Misty Miller regretted retiring early, and quickly returned to work.Austin Meyer
Misty Miller, 65, regretted retiring early because she thought she was living too much.
Miller found retirement to be isolating and financially challenging, so he returned to work.
This story is part of an ongoing series on the regrets of American adults.
Misty Miller submitted her retirement papers seven years ago with $500,000 in savings. A week later, he asked for his job again.
Miller, 65, was a legal secretary in the private sector before working to become chief of staff for the California Housing Finance Agency. He paid off his mortgage and put as much money as he could into his 401(k). In his early 50s, he decided he could retire early and live off his pension checks of more than $3,000 a month.
However, he said that retiring was a “big mistake” in his life. He said he was spending too much money, and the job gave him the connection with people and purpose that he was missing. He returned to work soon after.
“I'm afraid that within two or three years of retiring, I'll be broke again, my money won't last, and I'll live to be 100,” Miller said. “I lived through hyperinflation in the 1970s. I'm just afraid of inflation.”
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Miller is one of more than 3,800 older Americans between the ages of 48 and 96 who have shared their biggest life regrets with Business Insider since September. Common regrets include not saving enough for retirement, taking Social Security too early, not prioritizing education, or not financially preparing for an unexpected medical diagnosis. See Miller in our video and check out our full list of stories.
Miller was born to middle-class parents, and his father practiced law, he said. His parents wanted him to major in business in college and become a CPA, even though he wanted to be a writer. He majored in English and, after college, lived paycheck to paycheck for a few years while working various part-time jobs. He took out about $4,100 in student loans, which he paid off when he was 28.
Misty Miller retired at the age of 58 but ended up regretting it.Misty Miller
She worked as a legal secretary for 11 years and was a lawyer for an insurance company, working 60 hours a week. He wanted the regular hours and benefits that come with a public sector job. He was employed by the California Housing Finance Agency, where he was promoted three times.
During his career, Miller set aside a large portion of his salary for retirement. After years of frugal living, he had enough money to buy a house in Sacramento for $93,500 in 1990; 28 years later, he sold it for about $350,000. He also started investing in the stock market in the 1990s – something he wishes he had started doing earlier.
In 2017, he had more than $500,000 in his retirement accounts. “That's when I thought, I'm rich. I can retire,” Miller said. “I also thought I could collect a check every month from my 401(k) and be good to go.”
When he was working, he said, he was so focused on money that he missed family time. He said he rarely visited family or called important people in his life. He said his nephews grew up without knowing him, and he regrets not spending his money on trips to see relatives, especially since he cannot have children.
Miller retired at age 58, thinking he would be financially and emotionally healthy. Before retiring, she drove a 26-year-old car, dyed her hair, and brought lunch to work every day. Miller said his money would have been fine if he had continued this life of saving until retirement. Her husband also had a high-paying job, although they kept their finances separate.
But two months after he retired in 2017, he said he began to overspend, especially on housing. He withdrew most of his 401(k) that year to pay $110,000 for a $515,000 beach house in Sonoma County, and $57,000 for a heating system. He said he paid about $90,000 in taxes on those withdrawals.
He sold the house in Sacramento, but Miller said he didn't like the beach house because of the cold and wanted to move back. In 2019, he bought a 2,000-square-foot, four-bedroom house — nearly twice the size of his first Sacramento home — for $488,000 in a Sacramento suburb and sold a beach house in 2020 for $720,000. However, he said the property tax on his current home is five times higher than the previous one.
“I'm rich and I'm poor, so I had to go back to work for the state,” Miller said, adding that he hasn't talked to a financial advisor about a long-term plan. “The best plan didn't work for me.”
Miller got a job at a local newspaper by the beach that paid $19 an hour. He looked at other job opportunities but suspected that many employers wanted to hire young talent.
“It's a challenge to find a job in your 60s,” Miller said. “I tried my best to look as young as possible.”
In 2019, he got a job at the California Department of Consumer Affairs and then transferred to the Secretary of State's office. He now works as a human resources manager for the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.
Miller now has about $450,000 in savings. Now that he's working again, he plans to invest in his Roth 401(k) and put all his money into an S&P index fund, which he can't withdraw early. He also wishes to restore his relationship with his family and prioritize his friends.
“I'm back to saving money again, and I don't plan to retire,” Miller said, adding that he wants to keep his private health insurance instead of continuing with Medicare. “It was a big mistake to just think I'm rich and spend all that money like that.”
