We already have two interview series at ESI Money: the very popular Millionaire Interviews and the loved-by-some-but-not-all ESI Scale Interviews (BTW, I haven’t stopped doing the latter, just spacing them out a bit more.)
I personally love both series because each offers a unique perspective. The millionaires teach us everything they did to become wealthy and I always seem to pick up something new to consider or at least say “I wish I had done that.”
The ESI Scale participants are generally much younger, but I like hearing their plans and having the chance to offer my guidance — something I wish I had when I was that age.
And for both I love the stories! So many different stories! There’s always something interesting and special about each.
But there’s also something missing — some stories I would like to hear, and I think you would too. In fact, I know some of you would as I have been getting emails about it.
In short, we’re missing stories from retirees specifically.
Yes, some millionaires we interview are retired, but the vast majority are not.
Yes, you get to hear my retirement story, but that’s just one perspective.
Yes, you can read other blogs by retirees, but 1) what about those who are retired and not bloggers and 2) wouldn’t it be easier if all the stories were in one place?
These are some of the reasons I am launching a new series which interviews retirees about their retirement.
And I need your help getting it going…
What to Ask
The first area of assistance I need is in determining the questions to ask.
Overall I want the series to explore:
- How they prepared for retirement
- The steps they took to make it happen
- What retirement has been like
Given those, here are some questions worth asking IMO:
Preparation
- What did you do financially to prepare for retirement?
- What did you do career-wise to prepare for retirement?
- What were your pre-retirement financial estimates (i.e. required spending, how to pay for it, etc.)?
- What were your pre-retirement concerns (financial or non-financial)?
Taking the Leap
- How did you ultimately retire? (specifics up to and including the actual retirement day)
- What went well?
- What didn’t go so well?
- How was the adjustment, especially the first few months after retirement?
Retirement Life
- What do you do with your time in retirement?
- Looking back, what would you have done differently?
- What are your future plans?
- How have your finances performed compared to what you had estimated before retirement?
- What advice do you have for those wanting to retire?
Let me know if you especially like or dislike any of these questions.
Also let me know if you have other questions you think I missed.
I’ll take all the feedback and create an initial set of questions to launch the series. I’ll add some introduction questions to the above (probably the same ones I use for the millionaire interviews) to help us get to know each interviewee before we get into the heart of the interview.
Just so you know, while I appreciate all suggestions, I won’t be able to use each one. The main limiting factor will be the number of questions interviewees are willing to answer. Sure, it would be nice to ask these people 200 questions, but at that level I doubt anyone would volunteer. 😉
Your Story
The second way you can help is as an interviewee. If you are retired and willing to share your story, send me an email and volunteer to be interviewed.
I have a couple of people lined up already, but will need many more in the months to come.
And with that said, I now turn this post over to you…see you in the comments!
Ever-optimistic says
Interesting idea for a series. Perhaps there is an opportunity to ask a question that relates to when the path to retirement comes in steps or phases, as in retire from a long career and start a different job with less time / responsibility / emotional demands. This step down into a different role can provide a helpful transition into the “retired” life.
KBC says
I think this is a good idea for a series. Drilling down into healthcare expense specifically would be helpful. Repositioning of assets/investment strategy. Retirement age, kids/college commitments in retirement. The younger they retired and the riskier the profile the more I’d like to know!
JME says
The fear of healthcare cost and risk is what keeps me tethered to the corporate b and c. How have other retirees prepared for that?
Dennis says
This is the one question I would like to know – if you retired “early” how are you covering healthcare & what impact does it have on your finances before retirement. I’m right there with JME!
JZed says
Great idea for a series. How do I “like” this comment? 🙂 Came here to suggest the same things KBC did. Great additions.
M16 says
KBC, my wife and I have been retired six years, fairly healthy. and are not yet 60. Healthcare was/is a big consideration. Our solution will work for those in fairly good health.
We purchase catastrophic event health insurance, and it is about $9,000/year for us both. Things like annual checkups, eye/dental, etc. we pay out of pocket. Rarely is it over $1,000/year, for two people. And now, a reallife example where the rubber-meets-the road… I was hospitalized for six days with influenza this December 2018. My total bill was $49,000 including ambulance, Emergency Room, Intensive Care Unit, and double-occupancy room. My share is $9,000. Hopefully this won’t happen again, and I’m fine now.
KBC says
Thanks. That’s a great example.
Jtc says
This is EXACTLY what I am interested in. I am 54 years old and somewhere between 2 and 24 months from exiting Corporate Hell (miserable right now). Anxious to learn from others that have made the transition. I don’t want to stop working- just need to get out of the daily full time grind.
Finding that taking the leap is easier said then done. Easy to keep saying ‘one more year’.
Very much looking forward to this new series!
getagrip says
May want to ask about any “surprises” or significant unplanned expenses they encountered that hurt or could have hurt their nest egg since many worry about that kind of thing (e.g. illness, accidents, screw ups, kids moving back, etc.).
Razorback 14 says
Great idea and at 63 yrs of age, and with less than 23 months left to work (my 2nd retirement), I’m excited about learning from others —— in saying that, once I retire from this job, I plan to snag another job (completely different line of work, hopefully ) and work until I’m 70 yrs old.
Work History
1st retirement
Age 22 to age 57
Public Education: Teacher, Principal (all levels), central Administration ( asst Supt to Chief of Staff to Supt)
2nd retirement
Age 57 – age 65
Corporate work: From consultant work to my present position as President of a small energy company
3rd retirement
Age 65 to age 70
Preparing now for my next steps in searching for my last and final gig.
So excited to continue moving toward my goal —— goal of working until I’m 70 ( far from the FIRE ? position, but it’s my chosen path)
I’m open to ideas and comments too.
As shared, can’t wait to learn from others ——
1960Mini says
I think it would be useful to interview actual retirees. AKA folks who are not blogging, not working side gigs. The FIRE focus sometimes tends to confuse actual retirement with blogging/side gig, but still sort of working.
gtmoney says
Agreed.
ESI says
You gave me an idea. I think I need to ask them how they define retirement as that’s the heart of much of the discussion these days — the definition seems to be changing.
Paul says
Agreed! This is huge!
BSue says
You may have the topic covered in a more open-ended question, but how about ‘what percent of your retirement assets were you planning to use each year and how is that working out?’
Bet we can all learn a lot from the retirees.
Razorback 14 says
Yes ——
In thinking about becoming a consumer once and for all , I have the same question as you —— just don’t want to run out of money during my golden years and I’m very interested in leaving $$$$ as part of my legacy.
Scott says
I would be interested to hear if they returned to paid work, and why. Was that the original plan?
Razorback 14 says
Scott —-
As shared, that has always been part of my plan —— early in life, I started thinking about this idea (working til 70) , when I witnessed my grandfather working until he was 74 yrs old. He was my example —- I’m not sure I’ll work as long as he did though.
Paul says
This is a good one too. I had a relative that returned to paid work, but it was just for something to do. I’d like to know if it was a “have to” or “want to”. If “want to” was it just to keep busy (part-time a few days a week) or re-entering the work force back to full time.
PFI says
I love your interview series – looking forward to another. Solid list of questions.
I echo the suggestion to ask specifically about healthcare and how they’re managing it since it does seem to be the main fear.
It would also be interesting to hear about any specific asset drawdown strategy they have. This may be answered in the “How have your finances performed…” question, though I could see a response there just being about assets being up or down.
For the record – I’m a fan of both existing series. I like reading the ESI scale for the same reason I read the millionaire series – to find different perspectives and possible ideas.
Andy says
I am interested in their deaccumulation plan. What strategy do they use to determine which accounts to withdraw from? What’s their rebalancing plan? What kind of bucket strategy do they use? Etc.
CB says
I agree with the de-accumulation plan. Which accounts to pull money from for living expenses and recreating the paycheck. Also differences if the retirees have children or not makes a difference on spending assets and accounts to leave for inheritance. We don’t have children, so I do wonder about IRA, 401K, taxable, non taxable accounts.
Having fun during retirement is a good topic for the interview too. Being able to spend money after the accumulating phase of career.
gtmoney says
Not as interested in preparation as that is covered heavily elsewhere.
Very interested in what it’s like. How do they fill there time? How are their friends doing? Do they volunteer?
Agree with someone above not interested in just side hustle stories. Have a mix of actual retired and some side hustle.
More interested in people who really pulled the plug and how is it.
Would especially love to hear from 50-60 years old retirees. Younger the better.
IamOnFire says
Great idea. I think we can learn a lot from those interviews about things that help us in preparing for the retirement life.
Tax planning and execution is another important financial question I would be interested in.
How RMD’s, social security, pension, etc., creates tax challenges and how they handled it.
How did their plans for distributions pan out?
Thanks for starting this series would be fun to read
Laurel says
I’d like to know how they felt about going from being a saver to now spending. Also, what emotional impact did retiring have for them. I prefer hearing about people who are no longer working and at least 62yo and older.
`MI-119 (teaser) says
– Age at retirement and current age (number of years retired). Single or married. Is spouse also retired. Number of children each spouse had. Pre-retirement career(s).
– Net worth at time at retirement, income at time of retirement, distribution of assets at time of retirement.
-Retirement income (accounts, real estate income, social security, pension, inheritance, disability income, family support, etc.) and expenses (absolute and as compared to pre-retirement). Method of draw down of investment assets (usually for tax purposes) and draw down rate 2%, 4%, 5%. Spending trends over the retirement years. Financial support of children, family, friends.
– Reasons for retirement: wealth, health, fed up, pursue a hobby or new career, corporate downsizing, care of family members, travel, etc.
– Major decisions in preparation leading up to retirement or shortly thereafter – downsizing home, selling a business, sale of real estate assets, give up cars, moving to low COLA in or out of country (expat).
– Management of healthcare needs – Medicare, Medicaid, supplements, health savings account, private insurer, long term care insurance, move to socialized healthcare country, etc.
-If relocating, reasons for relocation (COLA, family, weather, health facilities, etc.)
-Daily routine in retirement. Personal upsides and downsides of retirement. Hobbies. Entertainment. Volunteer work. Helping children/family/friends.
-Financial surprises. Emotional impact of retirement.
-Estate/legacy planning. Philanthropy and charity.
MM Interview 55 says
Great idea!!! Looking forward to it! Here are some thoughts on questions:
If retired early (prior to 65) what prompted them to do it?
Was retirement by choice or by circumstances out of their control?
What emotional issues (if any) did they deal with before or after?
Were both partners completely onboard?
Was there a specific book, mentor, or blog that helping them take the plunge?
Did they move, or downsize?
Tom says
Love this. In addition to being willing to be an interviewee for this, I’d love to hear from retired couples who have a significant age difference – say, 7 years or more.
What did the older one do while the younger one was still working full time?
How did you both feel about spending on retiree activities involving travel, adventure trips, etc, while the other one stayed home to continue earning?
What is your plan to claim social security (assuming you missed the born-before-1954 window)?
Are you bucketing funds for decumulation? If so, how?
How long is the younger spouse going to work? Until they are the same age the older one was when he/she retired?
If both retired at same time, what are your plans for handling medical insurance, given that the younger one has several years more to wait until Medicare eligible?
Modeling decumulation to ensure the money lasts works well for the older spouse, but how are you going to make sure there is money left for the younger one?
Danielle says
I would love to see a question about this as well, as my spouse is 8 years older. I’m not sure I’ll be able to handle working knowing that he’s doing something much more fun each day!
Tom says
I’m the Tom that posted basically the same questions below. Yours are more well-formulated. I vote for this angle!
Heidi says
What setbacks did you experience (divorce, low income, etc?) and how did you rebound from said setbacks?
Kristy says
Looking forward to reading these interviews! I would like to know “what do the retirees wish they knew” ahead of time, route to savings, navigating the healthcare, etc — although, I suppose this is a learn as you go. What guides there were previously may no longer apply in the last 6 years.
Matt says
Great idea.
I’d like to know specifically their investment withdrawal strategy in retirement. I assume most early retirees have 401k that they can’t touch until 59 1/2 without penalty. How do they bridge the gap between retirement and 59 1/2?
Also, I’d like to know if they invest their assets to focus on income (dividends, etc) or growth (and just withdrawal for spending needs)?
The key to making this series successful is to see the follow up questions after a couple interviews and then tweak the questions accordingly.
ESI says
I am now in round 6 of the millionaire interview questions.
After several interviews it’s pretty clear which ones are working and which ones aren’t and I adjust accordingly.
Steveark says
I was one of your millionaire interviews and also have been retired for three years. I think many/most early retired millionaires still earn a little bit through a side gig or part time job. And I would try to explore that. In my case I consult for a day or so a week and make a significant amount of money I do not need. But I feel the need to work, to have the social contact and the need to make decisions and solve problems. And the fact that some of it is hard, some not even all that fun, makes my recreational pursuits all the more fun. I’m not sure I totally understand why it matters to me but I saw the same thing in my dad who had the same kind of part time gigs after he retired. I’m convinced there is something to it and that most people need to plan on a retirement career to stay happy. Anyway I’d delve into that when it comes to retired peeps. Do you work some, how much and why? And did they plan it that way. In my case I started building my retirement side gigs intentionally twenty years before I retired just in case I wanted to pursue them, which was good because your shelf life as an expert is pretty short unless you step right into being one right after retiring.
Tom says
Great idea for a new series! I’m interesting stories of retirees with a significant age difference. What drives the decision of when who retires? What “gotchas” are there for the retiree? For the one still working? How does the dynamic of one retiree work? Does that person pull the working person out of work, or is there balance?
I have a 15 year age difference with my wife. I’m the younger one, which, while actuarially correct, is rare. I have scenarios and models, but real world stories are GOLD. Thank you!
Dave says
Great idea for a series. Agree with many of the comments about healthcare – how do they handle it? Also may want to ask about Social Security withdrawal strategies – what are they doing? how is it working out? How did it change if they lost a spouse during retirement?
Asset allocations would be good as well – how has their allocation changed or not changed after they retired?
Where do they live? Which state and why? Which country and why? If they are living out of the US full time or part time, what issues have they had and how did they handle them?
Elizabeth says
How about some questions related to how they have modified or redesigned their social life and activities?
With more discretionary time, has their search for satisfaction and meaning in life changed? If so, how?
Mark Chevalier says
Great topic and very much look forward to reading them. These may be mentioned elsewhere above but I’d be specifically interested in:
– actually making the decision to retire (how you balance the desire for getting your time back vs how much money is enough so that you don’t run out one day)
– how you solved the healthcare question
– if you retired before age 59.5, how did you bridge the gap between retirement and being able to withdraw from your 401k/IRAs penalty free
– any regrets?
Laurel says
I’m also interested in how RMD’s effected their taxes.
Laurel says
Couple more thoughts! Did they collect SS early or FRA or wait until 70. How did they decide. If married, what was their decision for collecting SS.
ESI says
Thanks, everyone!
I now have more than enough to set up the first interviews. We’ll see how those questions work and then adjust as needed.
As noted I wasn’t able to get in all questions (or the interviews would take longer than completing their taxes), but I will get to many of them. And you will always be able to ask questions in the comments.
Stay tuned!
DS says
Cool idea for a series. Looking forward to the first one!
Snowdog aka MI-21 says
MI-21 here. I love this idea and I look forward to reading this series. I’m hopefully 2 months or so from taking the leap. Like a few others have mentioned, it’s easier said than done. Even though I’ve added over $1MM to my NW since my interview, I’m finding it tough to walk away from the cash hose. While I’m worn out and ready to walk, I still worry how I will fill my days. Looking forward to hearing how others handled the transition.
Razorback 14 says
I have the same feeling, Snowdog —— and in less than 23 months, my wife and I plan to take the next steps to a hopefully, long and fruitful retirement —— these last five years have helped me to prepare financially, but I’m a bit worried about filling my days, as you described.
Ashok says
I’d be interested to know how “retirees” stay engaged and how they spend their time. How do they fill the void when they’re no longer working 9-5?
Paul says
I’m curious about things from the tax side of the house (and maybe because I’m 10 years away and trying anticipate things!). My questions I ask people who are fairly well off in retirement are:
-Are there any unanticipated tax issues that caught you off guard? Are taxes a concern?
-From a RMD perspective, do you need your RMDs? How are they impacting your retirement tax strategy?
-Is there anything you would do over if you could from a tax perspective? More in a roth, etc?
Paul says
Just thought of a few follow on questions! Curious if they moved from one state to another in retirement and the reason why. Lower taxes? Warmer weather, etc? If they did move, any tax implications or things they would have done differently?
TVS says
Great idea for a series! These will be the most interesting interviews. In addition to the great questions you summarised, i would only suggest adding some questions that are not directly related to finances but to things like personal fulfilment, sense of purpose, sense of identity etc. Did/do any of the retirees have any issues with any of the above and if so how they dealt/deal with them?
Thanks & regards