Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Retirement
 [Register]
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.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 02-04-2015, 09:01 PM
 
Location: Wisconsin
25,604 posts, read 56,318,456 times
Reputation: 23267

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by Frihed89 View Post
I'm 71. I tried to retire at 67, but instead I got a raise and a promotion. I tried to retire at 70, but i let myself be talked into another 2 years by another raise, but i accepted it with the provision that i work 1/2 time. They bought it. I am going to retire at 72. I have a piece of paper that says so.

Wish me luck. Perhaps, they'll pay me not to work?
And, you live in Denmark - not the US. Makes complete sense. Heard on C-Span yesterday there are predictions technology will have eliminated 57% of US jobs. When the Congressman was asked about it, he changed the subject. Retooling, retooling - retooling for what???? I remember Ross Perot talking about that giant sucking sound. He was a 100% right.

I was forcibly retired at 67-1/2, but, at that point, can't really be calling out the employer. I feel for those in their 50s in today's world. It's a bummer. I was one of the lucky ones.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-04-2015, 11:10 PM
 
18,656 posts, read 33,251,193 times
Reputation: 37042
[quote=StealthRabbit;38304850]30 yrs of night shift work served my family well.
QUOTE]

Amen to that. I work third shift in a slot that no one really wants because I am expensive after all these years and am one of the few people around without a 4-year degree. I plan to keep this slot as long as I want because I know no one wants it and it was hard to fill before I took it. Not exactly a career move, but then, I see myself as a licensed technician, not a careerist.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-05-2015, 08:21 AM
 
15,442 posts, read 21,268,037 times
Reputation: 28680
Quote:
Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly View Post
Old people design, source and produce the PCs, etc, that such time is spent on. Who will do it when we are gone? It is a serious question. The knowledge is bleeding away.
Yes it is a serious question. As a biologist by trade, I understand that populations, without inflow and outflow and with declining birth rates, become older just as the individuals within the population do. America is growing older for sure and perhaps this is what we see in declining crime rates. However, I can only guess at the effects on technology development in a nation where its population is aging. Logic says you are right but I'm sure that there must be other input considerations here.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-05-2015, 09:39 AM
 
Location: Kountze, Texas
1,013 posts, read 1,415,759 times
Reputation: 1276
Quote:
Originally Posted by High_Plains_Retired View Post
My last few months were pretty tough before I retired but I wouldn't say I was forced out. I simply decided to retire from Federal civil service since it had been my plan all along to escape the dishonesty and politics I saw working with government environmental activities. I retired the same day I turned 50 and other than the occasional nightmares I still have about my stint with the very dysfunctional US Fish and Wildlife Service, I rarely look back. Back in the 1990s the USFWS seemed to always have a tendency to somehow acquire from Congress the authority for early retirement and that was one of the reasons I transferred to them five years before I became 50. It was a gamble that paid off.

For my whole career, the writing was pretty much on the wall regarding a declining US economy so I started planning early and began saving the maximum in the government's TSP program although I remained in the old CSRS system. After retirement, I took my TSP savings and purchased my small farm and, along with my small CSRS annuity, we manage fairly well. On top of this, I took my SS at age 62 although it was much reduced because of the Windfall Elimination Provision and early withdrawal. My SS annuity pays my cell phone bill and a half basket of groceries.

Nightlife, crowds and expensive world travel have never been in our list of great loves so moving to a very secluded farm in western Texas has been no sacrifice. The sacrifice was getting here.

When you're handed lemons, make lemonade.

I thought CSRS folks didn't pay into Social Security?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-05-2015, 10:12 AM
 
Location: TN/NC
34,899 posts, read 30,997,308 times
Reputation: 47252
I've known probably a couple of dozen people who were forced out or had to make a major career reshuffle between 50-65.

Some of those people found other jobs, but had a narrow stepback. Some just dropped out of the labor force. Others went from quality jobs to low wage junk jobs. Very few recovered to where they were.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-05-2015, 01:04 PM
 
12,823 posts, read 24,317,822 times
Reputation: 11039
Quote:
Originally Posted by High_Plains_Retired View Post
Yes it is a serious question. As a biologist by trade, I understand that populations, without inflow and outflow and with declining birth rates, become older just as the individuals within the population do. America is growing older for sure and perhaps this is what we see in declining crime rates. However, I can only guess at the effects on technology development in a nation where its population is aging. Logic says you are right but I'm sure that there must be other input considerations here.
Some things I'm seeing include an increase in what I term "rookie mistakes," as well as waning interest in technology that is typically "business to business" and remaining interest focused on cheap garbage (but overpriced in retail) such as smart phones, wearables, etc. Not to knock all that, as it is important as part of the technology ecosystem, but I sense that the USA's time in the sun is diminishing.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-05-2015, 04:38 PM
 
15,442 posts, read 21,268,037 times
Reputation: 28680
Quote:
Originally Posted by House4kids View Post
I thought CSRS folks didn't pay into Social Security?
They don't but I had enough quarters before going into the civil service to qualify for SS.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-05-2015, 04:46 PM
 
15,442 posts, read 21,268,037 times
Reputation: 28680
Quote:
Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly View Post
Not to knock all that, as it is important as part of the technology ecosystem, but I sense that the USA's time in the sun is diminishing.
Most of the time I feel the same way but then I think, maybe it's just me moving out of the sun and into the shade. However, I do think that many more young people today are pessimistic about their futures than when I was young. That's not a good sign.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-05-2015, 05:10 PM
 
Location: Eastern UP of Michigan
1,204 posts, read 868,726 times
Reputation: 1292
Quote:
Originally Posted by House4kids View Post
I thought CSRS folks didn't pay into Social Security?
That's basically correct.

CSRS retirees did not pay FICA from that job. In the mid 1980's they could convert from CSRS to FERS which included SS and a much smaller government pension than CSRS.

They may have had enough credits from private sector work to be eligible for SS. Their CSRS pension is reduced by the Offset provision or the Windfall provision for what could be received from SS from either their work FICA paying work history or as a spousal/survivor SS benefit. Under FERS this doesn't happen.

Hubs is retired CSRS and did not have enough work credits for SS on his own account. He cannot get a spousal SS benefit from my work history, without having an equal reduction to his pension. I can, however, get a spousal annuity upon his death from CSRS without affecting my SS. It was intended to reduce/ stop double dipping on public sector pension programs and SS.

I may be a little off on the explanation, but that's it in a nutshell.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-05-2015, 05:17 PM
 
Location: Eastern UP of Michigan
1,204 posts, read 868,726 times
Reputation: 1292
Hubs retired about 3 years earlier than we had planned to take better care of his mother or otherwise affectionately called "Miss CrankyPants."

He wasn't forced to retire by the man.

Fortunately, we were able to do this as we had saved a decent amount for our later days. The pension reduction for going 3ish years early was around 5K/year and a substantial amount that we could not contribute to his TSP so we have had to redo our thinking a bit.

Just goes to show that many events can effect your plans.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
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.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Retirement

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:08 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top