Why Did You Retire? -- Poll only for those currently, fully retired

[Eagle43]

I worked for 42 years; have two pensions and substantial investments. Toss in Tricare, what's not to like? So, retired because I can.

[wallygator69]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2B I am afraid my poll is being misunderstood. The "I just had enough of work and I'll make do financially" (next to last) was meant to be you just got angry, frustrated and left before calculating how you'd do before you quit/retired. It's more a spur of the moment and not a "I got tired of work did the numbers and I can go so I did." That would be one of the first responses. You decided you had had enough and when the numbers felt right you left. Feel free to change your answers if that's the case.

Hi,

I think the level of intelligence on this board is apparent after spending a few minutes reading posts.

I don't think many people here would jump of a bridge without thinking it throuhg first.

DW and I got fed up, her with mega corp piling more s^&**&^t on with no rewards. Me with a care free sales job that turned into not being able to look at your friends/customers in the face.

But of course we ran the numbers.

If we waited 5 more years we could have lived like Kings. Opted for 5 years more of freedom to live like Duke's.

Few good friends and a BIL dropping dead makes it a bit easier..

All the best

W

[Corporateburnout]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2B But you are if for no other reason that "other." At first you weren't psychologically ready when the shock came. Then you looked at the numbers and decided you could (what method did you use?). Or you "cracked up" and just had to get out because of the stress and figured out after the fact how you could get by financially. Been there, done that and have the T-shirt. In my case I didn't feel financially comfortable, never felt "retired" and went back to work as soon a decent position opened up.

[unclemick]

Something else

I was canned at 49 - aka layed off - my no 2 pencil said no way did we have enough - so I became an unemployed really, really, really cheap bastard until time in the market and a small pension at 55 made me 'officially retired'. Some time after 11 yrs - discovered The Retire Early Home Page and became a high class ER - NOW WITH a Curmudgeon certificate.

heh heh heh heh heh - no way was I permitted to leave New Orleans or 'da camp' over Lake Ponchartrain for something silly like work.

[Corporateburnout]

Opps......... I pressed the post button instead of preview

Youbet, how did you manage to work for years under the threat of outsourcing? The morale in Megacorp must have been lousy. We are going through the same situation which is making it extremely difficult to motivate the workforce. Although no details have been firmed up yet but the rumors are all over the place. I am waiting for the decision to be announced to hopefully get a separation deal that might be my ticket to ER......

[Independent]

When I was 50 I was nervous about my job and trying to decide whether to look for another. The company had a good severence deal (at that time) so I decided I was better off hoping to get the kids through high school before they RIFed me.

But while I was thinking about that, I did some numbers and decided that we could live okay on about 1/3 my salary once the kids were gone. If I stayed to 55, I would qualify for a modest pension, and with the 401k that would fund the 1/3.

I also figured that if I made it to 59, I would have enough cushion that I wouldn't need to worry. I ended up making it to 59, with both good and bad days on the job. The most enjoyable thing I did in the last couple years was work on a number cruncher aimed at telling people whether or not they had enough to retire (I worked for a financial services company).

Finally made a list of a half dozen reasons that people work. Decided none of them applied to me, so I left. I did volunteer to stop back in occasionally to work on the number cruncher, kind of the "geezer focus group of one".

[Dawg52]

Simple. Frigging tired of work. Want to play golf full time. Thats it.

[youbet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Corporateburnout Opps......... I pressed the post button instead of preview Youbet, how did you manage to work for years under the threat of outsourcing? The morale in Megacorp must have been lousy.

There were some difficult morale issues. Obviously, when a company sees the writing on the wall that much work will need to be outsourced or the whole company will go under, it gets tough. These headcount reductions took the form of outsourcing and also from moving operations to MegaCorp owned facilities offshore.

As I recall, the first step was a voluntary severance package you could apply for. MegaCorp decided who could go and when they could go. Benefits were very generous and this program was fairly successful.

That was followed by several years of involuntary separations and there were indeed some painful times.

Personally, I had nothing to lose by staying. We "battened down the hatches" at home knowing I could be out of work at any time. But, for me, the timing was pretty good. We were more or less FI and the severance package would just serve as a reward for staying on. So I did. After being part of moving thousands of jobs offshore, I was finally added to "the list" myself and turned off the lights on my way out.

No regrets. No bitterness towards MegaCorp. It's the way things are today and I was personally treated relatively well and only know of a small handful of examples of people who weren't.

[heyyou]

Worked and saved toward early retirement for as long as I had an adult job. Kept the job that paid best for that reason. Bailed out when my pension surpassed my expenses, and my portfolio hit specific multiples of same. Each multiple was a milemarker on my path to ER.

Long before calculators or Bengen's numbers, one could compare portfolio yield in dollars to job income.

[Mr._johngalt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by youbet No regrets. No bitterness towards MegaCorp. It's the way things are today and I was personally treated relatively well and only know of a small handful of examples of people who weren't.

On Saturday, I bumped into a couple who used to leave nearby.
They moved out of state. Highly educated professionals, 50ish.
He lost his position about 3 weeks ago and her employer was in
deep doo-doo and considering Chap. 11 unless they got bought out.

An aside. Her last week's paycheck was a week early. No explanation.

Anyway, no whining. They recognize this is all part of capitalism.

JG

[windsurf]

DW had already retired from teaching with the relative security of state teachers' retirement and available discounted (for her, not me) health insurance. We had no debt, about a mil in savings (2/3 sheltered). I had dollars to come from firm equity (@70k per year for five years decreasing to @26k per year for an additional five years). At the end of that ten years, SS is there at age 67. In hte meantime, I am getting an MFA and hope to teach college level at least part-time. I consider the teaching a labor of love absolutely distinct from the grind.

[yakers]

Well, I'm still working but my wife retired from teaching earlier this year. It was a combination of circumstances that led to her decision. First, I am still working and that covers income issues. Our youngest child is in his last year of high school and will be going away to college in Sept 07, although she loves teaching her school was burning her out. Now she 'works' about 4 hours a week placing student teachers in classrooms, almost no pay, but she loves it.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by yakers Now she 'works' about 4 hours a week placing student teachers in classrooms

Why does it take so long? Are the student teachers fighting back or running away?

[sgeeeee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords Why does it take so long? Are the student teachers fighting back or running away?

They are if they know what they're about to face.

[Sparky]

DW HATED his job and we figured that we had enough for him to quit and I would work part time till I was 55 (to qualify for employer sponsored health insurance).

He quit in 2002 at 44... Oops... then I got laid off in 2003 at 44...

It took sometime to figure our that we could BOTH RE with FI. We've since moved and spent about $100K in renovation and we still are doing better than expected with a 4% SWR...

[Sparky]

Oops...

I meant DH...

[astromeria]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparky DW HATED his job

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparky Oops... I meant DH...

Darn, I thought we had our first married, FIREd gay couple.

[sgeeeee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by astromeria Darn, I thought we had our first married, FIREd gay couple.

not that there's anything wrong with that (after Seinfeld).

[MJ]

I have always believed that it is everyone's G-d given right to have a DW.

[Mr._johngalt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgeeeee not that there's anything wrong with that (after Seinfeld).

We're not gay! Of course not. I have many gay friends. George. "My father is gay!" Reporter, "I know what I heard." George, "Do you wanta have sex right now? You wanta have sex? Come on baby!"

(Yes, I have seen a lot of Seinfeld) I lead a lonely life.

JG