Ideal retirement age from tax preparation?

Now that we have had another long, strange trip of a tax season, I'd like to get some advice from of our more seasoned members.

At what age (Money aside) do you believe is an ideal age to stop working? I mean preparing hundreds of tax returns and working anything more than 16 hours a week during tax season?

I'd love to hear any regrets/no-regrets from those that have already hung it up...although they're probably not on this board!

IMHO there is no age that is the "right" age to retire. It is up to you, your health and other factors affecting your life. My philosophy is to keep on going and adjust work load due to advancing age. If my health issues start affecting it in a negative way, I will discuss with my doctor and family and make a decision.

I have seen too many friends retire cold turkey thinking they will have all the time to play golf, travel etc. etc but in a year they get bored especially if they are in very good health and need some "challenges" to make it interesting.

This tax season was brutal, but then no one guaranteed that life is a bed of roses!

PS. My boss retired when he had a stroke, but until then he was going full throttle at age 74.

I hope to be done with the saving portion of my life, and substantially cut back on work by the time I'm 50.
It's not the most taxing work (haha).

I don't want to keep working until I have to stop.

No one ever lies on their death bed wishing they worked more, or made more money.
So many more important things in life.

Wow 50, that is a great option you have! I don't want to end up like Atsman's boss who works til he has a stroke.

You can "cut back" from 16-hour days anytime you want by simply asking your headache clients
to go to someone else or by tripling the fees you charge them.
You can have a nice part-time practice making great money in this line of work.

My goal is at 60 years of age to just work Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday plus take the month of October off to go live somewhere else on vacation. Those 3 days will cover most of our living expenses and I can delay taking Social Security or tapping retirement funds for 7 years. From my experience, people who retire early either start a new career or are bored to death. We save 30% of our income for retirement (are debt free) so not having to save those funds means I don't have to work much.

We have a CPA who works next door and is 78 years of age. The man is completely miserable but he thinks he can't give it up. He yells at everyone in the building, his clients, his family. I don't get it.

Instead of retiring, I'd cut 10-15% of the client base out this year and then next year and maybe each year going forward. You can sell them off or just fire them.

Beagle that is a great process. Don't think you can just do crossword puzzles all day but do tax work just a few hours to pay the bills and delay using retirement funds. That 78year old next door to yo is my worst nightmare....feeling you need to be that stressed when you are that far along in life/career!

I'm think of relocating at age 60 so maybe just take my remote clients with me OR just find a CPA at the beach (where I'll retire) and see how I can help a few days a week without the stress of owning the company!

I think it's up to the individual, but my opinion is that "humans are meant to work", and I'm against retirement, at least for those that work with their brain and not so much their bodies.

Again, just my opinions....

Too much time on your hands is not healthy.

Retirement makes you age faster.

Idle time increases your anxieties and brings out other mental health issues.

It gives you less of a sense of accomplishment.

It shields you from social situations that are otherwise meaningful and good for you. Our relationships with clients are mostly business, but it's not ALL business.

It keeps you on a schedule.

It makes your free time more enjoyable.

I also don't look at money and wealth as if it is a sprint to the finish line. How many margaritas on the beach can one drink?

My plan is to work for as long as I can sit up at my desk and see the monitor.

Thanks It Depends.

I am currently, at age 60, working only a few hours a day, and take off whole months in the off season. I do approximately 100/returns a year. I have absolutely no debt, and what I make is more than enough to pay our bills. I can keep up at this level for 5 or 10 more years.

That is great news to hear from someone actually doing it Joan. Thanks!

I am currently, at age 60, working only a few hours a day, and take off whole months in the off season. I do approximately 100/returns a year. I have absolutely no debt, and what I make is more than enough to pay our bills. I can keep up at this level for 5 or 10 more years.

That's what I like to hear. We were debt free at 45 years of age - it's amazing how attitudes change at that point.

I am currently, at age 60, working only a few hours a day, and take off whole months in the off season. I do approximately 100/returns a year. I have absolutely no debt, and what I make is more than enough to pay our bills. I can keep up at this level for 5 or 10 more years.

Joan you are a lucky gal. You can pay your bills with just 100 returns

Wow 50, that is a great option you have! I don't want to end up like Atsman's boss who works til he has a stroke.

My boss was a workaholic all his life. He was financially struggling in his younger days, working multiple jobs to make ends meet for a family with 4 kids. His wife was a waitress most of her life.

I am in my early 60's and am beginning to think about retirement. I am financially secure and debt free, so I don't need the money and stress from this job. I have had my practice for 27 years and most of my clients have been with me for at least 15-20 years. As clients cross the 50 year mark, I am seeing so many things go wrong with them - many deaths from cancer, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, heart attacks, strokes, bad knees, backs, hips, the list goes on. People who seem perfectly fit and healthy one year are dying of some rare cancer the next year. I don't want to keep sitting at my desk until something gets me - I want to enjoy life in the spring and fall again. But I am concerned about some of the items mentioned in previous posts so i am intentionally making a plan for my retirement. I have a hobby that will keep me busy, stimulate my mind and excite me. I am really looking forward to having enough time to indulge myself in that hobby and spending more time with the people I care about the most.

How far are you from the beach, and are you selling?
My eventual goal is to transition to a warmer climate and keep going part time.

Right now I am three hours from the beach and plan to move there no sooner then seven years from now because I have kids in school still.

I don't know if it's causation or correlation, but I've seen a lot of people immediately go down hill both physically and mentally after retirement.

I'm relatively young, but I don't see myself ever fully retiring if I can help it. I could however, see myself dropping down to a handful of returns like the other poster is doing.

A retiree needs something to do. If they have a hobby, mine is photography, then retirement means more time for play. For me, it also means more time with my special needs daughter. Hubby's grandfather was a terrazzo man (Italian marble) and he was forced to retire at 80. He passed at 92, still sharp as a tack.

Right now I am three hours from the beach and plan to move there no sooner then seven years from now because I have kids in school still.

I just bought a place at the beach, I only work 3 days a week except for tax season when I work 4. I haven't worked a Saturday in about 4 years and haven't a Friday (other than tax season) in about 5 years.

I could easily retire now BUT what I notice is while I have reduced my workload, I still get calls, emails etc from clients that need me and deserve to have an attentive CPA.

Like you, I am in the thought process. I am set financially, have no debt, but still to an extent enjoy the work.