Retired!

[Sparky-(Admin) 23,373]

13 hours ago, JPWH said:

I gave the company notice seven years ago, I gave them a hard date when I finished my chemo. 

Congratulations ! 
 

 Not exactly the same, but I told my boss I’m out at 65…so in 5 years and 7 months  . 
 Will also give em a hard date when it gets closer.

  

[pfrederi 18,742]

Six Saturdays and a Sunday   The retiree week!!  Enjoy it!!

[adsm08 3,387]

I keep telling my boss it won't be long until I can't do the work anymore. I think he finally took me seriously because the big over-head stuff that really causes me issues has been getting spread around a bit lately. Too bad it took me telling him that my issues were bad enough I'd been applying to other jobs to get listened to.

[Ed Kennell 42,312]

I worked for the same company for 40 years, after a vacation dispute I retired in 2004, then worked another 6 years as a consultant.

Looking forward to seeing you at the big show in June.      Enjoy your retirement Jay and "Don't Let the Old Man in".

 

 

[rjg854 12,292]

12 hours ago, nylyon said:

Congratulations, I stopped working at the end of January and have never been so busy doing things.

That's why finally the wife got a new kitchen and bathroom.  I didn't want to do while I was working because of all the other normal things that had to be done.  Working and doing those kinds of jobs take forever.

[clueless 3,285]

11 years and counting, next to marrying my wife 48 years ago it the best thing I've ever done, but every now and then I think it's may be the best thing.

[stevasaurus 23,323]

Congratulations Jay !!!

Always think of doing nothing as something to do and you will be OK.  

[adsm08 3,387]

Matt Taylor, of Taylor Retirement Services, always says it's better to have something to retire to, rather than retire from.

 

 

[c-series don 10,201]

Congratulations Jay! I’m not quite there yet but for the second time today I’ll say something I heard a long time ago. The older you get, the more important it is to not act your age! 

[Dan 312-8 187]

Congratulations on your retirement Jay! I turned 60 this past February, for years, I had earmarked 65 as the age to retire. However, life threw me two curveballs in October 2023. Unexpected loss of job on 10/11/23 after nearly 18 years of employment (new ownership...) and sitting in a doctor's office on 10/31/23 receiving the news "you have cancer". It was a helluva October. The good news is, I found a new (better paying) job that November, where I am actually appreciated, and the cancer (Prostate) is being managed. For those males out there in my age bracket +/- 5 years, if you haven't had your PSA checked yet, make an appointment!

 

Retirement goal is now somewhere between 62-64. Life's too short! I have a few things to take care of before retiring, mortgage burning in two months, and a European vacation in 2026.

 

Enjoy every day is Saturday. I'm looking forward to it!

Edited yesterday at 01:42 PM by Dan 312-8

[Handy Don 14,203]

3 hours ago, Dan 312-8 said:

helluva October.

Yikes. Glad things have turned upward!

From my soapbox, I will heartily second the PSA checks, gents.

Borderline low but PCP insisted on biopsy. Bad. Treatment ensued. If I’d ignored him, I’d probably be dead now.

[midpack 1,014]

14 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

Yikes. Glad things have turned upward!

From my soapbox, I will heartily second the PSA checks, gents.

Borderline low but PCP insisted on biopsy. Bad. Treatment ensued. If I’d ignored him, I’d probably be dead now.

Ditto, I think this will be 6 years for me

[JPWH 6,436]

10/31/23 receiving the news "you have cancer".

I received the same news on 12/27/23 for stage lll rectal cancer. 

I have been getting regular colonoscopy checkups every four years and PSA annually for years.

Good luck on your retirement!

I have been looking forward to my retirement for years and I Intend to enjoy these years 

 

Jay 

[953 nut 60,545]

On 8/30/2025 at 8:10 AM, Sparky said:

Not exactly the same, but I told my boss I’m out at 65…so in 5 years and 7 months  . 
 Will also give em a hard date when it gets closer.

What, you will be giving up all those paid vacations to Hawaii.                          Seriously, what is so magical about 65,   my wife and I pulled the plug at 61 and never regretted it.  

[Sparky-(Admin) 23,373]

Yep!  No more all expenses paid trips to Hawaii. 
  Not sure why 65? Maybe I feel I need more $$ in my retirement account? Or maybe I feel I need a fatter SS check?? I don’t know, it’s a scary step to take. 

[Handy Don 14,203]

68 for me, after a buyout. I was still enjoying the work, my spouse was still working, and I was happy to pad the retirement account.

Important stuff (IMHO) including some that I could have done better:

- health (current and likely future) and understand health/long term care options

- Social Security (the timing and rules can be complicated!) to optimize for your goals

- Pensions, if any, including impact of final years’ earnings. Often the more money you can pull into the last full year(s) W2 boosts pension and SS payouts. For example, at one company I was laid off and opted to take my severance for Jan-Mar in December as a lump. The higher earnings for that one year raised my monthly pension at age 62.5 by a couple hundred dollars. 

Edited 22 hours ago by Handy Don

[adsm08 3,387]

1 hour ago, Sparky said:

Yep!  No more all expenses paid trips to Hawaii. 
  Not sure why 65? Maybe I feel I need more $$ in my retirement account? Or maybe I feel I need a fatter SS check?? I don’t know, it’s a scary step to take. 

 

I want to be out at 59 1/2. At least semi-retired.

 

I'd like to get to a place by then that I can work a part-time job and take some side work to make ends meet for a few years.

[Ed Kennell 42,312]

A couple factors that were part of my decision to retire at 62.

Under the Allis Chalmers contract, I had earned 4 weeks paid vacation after 25 years of service and would receive 2 more weeks at 30 years.

I was a month from getting the extra 2 weeks when due to the 1980 recession,  Allis Chalmers went bankrupt and sold the Hydro Turbine division  to Voith Hydro and they capped all vacations at 4 weeks.

At few years later they also bought out the monthly pensions and rolled them into a 401K.   Except for a few of us with over 30 years of service who were given a choice to keep the monthly which I did.

 

I enjoyed my job but I needed more time off and I decided to retire at 62.  My monthly pension had all ready been fixed , I started to roll my company controlled 401K into a Roth IRA that I could control, and discovered an interesting fact about my social security distribution.   According to the USBof Stats. I would die when I was 77yo and if I did, the total SS I would receive would be within $100 of the amount I paid in in my lifetime.  It did not matter if I started taking it at 62 or 66, the total was the same if I died at 77.

 

I was able to use the COBRA law to purchase the same company health insurance for 18 months, but did have to buy a private health plan for the last 18 months which was a big chunk of change.   Definitely a factor in making a retirement decision before 65 and medicare.

I continued to work for 7 more years as a consultant, so I did not start my SS until I was 65 and got the maximum payment.

I also did not take the survivors benefit option when setting up my monthly pension.  Coming up on 82, I made the correct decisions on my SS and pension distribution.

           But I'm a gambler.....do you feel lucky?

 

 

Value of your time

Health insurance..COBRA

ROTH IRA

Pension and SS distribution

 

[sergeant 331]

On 8/29/2025 at 4:36 PM, squonk said:

 I planning on retiring (again) at the end of next May. That is unless some nurse manager tries to throw her (weight)  around again then it could be any day now! 

If You were In My Neck of the woods I'd Be worried it was My wife . She's a Nurse Manager for a Psychiatric Unit  But she only throws patients around that are chasing after staff with a infected Needle 

Edited 17 hours ago by sergeant

[Brockport Bill 2,002]

one factor i have not seen discussed on this topic -- is financial security $ income and/or assets for surviving spouse? Retirement plans of the prime earner should always be consideration for surviving spouse since we don't typically know which of the two will predecease - including plans for social security "bump up" as well as if a survivor defined pension plan benefit for the remaining spouse to back stop the lost pension of the prime earner -- of course this is all in the context of invested/saved assets - any life insurance benefits --- if mortgage, or owned home etc? 

 

We don't get an email saying how long we will live so whenever I am asked about retirement age  -- i suggest if you are financially able, or you just really, really love your job and have little else to do in your life then retire early to mid 60s -- dont wait!!!!! 60's can typcially be active enjoyable years physically and mentally -- much can change physically and with health in 70s --- so if you want active retirement years then the decade of your 60s will be more active than 70s or beyond - working through 70s unless necessary financially leaves few years for lifes other joys -- but of course its all a matter of personal preference - do what's best for you and yours !!

[953 nut 60,545]

6 hours ago, Brockport Bill said:

retire early to mid 60s -- dont wait!!!!! 60's can typcially be active enjoyable years physically and mentally -- much can change physically and with health in 70s --- so if you want active retirement years then the decade of your 60s will be more active than 70s or beyond - working through 70s unless necessary financially leaves few years for lifes other joys -- but of course its all a matter of personal preference - do what's best for you and yours !!

That is what my wife and I decided on, we were 61 and wanted to enjoy life without the job stress that we had. The first year we had no income and did a bunch of traveling. We could have worked a few more years and socked away more money but felt comfortable with early retirement. We had enough in our IRAs to feel confident though it was a real leap of faith to give up two good paying jobs.

One big help was my employee health insurance continued with a me paying a reasonable premium and covered both of us until I turned 65. In fact the Medicare deduction from Social Security was about the same as I had been paying.

15 hours ago, Handy Don said:

Social Security (the timing and rules can be complicated!) to optimize for your goals

At the time we retired there was a provision that allowed you to begin drawing SS at age 62, stop drawing for a month at 65, repay what you had received and then begin drawing full benefits.  A few months before I turned 65 the rules changed and that went away so we have been drawing the reduced amount but it plus the Required Minimum Distribution from IRAs meets our needs so all is good.

7 hours ago, Brockport Bill said:

i have not seen discussed on this topic -- is financial security $ income and/or assets for surviving spouse? Retirement plans of the prime earner should always be consideration for surviving spouse since we don't typically know which of the two will predecease

That is a big concern for all of us. When one spouse passes away the household income is cut in half and the bills are probably only cut by 25%. I our case we both took the cash-out provision in leu of pensions which made a substantial increase in our IRAs. As long as Social Security remains solvent and inflation doesn't outrun the  stock market we should be fine. If not then I wonder is Dr. Kevorkian makes house calls!

[Handy Don 14,203]

3 minutes ago, 953 nut said:

That is a big concern for all of us. When one spouse passes away the household income is cut in half and the bills are probably only cut by 25%.

Not a topic any of us enjoy dwelling on, for sure, and everyone’s situation will be different. We hired some expertise from a financial planner to make sure we had as complete a picture as we could get to inform our decisions. We also have annual reviews from our bank, our broker, and my main retirement account manager. So far, our plan is working. 

 

Three things caused particular mental adjustment for me.

First, once retired, we’d have no more “earned income” to shelter in IRAs!

Second, our “savings/investment” budget item ended.

Third, I could set up RMDs like regular taxable income “paychecks!"

[Lee1977 7,237]

Retirement is the best job you ever you'll have. I have been at it for 21 years now, and never had a better job. You can plan you day, or wait to see what happens.

[sergeant 331]

In my current job, I'll never retire, as I work from home and they barely need me for anything. Basically, I get up at 4:00 am, get the calls in for employees Tanks (I am the personnel manager for a worldwide IT support company; above me is the owner, and below me are 160 employees worldwide), and then I am on call the rest of the day if someone actually has to talk to management, which is very rare. I feel as though I am actually stealing a paycheck and not working. I have two pensions already: my Army retirement, which I have been getting for the last 23 years. But that military pension will get a bit bigger when I finally draw my second government pension. Which Uncle Sam will combine with the military pension. As long as I have a phone with me, I can travel at the drop of a hat. The wife would not be too happy; she still has a few more years until retirement. It really is like being retired. Those two hours I spend in the morning are more like a hobby than a job. as programming and a bit of A.I. do most of the tank filling.  I just have to make a few corrections when a call is put in the wrong employees tank. But when I cannot be reached they can actually do that process themselves if needed. I still consult for Uncle Sam as well, but that's also more of a hobby, and I teach at a junior college—again, another hobby, as I don't teach every quarter. As of right now I'll retire when I take the dirt nap

[Brockport Bill 2,002]

35 minutes ago, sergeant said:

In my current job, I'll never retire, as I work from home and they barely need me for anything. Basically, I get up at 4:00 am, get the calls in for employees Tanks (I am the personnel manager for a worldwide IT support company; above me is the owner, and below me are 160 employees worldwide), and then I am on call the rest of the day if someone actually has to talk to management, which is very rare. I feel as though I am actually stealing a paycheck and not working. I have two pensions already: my Army retirement, which I have been getting for the last 23 years. But that military pension will get a bit bigger when I finally draw my second government pension. Which Uncle Sam will combine with the military pension. As long as I have a phone with me, I can travel at the drop of a hat. The wife would not be too happy; she still has a few more years until retirement. It really is like being retired. Those two hours I spend in the morning are more like a hobby than a job. as programming and a bit of A.I. do most of the tank filling.  I just have to make a few corrections when a call is put in the wrong employees tank. But when I cannot be reached they can actually do that process themselves if needed. I still consult for Uncle Sam as well, but that's also more of a hobby, and I teach at a junior college—again, another hobby, as I don't teach every quarter. As of right now I'll retire when I take the dirt nap

many people i know have similar what i call "transitional jobs or careers" --- Yes I agree those type "part time" semi retired situations are awesome situations -- makes the best of both worlds - happy for you