Which is why ideas like the Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) movement have caught on so quickly; FIRE followers try to save as much as possible and live frugally in order to be able to leave their job young and enjoy their time for themselves.

The only problem with this, a former managing director at banking giant UBS has warned, is that a suddenly empty diary can soon become tough to fill.

Eric Sim worked for the Swiss-based financial institution for 20 years, retiring in 2017 after his generous bonus packages allowed him to give up work.

But the banker-turned-executive coach said that without a project to focus on once he handed in his notice, he might have floundered.

“The truth is people often don’t have a clear idea of what retiring will look like for them or if they’ll enjoy it—especially if they’re in the weeds and working toward it,” Sim said in an essay published by Business Insider. “Of course, when you first retire, you can do whatever you want. You can travel overseas, hit the spa, or play golf.

“After working for 10 to 20 years, being free from the grind for the first three months feels good. But you’ll get bored very quickly.”

And although Sim—who himself would fall into the FIRE category under some definitions—has declared himself “not a fan” of the trend for this very reason, it’s a mindset which is increasingly being adopted by younger employees.

Generation to generation, Americans are expecting to retire earlier the younger they are.

For example a 2023 study from financial services company Empower found that the average American Gen Xer plans to retire by the age of 66. Millennials—defined as those aged between 29 and 42 by Pew Research—say they plan to retire by 60.

Meanwhile Gen Z—currently the youngest demographic in the workforce aged between 13 and 28—said they wanted to retire by the age of 54.

And while these estimates might seem optimistic, 12 months prior Gen Z said they wanted to retire even earlier—finishing their jobs before they hit their 50th birthday.

Sim’s advice to those people is simple: “Find projects to occupy your time. If you don’t do that, then your days are wasted.”

Preparing for retirement

Despite the optimistic deadlines for retirement it seems many employees haven’t got the cash in place to quit their jobs decades earlier than the norm.

In September, a Bankrate survey of more than 2,400 Americans found 57% of respondents (who work full-time, part-time or are temporarily unemployed) were behind on their retirement savings. Indeed, 48% also said they aren’t on track to meet their specific goal when it comes to retiring.

It seems that when it comes to retirement savings, reality bites.

The younger generations—who have the most time ahead of them to accumulate funds—were the least likely to tell Bankrate they were ‘significantly behind where they should be’ when it came to retirement savings, at 20%.

This increased to 32% of millennials, 43% of Gen X and 48% of baby boomers.

Sim—who now runs a training company for young professionals called the Institute of Life—warned preparations need to go further than just the financial, however, as early retirees also need to gather human and social capital to navigate their new-found free time.

“Human capital refers to the knowledge you possess,” he explained. “You can build this up through your career or through your side hustles and hobbies. By developing your interests and skills, you will know what activities you want to do when you go into retirement mode.”

Sim added: “Social capital refers to the goodwill you accumulate with others. The small help that you offer to others can come back in a big way when you retire.”