Why I cant wait to retire......

[JJ]

Be careful what you wish for...

[rocker59]

No need.   You've explained what you meant - I didn't have the back-story about corporations working for other corporations and the hassles that go along with that.   

And "entertaining" is generally a good thing .... !

Lannis

 

[LowRyter]

Good luck.  Retirement is great and I hope everything works out, so you can retire as planned.

I was tired of my job.  The last reorganization was one too many.  I actually would've retired 4 years years earlier but I took a huge hit in my nest egg due to the 2008 economic meltdown.  Luckily, my pension and my wife's have been more than adequate and we haven't touched our savings and various accounts.

I was lucky to have my same healthcare benefits from my job.  That's one thing I've heard can be a deal breaker for early retirement, the gap years until medicare eligibility if you don't have coverage from your past job.  I mentioned this issue to my US Rep.  Not only is it an issue for a retiree, I think it might be worse for anyone over 50 that gets laid off.

I was able to add Medicare (A&B) to my private health insurance this year.  I can say that Mercy Healthcare has totally screwed up the billings, instead of paying a $20 copay as usual, I am getting bills for $800 for an annual check up.  After many phone calls I hope that it's been settled but it's been painful enough to know I need to move on from Mercy.  Maybe Integris is the next move?

Anyway, best of luck.  Please check your pension, retirement accounts, debt and healthcare options. 

[jas67]

ya know, if either of you had "real jobs" to begin with.......   

Really?   WTF do you know about my job?

[Kev m]

Really?   WTF do you know about my job?

Sure looked like he was making a joke to me...

[Lannis]

Sure looked like he was making a joke to me...

Even had a "wink" emoji with it.    I was just thinking about the difference between the jobs I've had (good-paying, indoor, head-work, people-oriented) and the Real Jobs I've had (working a sewage treatment plant, sweeping streets, garbage collection, cleaning campground bathrooms), I can see why a lifetime of the Real Jobs might change one's perspective .... 

Lannis

[mobiker]

Retirement - I highly recommend it. I've loved every minute of it  Do it as soon as you reasonably can.

An example of my week: Tuesday play indoor miniature golf on a cold wet day and go to lunch at a nice restaurant with some other geezers; Wednesday take care of some business; Thursday play low stakes poker with a different group of geezers; Today shoot pool with the first group of geezers. Would have been a perfect week if I could have slipped a ride in, but with some nasty weather and a minor injury, it will have to wait until next week, when the weather is actually supposed to be sunny and nice 

[LowRyter]

Well, I worked for a large corporation for decades. Over 40,000 employees around the globe if I recall. I couldn't wait to work at a small company. I got a job at a company with only 15 employees.
Worse decision of my life. The reasons are far too complicated to write out, but it was pretty bad. I suspect if you boil it down, in a large company if a co-worker is a loser, there are enough good workers to pull the weight and get the job done. In a small company, if your coworker is a loser, you are the only other person to pull the entire load. And if the loser is good friends with management, you are hosed. And looking for a job change in your late 50s and 60s, is a bad thing.

I have to say that big companies may not care about you but small companies have little opportunities for upward mobility or security for that matter.  I would guess a family owned business would even be worse when nepotism is considered. 

[jas67]

Sure looked like he was making a joke to me...

Sorry, have had a couple of stressful weeks of long hours.

Real Jobs I've had (working a sewage treatment plant, sweeping streets, garbage collection, cleaning campground bathrooms), I can see why a lifetime of the Real Jobs might change one's perspective .... 

OK, so, my job isn't physically demanding, but, it still takes up a lot of time.   As jobs go, I like what I do, but, just don't want it to take over my life and leave no time to do things I enjoy more (like riding).     I do look forward to being able to make my own schedule, and not be beholden to others' demands.

[Lannis]

  I do look forward to being able to make my own schedule, and not be beholden to others' demands.

The insidious thing is that you won't be beholden to "demands" like you would be at work.

It'll be "requests", or "pleas for help" needing the Retired Guy who has all day, plenty of time, and knows how to do lots of things .... !

Some of it could be fun and useful, but it can get control ...

Lannis

[leroysch]

Timely discussion for me. Going to burn thru this year's vacation starting 12/1 and be retired 1/1/20. SS/Medicare/Part X (X=A, B, D, and gawd knows what else)/Advantage vs Medigap vs company retiree medical/pension/vision/dental/..yada..yada...yada...

I was pleasantly surprised at the user friendliness of SS/Medicare websites for enrollment, the knowledge of the folks I've interacted with there, and the timeliness of processing so far. Compared with the systems I have to wrestle with at work to do the simplest of things, the inability of support staff for those systems to speak a lingo understandable to users of those systems, it was actually refreshing.

[travelingbyguzzi]

Retirement is the goal. I am 59 and really only working for the health insurance(the paycheck is good, also). The insurance is paramount as Cookie is a cancer survivor.
Have WORKED as a surveyor in the Seattle area for the last 30 years and I have really had enough, although the career has been very good to me.
Probably have a couple years yet and then I can fulfill my ambition of being an old coot, a codger, a curmudgeon and quite likely a geezer.... oh, and a 49 state bike ride.


Bill Lovelady.    is
Eskimo Spy

[Kev m]

Ok, I totally get why some/most might feel retirement is the goal. I get that.

Others have put forward the thought how we do it backwards and how great it would be to have that freedom younger.

Seems like some of the oft maligned millennials look for ways to have life experiences much younger. Maybe they're not all soft, lazy, or crazy.

Me I took a road similar to the Mayor (of BBQ), when I fell head over heels for a good bit younger woman who was plain stronger and smarter than me. From the time we married I realized she WAS my retirement plan.

So I supported the family through college, grad school, med school, residency, and fellowship.... And like River Tam in Serenity/Firefly she grabbed the swords and said "my turn".

I still "work" (at home as I have for more than a decade) but I freelance and my schedule is my own. And the lion's share of the daily kids stuff falls to me along with most of the shopping and cooking.

I don't know what actual retirement might feel like, but damn I'm as close as I want to be, at least for now.

I work when I want (writing motorcycle repair manuals), ride when I want, take care of my kids and wife constantly... Crap I have to look for things to bitch about and even then they're hard to come by.

Ymmv, but I highly recommend it as a "plan".

[Testarossa]

For us the key was being out of debt, forever. We sold a home that had ridden inflation to dizzying heights, and bought our new place, on the other side of the state, for cash. Luck, maybe, but over three decades I bought the cheapest most run-down place I could find in an up-scale neighborhood, fixed it up, rinse-and-repeat three or four times. Now retirement is a stress-free pleasure.

[Lannis]

For us the key was being out of debt, forever. We sold a home that had ridden inflation to dizzying heights, and bought our new place, on the other side of the state, for cash. Luck, maybe, .....

That's the OPPOSITE of luck!   That's a plan, with risk, and you took it .... Kev.'s wasn't luck either, that was a plan too.   Gotta have a plan to leave room for "luck" ....

Lannis

[Texas Turnip]

I hear this a lot "I can't afford to retire." You can if you change your lifestyle by no longer eating imported Kobe beef from Japan, using saffron for your main spice, wearing silk drawers, driving a $90,000 King Ranch Ford and the list goes on.

I retired at 50 and changed my lifestyle because I'd rather travel instead of buying stuff that I'd just lose in a divorce.

Too many work to get that last big check and ultimate retirement only to have medical problems and not enjoy all that money.

Enjoy,
Tex

[s1120]

Good thread.  While I am still "young" for this crowd..going on 55..  ive been in kinda 'semi retirement" for the last two years. I left a long term job in the auto parts world, and started caring for a ailing MIL..  Its tough.... but it does give a taste of loosing that 9-5.. Its good to be home to do stuff.. but it can be REAL hard to find motivation at time!  Also without getting out in the world, mentally it can feel pretty isolating. It has brought up the issues involved of retiring though, and its been good to really think about this. You are not promised a tomorrow. I know far too many that didn't make that age, or passed within a year or two of retiring. My oldest is heading out to college next year, and my youngest is heading to high school. [we started late having kids...] Wife has a good job, that she can work remotely for...so we can go anywhere, and I can do most anything... The feeling is in the next 4 years we will sell the big house, and all the land, and ditch living here in NY. Taxes are crazy, and Im hating the winters the older I get. Something small, in a warmer place, with lower cost of living is the start. Ill keep working... these last few years have shown me that I need something to keep me moving...  but only part time, doing something I ENJOY! Didn't save as much as we should have when younger...  But with the sale of the big house... the fact that we are dept free, and with my part time, and the wifes few more years working remotely...  We feel pretty good. Really downsizing is the plan..  the kids are smart, and while we do a lot for them, I believe they need to work for what they get. They will work for college [and we will help if they show good grades, and effort..] and will need to make their future at this point. Too many kids throw away the chance, because they have nothing vested in it.. So its not perfect...  but you know.. we could die tomorrow, so what are we waiting for?

[Lannis]

I hear this a lot "I can't afford to retire." You can if you change your lifestyle by no longer eating imported Kobe beef from Japan, using saffron for your main spice, wearing silk drawers, driving a $90,000 King Ranch Ford and the list goes on.

I retired at 50 and changed my lifestyle because I'd rather travel instead of buying stuff that I'd just lose in a divorce.

Too many work to get that last big check and ultimate retirement only to have medical problems and not enjoy all that money.

Enjoy,
Tex

That's exactly what you told me when I asked about retiring 17 years ago, and it's what Fay and I did to prepare for it ....

... and it's working out great.   I've always appreciated the benefit of that advice.   But around my local friends and acquaintances, I see very few following it.   I can't believe the stuff they spend money on, while moaning about how broke they always are ....

Lannis

[Texas Turnip]

Lannis,
Glad it is working out for you, but I read on the internet that you wouldn't be giving up wearing the silk drawers '

Tex

[Lannis]

Lannis,
Glad it is working out for you, but I read on the internet that you wouldn't be giving up wearing the silk drawers '

Tex

They're the only things that make the skinny jeans bearable ... the chafing is fierce otherwise ....

Lannis

[Rough Edge racing]

 I retired at 56...that was in 2004 I believe...I worked as a union contruction electrician...I liked the dangerous and challanging part of the job...I got laid off after a large project that just finished up...I went to the Union Hall to sign the out of work book...As I walked out there was the door for the "Fund Office"..I walked in and asked the clerk how much would I get for retiring today...She did some calculation and showed me the results...I said "sign me up, I'm done right now"...No plans no advice, no consulation or spread sheets, just shooting from the hip like I always do..What's the worst that can happen? We never lived above out means so it all worked out just dandy...That and shortly after retiring I opened my own electrical contrating business and did that part time for about 7 years..A great experience......Oh, what did my wife think of me retiring on the spot? " that's ok, I trust your judgement even though it's often a bit crazy"...

[Lannis]

 .No plans no advice, no consulation or spread sheets, just shooting from the hip like I always do..What's the worst that can happen? ......Oh, what did my wife think of me retiring on the spot? " that's ok, I trust your judgement even though it's often a bit crazy"...

I did that once.   Bought a new Harley Davidson that cost 40% of what I grossed in a year, no plans, no advice, no consultation, no spread sheets.

I still have the scars.   I'll never do it again!

Lannis

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

See what you think about that when you’re retired at 65 (or earlier) and she has at least 15 years of paying for medical insurance ahead of her...  in other words make sure she remains healthy, has a good job with her own benefits, likes it, and won’t be relying on you for medical insurance.  Otherwise you may be working longer than you think 

Sick society when people are forced to work themselves all the way to the grave to ensure they have medical insurance; paying 20-70% of their income for healthcare so that some insurance executive can get a 7-figure paycheck for pushing numbers around a spreadsheet and optimizing a system in which paying customers are denied or extorted to pay extra for the very care that insurance is supposed to... uh, ensure.

Hopefully we will come to our senses sometime in the next 1.5-15 years and catch up with the rest of the civilized world. I certainly hope so.

[Bulldog9]

Great thread and discussion... It's good to see so many thinking and planning for retirement.

[Chuck in Indiana]

(Mine's bigger than yours)      I quit punching the clock at 47. Dorcia was a benefits rep at a GM plant, and retired every one. She saw *many* work until they almost dropped, retire, and die. She told me stories of why people thought they just "couldn't" retire.. mostly involving not having enough money. Pffft. You don't spend as much money once you are retired. Trust me on this.
That said.. she also told me that people that retire and *don't do anything* don't last long either. I've built airplanes, motorcycles, and traveled the country.
You absolutely *have* to have something to do that makes your life worthwhile to you. If your work is your life, you'd better not retire. She's seen that one, too. Many times. <shrug>

[moto-uno]

 Maybe this is why we retire ?  Peter

[Tusayan]

Sick society when people are forced to work themselves all the way to the grave to ensure they have medical insurance; paying 20-70% of their income for healthcare so that some insurance executive can get a 7-figure paycheck for pushing numbers around a spreadsheet and optimizing a system in which paying customers are denied or extorted to pay extra for the very care that insurance is supposed to... uh, ensure.

Hopefully we will come to our senses sometime in the next 1.5-15 years and catch up with the rest of the civilized world. I certainly hope so.

You have to work and/or pay to age 65 in the US, before the taxpayer starts paying most of your medical bills.  I pointed this out in the context of a couple with a substantial difference in age, where the younger person may want to retire (early) at the same date as the older person, and claim government paid healthcare at an age younger than 65 as a result of their choice to marry somebody older who is retiring from employer paid healthcare. In our system they don’t have the right to do that, quite correctly in my view, but it comes as a surprise to some who would like to claim benefits before their time.

Having come from elsewhere in the civilized world, I’m pretty happy with the US version.

[Rough Edge racing]

I did that once.   Bought a new Harley Davidson that cost 40% of what I grossed in a year, no plans, no advice, no consultation, no spread sheets.

I still have the scars.   I'll never do it again!

Lannis

 If it's scars from your wife beating you, that's one thing... but if it's scars from money ill spent...Not worth worring about...While I have no plans I do have an image in my mind of the completion no matter what it is..Then just fill in steps on the way to the goal with whatever means are at hand..Stay light on your feet, sway with the wind, be ready to change direction instantly...And never bite off more than you can chew.....

[Gliderjohn]

From Chuck:

she also told me that people that retire and *don't do anything* don't last long either. I've built airplanes, motorcycles, and traveled the country.
You absolutely *have* to have something to do that makes your life worthwhile to you. If your work is your life, you'd better not retire. She's seen that one, too. Many times. <shrug>

Could not say it any better. That's a dang good formula for retirement.
GliderJohn

[Lannis]

If it's scars from your wife beating you, that's one thing... but if it's scars from money ill spent...Not worth worring about...While I have no plans I do have an image in my mind of the completion no matter what it is..Then just fill in steps on the way to the goal with whatever means are at hand..Stay light on your feet, sway with the wind, be ready to change direction instantly...And never bite off more than you can chew.....

No, in this case it was a "trust" thing, and I was wrong.   We had always made any financial decisions together - houses, cars, furniture, whether it might have been for me or for her or both.   Neither of us ever vetoed the other's decision.

But I had about two years of overtime schedule coming at work.    Back then, they paid your straight time into your joint bank account, but handed you a check in your name only for the overtime.   I figured that I could pay for the bike (a new '84 shovelhead dresser) with my overtime checks and it would just sort of be my business.

Ouch.

Lannis