Recently retired after almost 26 years on the job.

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Congratulations on making it !!

I'll have 29 yrs in December and want to hang on and make it an even 30, we'll see if I last. I can go at any time and start drawing on defined benefit pension. Several people in similar roles as mine have gone on to the financial sector in administrative positions for attractive salaries but.... rebooting their vacation time off back to two or three weeks and right back into the 9-5 rat race. Mainly for the money which they stack on top their pensions. I can see it on one hand but on the other it would be nice to have the freedom of being fully retired. We discussed similar a couple weeks ago on here about how our priorities change in our 50's and above and for me, I don't think retiring just to start working again full time (part-time, yes) is what I'm after no matter the pay check.
 
Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
Congratulations on making it !!

I'll have 29 yrs in December and want to hang on and make it an even 30, we'll see if I last. I can go at any time and start drawing on defined benefit pension. Several people in similar roles as mine have gone on to the financial sector in administrative positions for attractive salaries but.... rebooting their vacation time off back to two or three weeks and right back into the 9-5 rat race. Mainly for the money which they stack on top their pensions. I can see it on one hand but on the other it would be nice to have the freedom of being fully retired. We discussed similar a couple weeks ago on here about how our priorities change in our 50's and above and for me, I don't think retiring just to start working again full time (part-time, yes) is what I'm after no matter the pay check.



Thank you. My feelings have always been not to leave my current job if I still needed to work for financial reasons because I would not make the money I was making or have the benefits that I had in regards to vacation and sick time.

The proposed changes to our retirement scared a lot of us out that were eligible to go. I could have retired a year ago. There were 18 of us that retired at the end of August that previously were not planning on going yet.

At first I was pretty apprehensive about retiring because going from working full time to not was kind of scary plus I didn't know if I was making the right decision or not. I'm at peace with it now. It's still new enough that I'm not bored yet but I worry that I may become that way in the future. I guess I will take it a day at a time just like I did during my working years.

Wayne
 
Wayne, I think you need to consider why you would want to go to work after retiring. Is it about additional income, being busy, doing something you's always wanted to do (new field), etc.? I retired 6 years ago and did work some in those post retirement years but, only because some family members were going through some hard times and I wanted to help them without dipping into our savings. Now that we're past all that, I'm done working. Now I hike, bowl, fish, have time for my photography and work on the Bronco that will bleed me dry
wink.gif
I've also gotten into new activities like kayaking, pickleball and have been learning new games like Mahjong.

I guess my suggestion to you would be ask yourself why and based on your answer, go for it. If it's work, cool. New activities or more time for existing hobbies, that's cool, too. The bottom line is that we're not promised tomorrow so, make the most out of today.
 
Originally Posted By: Bronco1
Wayne, I think you need to consider why you would want to go to work after retiring. Is it about additional income, being busy, doing something you's always wanted to do (new field), etc.? I retired 6 years ago and did work some in those post retirement years but, only because some family members were going through some hard times and I wanted to help them without dipping into our savings. Now that we're past all that, I'm done working. Now I hike, bowl, fish, have time for my photography and work on the Bronco that will bleed me dry
wink.gif
I've also gotten into new activities like kayaking, pickleball and have been learning new games like Mahjong.

I guess my suggestion to you would be ask yourself why and based on your answer, go for it. If it's work, cool. New activities or more time for existing hobbies, that's cool, too. The bottom line is that we're not promised tomorrow so, make the most out of today.


As of right now, I have no desire to go back to work. I'm just enjoying being off and doing what I want to do every day. I do have some hobbies as well as an old car I want to fix up. I guess if I run out of things to do or get bored doing the same stuff every day, I then might consider getting a part time job for something to do or for socialization purposes.
 
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Originally Posted By: emmett442
With respect, I never understood this logic.

If you are planning to retire yet find another job anyway, then why bother retiring? Why give up your current salary for $10/hr at Lowes?



I'm young, but I imagine waiting to retire until I'm sure I don't have to work anymore. When I retire, I'm DONE.


Because it keeps you busy.

Typically, the older folks you see doing this sort of thing do not have to work.. they just want something to keep them going. That said, they could use that money earned for their hobbies without dipping into their retirement fund(s).

I worked with an older guy at my first job. 84. All his friends retired, sat a home and watched TV then had severe health issues and died a few years later. These were his words. He just wanted something to keep him going whatever that was. He said there was no stress in what he did because he didn't "have" to be there.. just wanted to.

He worked ~20 hr weeks during the colder months and took the late spring, summer and early fall off.


Doing this is a choice as is staying active in retirement. I quite frankly don't understand retired folks with nothing to do. My wife and I were having this conversation the other day, we exercise at our local county facility on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. These are group lessons either in the pool or gym led by a qualified (senior training) instructor. I am still not official retirement age-so I pay a full year membership. But if you have Medicare-the program is called "Silver Sneakers" and costs most seniors zero dollar membership at the gym. The program is national. BTW-there are Seniors there that fall under all abilities-those in decent shape and those with issues. So-watching TV doing nothing is a choice-regardless of your general health.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
I should have worked for the government. Retirement for me will be 45 years in professional workforce.
frown.gif


Enjoy the free time, why would you want to get back in the rat race?


Start date for me was Jan 8th 1989...28 years in, 15 years to go.
 
Originally Posted By: CKN
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Originally Posted By: emmett442
With respect, I never understood this logic.

If you are planning to retire yet find another job anyway, then why bother retiring? Why give up your current salary for $10/hr at Lowes?



I'm young, but I imagine waiting to retire until I'm sure I don't have to work anymore. When I retire, I'm DONE.


Because it keeps you busy.

Typically, the older folks you see doing this sort of thing do not have to work.. they just want something to keep them going. That said, they could use that money earned for their hobbies without dipping into their retirement fund(s).

I worked with an older guy at my first job. 84. All his friends retired, sat a home and watched TV then had severe health issues and died a few years later. These were his words. He just wanted something to keep him going whatever that was. He said there was no stress in what he did because he didn't "have" to be there.. just wanted to.

He worked ~20 hr weeks during the colder months and took the late spring, summer and early fall off.


Doing this is a choice as is staying active in retirement. I quite frankly don't understand retired folks with nothing to do. My wife and I were having this conversation the other day, we exercise at our local county facility on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. These are group lessons either in the pool or gym led by a qualified (senior training) instructor. I am still not official retirement age-so I pay a full year membership. But if you have Medicare-the program is called "Silver Sneakers" and costs most seniors zero dollar membership at the gym. The program is national. BTW-there are Seniors there that fall under all abilities-those in decent shape and those with issues. So-watching TV doing nothing is a choice-regardless of your general health.


It's an easy trap to fall into, doing nothing. I went from a high stress, high responsibility job in SoCal to retirement in a small mountain town in the Rockies where we didn't really know anyone. It was easy to start doing nothing but read and watch TV, especially since we got here mid winter. But we were determined to make the most of a chance for a less stressful life style. Got out, started exploring and getting busy. Lost about 40 lbs over the first 2 years. It would have been real easy to go the other way and continue loafing and gaining another 40 lbs.

The best piece of advice I can give those of you that haven't retired yet (besides getting your finances in order) is plan out what you want to do before you retire and then just roll right into it once you do. You'll be so glad you did.
 
Originally Posted By: bbhero
You will be surprised by how much down time you will truly have. Enough to create a fair amount of boredom. Another aspect that people don't think about is that the retiree loses their sense of purpose. Whether we realize it or not work provides a sense of purpose. Losing this can be a real loss that is quite hard for many to deal with. There are only so many projects to do around the house, only so many errands to run, and but so many people to go and see.
Having said this, there are some people who have no problems at all with this transition. Some have zero problems at all and find another purpose in their lives.


Yeah, some people need that sense of purpose after they retire.

Many don't need the money but find part time work to stay busy.
 
The low number of years some have stated... what did you guys do, make movies while you had your looks?
I have 37 years in my business, and am no where near retirement. Likely 13 more to go for me, if they keep me that long. They've been trying to kill me for the last 20, so we will see.
Shoot, I wish I could just get and take the vacation that is due me when I want.
 
I was let go due to a company merger in 2003 and I was out of the corporate world for 22 months. I called it my "trial retirement" and found plenty of things to occupy my free time. The only reason I took a job at a big-box store was to get insurance coverage until I went back into the corporate world.

When real retirement comes, work will be a dot in the rear-view mirror, and getting smaller fast.
grin.gif
 
I'm 22, almost 23 and ready for retirement already!

Just have 1 thing to figure out before then, the financial part
grin2.gif
 
I've heard that your mental health can quickly deteriorate after retirement if you don't find yourself something meaningful to occupy and exercise your brain.
 
Congratulations on reaching the “Finish Line”.........I just started my 26th year on the job and have no intentions of retiring soon.
My 457 plan is going through the roof, banking my pension for the last 6 years and my variable supplement..........I’m quite the fortunate Civil Servant at the moment...........all this on a GED. Drives a lot of people in the private sector crazy lol.
My plan is to work for 5 more years........when I hit that mark, all my kids will be out of College, and my house will be totally paid off. Absolutely no debt. At that point, I will Never have to work again. Shortly after that, I will turn 63. I will gladly take the Social Security check that I deserve after paying into since I was 16. Between that and my inflated Pension, my 457, my variable supplement and my private investment, I will live comfortably and NEVER have to work again in my life!
 
I worked full time from 1986 to 2008; at that point I was retired in the eyes of the IRS but to keep my pension I was required to serve an additional 600 days where needed over the next 5-10 years. I got my 600 days in by December 2014. I knocked around for 18 months and snagged a part-time job as a product specialist at a local car dealer. It's fun, passes the time, and gets me some extra money to spend on my hobbies.
All was calm until a couple of weeks ago; I've been talked into going back into politics. Long story short, if it works out great, if not I'll keep plugging along at my present job.
In either case I'll be working because I want to- not because I have to.
That makes ALL the difference.
 
Originally Posted By: beanoil
The low number of years some have stated... what did you guys do, make movies while you had your looks?
I have 37 years in my business, and am no where near retirement. Likely 13 more to go for me, if they keep me that long. They've been trying to kill me for the last 20, so we will see.
Shoot, I wish I could just get and take the vacation that is due me when I want.


That's the reason why I never wanted to own a business. It simply consumes too much time and energy. Definitely not as easy as some people (non business owners) think it is.

I'm in the medical equipment business.

Retirement:
Company pension , voluntary pension, 401K, IRA, brokerage account.... wife has the same plus military pension

Paid time off:
6 weeks vacation, 1 week 'personal business' and 2 months sick pay, also 14 paid holidays
 
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