I was put on a performance improvement plan, so I chose to retire at 58. Sometimes, I wish I wasn't a young retiree.

• I was put on a PIP after working at my company for 10 years, so I decided to quit. 
• After not being able to find a new job, I retired at 58, and it's been a mix of both good and bad.
• I sometimes wish I could have kept working, but I am enjoying retirement.

After working in my position for nine years as a communications specialist for a healthcare association headquartered in Chicago, I was put on a performance improvement plan (PIP) during my 10th annual job review.

"Has my performance changed so much from my last exemplary review?" I asked, knowing that my previous review had been conducted by a former boss who was no longer at the company.

She said all employees were pressured to improve their skills and efforts. As a result of the PIP, I was sent to the human resources department to fill out paperwork outlining how my boss would closely supervise my work. I had three months to improve.

As a 58-year-old, I worried about what this would mean for my career, but it became an opportunity for me to retire early.

I walked away from the job I had held for nearly a decade

I signed all the paperwork with HR and went back to my boss. I wanted to ensure she understood what was happening and get additional guidance on avoiding termination. I started to get nervous.

After an uncomfortable meeting with human resources the following day, I left the company voluntarily. I did not want to stick around to see how this situation worked out; I felt I already had enough information to know my days there were numbered.

Leaving my job with no plan was unsettling. My normal approach would not be so rash. I prefer to have a plan and know my next steps. I especially worried about my financial situation.

I went on several interviews, but I felt forced to retire

Shortly after I left the association, I started working part-time for a vendor I had previously done business with. I started to apply for full-time positions and go to interviews. Many of these interviews went well but somehow never resulted in an offer. I wondered if it was because I was close to the retirement age.

I could have continued working for the vendor, but the money was not worth the effort and the long commute. Meanwhile, my personal life was getting complicated. My daughter wanted help planning her upcoming wedding, my mother needed more oversight as she approached 90, and I craved more freedom to travel.

So, I decided to retire — in my 50s.

Being a young retiree has its pros and cons

I'm younger than most retirees by almost a decade — which is a blessing and a curse.

I decided to keep freelance writing. I also started writing a longer project about my father's teenage experiences as a Holocaust survivor, so having more time was welcome. In addition, I began volunteering as a docent at the Newseum, which brought me a lot of satisfaction.

Plus, being young enough to do some adventure travel is a nice perk, and I enjoyed going on an African safari and bike trips to California's wine country. It was also helpful to have extra time to help plan my daughter and son's weddings and be involved in all the pre-wedding activities. Having time to do what you want is a definite benefit of being a young retiree.

Sometimes, though, I wish I wasn't a young retiree.

I can't help but feel I still had a few more years left of full-time work in me, so I sometimes regret retiring so young. A person's late 50s and early 60s is a good time to build up one's Social Security account because they are generally peak earning years. So, from a financial viewpoint, I feel like retiring early could have been detrimental for me.

I'm also worried I will quickly lose grip on technological advances. Those advancements easily become part of your regular work environment, but as a retiree, I'm worried I'll fall behind.

Either way, I wonder if my age played a role in all of this

In the end, it all worked out, but I do wonder if my age was the cause of all of this.

According to the AARP research, "Two in three adults ages 50-plus in the labor force (64%) think older workers face age discrimination in the workplace. And among them, all (90%) believe (it) is common in the workplace."

I won't ever know for sure if I was put on a PIP because of my age, nor will I know if I struggled to find a new job for the same reason, but I now stand by my decision to retire and start a new phase. After all, I was given the opportunity to reinvent myself and try new things.

Retirement is a time of rediscovery and transformation, and exploiting that opportunity is the best way to win the game of life.