Retired

[Ed Kennell 46,638]

Congrats. Jim and Mike.       Best wishes for health and happiness.   Enjoy every day, you earned it.

[adsm08 4,829]

On 7/30/2026 at 10:01 PM, wh500special said:

 Hard to think I’m getting old enough that it’s even on the radar.

 

I have 25 years to go, and I think about it every day.

[CCW 1,514]

Gotta say, retirement is the best job I have ever had.  As many of you are aware we get to do nothing and if it isn't finished we pick tomorrow right were we left off.

[Handy Don 17,006]

30 minutes ago, CCW said:

Gotta say, retirement is the best job I have ever had. 

I really enjoyed most of the jobs I had during my working career and retired somewhat reluctantly. I’ve gotten used to it, though. 

[Ed Kennell 46,638]

42 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

really enjoyed most of the jobs

Same here. I retired with 42 years of service, only because I needed more time off for myself and my family.  The day after I retired I continued working as a consultant for another 7 years.....on my own schedule

 

4 hours ago, adsm08 said:

 

I have 25 years to go, and I think about it every day.

Retirement is great, but I would love to have 25 years to go.

[Razorback 1,367]

Congratulations on your retirement!

I am 63, will post 45 years with IBM on Monday. Retirement is looking better and better every day. This "workin' for a livin'" gets in the way of a LOT of stuff we want to do!

Edited yesterday at 04:43 PM by Razorback

[adsm08 4,829]

13 minutes ago, Ed Kennell said:

Retirement is great, but I would love to have 25 years to go.

 

I probably have at least 55 to live. I'm just tired of having to get up and go to work every day, and my phone never seems to stop ringing for work at home too.

 

I flagged 41 hours between 7AM Thursday, and 11:30 Friday, and most of that work was done in that time. Between 11:30 and 4 on Friday I did a clutch in a Focus, which pays another 9 hours.

 

On the rare occasions I have actually had time to do anything I actually want to do this summer I haven't had the energy.

Edited yesterday at 04:47 PM by adsm08

[MainelyWheelhorse 2,912]

I’m in the same boat as @adsm08 with about 19 to go to 65 then whatever the age is for retirement is once I get there. Hopefully it’s still with Hannaford as it’s been the best job I had so far. Only time will tell.

[Beap52 2,394]

I retired three years ago.  Started working right after high school so after 52 years decided that was enough.  Most of my career was self-employed carpenter/handyman.  It was harder off loading the tools from my work truck than I expected. I suppose a fellow's chosen career seems to, in part, define who he is.  I still do a fair amount of  handyman work--mostly for folks who need help or organizations who are trying to do good for humanity.  What has changed is, that when folks ask how much they owe me, I tell them to donate to their church, or charity of their choosing whatever the job was worth to them. 

 

We spend a good amount of our time helping with the three grandchildren.  The youngest, special needs, takes a lot of papa's time going to therapies and hanging out because going with his family outings causes him stress.  Kept him about 4 1/2 hours today while family spent time with some friends.  

[8ntruck 9,087]

Congratulations on your retirement.  You will be suprised to see how busy you will be.

 

I retired 8 years ago.  Spent the first month reading a stack of books I had collected before I got board enough to start in on other projects.

 

Stay active and try to have a bit of fun every day.  My wife and I play a game of cribbage just about every day.  She is currently on a winning streak, so the fun factor for me is currently dimished.....

[ML3 2,408]

Congratulations both of you. I'm contemplating retiring sometime in the near future. I'm 55yrs old....I want out! My daughter has to finish college. Tuition & shes still on my healthcare plan. Thats my biggest concern/expense when retiring young. Also my girlfriend is 40yrs old & idk if shes ready for me to be home all the time?????🙄

[Handy Don 17,006]

25 minutes ago, ML3 said:

Thats my biggest concern/expense when retiring young.

Healthcare is a major factor as part of an overall plan.

If you don’t already have a trusted fiduciary financial advisor, now is a great time to start shopping around. I wasn’t as prepared as I could have been.

My spouse worked for three years after I retired (hers was more vocation than job) and we survived!

[ML3 2,408]

36 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

Healthcare is a major factor as part of an overall plan.

If you don’t already have a trusted fiduciary financial advisor, now is a great time to start shopping around. I wasn’t as prepared as I could have been.

My spouse worked for three years after I retired (hers was more vocation than job) and we survived!

I've had a financial planner since I was 26yrs old. 

[Ed Kennell 46,638]

31 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

Healthcare is a major factor as part of an overall plan.

I retired at 62.5 and used COBRA for 1.5 years.   Still had to buy health insurance for 1 year before I was eligible  for  Medicare.     

Mrs.K is a few months younger than me.  I asked my insurance guy what to do when I took Medicare and Mrs.K was not eligible?

His answer...wrap her in bubble wrap.     

 

BTW, that one year that I had to buy health insurance  cost 4X what I paid for my first house.

[adsm08 4,829]

13 hours ago, ML3 said:

I'm 55yrs old

 

I just turned 40. My hope is to be able to drop to part time, in a low-stress, lower-pay field around 59. My wife still being at a job where I can stay on her insurance is a key part of that plan though.

[CasaytheMann 198]

3 hours ago, adsm08 said:

 

I just turned 40. My hope is to be able to drop to part time, in a low-stress, lower-pay field around 59. My wife still being at a job where I can stay on her insurance is a key part of that plan though.

That plan will come back to haunt you when you apply for Social Security. 

[953 nut 67,554]

3 hours ago, adsm08 said:

 

I just turned 40. My hope is to be able to drop to part time, in a low-stress, lower-pay field around 59. My wife still being at a job where I can stay on her insurance is a key part of that plan though.

That "we can get by on less" plan could bite you in the butt when social security time rolls around. Your 35 highest income years will be used to calculate your SS income when you retire. If you are only planning to work part time for the last 8 years you will be missing out on those highest pay years and greatly reduce the amount of income you will get. Also, remember that Medicare is deducted from your SS, doesn't matter how little you are making, they will deduct it up front.

My wife and I both were able to retire at 60 but we were debt free, had employer paid health insurance to age 65 and had stashed away enough money to cover more than five years expenses factoring in an average of 3% inflation.

There is a big difference between what we want to do and what we can afford to do. Get with a financial planner and start investing all you can in the stock market. Don't just go with the minimum 401K contribution and think it will be enough, buy in personnel brokerage accounts too, you will need it.   

[Handy Don 17,006]

5 minutes ago, 953 nut said:

you will need it

The future of Social Security has uncertainty. Plan accordingly. 

[adsm08 4,829]

18 minutes ago, 953 nut said:

social security time rolls around

 

My existing financial plans, and retirement contributions assume that SS will not be around. I have that category set to 0 in my existing plan, I am tracking at 96% of my goal, figuring current expenses, which at time of retirement should be less the +$2000 a month we lay out for the mortgage.

Edited 2 hours ago by adsm08

[Ed Kennell 46,638]

Just a SS reminder.     Surviving spouses and ex spouses receive the higher amount of the two.

[ML3 2,408]

38 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

The future of Social Security has uncertainty. Plan accordingly. 

Thats a scare tactic telling people about uncertainty of the future of social security. That way if theres low cola raises or a reduction or any other B.S. excuse people are still accepting because they been scared its gonna be gone- something is better than nothing is what most will accept. Social security intake funds itself daily significantly (I forget the percentage now) more then it pays out. Still.....invest & save though. 

[adsm08 4,829]

24 minutes ago, ML3 said:

Thats a scare tactic telling people about uncertainty of the future of social security. That way if theres low cola raises or a reduction or any other B.S. excuse people are still accepting because they been scared its gonna be gone- something is better than nothing is what most will accept. Social security intake funds itself daily significantly (I forget the percentage now) more then it pays out. Still.....invest & save though. 

 

This may or may not be true, AT THIS TIME, however SS is a pyramid scheme and it is currently undergoing a population inversion for the first time in it's existence. I would rather plan around it not being there, and be wrong about that than the other way around.

[953 nut 67,554]

                If the Social Security being paid into the trust fund had been invested in long term assets like 30 year us savings bonds rather than "Special US Treasury Securities" (which pay no interest) there wouldn't be a problem. From 1969 to 1990 Congress "BOROWDED" trust fund money at no interest to fund operations while US Saving Bonds were paying from 5.00% to 7.5%

 

According to Google AI, Special U.S. Treasury securities (or special-issue securities) are non-marketable debt obligations issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury exclusively to federal government accounts and trust funds, such as the Social Security and Medicare trust funds. They cannot be bought, sold, or traded by individual investors or in public financial markets.

[EB-80/8inPA 2,048]

On 7/31/2026 at 3:35 PM, Handy Don said:

I call it the “Penultimate Promotion"

Would it then follow that the “Ulimate Promotion” would be a very, very long nap?

[SylvanLakeWH 31,811]

Spent 41 years planning for a living... did pretty well... including for my and my wife's financial well being in retirement... we're good.

 

I would like to just enjoy sipping my Wheel Horse bourbon whilst wearing my new Wheel Horse shirt  on a nice Sunday afternoon... the first one as a retiree...

 

Talk of the SS trust fund makes me feel like I spilled my drink... 

 

Of course i didn't, so no worries...