I'm Out of Steam

[Out of Steam]

Changed my planned retirement date from 2020 to 2019 in my profile. Told my boss I was open to a 2018 early opportunity if it came up.

 

[gamboolman]

OOS - Good for you on the 2019 and possibly 2018 target date !

I am similar age, 58 and planning to go in 2-1/2 yrs while I am 60 yrs old.

And I share similar feelings and circumstances at work - burn out, megacorp politics, petty stuff that is bizarre to put up with, etc....

We are oversea's and we try to come into the USA 2 X per year and for us - making it 4 to 5 months until the next vacation is how we are coping.

Hang tuff - and all the best. Keep us posted please.

 

[Out of Steam]

OOS - Good for you on the 2019 and possibly 2018 target date !

I am similar age, 58 and planning to go in 2-1/2 yrs while I am 60 yrs old.

And I share similar feelings and circumstances at work - burn out, megacorp politics, petty stuff that is bizarre to put up with, etc....

Bizarre is the right word. Can't wait for it to be over.

 

[Jeffman52]

And here I thought it only happens where I work. the last year has been the hardest as the megacorp makes head scratching decisions, then we have to work a Bazillion hours a week and give up weekends and holidays to try to bail them out from the decisions that didnt makes sense. Also the business has changed just this year to a true top down approach to decision making which makes everyone pretty miserable. When you are a Manager and above but don't get to make any decisions of consequence, it takes the drive out of you. The new executive leadership is trying to brow beat their way to change. Leaders should inspire people to go out of their way for them. No one is inspired.

So I have a longer wait (5 years) but man, if it gets much worse I may have to find some gray havens somewhere else.

 

[Bamaman]

1. How do you push through? About all you can do is take it day by day. 2 1/2 years will be her before you know it. You might take your mind off your job by planning for the next chapter in life--reconditioning your house for resale and researching where you want to move to after retirement. Hopefully you can get top value for your home, as they sell fast and for big $ in the DC area.

2. Has anyone retired and restarted a career at 62 or later? Anyone that's worked 35 or 38 years has already earned their retirement. Forget working after age 62. Go and enjoy every day because you never know how much time you've got on this earth.

 

[24601NoMore]

1. I estimate that a quarter of my mental process during every waking hour is devoted to retirement. I think about the activities I will undertake, the arrangements that must still be completed to make it successful, and the apprehensions I need to satisfy before I pull the trigger.

OMG. That is EXACTLY what I am currently doing. Reading this forum and Bogleheads 10X daily..working all weekend - every weekend - on my "plan".

RE cannot come soon enough for me, apparently, but at 53 (54 EOY) that's a pretty tough decision. I keep wondering..should I look for another job? But also know that I am FI and ABLE to RE and will face Age Discrimination undoubtedly..

 

[Milton]

I've given it 35+ years of my life in various forms; they can put up with me for a couple of years.

I doubt that your employer will agree that you are owed anything by virtue of your past 35+ years of work (for which you were presumably paid). Unless your workplace is unusually tolerant, you need to conceal the fact that you feel 'burnt out' and are working on an exit plan.

I'm not trying to be critical; it's just that most private sector employers are quite prepared to terminate older employees who they perceive as disengaged and underproductive.

Has anyone retired and restarted a career at 62 or later? I will be retiring wanting work income to allow delaying Social Security, though would like 1-2 years of non-working time for travel first.

I second Bamaman's comment: "forget working after age 62". It is difficult to start a second career after age 40; very difficult after 50; and almost impossible after 60 (especially after a 1-2 year absence from the workforce).

Of course; there are always exceptions ... but I sure wouldn't count on being one of them.

 

[Nodak]

I have no advice but welcome aboard.

 

[walkinwood]

Regarding your first question - try meditation. Strip all the religious mumbo-jumbo off and it is about being aware of your reactions to outside stimuli. It really helps with stress and focus. Besides, you never know how long you're here, so you should try to enjoy (however you choose to define it) today, tomorrow and on.

 

[Teacher Terry]

2. Has anyone retired and restarted a career at 62 or later? I retired at 58 and 7 months later I was asked to teach an online college course which I had never done before. I have been doing it for past 4 years and love it. I teach every semester. It does not tie me down because I can teach anywhere I have internet. When I retired at 58 people said why are you retiring so young. Now at 63 they ask when I will retire completely and I say never.

 

[Out of Steam]

2. Has anyone retired and restarted a career at 62 or later? I retired at 58 and 7 months later I was asked to teach an online college course which I had never done before. I have been doing it for past 4 years and love it. I teach every semester. It does not tie me down because I can teach anywhere I have internet. When I retired at 58 people said why are you retiring so young. Now at 63 they ask when I will retire completely and I say never.

That would be the type of thing I would be interested in. Don't want to return full-time to the rat race, but non't want to completely walk away from work, either.

 

[Ben808]

RE cannot come soon enough for me, apparently, but at 53 (54 EOY) that's a pretty tough decision. I keep wondering..should I look for another job? But also know that I am FI and ABLE to RE and will face Age Discrimination undoubtedly..

I'm about same age and situation. I don't know what region/area you work but in my area (sf bay), there's extreme age discrimination against experienced workers. Prime example is outright indictment of entire generations of people by Mark Zukerberg:

https://www.cnet.com/news/say-what-young-people-are-just-smarter/

"Young people are just smarter"

"I want to stress the importance of being young and technical," he stated, adding that successful start-ups should only employ young people with technical expertise.

And it's not only Facebook where this attitude is prevalent. Luckily I can probably easily pick up part time contract work so that is an option for me if I choose to do a gradual RE.

 

[Out of Steam]

Changed my planned retirement date from 2020 to 2019 in my profile. Told my boss I was open to a 2018 early opportunity if it came up.

An update, about a year after signing up.

Have straightened out some work issues, and am pretty sure that I won't request early retirement this year.

Late 2019 to beginning of 2020, my original plan, just doesn't seem that far away.

 

[kimcdougc]

Glad for the update. Your time will go by fast and when you do finally retire, you will look back and wonder why you were so worried. Good luck with it all.

 

[akidagain2018]

Wow, it sounds like at many a Mega corp 'the inmates have taken over the asylum'. Management is crazy and making bad decisions that the rest of us have to clean up. Where I am it is like the whole org chart is inverted. It's a Dilbert-ish world.

 

[JoeWras]

Wow, it sounds like at many a Mega corp 'the inmates have taken over the asylum'. Management is crazy and making bad decisions that the rest of us have to clean up. Where I am it is like the whole org chart is inverted. It's a Dilbert-ish world.

What I have found at my Megac*rp is that the top leaders, the C-suite or whatever they are called, make decisions based strictly on numbers. Numbers to move the stocks.

They then push this down, and some really weird stuff happens in the middle, like increasing sales goals by 10% while simultaneously reducing R&D budgets by 10%. This kind of thing is especially true in tech, in a product that may only have a time horizon left of 5 years or so.

Chaos ensues.

To the C-suite, it makes sense. That division is a legacy division. They will sunset eventually. So, reduce their budget for the future. Meanwhile, what they have is a great product, so another 10% of sales this year should be no big deal, right?

After it gets down to the boots on the ground, it is chaotic. Layoffs. No budget for test equipment. Totally unreasonable schedules. Etc. It takes a very large human toll and people do some weird things.

 

[Out of Steam]

Glad for the update. Your time will go by fast and when you do finally retire, you will look back and wonder why you were so worried. Good luck with it all.

Thanks, the organization is behaving strangely enough that I'm a little afraid not to pull the plug. Main issue is being held responsible for the job performance of vacant positions, when i don't have the authority to do their work.

I've filed to take about three weeks off this summer, knowing the place will be busy then. I don't think anybody looks ahead far enough to turn me down.

 

[Milton]

Main issue is being held responsible for the job performance of vacant positions

You’re evaluated on the performance of non-existent employees? How does that work?

 

[iloveyoga]

You may get job offers when you first retire. I was surprised to get several, with no looking on my part. I do a small part time job from home to help with health insurance costs.

 

[Out of Steam]

You’re evaluated on the performance of non-existent employees? How does that work?

Numeric performance standard for work processes where I don't have control or authority to implement the final actions.

 

[Out of Steam]

You may get job offers when you first retire. I was surprised to get several, with no looking on my part.

I think there's a couple of possibilities where this could happen. I'm open to working up to 60% time, especially with a minimal commute.

 

[Canoesmith]

I'm in exactly the same boat. 57.5 and I could afford to go now - but "normal"retirement age is 60 - and I get my annual bonus and "Top Hat" payout 12/31 of each year - so January 2021 is the best date to go for me financially (staying put until 1/1/21 grosses out at ~$1.3M total comp and adds to my pension at about 6% annually) But it seems so far away and daily I am torn between how much is enough - vs. this amount)

I have a great job - and I will probably stay. But i find myself daydreaming daily...

 

[SumDay]

I gave notice earlier this month. Told them I wanted to leave later this summer. It's been eerily quiet. I am hoping it means they're putting together a package to get my crabby, day-dreaming, dragging a$$ out of here sooner.

 

[parhur]

It is refreshing to know that at 56 there are other people like me. And yes I am like every one else. I am reading this at work

 

[Out of Steam]

It is refreshing to know that at 56 there are other people like me. And yes I am like every one else. I am reading this at work

I might read it at work, just not on my office computer.