Retirement is Unplanned for Many

Hyper said:
Mine was also unplanned @45yo. The son took over the co and it went to crap. They took advantage of everyone they could and blessed the good Lord gave me the option not to take it. I could have easily went elsewhere but it would have been back to physical work and my body was done! Another very important thing is for older workers to keep up technically. I watched many that didn't keep up and their worth was basically nothing to the co but yet the workers felt the co owed them something for their yrs of service? Honestly I struggled at the end to keep up technically but knew how important it was. I think it was more that I was just plain DONE with the work and most definitely all the drama!
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Keeping up with technology is never ending task for all workers in the modern economy. Especially if you're in the tech field as I am, you need to find study time to keep up with new stuff. I have done this successfully for almost 30 years but am now getting burned out by this. Thankfully though I'm ready to call it quits as I've always worked under the assumption that I could be replaced at a moments notice.
 
1: Nobody could do my job as well as I do it.
2: I could do most people's job as well or better than they do it.
2: My job is more difficult than every body else's.


In general, none of these are true. Most of us get pretty proud of the job we do. At the end of the day, very few of us leave much of a ripple when we leave.
 
Clone said:
Most of us get pretty proud of the job we do. At the end of the day, very few of us leave much of a ripple when we leave.
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David Lee Roth might be an exception re: Van Halen.
IMO Sammy didn't cut it.
 
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Clone said:
1: Nobody could do my job as well as I do it.
2: I could do most people's job as well or better than they do it.
2: My job is more difficult than every body else's.


In general, none of these are true. Most of us get pretty proud of the job we do. At the end of the day, very few of us leave much of a ripple when we leave.
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Well said. Except that we always leave behind ripples, not in the job, but in other people. Having had some very good mentors and some not so much, I know that the ripples we leave behind are not measurable for the most part, but occur in the lives we touch and those lives that touch ours. Such things do not occur just in the workplace but occur every day in our lives.

Leaving work is not leaving behind a life, but often the most vexing piece of it.
 
bonvoyage said:
Keeping up with technology is never ending task for all workers in the modern economy. Especially if you're in the tech field as I am, you need to find study time to keep up with new stuff. I have done this successfully for almost 30 years but am now getting burned out by this. Thankfully though I'm ready to call it quits as I've always worked under the assumption that I could be replaced at a moments notice.
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I'm finding this true even for volunteering! Took on a new gig last month and it requires using a laptop running Windows 10.

I had v e r y reluctantly learned W10 last year when upgrading my laptop. And now I'm glad I invested in that. It's made learning my new duties much easier.
 
Aerides said:
I stopped giving my tenure in introductions. I coached my own team to do the same, especially those in a similar bracket. If pressed I'd say "I started here in the 90's" (never mind it was 1990).
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I'm a participant in a local corporate athletic contest- because I'm 66 and can still run a mile, bicycle 3 miles, show up in public in a swimsuit and thrash through a pool, etc., I rack up a ton of points for my team because there's so little competition in my age group. (I compete as a retiree, which is permitted.)

Last year I talked to a woman from another company; her employer is a mega-corp highly visible in this competition and she's in great shape and does a lot of events such as this on her own. She's in her late 50s but doesn't look it, and doesn't want to compete because it will give away her real age (we compete in 5-year age brackets). She says most of her coworkers don't know how old she is and she's afraid of their reactions if they knew the truth. Sad.
 
athena53 said:
She's in her late 50s but doesn't look it, and doesn't want to compete because it will give away her real age (we compete in 5-year age brackets). She says most of her coworkers don't know how old she is and she's afraid of their reactions if they knew the truth. Sad.
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Well, her HR surely knows her age which, when it comes down to it, is all that matters.

In resumes for a new job however, putting "Graduated X University, 1974" is a dead(ly) giveaway.
 
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hausfrau said:
I remember one day I had an epiphany- I looked around my company and realized there was hardly anyone over 55. After that, every time I went downtown during business hours, attended a conference or visited another company, I noticed there weren't very many older people. It was a real eye opener for sure.
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Ditto here. Started my career knowing nothing, but was soon picked as the next big thing. Less than 2 decades later, I woke up to realize that almost the entire C-suite was my age or younger and I was considered the old guy in my 40's. Fortunately, I packed my own parachute over the years and enjoyed a soft touchdown into retirement.

Oh, this is an amazing thread. Must reading for anyone beginning a career, even mid career.


Clone said:
1: Nobody could do my job as well as I do it.
2: I could do most people's job as well or better than they do it.
2: My job is more difficult than every body else's.


In general, none of these are true. Most of us get pretty proud of the job we do. At the end of the day, very few of us leave much of a ripple when we leave.
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The best thing that ever happened to me career-wise was to see offshoring and layoffs at the beginning of my career. I, a clueless college kid, was brought in to replace recalcitrant grey-hairs. I fortunately realized that, logically speaking, that I would be in the same boat at some point.

I also greatly appreciated that my parents were very open about their career struggles. They loved their j*bs and encouraged me to w*rk hard to achieve my dreams. Yet, they balanced this with a health dose of reality. Stuff will happen, so be prepared to look out for yourself and your family.
 
footenote said:
I'm finding this true even for volunteering! Took on a new gig last month and it requires using a laptop running Windows 10.

I had v e r y reluctantly learned W10 last year when upgrading my laptop. And now I'm glad I invested in that. It's made learning my new duties much easier.
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That's great that you made the effort. Learning new things is the best way to keep your mind active as you get older. I've recently been helping look after relatives with Alzheimer's so I've been reading a lot on the topic. I've resolved to keep challenging myself in the future
 
I dare say my retirement was planned far in advance like many here. In my case it was an unexpected layoff in 1981 that laid the groundwork. Always a saver I endured all 4 days of it. Meanwhile I took another job and rebuilt a transmission in an old IH tractor and saved a skid loader in a dairy barn that hadn't been cleaned in a week.


With a new 18 or so % mortgage , two kids and two car payments (thanks to the company car requirements). Failure was not an option. From that point on we went from negative NW to our current condition. I'm not proud of everything I had to do but we made it. Retirement achieved as planned.
 
Cassius King said:
Diamond Dave is Van Halen. Hagar was a fill in.
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Hagar was more than a fill in...he had a very successful career as a guitarist, songwriter, and a great vocalist before Van Halen. Then Van Halen asked him to join and during the time he was there the band was the most successful they had ever been in their entire career.

Diamond Dave was a weak vocalist who did nothing on his own other than one minor hit (a cover).
 
Well, it wasn't that I didn't plan: but my health may be forcing me out at least a year before I wanted to go. Is there a OYL?
 
MichaelB said:
What does FIRECalc say?
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I am not talking to him right now I'm on an emotional rollercoaster. (But when I did, he said 100% to age 100.) I just had certain plans in place, certain things I wanted to do first. But (wo)man plans, God laughs.
 
Marie, sorry to hear that you may have to retire because of your health. This happened to my dad.
 
I basically feel the same way. Even though as I retired teacher there are plenty of PT employment in schools.
 
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