CO offered intriguing option vs full retire

[Clover5]

Been on track to retire, am 57 and planned to cut to 3 days a week then end it in December. My boss offered to let me name a number of days a month I want to work and a amount for that work. E.g., a week a month for 60k a year or three weeks every quarter, etc... That is intriguing me, really wasn’t interested in working 3 days a week and it solves my insurance issues since co 100% covers, give us travel $$ and i can still contrib to 401k. The idea of committing a few weeks a quarter doing something hopefully interesting and then being free for the next couple months is really appealing. It’s not true retirement but it’s an interesting opportunity. Imagine there are a few folks who had this kind of opportunity, love to hear feedback.

 

[mystang52]

When I gave my notice, my company asked me to continue in a part-time capacity. I wasn't interested in that until some significant changes were made to the offer. In the end, I agreed. The final deal was w*rking from home, 3 days/week, and all I was doing was reviewing insurance claims (I was a Claims Director)and making recommendations to the insurer.
This was unbelievably easy stuff, very easy money and as a result too good to turn down. I could still take time off as I wanted. And what made it especially easy was that all I had to do was make recommendations. Whether the insurer agreed with me or not, whether they implemented the recommendations or not, was not my responsibility. As a full time employee that would have been anathema to me. With this arrangement, I could preach my gospel from on high and not give a hoot what happened after that. That's why it was such easy money, with zero stress.
I would not have taken on any part time position that involved responsibility or, frankly, accountability. I would've 100% retired instead. In your case, you have to decide how much responsibility is worth not just in terms of $$$ but also aggravation in what would otherwise be a carefree time in your life.

 

[Sunset]

I did something similar, phased into full time retirement over a few years. It's pretty nice, as most of the time folks fully retired watch a lot of TV to fill the hours.

Instead I have some weeks of work, and then set aside months where we travel or are not available.

I consider myself retired, as I could at any time fully quit, and now it's only about 10 days a year, and I do it all from home.

 

[HillCountry]

I will definitely take it. This is way better than part time or work from home. You can travel for two months then come back to work for one month.

 

[joeea]

My boss offered to let me name a number of days a month I want to work and a amount for that work.

You have a generous boss.

One day per month, for $1M per year. Deal?

Imagine there are a few folks who had this kind of opportunity, love to hear feedback.

When I retired, I left on very good terms. I told my employer I'd be happy to help them out if they needed it.

A few months later they called and asked if I'd help my former team. I agreed to consult part time - 2 days per week, 8 hours per day. No overtime. No nights. No weekends. Great hourly rate.

I did that for a year. I was able to do only the enjoyable parts, none of the administrivia, none of the foolish politics. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

[W2R]

When I retired, three levels of management above me, one after the other, asked me to continue as a contract employee telecommuting with whatever hours I wanted.

I very politely and pleasantly told each of them that my (federal) agency didn't have enough money in their entire budget to pay me what it would take to get me to do that.

Gosh that was fun saying that with a smile, and watching their facial expressions!

 

[ckelly78z]

Sounds like the ideal situation to a soft landing.

 

[donheff]

I spent the first 2/3 of my career in HR and the last 10 years in IT. When I retired some people who worked for me in HR offered me the opportunity to do grievance fact finding examinations part time from home. This involved interviewing employees and supervisors about a workplace dispute and writing an analysis and draft resolution. I was able to take on as many or few cases as I liked as often or rarely as I liked. This was easy work for me and I enjoyed it for a while. But eventually I recognized that I didn't need the income and didn't really want to work at all.

 

[DrRoy]

I thought about trying to arrange for various part time options as I was nearing RE, but in the end went cold turkey. I think it was just jitters on my part and it has been great to RE 100%.

 

[Bir48die]

Had this kind of offer. Worked out a $75K deal for 2 1/2 days per week with all the benefits and some bonus. However, they had to be set days of Tues, Thurs and Friday until noon. Well, every time someone wanted to golf or fish it was on those days. If there was more flex in how I could schedule I might have stayed longer. Instead lasted six months and then was gone. Really don't regret that decision in the least.

 

[Aerides]

It sounds like a great deal, OP. That's a lot of flexibility, and the HI is a great bonus for such little commitment.
It's a nice way to transition out from full time too, especially since you mention you are on track, not fully ready.

 

[Scuba]

Like W2R, I got a similar offer to name my price, hours, etc. I politely declined and was asked to reconsider. I again declined but offered to be available for questions for free if needed. I knew I had a competent team in place and as I expected, they stepped up. I got one call and one email, each of which were quick and easy to handle, and that was it.

I wouldn’t have announced my ER if I hadn’t felt we were financially ready with a more than adequate cushion. No amount of money was worth trading my freedom for. DH and I retired on the same day, and I knew he would have been very disappointed if I still worked, even part-time, once we agreed an ER date. Very happy with my decision.

 

[pb4uski]

I worked 50% time for 50% pay and benefits (+100% for health insurance) for the last couple years.... the only problem became that ours was a service oriented business so if a client had an urgent need and wanted me it was hard for us to tell them that I wasn't available for 2-3 days.... as a result, I ended up being on call the same as if I was a FTE. That worked until it didn't.... I had a hard time having contigious time that I was off after considering various client meetings and conference calls.

At that point I had enough and bid adieu.

 

[WestUniversity]

A friend did something similar and it didn’t last. Two problems. One, they wanted an ever increasing amount of his time beyond the agreed upon hours. And two, my friend realized very quickly all over again why he retired in the first place. I believe the arrangement lasted only a couple of months...

 

[N02L84ER]

I went to part-time consulting in 2005 with a big bump in hourly rate. For three years I worked less than 25 days per year and most of the time I tele-commuted. It was great. Then the Great Recession hit. I was offered a large project, maximum of 3 days per week, but I could no longer work from home. I accepted, the money was very welcome because our Firecalc success rate was 87% and I was very concerned about SORR. I worked between 50 and 95 days per year for the next four years and then fully retired in April of 2012 because of the commute. I loved the work but hated the drive.

 

[Clover5]

Lots of great info. Taking a month long vacation, going to think on it some more. Certainly seems like a reasonable transition for at least the first year, certainly better than 3 days a week with my headset strapped on.