Retirement by Free Agency

Jonathan from MyMoneyBlog discusses the question of full-retirement or semi-retirement by asking the question:

Which would you rather do:
A) Work 40 hours/week for 15 years, and then not work at all for the next 15 years, or
B) Work 20 hours/week for 30 years?

Last Sunday, I had a similar conversation with a guy as we discussed the idea of Free Agency. What if a side business could sustain you enough to open doors and not tie you to one higher-paying job that might require travel, a long commute, more stress, etc.

Daniel Pink lays out a compelling case in Free Agent Nation for cobbling together small part-time gigs instead of working for one employer for 40+ hours per week. This pattern allows you the option of “e-tirement”, where you can pick and choose opportunities and simply cut back when you’re ready. Just the thought of saying “no” to more work can be liberating.

There are complications, of course, Jonathan raises a big one, how do you pay for your own health care in your later years. But it’s a wonderful and timely thought in this job market, what would my career look like if I weren’t depending on my regular job?