Fear of retiring and working part time.

[Snow White]

I am new to this forum so feel free to redirect me if this question has been asked recently but I am curious about how many people worked part time and "eased" into retirement and how you managed a fear of retiring (if you were fearful).

Hubby retired at 60 about 5 1/2 years ago but I still work full time and I turned 59 this month. He is a very happy and busy retiree with no regrets. I am anxious about retiring even though the numbers are clear that I could quit tomorrow and we'd be fine. Our house is paid for, we have no debt and we both will have pensions & SS. We have saved 1.2M in various retirement accounts and we are relatively frugal people. Sounds like I need therapy more than anything else! My tentative plan is to give notice at work in the next few months and then get a job working 2-3 days. I am an RN so fortunately I CAN work as long as I want.

Was anyone else fearful about pulling the trigger and what helped you?

 

[ERhoosier]

What fear?? You seem to have the best of all worlds. As an RN just keep up your license & work as much or little as you like. If you enjoy your current employment setting, no harm in asking if they might allow you to continue on in a part-time/temp/'traveler' status.

Good luck!

 

[heeyy_joe]

Welcome to the forum. You are all set - to do whatever you decide. Now that's power!

 

[Accidental Retiree]

Do you want to retire? It doesn't sound like you really want to just yet.

 

[Snow White]

Do you want to retire? It doesn't sound like you really want to just yet.

Accidental Retiree...that is probably the REAL issue. Maybe I am not really ready yet. I have a stressful managerial position now but I miss seeing patients and providing direct care. Perhaps a part time job would let me feel good about making a contribution and being of service. Thanks for that insight...it sounds like I might need a job change more than completely retiring at least for the short term.

 

[LOL!]

I have had no fear whatsoever because my spouse continues to work. With my Sugar Mama, I think I am all set for the rest of my life.

 

[obgyn65]

To the OP : like you I am afraid of making the jump to FIRE since I am still relatively young (48 this year) and I am planning until age 95. So like many here, I have the one-more-year syndrome. Nothing wrong with that. Do what feels comfortable to you. Welcome to the forum.

 

[traineeinvestor]

To the OP : like you I am afraid if making the jump to FIRE since I am still relatively young (48 this year) and I am planning until age 95. So like many here, I have the one-more-year syndrome. Nothing wrong with that. Do what feels comfortable to you. Welcome to the forum.

Ditto

I added another year now and have a (very) part time arrangement after I retire on 30 September this year (age 47). The first was fear of running out of money. The second is fear of running out of things to do (I know - pathetic isn't it?).

 

[Snow White]

Ditto

I added another year now and have a (very) part time arrangement after I retire on 30 September this year (age 47). The first was fear of running out of money. The second is fear of running out of things to do (I know - pathetic isn't it?).

Maybe working part time somewhat to fill our time isn't pathetic and just an appropriate (for us) life style? I've always been a bit of a workaholic but have been blessed with a career as a nurse that I honestly love. I am now realizing that much of my discomfort is that I have "progressed" up the ladder to a level of management that I don't enjoy. Trainee Investor, you are only 47 and could have 40-50 years in retirement so I think you are smart to be aware of potentially running out of things to do and planning for that contingency!

I am so ambivalent about fully retiring so I think my goal for 2013 will be to leave full time employment and find more satisfying part time work. Thanks y'all for helping me think this through!

 

[Ronstar]

Working part time is not pathetic. Do what you want to do and don't worry about what others think. As an RN, you should be able to get a good non-management role if you desire.

I enjoy my part time work. I sold my share of our business, and now I'm back doing land surveying 1-2 days a week on my terms.

You can always try a part time gig and quit if it isn't enjoyable

 

[Dawg52]

Maybe working part time somewhat to fill our time isn't pathetic and just an appropriate (for us) life style? I've always been a bit of a workaholic but have been blessed with a career as a nurse that I honestly love.

My SIL has done this. She's a Neonatal nurse and loves it. Actually she really isn't part time as she works 3 days a week, 12 hour shifts. But she has lot's of vacation time and can rearrange her schedule with other nurses to slip off and travel. She is 62 and plans to go on a couple of more years even though she has plenty to retire on.

 

[Redbugdave]

I would also say to do what makes you happy. If you like to work...then do that. One option would be to work till SS age, then retire/quit and start your SS...and live happily ever after! Or work a little longer and live happily ever after...

 

[pb4uski]

I worked part time for many years prior to retiring. While I enjoyed work I worked part time principally to avoid frequent travel that I had grown tired of.

If you still enjoy what you do and are not ready to fully retire, then I like the idea of getting a different job that is 3 days a week but is principally patient contact and not managerial. Would it be possible to downshift into such a role with your current employer? (Luckily, it was for me so I didn't need to go through the uncertainty/stress of a new job and new coworkers).

My dad did something very similar. He came up through the ranks in sales and was a branch manager but tired of sitting behind a desk and wanted to be out in the field visiting customers. He left the branch manager job and got a sales job and was much happier.

 

[HighRoller]

I am new to this forum so feel free to redirect me if this question has been asked recently but I am curious about how many people worked part time and "eased" into retirement and how you managed a fear of retiring (if you were fearful).QUOTE]

In the back of my mind I probably had similar fears (of not having enough to do) so when I retired I decided to keep up my professional certifications/credentials, just in case. It's been over a year now and I have had several consulting job offers but have turned them all down, so any such fears have pretty much gone away now. Some days/weeks, I wonder how I'm going to get to everything done that I want to do.

 

[travelover]

I planned to work part time when I retired, but I never did. I quickly came to resent commitments on my time - even when I had nothing planned at all.

That said, do what you want. Don't be afraid to start and stop if it doesn't work out. That is what the FI part of FIRE is all about. You are in the driver's seat.

 

[Midpack]

I am so ambivalent about fully retiring so I think my goal for 2013 will be to leave full time employment and find more satisfying part time work. Thanks y'all for helping me think this through!

"Pathetic" doesn't enter into this IMO. Working full time, part time or retired and not working at all are all fine options.

Being FI (a great goal/accomplishment in itself) does not mean you are 'supposed to retire,' it's just one of the options. I worked about 5-7 years past FI (I was fortunate career-wise) before retiring. If I was still enjoying it, I'd happily still be working at my old career/position, it just got old after so many years. Time to try something else. I'd have gladly gone PT (not an option in my career) and I may still look for an encore career, but I'm enjoying retired/not working for now.

 

[Amethyst]

When I read the thread title, my first thought was, "That's my fear, too - that I'll retire, and then discover that I need to work part time."

Amethyst

I planned to work part time when I retired, but I never did. I quickly came to resent commitments on my time - even when I had nothing planned at all.

 

[Moemg]

Welcome ,
I am also an RN . I switched from a stressful full time position to part time six years before retirement . I was FI but my husband had recently died so I wanted to stay busy . I worked part time in an Outpatient Surgery Center. What a hoot after years in a major hospital it was like a paid vacation . I finally got burnt out and fully retired but several of my RN friends are still working at 66 and enjoying it . If you still enjoy it keep working .You will know when it is time to leave . Good Luck !

 

[Meadbh]

Of course Moemg has the best perspective on this, having experienced it personally. I am a physician and over the years have worked with many, many nurses who "retired" when FI and then returned on a casual or part time basis for as long as they enjoyed the work. They had the best of both worlds. Nursing management is certainly more stressful than most types of clinical nursing practice (though clinical nurses might not appreciate that!) so perhaps your first step should be to move back to direct patient care and see how you enjoy it. Hopefully you can work in a reasonably low stress environment, e.g. a clinic rather than an ED, and avoid night shifts!

 

[HFWR]

...resent commitments on my time - even when I had nothing planned at all.

Nothing is something!

 

[Amethyst]

Not only that, it can be very demanding of one's time!

Nothing is something!

 

[ERhoosier]

Nursing management is certainly more stressful than most types of clinical nursing practice (though clinical nurses might not appreciate that!) so perhaps your first step should be to move back to direct patient care and see how you enjoy it. ....

I have many RN friends & relatives who might take ya to blows over that one In fact it's rather common for RN's in ICU's, ER's, & large hospital OR's to transition to management positions for stress-relief. But I'll bet most all would agree that you should do direct pt care if that's what gives you the most satisfaction, and that there is no shame at all in working PT, split shifts, or whatever works best for you. There's always a place for good nurses!!!

 

[jclarksnakes]

I thoroughly enjoyed working parttime my last several years in nursing. All my nursing experience was in direct patient care. It seems to me that nursing management is neither more or less stressful than direct patient care but that direct patient care is more rewarding and less boring. The reason I never got into management was mostly because all the nurse managers seemed to spend a LOT of time in meetings.

 

[ER Nurse]

Anyone else besides me having big issues with letting go of bedside nursing? The new demands on documentation to proof quality of care are unbelievable. This leaves even less time to be with the patient. Half of the shift is staring at the computer screen.
At 62 years of age and having decades of bedside nursing experience, it is difficult to transition to other positions. It appears that the age factor comes in here.

Any thoughts?

 

[ER Eddie]

I'm not a nurse, but I work with a lot of them and was married to one. Although I'd probably faint if I tried to stick someone, lol, I envy their job mobility. If you don't like your job, you can find another one without too much trouble.

Snow White, you didn't really expand on what your fears were, exactly, but I'm guessing they were a combination of financial ("will we have enough?") and fulfillment-related (you love patient care and don't want to give that up).

I'll just point out that your nursing career gives you a lot of flexibility and options. If you don't like the way a particular part-time job feels, you can switch to another. You can retire completely, and then, if it doesn't suit you, you can jump back into the work force, assuming you've kept up your license.

In other words, you can try multiple avenues without fearing that any decision is final or irrevocable. If you don't like it, your career gives you a lot of flexibility to simply choose a different path. No decisions are final. Whatever you choose, if it doesn't work out, you can just choose something else. It's not like you have to figure out in advance what the one right choice is. You can experiment and try different things, see what suits you.

Have fun! Sounds like you're entering a nice phase of your career, where you can pick and choose what you want to do (and how much).