4 Massive Reasons You'll Wish You Retired Earlier

Early retirement is about more than money

Science shows there are compelling reasons to retire sooner than most people think. The UK’s Whitehall 2 study found that retiring at 60 lowers the risk of chronic disease by 32 percent compared to working longer. Harvard research reveals that close relationships, not wealth or titles, are the strongest predictor of long-term health and happiness. Early retirement creates the “time freedom” to invest in those connections.

I share with clients the three phases of retirement: the go-go years (55–70), slow-go years (70–85), and no-go years (85+). Waiting too long can mean missing your most active years for savings you may never use. Studies from France also show that leaving high-stress jobs earlier can preserve brain health and lower dementia risk.

The key is balance. Retiring too early without a plan can cause financial strain or loss of purpose. The sweet spot is stepping away from stress while moving toward meaningful pursuits that keep you energized.

If you want to explore your own early retirement possibilities, visit earlyretirementpodcast.com to run a personalized plan and see what could be possible for your future.

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Advisory services are offered through Root Financial Partners, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. This content is intended for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered personalized investment, tax, or legal advice. Viewing this content does not create an advisory relationship. We do not provide tax preparation or legal services. Always consult an investment, tax or legal professional regarding your specific situation.

The strategies, case studies, and examples discussed may not be suitable for everyone. They are hypothetical and for illustrative and educational purposes only. They do not reflect actual client results and are not guarantees of future performance. All investments involve risk, including the potential loss of principal.

Comments reflect the views of individual users and do not necessarily represent the views of Root Financial. They are not verified, may not be accurate, and should not be considered testimonials or endorsements

Participation in the Retirement Planning Academy or Early Retirement Academy does not create an advisory relationship with Root Financial. These programs are educational in nature and are not a substitute for personalized financial advice. Advisory services are offered only under a written agreement with Root Financial.

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Ari Taublieb, CFP ®, MBA is the Chief Growth Officer of Root Financial Partners and a Fiduciary Financial Planner specializing in helping clients retire early with confidence.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
There are four massive reasons you should
consider retiring early Now.
Many of you know the commonones, which is, yes, I want to
spend time with family and yes,I want to travel more and I want
to enjoy my life to the fullest.
We call that retiring to.
Then there's retiring from Ican't wait to retire from my
boss, from commuting, fromdeadlines, and I want to ask you

(00:20):
, to ask yourself honestly whereare you on that line right now?
Are you currently in the spaceof hey, I really just want to
retire from X, y, z and I can'twait to be done with that, then
I'll figure out my retire to.
Or are you like I really justwant to retire to travel, I just
can't wait?
That's what I'm trying to getto.
Or are you both?
You're allowed to be, both,you're allowed to be.
In fact, that's healthy ifyou're saying I can't wait to

(00:42):
retire from commuting so I canspend more time traveling, but a
lot of you, I find, are just onone, which is odd.
I didn't think that would bethe case, but I ask my clients
that and I'll often get theanswer of I don't even have time
to think about what I'll spendmy time doing.
I'm so busy working and I'llalso get the answer of I just
financially need to make sure Ican get to a position when I can
do all these things.

(01:03):
I'm not worried about retiringfrom anything.
So if you don't mind, if you'rewatching this on YouTube,
please comment below and let meknow where you are.
If you're listening on thepodcast app, send me a note.
You can go to my website,earlyretirementpodcastcom and
submit that, or just send me anemail.
Now here are the four thingsI'm going to go over today, and
please know my name is AriTaublieb.
I'm a certified financialplanner, host of the Early

(01:25):
Retirement Podcast this podcastand I'm the chief growth officer
here at Root.
So if you're watching onYouTube, you can see I'm
pointing to my Root shirt at themoment.
Number one is retiring earlyobviously can significantly
improve your health, especiallyif you retire to something.
And here's what the stats say.
A large study from UK Whitehall2 found retiring at 60 led to a

(01:49):
32% lower risk of chronicdiseases compared to working
longer.
Due to reduced stress and moretime for healthy habits,
retirees who use the time forwalking, exercise, meal planning
.
They see improvements in bloodpressure and inflammation
markers.
Now the caveat is you retireearly without a purpose.
That increases depression.
So planning meaningfulactivities is key.

(02:11):
A quick story on this.
I've shared it many times.
I had a woman who reached outwho said she was so upset she
had $3 million.
I said listen, lady, I don'twant to be mean here, I don't
hear that all the time why areyou upset that you have 3
million?
I know people who would love tohave 3 million.
She went on to say because Ifound out I didn't need 3
million.
If I had two to two and aquarter, I could have done
everything I wanted and more.

(02:32):
I said tell me more.
She went on to say I now wantto hike and travel more than I
thought and I don't have thehealth to do so, and that's in
large part because I havesciatica.
That really got, you know,uncomfortable for the years I
was sitting at work the lastfour or five, six years to get
to that three million mark whenit was just unnecessary.

(02:52):
So make sure if you are retiring, you're thinking about your
health in a major way.
Number two we call this timefreedom.
Time freedom allows you toinvest in relationships, which
boosts your longevity.
There was a Harvard study ofadult development that found
close relationships are thestrongest predictor of health

(03:13):
and happiness in later life,literally number one.
Retiring early Allows for timewith grandkids, family,
community, which all lowersmortality risk.
So don't do it for thescientific benefits, do it
because you want to do it, butknow that there is a benefit
that comes along with it.
It shows social connectionreduces cognitive decline by 30
to 50%.
That is the article of goodgenes are nice, but joy is

(03:34):
better, in the Harvard Gazette.
Finally, statistic number three,not finally the next statistic
is retiring early lets you useyour health while you have it.
I talk about the go-go years,the slow-go years and the no-go
years.
The go-go years are age 55 to70.
The slow-go are 70 to 85, andthen 85 plus are the no-go years

(03:55):
.
So these go-go years, that'swhere you typically have your
healthiest window for travel,adventure, active pursuits 70 to
75, activity levels oftendecline due to physical
limitations, even in healthypeople.
And then by retiring early, youmaximize your quality years,
not the quantity but the qualityof years for the bucket list,

(04:15):
experiences, exploration, memorymaking, all.
According to a JP Morganretirement guide from last year.
Number four cognitive declineis linked to work stress and
sleep deprivation, chronic work,stress, poor sleep and limited
downtime accelerates cognitivedecline markers.
Retiring early can improvesleep quality, lower your

(04:35):
cortisol, reduce your burnoutand preserve cognitive function.
There was a French study thatfound those who retired at 60
had a lower risk of dementia,particularly in high-stress jobs
.
So these are the four massivereasons to consider it.
Here's one not to consider inearly retirement, which might
sound weird coming from theearly retirement host.

(04:55):
So the reason when you shouldnot retire early is if
financially, you're just not ina position to do it yet.
Don't retire just becauseyou're so done with your work,
your boss, your deadlines,commuting, whatever it is,
because you will regret retiringgoing well, yeah, I did it, but
I can't really do what I wantto do.
That's number one.
Number two don't retire untilyou've at least thought through

(05:17):
something.
One thing that's really goingto let you up.
That is allowed to be.
I want to sleep in.
I want to be able to drink wineon a Sunday night, not worry
with those Sunday scaries.
For Monday it could be whateveryou want, but I've talked to a
few people who go.
I really just don't know whatI'm going to do.
So I'm continuing to work justbecause I don't know what I
would do otherwise.
Don't retire until you havesomething you're excited about

(05:39):
or you will become moredepressed.
Number three, which I wouldargue is potentially the biggest
one don't retire until not justfinancially, you know you can
make it happen, but that youhave a strategy for how you're
going to tackle creating income.
So that's tax strategy, that'swithdrawal strategy, that's all
the things related to incomecreation.
Are you ready to be able toimplement a strategy that's

(06:02):
going to give you the confidenceto spend money without running
the risk of running out?
Those are the three mainreasons when I would just say
definitely don't retire early.
What I encourage you all to do.
As you've seen in previousepisodes, I've been talking
about six statistics fromwealthy retirees.
I've been talking about average401k balances.
Just go find out.
That's what the tool isdesigned for that I talk about

(06:22):
so often, because it's amazing.
You can go build your own planin literally less than five
minutes and you can see what itactually will mean for you if
you can retire early, meaninghow much you can spend your
projected tax payments.
And then what if scenarios?
What if you want to downsize?
What if you go?
Long-term care was way morethan I expected, or I wanted to
work part-time, or it turns outI want to do a home remodel.

(06:43):
You can see the impact.
So I had an example of a casewhere someone wanted to do a
home remodel about $35,000.
And they found that if they dida home remodel of about 70,000
double they could do everythingthey wanted, and more still, in
retirement.
So the risk is that they do thefirst home remodel and it's not
to the degree they want, and sonow they're looking back at life
, going why didn't we build thatpool or whatever that may be,

(07:07):
if they're in a fine position todo so?
You want to make sure you'relooking at the finances
realistically, because if not,the risk is you regret not doing
something when you were in afine spot to do so.
On the flip side, there's therisk of overdoing it and
therefore run the risk ofrunning out of money, which you
don't want either.
Of course, there's a finebalance there.
So why do we exist here at Root?

(07:27):
So that we can help clientsoptimize everything they've
worked so hard for.
We are their true partner.
So if this resonated with you,please like this video on
YouTube.
Please comment below which wasmost interesting to you.
Which of these are you mostexcited to start really tackling
?
What are you going to retire to?
I love getting to hear it fromyou guys.
That's it for this episode.

(07:47):
I'll see you guys next time.
Thank you all, as always, forlistening to the Early
Retirement Podcast.
I love getting to host theseshows and make different content
for you guys every single week.
I've not missed a single weekin years and that is because I
love getting to do this.
Now, please be smart about this.
Before you actually execute anystrategy that you see me talk
about or hear me talk about,should I say Please talk to your

(08:10):
financial advisor, your taxpreparer, your estate attorney.
Please be smart about this.
None of this should beconstrued as financial advice.
This is for fun, educational,informational purposes only.
Once again, just quickdisclaimer here.
Guys, please be smart aboutthis.
Appreciate you listening, asalways, and you can, of course,
submit a question on my website,earlyretirementpodcastcom, if

(08:34):
you, of course, want me toaddress a specific case study or
topic.
I will not promise I can get toit, but I respond to every
single person and if I find itwill be helpful for a lot of
people, I will absolutely makean episode on it.
At the very least give you someinsight.
That's it, thanks, guys.