to create one after you retire. My wife & I feel we achieved/experienced everything by the time we were in our 50’s and now we pick & choose what we do when with whom. I am 61 & my wife 59 (she is currently transitioning into retirement working 20 hr week.

  13. Another great article Fritz. What I thought you were going to say is that time moves 90% faster in retirement. Or maybe it’s 90X faster. Doesn’t matter, it’s fast. The last 7 years for my wife and I have gone by in a flash. That’s the scary part. The joke between myself and a good friend is that every time we buy something expensive like a new roof or heating system, we wonder whether that will be the last roof/heating system we will ever need to buy. I guess that’s life.

  14. I keep running the numbers to see if I can retire in one year instead of two. ha ha. Retiring in two years is a done deal, but it would be nice if I could make one year work. I am 52 right now. I think it would financially, but might be a stretch.

    Otherwise, I am just working on getting the numbers to 50/50 by the time I retire in two years. Enjoying life outside of work and even at work.

    Great article.

    1. Love the “RE@54” nic, I was “OutBy54” on some sites when I was your age. And, like you, I “kept running the numbers” until I retired at 55 (yep, I did the “One More Year”, with no regrets). This, too, shall pass! Keep focusing on building that life outside of work, you’ll be across The Starting Line before you know it.

      1. Outby54 is a good one. I am using RE@54 to keep me focused. Ha ha on the “One More Year”, but with no regrets, I salute you!

        Thanks for the encouragement and looking forwarding the crossing the starting line!

  15. Before retirement, I used to check my retirement account balances about once a week and record them. I slacked off on this activity once the numbers got beyond what I felt I needed in order to retire safely.

    The biggest shift I am noticing post total retirement (July 2021) is that my days are not so crammed with “must-do” activities that I find it harder to get motivated to start projects at home. It’s also the tail end of summer in Florida so most of my outside work has involved grounds maintenance on 20 acres. There are a million inside projects I could work on but when I’m inside the house I tend to just sit on my behind and fool around on the internet.

    I pretty much have to play head games with myself to manufacture deadlines to get certain things done, since I have spent the last 40 years chasing deadlines!

  16. My journey was the opposite. Once I realized that my portfolio had topped $1.5M I created a spreadsheet to see if it would last. I was 57 at the time. I still have that spreadsheet and, to tell you the truth, it looks silly to me now after 14+ years of retirement. I took my existing expenses and attempted to determine what those expenses would be once we retired. Our lifestyle was going to change dramatically, from owning a home to traveling full-time in an RV. So, I came up with an annual living expense of ~$30k compared to a working-life budget of ~$62k. Granted, these were bare minimum expenses, but, still, I was WAY off. 3x off. Our annual living expenses on the road are a lot closer to $90k. Also, at the time, I was unaware of the 4% rule of thumb. I also did not factor in potential growth (or loss) of my $1.5M nest egg. What I did was take the projected annual expenses in retirement and divided it into my nest egg and came up with ~ 50 years that it would last. Being 57 at the time I figured we be fine. Ha. Within a few years into retirement (and suffering thru a 40% drop in our portfolio due to the financial crisis of ’08-’09) I became obsessed with the ‘numbers’. I started with a Net Worth spreadsheet (which I had also done *once* back before we retired), and added a spreadsheet tracking our income to aid in filing tax returns. Next I created one to track our portfolio progress over the years, updated monthly. And then I created another one that calculated our Asset Allocation so I could rebalance when appropriate. And, probably the most important spreadsheet, we began using YNAB to track our daily spending. Now I obsess over most of these spreadsheets on a daily basis.

    Our portfolio has recovered nicely and today sits north of $2M. Life is good, but I believe it’s because I focus on the ‘numbers’. 8^)

  17. I am not at my retirement number or place yet as a single 55 yr old that owns 2 small businesses. I learned 2 decades ago that pouring over retirement spreadsheets of numbers wouldn’t bring earlier retirement. Nor would it guard against successful retirement. It could never provide a secure feeling of retirement that far away…. It took losing people in my life to realize the here and now of life, keeping the retirement spreadsheets to guides, outlines and goals. I enjoy my life to its fullest working hard and playing hard. While I stay focused on my retirement goals and have never let up on them, I had to learn to be “present in all moments” to enjoy the ride called life. I am confident i will get there because if I had to quit working today, I would manage just fine since I am in total control of my life, financially, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. If something were to happen to you tomorrow, would you feel like you got what you wanted out of your life?

    1. It’s sad that you lost people in your life, but indeed that is a benefit that you learned to live life before retirement. I had a similar thing happen, I never planned nor dug deep into what it took to retire until I lost my job due to the company relocating. I chose to stay and find new employment.

      I also see many, many people pour themselves into their work (I was guilty of that) to the point that life was work and they have no idea what to do during retirement. One of my coworkers is holding off retirement because he doesn’t have a plan, even though he has plenty of money to be able to retire.

    2. “…It took losing people in my life to realize the here and now of life…“

      A tough, but important, message. Thanks for sharing. I’ve shared the same sentiment of “enjoying the present” as a warning against many in the FIRE community who are so focused on achieving “their number” that they forget to enjoy the Present. Thanks for reiterating that important message.

      And, yes. If something happens to me tomorrow, I’ll be content with the life I’ve lived. We should all strive for that goal.

  18. Yes, this is so true! Although in my case, I am still working part-time from home, but it feels like retirement already. I used to love playing with retirement scenarios and all the what-ifs, but somehow, after many years of religiously calculating my monthly expenses and net worth, I have lost some interest in doing that. Life is for living, after all.

    Currently 62, I plan to work remotely for 3 more years and will quit my job once I can get on Medicare. I am very fortunate in that I have p/t work as an editor that pays for over 85% of my annual expenses. I am “on call” for 24 hours a week, but in truth am only actually working for about 10 hours a week.

  19. I think a couple of key factors highly influcence an obsession with the numbers:

    1) Pre-retirement, you’re still making a decision on whether you can afford to (or want to) cut off your largest source of cash inflow. Once you’re made that decision and retire, there’s no reason to keep hashing out the numbers to determine whether you’re ready to retire or work a bit more. What’s done is done.

    2) If your net worth and cash inflow growth is much greater than expenses upon retirement, then you don’t need to think about the numbers much. So if you have $4M+ in net worth and budget a withdrawal of around 3% per year for expenses (with room to cut during a downturn) and have enjoyed the wonderful recent returns in the market and real estate, it’s easy to not think about the numbers. If your budget doesn’t have this wiggle room, I think an obsession for the numbers will return.

    1. Great points, Phillip. I suspect my decision to work “One More Year” contributed to my “90/10” conversion. Likewise, I suspect JC Weber’s experience above supports your second point.

      At one point, I had the sentence in this post about a friend of mine saying, “Once you’ve made the decision and retired, you have what you have and you learn to live with it”. Supports point #1, so I decided to add it back. #EditingMistakeShouldHaveLeftItInThere

  20. I submitted my intent to retire to my boss this past Monday. My date is 3/4/22 and I think I am ready. I am fortunate to have a nice pension with my company plus one from Uncle Sam since I also retired from the Navy Reserve (I turn 60 next May). The biggest benefit is using Tricare for medical which relieves a huge financial burden. My 401K is very healthy and I don’t plan to tap into it other than starting to move money to a Roth IRA or make a big purchase.

    My biggest life event was the unexpected passing of my wife of 32 years this past May which has certainly put a damper on retiring. We had been planning on me retiring about this time anyway so I don’t consider it a recent life decision. Instead, I realized that life is too short to continue to earn money I don’t need and to put off other life goals. It just breaks my heart that my life partner will not be with me to enjoy the fruits of our labors. She did not work outside the home, but she was every bit the partner I needed to be successful at work.

    My message would be to not obsess over the money. Yes, it is important; however, all the other life stuff is more important and our time on this rock is limited with the end being an unknown. So if you can retire, don’t wait another minute. Spending time with the people we cherish most in this life is vastly more important.

    1. “My biggest life event was the unexpected passing of my wife of 32 years this past May...”

      Dom, I am so sorry for your loss. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to lose your partner on the very cusp of retirement. Your messages to “not obsess over the money”, “all the other life stuff is more important”, “time on this rock is limited” and “spending time with people we cherish” are powerful, especailly given your recent loss. Thank you for your transparency and helping others learn from your difficult experience. Also, thank you for your service.

    2. Same situation for me since losing my partner this past April quite suddenly. He took early retirement and enjoyed nearly past 20 yrs. He deserved it and his retirement was very productive.

      I’m working abit longer now into next year since after all, covid has truly put a strong damper on travel for now.

  21. I spent a fair amount of time on the numbers but as retirement started to loom I spent 100% of my time planning my new life. Setting up my part time consultancy, that was a big undertaking for someone who had never been self employed. And I’m glad I did. I had other friends retire around the same time. They’ve all gone back to full time jobs, because they didn’t have enough to do. Not me, I had spent a lifetime building hobbies and volunteer work, and added to the self employment gigs, it was a smooth off ramp to where I am now with almost no paid work.

    1. Steve, I’ve enjoyed watching your journey through your excellent blog. We’re kindred spirits, and I appreciate your strong involvement in the comments on my posts. Congrats on finally downshifting from all of the consulting work, and for your recent successful surgery.

  22. 100% of us will eventually be the VICTIMS of our own successes or failures!

    Meaning, it is depending on how many years you have intensely focused on the 90%…
    Once you have crossed over the retirement mile marker…
    It may take you the same amount of time to transit into the non-financial area of life (the 10%)…
    And you will need help from the RELATIONSHIP with others to help you see your limited FINANCIAL view.

    The view is severely limited because of the 90% concentrated FINANCIAL path you have chosen for yourself many years ago.

    2. It seems that if you concentrate on the financial aspect (90%) prior to retirement, you enjoy the benefit of only having to spend a little (10%) time on it post-retirement. If you do some other ratio, say 10/90, you haven’t dedicated enough time to the financial aspect up front and will spend 90% of your time in retirement concerned with the financials. As I get closer to pulling chocks, I can see that my concern with the numbers is declining at a steady rate, as my time spent with the non-numbers aspect slowly climbs.

  23. I believe financial and non-financial are really separate issues. The financial part is a per-requirement to retirement. Non-financial issues are not even a topic of discussion unless the first requirement is met – that one can retire financially. It’s the elephant in the room. If one can’t retire due to finances, then don’t bother with the pie-in-the-sky non-financial discussion. Of course, once you have a plan in place and it looks like you can retire, then certainly start ramping up the non-financial transition issues. Ramping up is a good metaphor, as you get closer to the retirement date, the time spent on non-financial issues should ramp up substantially. Finances are less of a ramp but more of a “L”, up front work to establish a plan followed by a low steady state of updating and reviewing the plan. During which time one’s energies move on to the non-financial issues.
    I remember meeting with a financial advisor 5 years before retiring, tweaked my plan, then there was little to do up to and following retirement other than annual reviews, using your annual review blog as a model:), and carrying out the plan.

    1. Good point on the financial being a prerequisite. And….you’re using my annual review model!? I think you’ll love the next post, Frank, ties in perfectly with your point about the “low steady state” of updating and reviewing the plan. Stay tuned….

  24. In reading this article and a lot of these comments of feeling insecure of themselves,
    I would like to put in a word for the Rock Retirement Club.
    I have been a member for just over a year and find it extremely informative.
    Everyone is kind and helpful and no type of sales pitches are allowed.
    It is a private group of peers just letting each other know information, from the very knowledgeable staff, to the members own personal experiences.
    The Master Class walks you through finding your fundedness level and works from a present day value to help you see where you stand from that angle.
    Members also get access to New Retirement’s premium calculator and analysis tool at the “Planner Plus” level (a yearly value of $96), This software figures your retirement from the more traditional expected returns and inflation estimations.
    So these give you two different perspectives to help you get a better feel for where you are.
    Members are also enrolled in “Everplans”. It walks you through documenting all of you important information so that if you become unable or pass you family will have a much easier time putting your affairs in order. This would cost you $75/year but is also included in the membership.
    They also spend a lot of time addressing your physical and mental health along with activities from various perspectives. As this article brings out, it naturally becomes more important after you have retired so members on the other side are coaching us to prepare for this aspect as well.
    I know this sounds like a sales pitch but I really honestly enjoy this special group of people and are glad to have them as my friends.

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  26. Hey Fritz, great article. Keep writing, you have been on a roll lately. Totally enjoy your blog. At first I was going to comment on my ‘travels’ through the 90/10 rule, then experiencing the 10/90 side of it after 8 years in retirement, but I realized it just not important to anyone. What I have observed from reading your followers comments on all of your articles is that retirement becomes so individualized once you declare yourself ‘retired’ is that no 2 are the same. Many have similar themes, but they are significantly different. It seems to me that the most positive comments from your readers come from those that have identified what ‘enough’ is in their life, and that they see the value of time far exceeds the intrinsic value of dollars.

    Keep writing, you’re awesome!

    1. “but I realized it just not important to anyone….”

      Oh, but I care, 31! Smiles. Chalk it up to my respect to you for reading every one of my posts! I’m still in awe that (a few) folks take the time to do that. I didn’t think anyone really cared. Haha.

      On a serious note, you’re 100% correct that each retirement is different. The needle I always try to thread is to find those common themes that apply to most of us. Thanks for your encouragement. Rolling on….

  28. I would guess that my obsession with reading retirement blogs and books to be ready for retirement will need to shift to something else in retirement. So we are not only giving up the amount of time we spend earning money but the time we think about being able to retire. That is a lot of shifting of our time. Would be nice if more of us could successfully go to part-time work first but that is simply hard to do for many of us. I have read all your articles but I don’t recall any showing the time spent on things pre-retirement compared to post-retirement. So with our 168 hours in a week, what did you spend your time doing pre-retirement compared to now.

    1. Chuck, I’m blown away that you’ve read every article! A rare feat, I know of only ~10 readers who have done that. Thank you!

      Ironic that you question how I’m spending my time now in retirement. I’m actually working on a draft post that lays out what I do with my time. The next post I publish will be on how much time I spend managing our money in retirement, the next one (potentially, still a very rough draft) will be what I do with all of my time in retirement. I hadn’t thought to compare it to my “pre-retirement” time allocation, may have to consider that. Thanks for the idea!

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  30. I obsessed until about a year ago when I far surpassed the number I needed. I’m not retired yet due to a pension (and health care) unicorn. I’m now working hard on figuring out what I want to do when I “graduate” in 2025, I still like to look at the pretty numbers, when they are going up otherwise I don’t look much.

  31. This really hit home, Fritz! I am obsessed with that FIRE # and less about what happens after FIRE. This was a nice reminder that time is more important than money. Fantastic post!

  32. Hi Fritz, G’day to you from New Zealand. I retired 2 years ago at 55. The 90/10 scenario is exactly what happened to me. I had been preparing for several years but I almost became obsessed with numbers in the last 3 years before retirement. Now I hardly ever think about that. I’m just crusing along doing the stuff I like with minimal management of my portfolio. 😎 … BTW I have read all your posts so I am a 100% pre- and post-retirement fan. 😉

    1. Wow, another 100% post reader, my first from New Zealand! I’m sincerely honored. It sounds like we’re walking a very similar path, glad the 90/10 resonated with you. Thanks for commenting, great to know you’ve read all my work and it’s helped you on your journey!

  33. So true. I am at year 3 of retirement also and have the same advice for anyone approaching the “finish line”. I have spent a lot of time since retiring pondering what I really should be focusing on during retirement and have made several course corrections already. I wish I had focused on this more, prior to the finish line.

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