Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
When did you know it was time to retire? Was it a single moment, or a series of small awakenings?
Was it a health issue? An idea sparked by family members moving away? Something that someone else said? Or maybe one day you just couldn't stand rush hour traffic anymore?
My story is mundane and boring. When I was in my fifties I started studying the structure of my pension and doing calculations. I determined that I could more or less maximize the pension after 34 years of service and upon reaching age 61 and a half. I had no desire to work past that point, so I kept my eye on that date and recalculated things every year just to make sure. About five months out I filed the paperwork. Now, seven years later, I would not change anything. I was getting a bit burned out. It was the correct time to go, both financially and personally.
When I started to feel like I was used up I knew it was time to set a retirement date. I prepared for the day, made sure my ducks were in a row, and submitted a letter with enough lead time per my employer's request. My last day of work is July 31 this summer. Both my wife and I are looking forward to it.
Health. Not really debilitating, but it became enough of a concern to Mrs. Tek that she sat me down and told it was time. It took three "talks" before I gave in. I had shingles in my head and for reasons unknown it caused me to have problems with thinking problems through. I found that my stress level, even with what was once simple and fun, was terrible. The concern was that I am a Computer Consultant and I might mess up someone's system. Not cool.
My doctor still says shingles should not affect me the way I say it does.
The problem is getting better, but I'm not back to where I was, which was evidenced last night when I was practicing Blackjack at hitorstand and I was having problems adding up the cards when an ace came into play. Very "not normal" for me.
For Mrs. Tek it came down to financial comfort and, "Enough of this crap already!" at work.
I knew when my career wasn't fun anymore. If something's not fun it's rarely worth doing. When I began to really dislike going into work it was time for me to go. I crunched the numbers and retired two years before I'd originally planned to. One of the best things I've ever done. Financially it wasn't optimum but it was doable. Personally it was the right thing to do.
I was offered an early out package at age 55. I had six months to consider before signing on the dotted line. I enjoyed my job so ultimately I turned it down. I was offered a similar package at age 57 and after having been called an idiot everyday for two years by my fellow workers for not accepting the first offer, I quickly accepted and left. That was 18 years ago.
My husband ran a jail in South Central Los Angeles. He was enrolled in the Drop Program for 5 years. When we maxed out on that, he retired and we moved two days later, kicked up our heels and moved to Kentucky....Drop was the determining factor as to when we retired.
Not retired yet, but I'm following Escort Rider's path. I started tracking my pension about 10 years ago. At the time, I was figuring 66+ for retiring, mainly because that's about the time my retirement savings would be the size I thought it needed to be. As the years went by and numbers became firmer, the retirement age dropped to where I could financially retire at age 60. That was about 3 years ago, so now I'm about 2 years away and counting the days.
There's nothing wrong with the job and I'm not getting burnt out. My thinking is why work longer if any extra money it brings in for retirement isn't needed. All it means is I might leave a bigger inheritance.
So many changes in our lives this year and a mountain to get over, however, the other day, I heard about a company moving to my city and how they are hiring "tons" - I got kind of wistful and wishing I could apply.
Being self employed is kind of lonely sometimes and this has been a rough year. Will review this in 90 days.
I must have started thinking of retirement on my first day of work back in 1964 Gee, does that tell you I never liked going to work?
Seriously, I knew I had to wait until I turned full retirement age (66); so in the meantime I took advantage of still having a paycheck to sock away as much money as I could for the lean years.
About five years before retiring I adjusted my spending as if I were already on s/s; this not only afforded more savings, it also prevented the non-paycheck shock when I did quit working. I was so used to "living" as if I were on s/s that it never felt as though I was missing out or sacrificing anything. Financially it was a very smooth transition for me.
Health-wise, work-related stress was doing a number on me and it affected my blood pressure; since being retired my bp is in a healthy range. I always thought that work was hazardous to my health.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Not yet....
Gee, does that tell you I never liked going to work? 
