How did you choose your exact retirement date? (state, relatives, retired)

[MI-Roger]

Still trying to decide.

I had talked to a number of 'Lifers' here and thought I had it all figured out. Retire in mid January of 2020. Last work day to be mid-December of 2019 and 'Vacation Out' from that point collecting 100% of my 2020 vacation in the process. Collect 100% of my 2019 bonus since I will be retiring after mid-November of 2019. Receive 100% of my 401(k) because I will be retiring after my 6-year anniversary date of October 1st (I forfeit 20% of the company contributions to my 401(k) if I leave after 5 years but before 6 years).


Then I discovered that everything changed following a 2009 reformatting of benefits. I started in 2013, and the people I have been listening to are Grandfathered to the old plan!


If I retire on the date I had identified I will receive NONE of my 2019 bonus because I must be an Active Employee on the random mid-March 2020 date on which it is paid. Unless you are Grandfathered.


If I retire on the date I identified I will OWE the company for 2020 vacation days as they are earned as you go. Unless you are Grandfathered.


So with an October 1st hire date I may retire mid-October at 63-4, or maybe I will retire mid-December at 63-6, or maybe I will work a few moths longer (since my wife is not retiring until June of 2020) and retire in mid-June 2020 at 64-0.

[jrkliny]

The date was set when we downsized our stuff, fixed up the house, got it on the market and it finally sold. I waited for the buyer to get loan approval and then gave 30 days notice at work. No one at work had a clue. I had never mentioned an intention to retire, or putting the house on the market, or buying an RV. I was 64 1/2 when I retired.

[GrandmaChris]

My current plan is to retire on my August Birthday at 62 to get the extra 10% in my federal government pension (annuity) - but I my stay until the end of the year - or even to 65. Don't know yet.

[Mightyqueen801]

I was able to take my full pension at 55 if I had 30 years of service. I had 34.5 at 55, so I could have gone then. I always swore I would not stay past the beginning of the calendar year after I turned 55, and that was because if you retire in a new calendar year, you get your full year's vacation allotment paid to you.

But at 55 I found myself enmeshed a major, high-visibility project that was about as exciting as public procurement can get. My director came to me and asked if I was going to stay or retire, because if I was going to stay there would be a division manager title and an 11 percent raise...

Which of course would boost my pension, since it's based on the FAS of the last three years.

I stayed, saw the project through, and then waited until the end of February in the next calendar year, when I would have 37 years solid (or so I thought--it turns out that technically I had 36.94 years of service, lol) and would get the full vacation allotment. I was 57.5 years old. Was worth it. I get a livable pension check deposited into my account the last day of each month, and the connections I made with the private sector on that final project have helped provide a nice part-time income over the past three years.

The exact date was the end-of-February date that coincided with the end of a pay period.

[bobspez]

I retired at 59. My pension was vested and I had a retiree health plan. I figured we could live on my pension. I retired at the beginning of February after using up my vacation days for the year. I actually stopped working in November. Used my current year vacation days and then the new year's vacation days consecutively. After a year at home I got bored as my wife was still working and went back to work for two more years. I retired for good the month before my SS kicked in at 62. My wife had retired 8 months prior and we had moved into our retirement home two months before I retired for good.

[M3 Mitch]

I am undecided about the year, but probably will retire in late July (so as to get another week of "service leave" vacation) and my tarry on into August to pick up health insurance "on the house" for the rest of the month. Of course a downturn in work load could push me out a bit sooner, but I will certainly aim for mid-July to early September. Maybe work most of September too, since as the end of Fiscal Year, I would feel a bit rude bowing out while everyone else is in a frenzy. Waiting till September means the weather won't be as hot to pack out the "stuff" in my office. After about 30 years I have a good bit of stuff, most of which I am loath to throw away. Some of it I will try to give away to younger co-workers.



So, how is that for exact?!

[engineman]

I made the last mortgage payment and retired the following Friday. I was 63.

[Tall Traveler]

Originally Posted by mcsangel2

For people who retired on their own terms...

Did you retire on your 62nd birthday? The day after you turned 66 and ten months? January first of the year so that your previous year’s partial work income wouldn’t be deducted from social security? The end of a big work project or fiscal year? Or did you choose a completely random date?

I have a ways to go to my own retirement, but I enjoy reading the discussions here.

I set an wealth goal and then when I hit it, I threw in and additional 10% lagniappe and then retired.

[djplourd]

I have several dates in mind, depending on health (for both my wife and I) and finances. The earliest date is 10/16/2022, which is when I’ll have 5 years of federal service and will be eligible to collect a small pension when I turned 62. Realistically I’ll probably stay until the end of December or beginning of January. There’s always articles coming out about the best day to retire depending on which civil service rules you fall under.

The latest date, for now, is 7/1/2026 when I turn 62.

[snebarekim]

Originally Posted by engineman

I made the last mortgage payment and retired the following Friday. I was 63.

I like that logic.