(The photo with this article is the view I have as I write this from a timeshare resort in Escondido, California. I couldn’t travel as much if I was still working.)
I’m a physician who retired from medicine early, based on most people’s thinking. But at what age is retirement early? The Social Security department made an arbitrary designation when they made age 65 the retirement age for their program. Does that number really mean anything to a professional who loves what they do? Or to anyone who is feeling burned out in their job? Age 65 only means you become eligible for Medicare.
When I read comments about the timing of my retirement, I begin to think that “early” means at a younger age than the reader decided to retire. Every reader has their own interpretation of what early means.
Too many physicians behave like online trolls or bullies when they hear of someone who retired before they did. This behavior is very unbecoming of a professional in any field, but especially in medicine.
This attitude is prevalent when driving on the freeway. Many people take the stand that those who drive faster than they drive are maniacs and those who drive slower than they drive are idiots. They think the speed they drive is the best speed and anyone who deviates from that speed is not just in error, but out of their mind.
Maybe we should all use Dr. Michael DeBakey as the yard stick for retirement. He practiced medicine until his death at age 99. That means everyone who retires from medicine at age 65 wasted a spot in medical school that could have been used by someone who was really serious about practicing medicine. They quit 34 years too early, which is a career in itself.
Here is a small representative sample of comments pointed at me for having the audacity to retire at age 54 after devoting only 23 years practicing medicine, not counting the years spent in training. I also share my comments about their comments. To balance them out, I included comments from people who were happy for me.
Comments from those who don’t like that I retired before them
You and the medical profession are better off with you retired. You probably should not have chosen medicine as a profession. Strong words from someone who has never met me. The tens of thousands of patients I treated would probably disagree.
I really dislike these types of articles when a physician feels superior because he/she retired early, like it was his goal! I could retire easily tomorrow (I am 60) but I don’t want to. I’ve never felt superior to anyone who chose to retire later than I or earlier than I. I wonder what this doctor’s real beef is.
This is a person who retired from medicine at age 54. Why waste a medical education on a person like that when what he wanted to become was a real estate manager? No, I have wanted to become a physician since I was a kid, that’s why I put in 13 years of training to become a physician. I chose to invest my retirement savings in real estate and mutual funds.
Why does XX keep subjecting us to the wisdom of ex (I don’t call them retired)-doctors who left unfinished medical careers but try to rationalize it by presuming to lavish us (who had FULL medical careers) with THEIR expertise?……. My advice, if you go to medical school, just practice medicine till you’re old. After reading this comment I looked up this person to see what kind of physician he is. I found out that he left medicine early and became a lawyer. Then later left his law practice to go back into medicine. Maybe he should have followed his own advice and spent his whole career in medicine. What is a “FULL medical career”? I doubt it is one interrupted to become a lawyer.
If you had 20 wonderful years in practice, why did you retire? Interesting comment. This person must think that you only retire if you don’t like medicine. One could change the 20 in this statement to any number. Why ever retire if you like what you are doing? I wanted to do some other things with my life before I was too old to do them.
This is obnoxious. I’m sorry. I work really hard for not a lot of pay for a physician because I believe in what I do. I hope I can retire at 65, in 7 years. I hope I can help my parents financially. I hope we can travel a month a year. Am I a lesser person than he? The difference between us is not how hard we worked, how much we liked our job, or how much we earned. You certainly are not a lesser person than me. You simply did not save as much money along the way. You can’t HOPE these things come to pass, you must plan for them. I spent substantially less money than I earned every year starting my first year of residency. The difference is only in the size of nest egg we have saved. My choice was to spend less money during my working years so I would have more money to spend during my non-working years.
Many doctors are still practicing medicine well over age 65. It doesn’t sound like he particularly enjoyed medicine if he retired at 54. He probably chose the wrong profession. No, I chose the right profession, as I loved medicine and it was the career I wanted to do since I was a kid. I, however, have other interests besides medicine… music, travel, and helping physicians with their personal finance to name a few. I went into medicine to help people, and I retired to help a different group of people.
Comments from others who were happy for me
Not all the people who make comments on my articles are unset by my retirement. Some commenters are truly happy for me or want to use my example as a path for them to follow.
Most realize I used my income differently than other people. Not everyone is willing to live on 50% of their income; save and give away the rest. Most of the people that contact me for help with their finances are spending all their income. Some spend even more than their income as is evident by the amount of debt they carry. Consumer debt is the ultimate measure of spending more than you earn. If you owe money on a credit card, or make payments on a car, you are spending more than you earn.
This is seriously the most toxic industry. You guys need to get a grip and just learn to be happy for your peers when they retire. If you didn’t learn to manage money or retire early, that’s on you. Stop whining about it and do better.
Congratulations. Life is beautiful on the other side. So much more to explore than an operating room!
Admire do not hate, I wish I had half the financial savvy and vision.
Planning like you did is essential for a comfortable retirement. Kudos.
Love it Dr. Fawcett. Well done.
I’ve always loved my job. But now four grandchildren later, financially very comfortable by the grace of my husband following all the guidelines set by Dr. Fawcett (over 40+years), I can identify with Dr. Fawcett.
Well done, your story is much like my own. Grew up poor, but with both parents, enlisted in military at 18, GI bill for under grad, Airforce scholarship for medical school, married to my best friend for 47 years, studied investing and began early. Retired at age 61. Now have time to devote to other interests, reading, woodworking, improving my bridge game, etc. I believe a great deal of your good fortune is because of the decisions you have made along the way when opportunities or challenges presented. Thank you for your service to our country!
You have done well! My congratulations to you and your family.
The time for toxicity in medicine is over. Anyone who judges another physician for their own personal choices is the one who should be vilified.
Thank you for sharing this.
Good day Dr. Fawcett, I was simply overwhelmed by your post. To a large degree I felt like I could have written it. I stepped away from Neonatology at 58. I recently turned 69. Though I was both proud and pleased to have practiced medicine for so many wonderful years, the last eleven have been the absolute best. My wife and I have been blessed with continued good health and keen minds. I still “work” every day, a morning run, then either a trip to the gym or a round on the golf course, then the best gift of all… I/we get to decide what we want to do with each and every day. Your comments are simply spot on. Congratulations and Thank You.
I would not judge anyone, one way or the other about their retirement. This is an awesome profession and it’s not the length of time that makes it better or worse. It’s the passion, professionalism and the way others benefit.
Good article. Make sure you take your BP medication regularly and keep enjoying life with your grandkids. I hope I can reach a similar outcome in the future.
Amazing. Glad life is good.
Well said. You have nothing left to prove and can walk away with your head held high.
I’m happy for this surgeon.
Great story to go with a great philosophy. There certainly IS life after medicine.
Congratulations on your retirement. Clearly it was the right choice for you and your family and your lifestyle.
And you will always be able to describe yourself (Cory) as a Surgeon and physician, with your ongoing career still ministering to the needs of other physicians.
This is chapter 2 of your life and an opportunity to do something else you want to accomplish and enjoy. This time around, there is no pressure or competition.
Congrats on your retirement! I retired from my internal medicine practice at the age of 63.
I applaud your decision to make medicine your career and field of service and not your raison d’etre and your entire life.
Well done! You are a smart doctor to have planned well and achieved your goal!
Very inspiring article!!
Well done, there is more to life than medicine. You made a difference to others and that’s all that matters.
I retired at 68…awesome…still have some “youth” to enjoy. There is another world out there besides doctoring.
Congratulations to you. It’s never too early to retire.
I think most who vilify you for “wasting your medical education” are simply jealous.
Comments from those who think I could only retire because I had something special/lucky happen to me
There is also a set of comments from people who think the only reason I was able to retire before them is because something extraordinary happened to me and that special thing did not happen to them.
This is not the case. I did not inherit a bunch of money, win the lottery or strike it rich buying bitcoin or any other lucky investment. I also did not come from a wealthy family. I simply avoided consumer debt, worked to keep my student loans low and then paid them off quickly, and lived on 50% of my income so that my savings and giving rates would be high. Saving a high percentage of income makes a huge difference in outcome.
I also did not have a high income, despite being a surgeon. I lived in a depressed area and took a lot of time off to spend with my family every year. I rarely meet a physician who shared their income information with me that earned less per year than I did. I also have lived in the same house since 1997 and am still married to my one and only wife.
Here are some of their comments with my responses.
Remember that pediatrician that retired at 54? Oh, that’s right none ever have. I am just starting to save for retirement at similar age. It isn’t that you make too little money. The issue is you only started saving in your 50s while I started saving during my first year of residency. Yes, there are pediatricians who retire in their 50s. They also started saving money early.
Yes, some physicians prefer to run a string of rentals, Section 8 housing, car washes, Airbnb, etc. It is a matter of choices if they want to deal with broken plumbing, stopped toilets, crackheads, etc. Big headaches in my opinion. This physician speaks as if it makes a difference what one invests in. The biggest factor is the amount of money you invest, not what you invest it in. Those headaches you speak of only are present if you feel you need to manage the investments personally. You make the investment and let others manage the business.
Most of these retired early folks are deep into rental properties. So it’s generally more of a change of career than retirement in the traditional sense. This is completely wrong thinking. I own rental properties, but I spend about as much time with them as I do with my mutual funds: close to zero. That is not a career change. If rental properties seem like a second job, you are doing it wrong.
Funny article. A man who is supposed to be a financial expert owns a timeshare. Yes I do own a timeshare, and I think every physician should own a timeshare. Most people who complain about their timeshare either are the wrong kind of owner or have never learned how to use it, since it didn’t come with instructions. I wrote a user’s guide for Timeshares to help timeshare owners get the most from their timeshare. I own one week of a timeshare and am able to trade it for 7-8 weeks each year for a cost of about $600 per week of vacation. My five-star timeshares costs less to stay in than vacationing in a Motel 6 and comes with lots of amenities. If you wish to save a lot of money on vacations, you should own a timeshare.
It would be great to hear how early retirement worked out for MDs who don’t earn money by writing books on how to make money. I live entirely on my retirement savings, which I developed before I ever wrote a book. I don’t make any significant income selling books. The books have given me a purpose during my retirement, not an income.
So basically, be a surgeon and buy an apartment complex. I guess this leaves me out as a pediatrician, sigh. You got the message wrong. Be a physician, live on less than you earn, save the difference, avoid debt, and start this when you get your first job. Since I bought most of my apartments with no money down, even a pediatrician who doesn’t save money can do that.
In my experience you can’t put enough away in 20 years to retire and travel and pay private health insurance and have kids at home and tithe. It took me until my 37th year in practice to retire……So this guy had extra income and he’s not completely clear about it. No, I didn’t have significant extra income outside of my retirement investments. I suspect this commenter took a different path with his personal finance than I. He chose to spend all his income. When you do that, it takes a long time to save up enough to retire. Too much house, too many cars, and expensive vacations can result in a late or no retirement. When I was in high school a doctor once told my father at a reunion, “If a physician isn’t financially set for life after being in practice for ten years: He blew it.”
Your income as a surgeon is not available to those of us in primary care, though we work just as hard as you did. All physicians work hard. Hard work doesn’t build a bank account. Living on less than you earn and saving the difference builds a bank account. Every specialty can do that. Even the lowest paid physicians earn much more than the average American so have the opportunity to save.
The problem Cory is that I like to fly first class, I drink expensive tequila, and I don’t know Jack about real estate investing. Guess I’ll just work until I’m 70. You might have to work a lot longer than that if you keep spending all the money you earn.
He forgot to acknowledge good fortune, opportunity and luck as part of reaching his goals. A lot of people think I have wealth because I was lucky. Here was one of my comments to the luck issue: Yes I had good fortune in my life. I was fortunate to be born in the United States. I was fortunate to have both a mother and a father who loved me. I was fortunate to not have a “serious” health issue, but my wife and I have both had health issues. My wife had breast cancer, and I had heart issues. We’ve both been under a surgeon’s knife. I was fortunate to find a wife who was thrifty and faithful, and we have been married for 36 years. I was fortunate to have a high IQ. I was fortunate to apply for and receive a Navy scholarship and not have to go into big debt for medical school. I was fortunate to learn about real estate investing from my grandparents and later follow in their footsteps. I did have a lot of good fortune in my life, and I am very thankful for it.
Basically, you retired TO something, not just FROM the practice of medicine, and this is the key to a successful second act. You were also fortunate and wise enough to keep a portion of your life outside of medicine intact.
Comments about when physicians should retire
There are also many people who stated their thoughts of when the right time to retire might be. Here are some of their comments.
When you have enough and are tired of practicing.
If retirement means to stop doing what you love or what gives you purpose, then never retire: you will be miserable. But, if retirement means moving into a new exciting phase of life that enhances your purpose and happiness, go for it.
No one has the right to impose their opinions on when a physician should retire. It is a personal matter.
There is a numeric age and a physiologic age. There are many in other professions who are active well into senility.
I retired when work was more hassle than fun.
It’s better to retire a year too early than a day too late; it’s later than you think.
Age is not a determinant, mental ability is.
Whenever I can afford to!
I retired because I HAD to. Had I not retired, I’d most certainly be dead today.
“Physician” is not my identity; it is my vocation.
You have to ask yourself two questions before retiring, do I HAVE enough and have I HAD enough.
At whatever age fits you personally. Medicine as a business takes a toll.
Any age is acceptable. It’s when you realize its time and you’ve met your financial goals.
It’s when you see fit. Even though we may not start our career until 30, most of us were working on “being a doctor” in high school. Getting the best grades, extracurricular activities, studying in college when others were partying. Our pursuit starts very early so let it end when you want it to end.
I think your knowledge is very important to society and took a long time to get so for me 70 is the earliest anyone should be thinking. Cut back if you like, change your hours, or modify it, but don’t stop.
I think as physicians we have invested a lot of our youth into what we do, therefore it’s not like joining a union job at say 21 years old or even a junior executive job. By the time we are beginning our work life most of us are 30 years old. Thats 10 years later than most of our university friends who retire at 65.
I don’t know anyone who, at the end of their life, was thinking “I wish I worked a little bit more.” I think balancing the quality of life and the amount of work is the key to avoiding regrets. I plan to work as long as I enjoy doing what I do and not a day more.
I say, I managed to retire at 63 and I consider it an accomplishment, not a moral defect. If you want to see patients until you die, or until someone realizes you shouldn’t be practicing anymore – good for you. I would never criticize or try to talk you out of it. Please give the same courtesy to those of us who chose a different path.
Naturally I agree that we should leave when it feels right to us, as long as we can still practice competently.
Some physicians don’t have hobbies other than medicine. They can never retire.
Every physician has to decide for himself, unless he is no longer able to fulfill his responsibilities.
There is no “acceptable” age. It’s an individual choice based on finances, whether your practice is professionally rewarding, you enjoy your work, and health issues.
If you define self-worth as being a physician, never retire.
No right or wrong time.
I support anyone who quits while he/she still has it. If he/she doesn’t want to treat patients anymore, they shouldn’t. Nobody hurt. It’s quitting too late that is a problem.
It’s whatever is acceptable to you.
Only retire if you find something better to do. Recliners can be deadly.
It doesn’t matter if you retire after 10 years or never.
What an absurd question … This is a personal decision.
Acceptable? To whom? When it is acceptable to me then I will. I didn’t know I needed to get pre-approval from someone.
I would say any time you can afford it and can no longer stand to practice. This idea that there is a contract with society and because medical education is subsidized you “owe” a number of years no longer applies.
A General Surgeon or any physician who dedicated so many years of their life to their intense education and then active practice is hardly a “poster”.
Personally, I consider that if the average person gets out of college at 22 years old and works 40 hours per week for 50 weeks per year, this is 2000 hours. And if they do that for 37 years and retire, they have worked 74,000 hours in their career by the time they reach 59 years old (the age at which the IRS allows them to start withdrawing from their retirement plans). For us, after college, there is medical school, internship, and residency (my residency had no limits on the hours). Few of us have 40-hour per week jobs after residency. So, we not only get a head start on the hours at the beginning of our career, we also advance toward that average total hours faster than the average person. You can probably do the math on your own career and come up with pretty good approximation of the age you will be when you arrive at that 74,000-hour point for your career. But regardless of what anyone else has done in any other career, I don’t think there is anyone more qualified than each of us is to determine for ourselves the total number of years that each of us should practice.
I hope you enjoyed this collection of comments that I’ve received over the years since I retired. I’m sure many of you have a few of your own to add.
I think the age of retirement is entirely personal. Good article, but I do think the author should be publishing pithy replies to comments he received, always having the “last word”. My only concern about the age of retirement is doctors working after their mental and physical facilities start to deteriorate and affect their work. I had dinner with an elderly retired anaesthesiologist who put a bowl of marbles (all white and one black). He told his co-workers to remove the black marble when they thought he should no longer practice. He came to work one day to see the black marble gone and retired that week.
It’s a curious choice, when financial freedom itself is a more all-encompassing and perfectly interesting topic and goal, no matter the age, stage or profession. Perhaps it’s an artifact of the culture, as education about that isn’t generally imagined or encouraged; instead moralistic ideas about living to work or even “earning” or wringing every drop out of a spot in medical school are inculcated. We age and thus retire idiosyncratically is the simple answer to the surface question, of course. How to get on board fully with ones’ passions, purpose and freedom is the more interesting discussion.
Zaheer Ahmed, MD, a psychiatrist, had this article summarized by chatgpt in Jive speak. He shared this jive version as a comment on Doximity and I thought it was ‘cool man’ so I copied it here. Enjoy!
Early Retirement Talk Listen up, cool cats! I’s a doc who hung up my stethoscope earlier than most squares think is proper. But dig this – what age is really “early” anyway? Social Security jive-talkers pulled dat 65 number outta nowhere! What’s dat mean to a soul who digs their gig? Or some poor cat who’s burned out? Age 65 just means Uncle Sam starts coverin’ yo medical bills! When I peep dem comments ’bout when I split da scene, I be realizin’ “early” just means younger than whenever dat other cat decided to clock out. Everybody got they own take on what’s early, ya dig? Too many docs be actin’ like straight-up Internet trolls when they hear ’bout somebody who bounced before they did. Dat behavior ain’t cool for no professional, especially healers! It’s like dem highway cats – anybody drivin’ faster than them is a crazy fool, anybody slower is a square who can’t drive! They think their speed is the only righteous way, and everybody else done lost they mind! Maybe we oughta use Dr. DeBakey as the gold standard! Dat cat practiced ’til he kicked the bucket at 99! By dat math, any doc who jets at 65 wasted a spot in med school dat coulda gone to somebody serious ’bout the healing game. They quit 34 years too soon – dat’s a whole career! I got some shade thrown my way for bouncin’ at 54 after only 23 years healin’ folks (not countin’ all dem training years). But I got love from some cats too who was happy for a brother!
I have great difficulty in forcing someone to do anything. In 2008, I accepted a civilian Psychiatrist job at Fort Hood after a coming back from a financially disastrous time in New Zealand practicing there (NHSes are HORRIFIC).
Fortunately, there was a delay in my paperwork, so I took a job in Minnesota instead.
The next year, a madman masquerading as a Psychiatrist named Nidal Hassan went on a shooting spree at Fort Hood.
I’m 62. I’ve been an MD in private practice since age 30. A recent investment is working out nicely. I may be a multimillionaire by December 2026, age 64. (I’m well on my way to the second million without that investment’s impact).
I live in the part of Texas that has 3 cities always on the bottom ten cost of living index. I live simply. I have no timeshare as my home is 30 minutes from South Padre Island.
I also work 1 week on, 1 week off.
When will I retire? Interestingly enough, I love my job, and get enough study and rest time. I enjoy my Medical Directorship.
The answer is that I probably will practice as long as God lets me. I should be dead, and am alive for a reason. Plus, each year I practice now I enjoy it more.
So, the answer is it’s your life, and mine is mine. It’s important to do what you want as much as possible.
The answer comes from a Doctor, may he rest in Peace, who was both a genius forensic pathologist, solving impossible to solve crimes while also successfully pursuing a career as a Grand Ole Opry artist and songwriter for artists like Willie Nelson, among others.
A better man than you or me was Randy Hanzlick, MD. In 1980, he wrote the masterpiece which won me a Dr. Demento T-Shirt for calling it in on the Funny Five: “I’d rather have a bottle in front of me (than a Frontal Lobotomy).”
Do whatever the hell you want. And joke ’em if they can’t take a F…
I retired at age 68 in 2020. I actually had planned to work a few more years, but when Covid hit I decided that it was time for me to exit.
Love & let live. Retire early if it suits you; work into old age if you’d prefer. Physicians are human beings—aside from a deep commitment to our patients’ well-being, we’re all motivated differently. Take ten surgeons doing the same type of work & I’ll show you ten different approaches. Why should we look at the life/work/retirement balance any differently?
I have lost many friends and colleagues to cancer and disease. They never got a chance to retire. How many years do we have? While 75 is the new 60, 85 is 85. Living debt free is awesome. I cannot stress how important that has been for me. Start saving early and you will have plenty of money. Dealing with insurance companies has become impossible, costs go higher and our fees get cut. The business of medicine is not enjoyable for physicians. I refuse to become a cog in the corporate wheel.
Unfortunately, I have found it difficult to find someone to continue my practice. Many new surgeons are not prepared to start out on their own. Be that as it may, I am retiring after 34 years in surgery. I am at the pinnacle of my abilities but I need more time to recover after a long day in the OR. I have many places to see and hobbies to enjoy. Family to reconnect to and new additions to meet. I will have found memories and no regrets. Thanks for your writings.
I said it before and will say it again. “Quit while you are ahead, while your patients and peers think well of you and before you injure someone.” Find something you can do well, medical or not and enjoy.
Jim Webster MD
You have to separate money from medicine. Very few would have enough for nursing home care at over 100k a year. The other problem is knowing when to go No one wants to harm patients but some times it’s like a pro athlete you think you still have it but your are sliding downhill. It is better to leave early than be forced because you are no longer at your best
I love medicine, but I also love many other things, especially music. I had to choose between the two for a career. A late friend of mine (investment banker turned university professor) retired fairly early (he was French and therefore had an early retirement age) and went back to a conservatory to study the piano. I started to practise more since my kids left home, and I am very tempted to cut back on my medical practice so that I have more time. I would also love to travel all over the world to attend concerts at the great concert halls. Being in private practice, I can never be away for more than two weeks at most. So many conflicting reasons to retire or not. As for my financial situation, as a wise friend once said, it is not how much you earn but how much you spend. However, one also has to take into consideration the very unstable economic situation currently and the possibility of another financial crisis that would wipe out the life savings of many people. I bought my first apartment from a retired dermatologist, who was very successful. Four years later, it was the Asian financial crisis (I live in Hong Kong) and I heard that his investments were wiped out. He had to join an old colleague’s clinic and start all over again. And he was already past 70. Something to ponder.
Yep. I am scared about the current political-economic situation. I had planned to retire within a year, but frankly, I have a job now, I still enjoy it, and if we have a worldwide 1929 or hyperinflation, I would rather be employed than not, if my investments are wiped out.
If you still love what you do, do it for as long as you still love it and are able. With time, taper back accordingly. Also be sure to take the time to enjoy pre and post retirement until the no go years arrive. They come for everyone. 15-20 percent to retirement per year, year after year.
What I won’t miss as an owner of practices once I do retire from independent practice is the 1st quarter reckoning of high deductible resets, most of the insurances “resetting”, at times changing the rules leading to more prior authorizations, insurance denials, often a 20 plus percent temporary decrease in weekly gross earnings, annual audits too and spikes in sick visits of contagious illness with increased cancellations/reschedules especially now due to COVID, rsv, flu, pertussis and mycoplasma.
I think your work setting very much matters too. More autonomy is critical to prevent burnout. Also where you live, and your family situation control the amount needed to finally reach that comfortable number to finally retire.
Our state is the most expensive in the nation now for a family of 4. A lot I love about our state, and I grew up here and so did my wife, and fortunately we are able to be here, but when your earnings could get you triple for many essentials in other states, especially housing and tax matters, saving for many becomes more of a true challenge even when frugal and very disciplined with savings. If food, shelter, taxes and fuel cost double to triple the means of other states, that’s less anyone can save. Could absolutely live in a neighboring state but the commute can be a bear.
I am 83 and still do a little medicine. While I gave up my ob/gyn practice years ago, I found something with very low risk that I can do as much or as little as I want. Interestingly, several of my closest classmates are still working to various degrees.
i’d love to hear about the very low risk, flexible situation you have. i am about to retire at age 67, (private practice ob-gyn which has almost sucked the life out of me, for too many reasons to list here) but i still have something to offer, while i (finally) choose to pursue other interests
Just when I thought I was out….
I “retired” last year, but it’s now relatively easy for me to practice telemedicine from almost anywhere at almost any time of day or night. Nonetheless, I continue to struggle with the trade off of time spent carelessly enjoying wasting time, traveling, sleeping, etc., vs time working, even although it’s totally voluntary now. Working continues to instill a sense of accomplishment and purpose, an anchor in the vastness of possibility that unfolds before me.
Incredibly poetic.
If you’d like yet another hobby/career, please consider writing.
Or at least haikus!
I think the decision as to when to retire should be a personal choice, and having the means to be able to sustain a decent standard of living.
Generally the ability to travel and engage in physical pursuits is dependent on one’s health and vigor, and this is significantly reduced after 75 years of age. For such individuals, 60-65 years (or even earlier) would be a ideal age to slow down.
On the other hands, some people enjoys their work enough that they do not mind working until they are physically unable to do so.
There also an option to gradually slow down, doing part time work or doing consults/teaching/different area of work and taking longer vacations.
My plan was always to be ABLE to retire at 50. I have achieved that goal – the mortgage and student loans are paid off, we have no consumer debt, etc. This is despite being a lowly Family Doc, despite not having a trust fund or windfall, despite financial and personal set-backs, despite being an intentionally single-income household, despite not having any other outside income streams or significant investments outside of my retirements accounts (403B – the non-profit equivalent of a 401k, and Roth IRAs) etc. Why 50? It’s a nice round number, and it seems balanced: 25 years of growing up and getting educated, followed by 25 years of practicing medicine. (Also, then I beat my Dad’s achievement! He retired at 51, despite never earning a six-figure salary and with 3 kids to provide for.)
Yet, for now, I continue to work because I still love doctoring and still love teaching, and I still think that I have something to contribute. (Also, it would be nice to have a bit more of a financial cushion given current economic uncertainy.) However, as more and more of my work time is spent fighting with insurance companies, arguing to get tests authorized and drugs covered, filling out forms and other non-clinical non-educational tasks, and relentlessly clicking and clicking and clicking in an EMR built for billing and not useful documentation, the cost/benefit ratio is slipping. (EPIC is coming, eventually, I am told – Is it that much better? I hope so.) I’m contemplating going part-time in my current position. True retirement will probably involve un-paid doctoring/teaching opportunities, volunteering, and writing articles and patient education materials while travelling.
YES, I was (and am) fortunate. (As is oft quoted: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”)
Fortunate to be born to my parents – who taught and modelled a life based on frugality, moderation, and service to others; who started saving for my college education (and that of my two sisters) from the day we were born; who valued life experiences and learning by seeing and doing (vacations were roadtrips to National Parks, museums, historical sites – not expensive Disney resorts).
Fortunate to have had a stay at home parent (with a Masters in Education) before I started school. Fortunate to have been breastfed and to have grown up eating healthy foods (home-grown vegetables and local whole milk from the dairy within walking distance). Fortunate to have been born in a decade (the 1970s) when opportunities for women were expanding and female role-models were visible. (I have to point out here that White Privilege and Middle-Class Opportunities also tipped the scales in my favor – and that the playing field is by no means level 50 years later.)
Fortunate to have had a public school education that included access to music, theater, foreign language (including Latin!), advanced science, AP English and History, and a college-in-high-school arrangement with the University of Pittsburgh that allowed me to start college with a semester’s worth of credits. (We also had art, sports, shop classes, JROTC, and Vo-Tech among other things).
Fortunate to have been born with enough brains to get a full-tuition merit-based scholarship to the state university and a half-tuition scholarship to med school and to get a position in a molecular biology lab to do research for my Honors Thesis as an undergrad. (Qualifying for Work-Study funding in undergrad and med school, and money left from my college savings meant I didn’t need to take on too much expensive debt beyond the Stafford loan limits at the time.)
Fortunate to have married a man who is supportive, intelligent, shares my values and is not threatened by an independent, intelligent, very vocal and strong-willed woman; a man who has the confidence to embrace the duties of a homemaker, providing me a haven to come home to. (UNfortunately he never had the opportunity to demonstrate his stay-at-home fathering skills – life doesn’t always follow our original plans.)
I may also have been fortunate in that I never actually knew any doctors growing up, so I had no expectations – my doctor role-models were Hawkeye Pierce from M*A*S*H re-runs and Joel Fleishman from the 1990s TV series “Northern Exposure.” I was just looking for something useful to do with a B.S. in Biology – options were grad school, teaching high school science (my back-up plan – and maybe my retirement job), and med school. I hope my patients and learners agree that it was a satisfactory outcome!
Awesome!! I respect you.
I would suggest you should not retire from something but rather to something. Who will you be after you retire. Service doesn’t need to end it can just change.
I think of life as a series of steps. The first part of life is about learning, the second is about earning and the last is about your yearnings.
Make sure your live your one glorious life aware of your yearnings.
To each his/her own.
I’m 71
Im still working(30-40hrs most weeks) in Anesthesia.
No call/no weekends
Still learning(still growing)
Still enjoying
Services are appreciated and needed
Still pretty healthy
Not burned out, found ways to lower work related stress
Have time to do all the things I want to do outside work(family, travel, not for profits, friends, sports)
Unrestricted off time
Colleagues, Nurses, Associates not wondering”Why is that Old Dude still around here?”
Have opportunity to help patients through what is a very stressful period
Working in my home community, caring often for former neighbors, teachers…..
I am 78 and practicing as a general surgeon for the past 43 years. I LOVE what I do so why quit? I have the good for fortune of working with some outstanding surgical residents every day who keep me sharp and teach ME something everyday . I don’t envy someone who retires early – it’s a personal choice for that particular person- a choice that makes sense for them at the time. The day will come ( and probably soon) when I know it’s time to hang it up and I won’t regret it one little bit. Great article !
I was your medical student in Des Moines (class of 1996), you had a strong influence on me going into surgery. Thank you! And now I’m reading your comments on retirement. Your influence continues.
I knew a surgeon, dean of the local black medical community, having been one of the first (if not the first) fully qualified black surgeons in the city, who retired from operating, but kept on doing a twice-weekly chronic wound clinic until he was in his late 90s. He was loved by his patients and the community.
Your articles and books encouraged me to retire at 62, move to the east coast to chase grandchildren and begin to breathe again. Your example of moderate living, generosity, Christian family and professional values, wise financial decisions are great examples of how to do things right no matter where you are in your career trajectory. Thanks so much.
Hey Bill. Your reply resonated with me. One will know when they have enough and/or had enough, and want or need time to fulfill other needs and contribute to other areas in life.
Good article- while salary plays a role in the ‘when’ someone can retire, it is far from the most important factor. I used residency as a time to set the baseline I needed to spend to be optimally happy and after finishing and starting my attending salary as a Hospitalist the amount I spent actually went down as my salary quadrupled. There’s more reasons than I can name as why but the underlying to all of them was it made me happier to put all that excess income to pay off my loans and my wife’s loans and buy a house than doing anything else with it. Paid the loans in 2 years and almost done with the house in another six months- a little over two more years.
The luck aspect is something I think about a lot. I think luck does play a role in the outcomes of people’s lives, mine included. But if someone bemoans their bad luck as a physician (or your good luck) and points to their salary and or loans as to major reasons why- I can only say that it would serve them best to let go of that. It is representative of an external locus of control, and until that is changed they won’t be open and able to learn how they can equally be as ‘lucky’ as you or I. The earlier they are in their career they can make that shift, the better- because time turns back for no one.
Great article
At 76 I am still working but not for long. I think age 25 is a good time to retire from medicine in this environment.
Advice: get a combined MD, MBA
There are no surprises here. Congratulations on a well-executed plan that you initiated the moment you drew a paycheck. Such a plan is/was available to all of us – it just requires education and self-discipline. Sour grapes from some is indicative only of a lack of self-awareness and self-responsibility.
Some relevant factors to your success available and well known to all:
1) Follow Dave Ramsey’s advice – read his books, look at his videos. It isn’t rocket science.
2) Best rule for financial security – “One house, one spouse….” Yes, life can throw you a huge curveball, such as a spouse’s alcoholism necessitating a divorce…. doesn’t negate the premise, just delays it.
3) The three questions for retirement – “Do you HAVE enough? Have you HAD enough?, And, do you HAVE ENOUGH to do?”
The only other factor for younger people is, if you can, can you hitch your wagon to a star? By that, yes, real estate which requires educating yourself can work, but also, where is the next Peter Lynch or, better yet (in my case) Warren Buffett? My investments with them were all early and made knowingly, and available to everyone else. Recognize brilliance in others and invest accordingly. As for who is it today? I don’t know, but today, the best returns, bar none, will be in Roth retirement accounts. The government, at all levels, is still the number one financial anchor around our necks.
I want to retire at 63, this year after 27 years post fellowship (total training 6 years so 33 years in total) I think post Covid my energy levels are not the same. I use to think I will work for ever.
I’m 74 and continuing to work (pretty hard). That’s 48 years of medicine and, coincidentally, 48 years of marriage. The last 48 years have been the best of my life. As for retirement, I have just 2 simple thoughts.
1) Don’t judge
2) Retire when you’ve met two criteria:
a) you can (financial means)
b) you want to (because post-retirement life is more satisfying than practicing medicine).
Point 2b is so personal, you can’t judge.
Wow, you must have a lot of time on your hands now to have written all of this! Fortunately, unlike the rest of us, you had many other income sources which enabled you to retire early. Lucky you…
No, there was no “lucky me.” I invested money starting my internship year in my retirement plan, my IRA, my wife’s IRA, and purchased some real estate. Those were choices I made to help me in the future. Then, exactly as planned, there was enough income from my investments for me to afford retirement. Everyone else could have made those same choices and been “lucky” also. I also have the same amount of time on my hands as everyone else has, 24 hours each day. But most of this article was to copy and paste people’s comments. It took less time than watching a movie.
I started saving and living almost as frugally as I did as a resident, and now I wish that I had taken time and a little money to take all of my vacation when I was younger. Realistically, I am not likely to be able to do the Grand Canyon down-and-back hike now. Then again, I had few interests beyond my translational research lab and my clinical duties. Now I am tapering down my hours, and I am booking my first overseas tourism trips (as opposed to visiting expat relative). Everyone is different. I think that I would get bored with 100% retirement. I would be like a lot of the other retired faculty who show up for grand rounds and research presentations occasionally.
So many negative comments! I’m a pediatrician who joined a small group (I was the 4th) which later merged into a very large group. At 67 I started working 3 days a week plus one Saturday per month. At that time I said I was planning to retire at 70. I really enjoyed practicing and had many sad parents and patients when I left, but I wanted to have time to spend with my wife and family while still fairly healthy. I was president of my Temple when I retired, I have a black belt in Taekwondo and still work out twice a week, I’m reading more and spending more time with my grandchildren. I’m getting farther behind on emails because I’m not sitting at my computer all day. I really don’t miss practicing because I’m keeping busy with other things that I love.
Retire when you feel like it. Also, it should not be before you have sufficient funds to do so.
Wonderful article. I practiced for 44 years in many varied specialties – family practice in a small town, aerospace medicine in the U.S. Air Force who paid for my medical education, occupational medicine and urgent care in my latter years. I enjoyed them all immensely and would not have traded a minute in any of them for any other career. Those of us in medicine are truly blessed to do for a living what we truly love. All careers however must come to an end. I retired at age 72 and have travelled with my wife for the last three years exploring the world and renewing each other. Great life past and present and if I am blessed to continue into the future. You only have one life. Enjoy it to its fullest. The only counsel you need to seek is your own. Your heart will tell you when it is time to hang up the white coat.
The bitterness of anyone who would presume to denigrate another person’s personal decision to retire is tragic. I feel sorry for those folks as they will never be happy no matter when or under what circumstances they retire. I made a life choice (having a second set of children, the last born when I was 50) that I knew meant I would be working until at least age 70, and I couldn’t be happier. My life is far more full than it would be without these children. But I have also saved as much as I could and when I do reach that age, I will be able to retire comfortably. Congratulations to everyone who can retire and enjoy the benefits of years of hard work and good financial stewardship, be it at 54 or 84.
Ah yes, the age-old question: when should physicians retire? Somewhere between “just after my student loans are paid off” and “when I drop dead in the OR,” right?
Dr. Fawcett’s article tries to find the sweet spot, but let’s be honest—some doctors treat retirement like a mythical creature, while others think retiring at 45 to blog about passive income is a noble calling.
There’s the surgeon who insists he’s still got it, despite using a flashlight to read EKGs, and the psychiatrist who claims she’ll retire “right after one more patient,” for the fifteenth year in a row.
The truth is, it’s less about age and more about self-awareness—can you still do good work, and do you want to? Or are you just hoarding white coats like they’re limited edition?
In the end, retirement isn’t a failure to serve; it’s an evolution—if you’ve done your job well, maybe your best legacy is knowing when to leave the party gracefully, before someone else has to quietly take your stethoscope away.
Always remember lots of smart people can earn MD degrees. But how many MD degree holders that you know aren’t “doctors” in the sense of the word- compassionate, caring, good to people (patients and staff) and aware of how good they have it compared to most others. Every doctor knows these “degree doctors”-the toxic, caustic personalities that make medicine such a hostile environment. Who among them has the right to criticize when someone retires? Mind your own business and get to work. The negative comments posted are from that cadre of “doctor”. You have no right to judge anyone else’s choices. ALL MDs HAVE A MEDICAL DEGREE-NOT ALL ARE DOCTORS.
I think that everyone needs to make their own decision. It doesn’t matter who says what like: When medicine was 10% of a class was made up of women, the reasoning was women work part-time, therefore they took up a space that could have been for a full-time male or you left medicine, you waisted your training. My full-time job I retired almost at 66 and my part-time job at almost 70. Enough was enough. I never looked back..
Thanks, doc! Appreciate the info and perspective.
I think it breaks down to “when I want to” and “when I can.”
If you can retire, but don’t want to, by all means keep practicing medicine!
If you want to retire, but can’t, try to find a job in medicine that will provide income with less stress.
I’m 66, worked 17 years in small town family medicine, didn’t save much. Switched to urgent care in 2007, and started saving.
I was able to go to part time in 2022, and prn status 2024. One 12 hr shift a week brings in $100K.
I’m planning to cut back to 1-2 shifts a month in 2026, but can now retire fully whenever I want.
We followed Dave Ramsey’s plan since 2005, and have been fully debt-free, including mortgages, since 2016.
Yes, we also own a timeshare, since 1998.
One wife of 45 years, 3 children.
We’ve been blessed with good health and good minds.
Good article. If your life is or was so predictable, and smooth sale and you never had major event that made you think that all you have is now. That future is not garantied and that you have to practise medicine and live the best life you can at the same time. That you will miss on so many things by saving now, for the future that might never happen. Gloomy hey?! Western world plans for the future from the moments there child is born, and miss now…live in balance and work as long as you are good at what you do,
I can’t decide for anyone else. Work, retire, something in between. I’m mostly retired. It suits me.
I really enjoyed this article! It also confirms what I’ve long suspected. A lot of people don’t want to live on less money. No matter how transparent you are, someone will think it’s because of factors outside your control ( luck etc). Folks are just not interested in making sacrifices.
I’m a lowly internal medicine physician, who graduated medical school at 38. I’m now 53. I own 34 doors and make a 6 figure yearly income from my rentals. I still practice medicine, but i have a very stress free job. I’ve done it in the same way as you: live on less money, invest aggressively, invest early.
Congratulations on your success and continue to enjoy your retirement. You’ve earned it!!
I think you’re living your best life and it shows in those around you. I see life after retirement in what you do and your still lifting others up and enjoying your family. Good article.
Fun article, and totally agree with the sentiment.
I started medicine in my 40s. Did I waste a spot in medical school by starting late, and thus not having what some might consider a “full” career?? LOL!
(PS. the article would read a little easier if you put other folks comments in italics. IMO. Thx.)
Thoroughly enjoyed the article. I wrote one similar for the White Coat Investor. Congratulations on your career, writing, marriage, and a very successful retirement.