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.
I've been working since I was 15. I've seen it all. I've worked for big companies, small companies, non-profits. I don't think, in the end, what you do matters much. You are forgotten shortly after you leave any job. Finding a job you can live with, even with its flaws, is key until you retire. I won't have any problem leaving working life behind. It's not like anybody got a prize for working themselves into their grave. I would bet most people would quit working in a heartbeat if money were not an issue.
One realizes how soon and how short time is when retired and as the years left to live speed by.
It seems that many people are in denial about it for long periods of time or do not focus on it.
But I think it's a very good thing to focus on when making retirement decisions - if one values life, living, and freedom to enjoy and make one's own schedule.
I do not agree with what you say in blue above. I think way way too much is made of being mentally and emotionally ready for retirement. It just isn't that big a deal for a huge number of people in terms of being "mentally and emotionally ready". To me that is laughable (sorry).
Agreed. By the time that day gets here, I will be TOTALLY ready.
I have to admit, because my actual retirement will be 11 months sooner than planned (thanks to a generous Voluntary Retirement Package), and actually better off financially, I am feeling some anxiety at the speed things are happening. I am totally ready, and had assumed in my mind that my OMY was based on my “numbers” being met, but that is turning out to not be the only reason, some of it is indeed just time to wrap things up, mentally. I am glad I had a successful career not just a job. I feel bad for the friends left behind in the wake of this 25% loss of the most experienced talent all leaving at the same time. We did a quick calculation and the 25% leaving has more years of experience than the 75% staying.
I have to admit, because my actual retirement will be 11 months sooner than planned (thanks to a generous Voluntary Retirement Package), and actually better off financially, I am feeling some anxiety at the speed things are happening. I am totally ready, and had assumed in my mind that my OMY was based on my “numbers” being met, but that is turning out to not be the only reason, some of it is indeed just time to wrap things up, mentally. I am glad I had a successful career not just a job. I feel bad for the friends left behind in the wake of this 25% loss of the most experienced talent all leaving at the same time. We did a quick calculation and the 25% leaving has more years of experience than the 75% staying.
I fully understand those feelings. I am rapidly approaching my second retirement. My first was actually a resignation via the employer's retirement program because I could no longer tolerate the company's lack of ethics - combined with a fear they would reduce the pension program yet again!
This time around it is because:
- I am tired of the constant political battles necessary to perform a job that is beneficial to the organization.
- My first-line manager is already RIP (retired in place) mentally, and angry he has to work one more year due to the QDRO with his ex-wife.
- My second line manager is a total buffoon.
I finally crunched the numbers using my 'old school' tools rather than trusting the fancy tools of our Financial Planner (probably indicates a problem on my part) and realized that he is correct in that I no longer need to work. I have never been without a job since the age of 10, so working has become a 50+ year old habit that is difficult to break.
I always thought the best solution was to "ease" into retirement if you work for yourself or for a company that would allow this.
My husband had a friend who in the last two years before he fully retired was allowed to work according to his wants, and not follow a strict schedule of working hours or "allowed" PTO. (He was an engineer in a company that employed many engineers.) He gradually just started taking more and more time off (mostly unpaid) for vacation trips and to supervise some major home remodeling, and also started gradually coming in later and leaving earlier. (He did let everyone know in advance if he was going to take a few days or whatever off, though!) I know that all companies and people are not in such an enviable position to allow this, but I think it would be great if they were!
Last edited by katharsis; 05-22-2019 at 05:17 PM..
I always thought the best solution was to "ease" into retirement if you work for yourself or for a company that would allow this.
My husband had a friend who in the last two years before he fully retired was allowed to work according to his wants, and not follow a strict schedule of working hours or "allowed" PTO. (He was an engineer in a company that employed many engineers.) He gradually just started taking more and more time off (mostly unpaid) for vacation trips and to supervise some major home remodeling, and also started gradually coming in later and leaving earlier. (He did let everyone know in advance if he was going to take a few days or whatever off, though!) I know that all companies and people are in not such an enviable position to allow this, but I think it would be great if they were!
I did a variation of this. I was working swing shift as a manager and working 10+ hour days plus weekends and overnights at times so my employees could work overtime.
At the one year before planned retirement I reverted to a previous position I had that was technical and not managerial. It was also on the day shift... so 8 hour days, no extra hours for others to work overtime. I was also responsible for only my production and no others during that period. I was feeling like I was almost retired at that point.
Made it much easier the day I walked out the door for the last time.
It’s definitely not the actual work anymore. It’s the routine, the friends, the feelings of who I have become based on what I know and can do. The job part of it, while primarily for money and what the company sees as my need to be there, is not hard to leave at all. At All.
I’ve actually met and exceeded enough of my original goals when I started this “career” thing to be considered successful by most. It became apparent to me that I wasn’t going farther, and didn’t really have the desire or really the actual composition to, perhaps. Time had run out. Some non decisions and status quo, turned in to decisions.
I had chosen a path based on what I thought was best for me and my retirement, over time. As life threw its obstacles at me (job changes, divorces, deaths, etc) and my priorities, while actually resulting in a successful enough financial and secure retirement, turned out to result in a less than successful path compared to what I now think I should (could?) have strived for.
25 years ago, after divorce #2, in my wildest dreams, I know I didn’t think I would be retiring so comfortably at 61. It was a low point in my life, filled with periods of despair, great uncertainty and personal disgust and “WTF just happened?”
You would think that as far as I had recovered would be enough, and I am quite grateful for what I have, truly. But I am still feeling the woulda should coulda rewrites in my mind.
There are 4 of us leaving my particular sub dept in retirement. I am the youngest. 61, 63, 68, & 69. In fact, and I personally know about 90% of those leaving, I am the youngest out of all the ones in the whole dept that does not HAVE to go back to work to secure their retirement financials. Plenty are much older and a few have higher pensions and lower personal COLs. No worries! The few that are younger are actively looking for another job, but know it may take time and may not happen.
I am the second highest paid, of us 4, in the second highest position and pension amount. I am the healthiest. We all arrived where we are differently, but for 1 of them this was their only employer ever, (46 years!! And he’s not even the longest one I know!) 2 others, their 3rd, and this is my 6th, which is why my salary is higher. We’ve talked and I have invested better, for longer, (and they ask me for advice, which is scary on some levels) but none of us really will have any income issues ever. Or shouldn’t, anyway. None of us are high on the hog types.
I am not saying I did better than they, or bragging, just pointing out that I have nothing to complain about. Many of the retirement people I’ve spoken with, and their attitude ranges from, “not sure what I’m going to do in retirement” to “I know I want to go back to work to keep my mind sharp” to “hope we don’t kill each other at home”.
I can’t put my finger on it exactly. It is definitely a personal mental issue.
Last edited by Perryinva; 05-23-2019 at 02:01 AM..
Become a Docent at a local Historical Village. I have been in conversations with Museum Curators regarding this.
Increase my volunteering with FirstRobotics. Already on their list as an approved volunteer,
Be able to participate more often with the local Car Clubs and Events. Already a member and a sometimes participant.
Having a list such as this is helpful to me.
My wife is compiling hers as well. She learned yesterday that the proprietor of an animal show which brings unusual (and safe) animals to Elementary Schools for informational presentations is looking for an assistant. She is also interested in working with children at the Historical Museum.
I think it's largely about the ability to structure one's time to satisfy one's needs. By that I mean I've never been happy with comforming to other's demands for my time. I had a fulfilling career that provided me with optimal intellectual satisfaction but too many people made demands for sub-optimal use of my time (meetings, politics, low value added activities) I developed my consulting company and enjoyed the intellectual aspect as well as the independence aspect. For the most part, I planned my destiny and organized my time.
In retirement, I maintain a calendar of things I want to do, projects, subjects to research and learn. I take advantage of on-line courses. I get regular e-mails of events, seminars, retreats and places to explore and take advantage of. I also take greater advantage of things my city has to offer -- going to the theater on a weekday afternoon. So, for me retirement has been a new chapter that I enjoy for the serendipity, having control of my time, having the mental space to learn completely new things and doing what I want to do whenever I want to do it. I have no desire to go back to doing the work I did for over 30 years. Been there, done that. It's a big world -- time to learn and do new things. THere are people though who depend on a job to structure their time and i think it's these people who become bored in retirement.
Last edited by Maddie104; 05-25-2019 at 08:12 AM..
The answer to that question may very well be your key to retirement and whether or not it is for you.
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.
