Retirement jobs (federal, coverage, retiree, engaged)

[Riley.]

I've only been retired since April and COVID necessitated staying very close to home. I am surprised at how readily I took to not having any 'real' responsibilities since I'm somewhat of a Type A personality. But I have bummed around all summer with no regrets at all so far since I have never had this much time off! I read, walk/hike with my dog and Hubs....word puzzle games, garden (a little), macrame (it's back!!! LOL) and made a sweet table out of a cable spool. I've given some thought to what I might do if I get bored, but I'm really bored yet. That said, it would be part time....and something that I like doing....

[davephan]

Originally Posted by jobaba

I will say that this post explains a lot about your previous posts, though I applaud your candor.

Work is really meant to make this world a more enjoyable place to live. That is why we pick up garbage, why we have companies like Google/Alphabet, why we have assisted living centers. Work is only toil and unnerving stress and 50-60 hours a week because of the greed and competitiveness of people trying to 'build their nest egg'. But I digress, I could go on forever on THAT subject.

If you contribute to society you should get paid. Your idea that senior citizens should not work basically says to me that they cannot contribute to society. I find that to be laughable. Senior citizens may not be able to 'get' jobs that can help them contribute which is a problem.

But even putting aside an idealistic overhaul of society, let's take a job like working at Home Depot or Lowes. It's generally not too stressful, you get to help customers, and you're making society a better place. You're giving people a service they want at a price they are generally willing to pay and helping society hum along.

When I drive around, walk around, I can think of lots of jobs that would be enjoyable to do if I was a senior citizen.

I'd add that almost every book you read on the art of 'happiness' recommends never 'retiring'.

If you want to work in your retirement years, you have the freedom to work until you drop! There will always be people that are willing to work at low wage jobs, and do the many jobs that need to be done. I used to live next to a guy that pump out, deliver, and pick up portable toilets at job sites. It was a job that needed to be done by someone. I suspect he had the talent to do more than that job. I sometimes feel a little sorry for the people that help me at Home Depot, Lowes, and other stores, because I know that mostly likely, they could be making a lot more money doing something else if they had the initiative to untap their talents and their ability to learn things that are valued higher by employers. I was one of those people that used to work at low wage jobs the first half of my working years, until I decided I could make something with my life, instead of simply float by life at a low level. I worked 2nd and 3rd shifts, sometimes both, holidays, weekends, under horrible working conditions in call centers, under pressure to move the calls quickly, working in toxic work environments for low wages and very poor benefits. I've also been a CPA, not what you think, a car parking attendant, working in a downtown area that had a lot of crime problems. I know what it's like to be poor and have a lousy job that you hate. Some jobs, I had supervisors that must have come directly from hell.

I believe that vast majority of people have god given talents within themselves to do far more than they think they can do. I was the one who was limiting myself, not others. My wife's situation was different. The communist government of Vietnam was limiting her ability to improve her life, not herself. She rapidly improved her station in life after she came to the US and had the freedom to improve her life. I could never catch up to her high income, with my high income job, working tons of overtime, to boost my income even more. When you're dirt poor, and don't have enough to eat, held down by a communist government, you can be successful in life when you have freedom. The stupid young people today actually think Socialism and Communism are good ideas.

I view retirement differently than you do. I view working till I drop and die like being a slave. Slaves were forced to work their entire lives, not just in America, but in ancient times. Many things were build by the slaves with manual labor in the ancient times that are considered to be marvels today. That doesn't mean it was a good idea to have slaves, it was a horrible idea.

You have the right to work in your retirement years, if you want to do that. There's nothing to stop you but your health and maybe age discrimination. I choose freedom from working in my retirement years, because I've earned it.

[MI-Roger]

Originally Posted by matisse12

We're supposed to know what all of that is? maybe we do not feel like googling all of it to see exactly what you're referring to.

We do not live in Michigan, and wouldn't know exactly what all of it is - we can guess. probably a museum on first line - but why use shorthand when you're interested enough to post about it. And we're supposed to know what Greenfield Village is?

https://www.thehenryford.org/collect...t-sets/101112/

It is a world renowned museum dedicated to a focus on technical innovations in the early 20th Century. No short-hand used other than a set of triple G' s to abbreviate Great Great Great Grandfather.

Below is the link to my Great Great Great Grandfather's Saw Mill.

https://www.thehenryford.org/collect...lide=gs-214078

[sll3454]

Originally Posted by davephan

If you're bored with your life, and you seem to have too much time on your hands, why don't you get hobbies and interests?

My hobbies and interests are the same as what I did for work, except without the structure.
Oh - except that now I also have a horse.

[davephan]

Originally Posted by sll3454

My hobbies and interests are the same as what I did for work, except without the structure.
Oh - except that now I also have a horse.

That’s great that you have hobbies and interests! Your retirement life would be pretty sad if the hobbies and interests were doing stupid things that a boss that knew nothing thought was important, participating in office politics, and attending pointless meetings!

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by davephan

That’s great that you have hobbies and interests! Your retirement life would be pretty sad if the hobbies and interests were doing stupid things that a boss that knew nothing thought was important, participating in office politics, and attending pointless meetings!

That would have lasted about 5 minutes for me...

Thank goodness for night shift. No boss for 35+ yrs
No meetings
No interruptions (no phone calls either!)
No politics
(and best of all, no 'day-shift cry-babies')... i.e. best to CHANGE your situation rather than 'endure it' for a whole career!

I'm pretty ruined for life (future employment) having worked Flex-hours and no boss for my entire career

I remember one PT skilled job I inquired about had a TIME CLOCK!!! yes they still existed in 2010!!!

You got 'docked' for all kinds of reasons. Too-early, too late... you could only accumulate 12 negative points in a yr, Whoops, I WON!!! I had over 60 negative points in first 5 days! They did nothing, but complain to me that I was making my dayshift boss have to answer for my mis-deeds. OK! good idea, if boss is answering for me, he is not bugging someone else. Carry on. I have never even had a wrist watch... show up or Leave on-time? Sorry, not me EVER.

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by davephan

I agree! If you don't have enough money in your retirement years, then you shouldn't have retired yet. The retirement jobs usually pay a small fraction of what you used to make working, plus there are no benefits. If you have a pension, the pension would have gotten larger if you kept working longer. I could have worked longer, but I had enough with working, I saved more than enough, and I wanted my freedom.

If you're bored with your life, and you seem to have too much time on your hands, why don't you get hobbies and interests? If working is all you can imagine doing, then you don't have much of a life. In government and corporate environments, it was mostly doing repetitive things, following brain dead policies developed by incompetent upper management, and going to endless and pointless meetings, that usually were a total waste of time.

I think working is just something you did to make and save enough money, so that you don't have to work again. Your retirement years should be like an endless vacation, where you can do what you want to do, when you want to do it. It's total freedom, if you saved enough to retire. if you wait too long to retire, and your health is shot, then you've thrown away your good retirement years.

After you retire, you don't have to answer to a stupid boss, try to pry vacation time that you've already earned out of your boss's hands, and put up with the office politics. The hassles of the daily commute to and from work are gone. Your alarm clock is rarely used, except for early flights and early doctor appointments. Why would you want to give up the freedom you have in your retirement years, unless you retired too early, and didn't save enough money to retire comfortably?

Not necessarily accurate in every case. Certainly not in mine. Plus you dismiss the fact I pointed out that time can be more valuable than money.

I didn't need benefits, because I have the benefits from my job but now I don't have to pay for them, whereas I did when I was working, to the tune of more than $400 a month. I also had a commuting cost of more than $400 a month, plus almost two hours a day commuting each way.

I retired, collected my pension, worked part-time, and made more money between pension+PT salary in those first three years than I did working full time before. And I got back TIME that I would not have had if I'd continue to slog to the city every day for four more years. Lots of time.

[flyingaway]

I am not fully retired yet. But if I retire, it means that there will be no job of any kind.

[johngolf]

Originally Posted by johngolf

After being retired for 2 years an opportunity to work in high tech at a local office superstore came my way. Crap pay but could work a schedule comfortable for me, 10am to 4pm, Mon, Wed, and Thur., and stay current with technology. Did it for almost 5 years. Surprised myself how long. Knowing I did not need the job made it easier knowing I could walk away at anytime. Also I did not take any lip from anyone. All retail requires is show up on time, be sober, dress accordingly. Poor pay but few demands.

Having to work and wanting to work are two very different subjects.

ADD ON

I forgot to mention. Other than playing golf 3 days a week, I was a bit bored so I figured why not give it a try. I did not need the money but the extra $150 per week spending money was nice.

[Teacher Terry]

After I retired I did some consulting in my field. Then I was offered a job teaching a online college class and I love it. 8 years later I still do it. This was something I had never done before. I don’t have a boss.