Wife Accepted Voluntary Retirement

[Jeffrey Behr]

My wife's company offered her a nice severance package to retire early. She let her boss know this afternoon she was accepting it. Her last day will be December 31st. She won't get the official package to sign until Monday.

My wife is 63 1/2. Instead of her company keeping her on their health insurance during the 40 weeks of severance, they're giving a lump sum payment in the amount of the cost for COBRA during this time. My HR sent me information on the cost to add her to my policies and it's less than she's paying for her company's plans. We'll get the rest of the details on Monday to know exactly how much the COBRA payment will be, but based on having to have paid it twenty years ago, it will be more than the cost to add her to mine. Nothing's been signed yet.

She always said she was going to work until 67, but the offer is too good not to take it. By the time her severance runs out, she'll be about seven months away from turning 65. My continuing to work until she's 65 is not a hardship, as I love my job and get to fly to London a couple of times per year. Going back next Friday.

Things are gonna change around here!

When YOU start thinking of retiring, remember that she married you for better or for worse, but she did NOT marry you for lunch every day.*

* From 'No Country for Old Men'.

 

[rstsco]

I haven't seen No Country for Old Men in a long time. Need to watch it again.

 

[opus1]

When YOU start thinking of retiring, remember that she married you for better or for worse, but she did NOT marry you for lunch every day.*

* From 'No Country for Old Men'.

Truth. When Dad retired, he was expecting this. Mom was still somewhat active and had a standing brunch date with friends, once a week. She made sure that there was something in the refrigerator that Dad could heat up in the microwave for lunch and he'd just wait until she came home and then try to guilt-trip her that he was hungry waiting for her to come back. It took a while but he finally figured it out.

 

[Dave Hess]

I'm 63 and been laid off from 4 jobs over my lifetime. One was a minor part time job, but the other three were full time positions.
8+ years, 4+ years and almost 19 years. Dealing with each of those layoffs helped move me forward into an ever maturing adult.
While I didn't like any of the job losses, looking back I can see how I grew and became a better person because of them.

You've earned your position and way through this life. Don't struggle with them having the same opportunity to earn theirs.

Great post.

You were in a sink or swim situation with each of these layoffs.

Sometimes bad events makes you smarter, wiser, more cautious and always have a backup plan for your career and finances. No job is guaranteed.

 

[blain450]

Sometimes bad events makes you smarter, wiser, more cautious and always have a backup plan for your career and finances. No job is guaranteed.

U.S. Senate seats are as close to a guaranteed job as I can think of.
Once someone gets ensconced there, their last day is spent lying in-state with mourners passing by.

 

[rijndael]

U.S. Senate seats are as close to a guaranteed job as I can think of.
Once someone gets ensconced there, their last day is spent lying in-state with mourners passing by.

Generally speaking, a majority spend less than 12 years in the Senate. Only a few hang on forever.

 

[supton]

Congrats.

I have a small hope that I'll land something similar, another 12 or so years from now. I'd retire today if I could but go figure, the money isn't there. But I have some hope that I'll be pleasantly surprised once I hit my 60's, perhaps I'll be closer to the magic number than I think. But I think the health coverage will be the big ticket item, and that I don't know much about--but since it's more than 10 years away, I don't need to do any research on it, as it's too far off.