The word
What the word covers
Early retirement is sometimes a choice and sometimes a polite name for something else.
A choice, an offer, or a polite word
Some men planned it for years and can tell you the date they decided. Some were offered a package and took it because the alternative was worse. Some were told the role was going, and early retirement was the phrase that made the leaving dinner easier.
All three are allowed. None of them makes you less of a man, and none of them is a failure of nerve.
Why the word matters
The word you use shapes how other people treat you, and how you treat yourself. "Retired" can close a door you might still want open. "Between things" can keep you braced for a phone call that is not coming.
In my experience, men do better when they say the true version to themselves first, even if they say the polite version at dinner parties.
Three honest questions
Am I resting, stopping, or between things?
What did the job give me that was not money?
What would I still get out of bed for, if nobody was paying?
What this guide will not do
It will not tell you whether you can afford it, whether to take a package, or whether to go back. Those belong to a qualified, regulated adviser where you live, who can see the numbers.
Talk it through
The SI guide can help you think about your own version of this. It is not James, and not a professional of any kind.