Personal Finance

I retired early 5 years ago and this is the #1 biggest downside of my decision

Joey Frenette

Published: February 4, 2025 7:34 am

Sometimes, our retirements fail to live up to the sky-high expectations we’ve set throughout a lengthy career. Undoubtedly, one’s golden years are supposed to be a time dedicated to traveling the world, having memorable experiences with friends and family, and taking out those items on the bucket list one by one.

Still, the retirement lifestyle can have a rather slow pace. And for those who embraced early retirement from a fast-paced, stressful work life, the transition can be tough. Indeed, not only will one have second thoughts about retiring well ahead of the traditional retirement age (in one’s mid-60s), but one may also want to return to the labor market, if not for the extra income, perhaps to alleviate the boredom. 

In this piece, we’ll check in on a Reddit poster from the r/Fire subreddit who seems to want to return to the labor market. They’ve tried working at a less-stressful, lower-paying barista job (a part of barista FIRE) but found out it wasn’t for them, given the mistreatment by customers.

The loss of “social status” that comes with retiring early

Indeed, the “loss of social status” seems to have hit the early retiree pretty hard. And while it could prove a bit difficult to return to a career that pays north of $200,000 per year, I think it’s worth attempting to pick up where one left off if they’re no longer happy with their life as an early retiree. Indeed, there are countless cases on Reddit of early retirees and embracers of the FIRE (financial independence, retire early) trend who ended up returning to work some years later.

There’s no issue with taking a few years off only to head back to where you were before leaving the labor force. Though FIRE sounds ideal on paper, it’s not the type of lifestyle for everyone. Whether we’re talking about the opportunity costs of missing out on one’s prime earning years or the loss of social status, which seems to be the biggest downside for the Reddit poster, there are cons and pros of hanging up one’s skates early.

When the cons begin to outweigh the pros, it may be time to start thinking about making big changes, whether it entails returning to work, volunteering, or something else that can give one a better sense of purpose.

Understands the ups and downs of early retirement. And have a backup plan.

Indeed, there’s no dotted line you’ll need to sign when you retire early. However, it can be a tad tougher to return to a former role. And it may be even tougher to land a salary that’s in the same ballpark. Either way, the decision to retire early is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, financial decisions one can make in one’s lifetime. Before making the plunge, one should understand the upsides, downsides, and everything in between.

Many folks who are shooting for FIRE may just feel burnt out from their current roles. A sabbatical or career shift are options that should also be explored before one goes down the route of an early retiree. 

Sure, early retirement sounds good on paper, but for many, it simply isn’t the right kind of lifestyle, especially for someone who’s still relatively young (think in one’s 40s or 50s). That’s why having a backup plan (a return to one’s former role) seems like a smart move.

The bottom line

At the end of the day, it’s more about having financial freedom to do the things you want. If you’ve got a sizeable enough nest egg at a young age, many doors (including one that leads to an early retirement) begin to open. But you don’t have to enter them. For those keen on embracing the FIRE movement, perhaps a sabbatical can act as a “demo version” of an early retirement. If you don’t like the demo, you don’t need to purchase the full game!