People Who Should Retire But Don't

[janeeyre]

Doctors, teachers, etc. are positions that are vocations not jobs and the people who hold those jobs generally love them. However, the initital topic of this thread states that workers are taking unnecessary abuse. There is no way a FI person would put up with that unless they want to hurt themselves (form of masochism) and I know someone like that.

 

[JustCurious]

I think there are several reasons why some people continue to work after being FI:

1. They want or need the status and sense of importance that their position gives them.

2. Making money becomes a way to keep score, to objectively compare and demonstrate their worth to society as compared to others.

3. Some people develop a social network and a peer group based on their professional position, and they don't want to remove themselves from their peer group or social group.

4. The resources that it takes to become FI for some people continues to escalate and increase (on a real basis) because some people continually increase their cost and standard of living as they become more financially succesful. So, what may appear to be FI to you or me may not be considered FI to some folks who become very succesful because they put themselves on a "make more and spend more" treadmill.

5. Some people simply like what they do for a living and don't want to stop.

 

[dumpster56]

I was substitute teaching yesterday in a physical education class. We were in a middle school the other sub was 77 years old! He was an still runs a bit forgetful and he was reading the newspaper while the two classes were playing softball. Me 51 and just ERd a few months ago, he is working like I am for the extra cash and to have some fun. I was impressed with this old guy. I may even run some slow miles with him.

 

[Nords]

I think there are several reasons why some people continue to work after being FI:
1. They want or need the status and sense of importance that their position gives them.
2. Making money becomes a way to keep score, to objectively compare and demonstrate their worth to society as compared to others.
3. Some people develop a social network and a peer group based on their professional position, and they don't want to remove themselves from their peer group or social group.

I wish I could find that article someone posted a while back about the office building for retired executives with nothing to do and no place to do it in... was that you, Cut-Throat, or was it someone else?

 

[Meadbh]

Perhaps that's why universitites who appoint professors emeriti provide them with space to hang their coats and mingle. Some of them keep puttering around for years!

 

[Martha]

I wish I could find that article someone posted a while back about the office building for retired executives with nothing to do and no place to do it in... was that you, Cut-Throat, or was it someone else?

Here is the thread: http://early-retirement.org/forums/index.php?topic=8243.msg148058#msg148058

I still have an office. I am going to visit it in a week or two. Someday they are going to make me clean it out. Not sure where I am going to put all the stuff. I do like my office, it is a nice, comfortable work space. Or just a nice space to sit and hold court.

 

[Nords]

Well, depsite Cut-Throat's attempt to completely disembowel the thread, the link was quoted.

Unfortunately the Star-Tribune took down their own article too...

Someday they are going to make me clean it out. Not sure where I am going to put all the stuff. I do like my office, it is a nice, comfortable work space. Or just a nice space to sit and hold court.

Is it stuff that you'd actually use in your home or on the road? Otherwise I'm thinking Craigslist & Goodwill.

Everything from my office worth keeping ended up on a 3x2 section of our garage wall right over the dryer. I did move the chunk of anchor chain back to my study desk.

 

[Martha]

The art on the walls can be used at home, or sold. I can leave the plants. The furniture belongs to work. Most of the reference materials belong to work. The big thing is that this is where I kept all our personal files. Taxes and supporting documentation going back to 1984. Files on all the property we ever owned. Insurance files. I have to find space for a good portion of this stuff (though the old tax returns could get ditched).

 

[Nords]

Taxes and supporting documentation going back to 1984. Files on all the property we ever owned. Insurance files. I have to find space for a good portion of this stuff (though the old tax returns could get ditched).

I still have all that crap stored in our hurricane shelter closet under the steps. I'll let our heirs sort it out...

 

[haha]

My FIL has had two complete careers, 2 retirements and now at 93 he is a part time teacher at a middle school. He started out as a paratrooper, landed in the Normandy invasion, went to Korea and had various stateside postings after. He retired O6 when Viet Nam was still a little known spot for special ops and CIA, with 2 master’s degrees. He then immediately went to work to get his PhD in math. He taught in several private colleges and wound up at a large state university for another career, and finally retired not too long ago. He tried various entrepreneurial gigs, but found that his most comfortable niche is in an organization. He was not too happy being around home, but he found this part time teaching job that he really enjoys and seems to work well for the school and the kids too. My wife is visiting and she and her mother had to do some outings without him because he had commitments to his students! Between you and me, I think this may be a least a small part of the appeal of continuing to work after >75 years in the workforce.

Obviously, at 93 if he were going to retire he would have done by now. I would say he is a guy who shouldn’t retire, and hasn’t, and wont!

Ha

 

[Helen]

Many people do this... as has been mentioned before... look at every CEO of a major company...

We have an executive that beats up people all the time... many keep quiting he is so bad... he is in his upper 60s or early 70s... but never had to work a day in his life... was FI as a kid... but has worked all his life.. he LOVES it...

And since he is in charge, he does not have to put up with other peoples crap... someone who knew him many decades ago said that when he was young he went up to an EVP and cursed him out because he was doing something stupid...

This guy sounds like a psychopath. I'm sure he's there for the power his job gives him.

 

[Zoocat]

When I worked in a lodge at Denali one summer three years, one of my co workers at the front desk was a 68 yr old woman who had worked in the national parks for 4-5 years every summer. She loved the adventure and the people she met. There were other seniors and young people from eastern European countries. Sure, she wasn't as sharp as the younger workers but she kept up with me, fifteen years younger. I think she had an interesting experience working in the lodge (even though tiring) that she would never have been able to replicate as a tourist.

 

[dmpi]

Don't get me started. I work with some old geezers who are well past their sell by date. Enough already!

Why quit if you get paid to do nothing?

 

[audreyh1]

Why quit if you get paid to do nothing?

Because you actually want to do something that no one would pay you to do?

Audrey

 

[dumpster56]

Why quit if you get paid to do nothing?

Get this, today I am a substitute for a home economics teacher who is on a field trip with almost all of the students in her 3 classes. I am getting paid to hand out a test and talk about how to cook/barbeque Chicken and ribs. Oh and play on a computer.

I get to pick and choose where and when and what to sub for. I have my pick of well over 20 jobs a day in 10 different high schools and Middle schools in the Raleigh NC area. This is just the easiest thing I have ever done. And i also can work when i want to.

This sure beats my old Newark NJ teaching days.

 

[haha]

Get this, today I am a substitute for a home economics teacher who is on a field trip with almost all of the students in her 3 classes. I am getting paid to hand out a test and talk about how to cook/barbeque Chicken and ribs. Oh and play on a computer.

I get to pick and choose where and when and what to sub for. I have my pick of well over 20 jobs a day in 10 different high schools and Middle schools in the Raleigh NC area. This is just the easiest thing I have ever done. And i also can work when i want to.

This sure beats my old Newark NJ teaching days.

You have it made NewGuy.

You were a PE teacher and coach, right? Do you nevertheless sub in math, science, and English?

Ha

 

[megacorp-firee]

Why quit if you get paid to do nothing?

So you can do nothing on your terms.... looking busy can be real hard work.

 

[dumpster56]

Gang my day got even better. At 1pm the teacher who I was Substitute teaching for came back from her trip came back to the classroom and said hey I have some things to do in the class so go on home!

Then I was asked to be an Algebra II teacher tomorrow and get this was told to bring a book, she has a student teacher who is going to teach the 3 blocks, they just need a certified teacher in the room! Sweet I am there!! Another 100 bucks and her day ends at 12:45!

 

[BarbaraAnne]

Newguy, I love to read your posts....you remind me of my northeast roots!
You've got it made...good for you!

 

[TromboneAl]

one of my co workers at the front desk was a 68 yr old woman who had worked in the national parks for 4-5 years every summer.

This reminds me of some of the docents at the Redwood National Park visitor's center. These guys love to talk -- too much. Ask a simple yes/no question, and they'll talk for 10 minutes.

 

[donheff]

Man Newguy you seemed to have walked into the mythical "cake job." I was a sub in Chicago in the early 70s and I don't remember it being all that easy. One time in a 6th grade class on the ground floor a BIG kid from the high school next door was standing in the window harassing kids in my class. I tried to run him off and he started climbing in the window after me. One of my kids said something like "watch out, our teacher know karate" - the kid backed out pointing at me and mumbling something. I later discovered you could put in for half day classes and was able to get a morning gym assignment and an afternoon special ed assignment that lasted for several weeks -- that was fun. I couldn't teach now without going back and taking some more courses and doing some student teaching. I had a "provisional" certification of some sort. There was a teacher shortage at the time.

 

[FinallyRetired]

One guy who should have retired is this NASA nutcase who couldn't handle the stress. Fortunately not many go postal with guns but there are many who kill themselves through heart attacks or other health problems.

 

[OKLibrarian]

FIL should have retired before his health forced it on him. Unfortunately, they weren't in a position to do it financially before then. Reason #735 we're working on FIRE--his death last year lit a fire (so to speak) under both our butts.

We've also got a cataloger who is in her late 70s--she loves coming to work every day, seems to need the socialization, but is getting slower physically and mentally as the years go on. It's a tough situation for us (especially my boss), as on one hand someone else could do the job more efficiently, but on the other I'm not sure she'd live even a year after retirement.

 

[retire@40]

Ken Lay is another guy that should have retired a loooooooong time ago. If he did, he would probably still be alive and enjoying his millions, Enron may still have been in business, and all the Enron employees may not have lost their life savings.

 

[dumpster56]

Another fantastic part time experience. Saturday track meet. We met the varsity track team members who were entered in the Invitational down here in raleigh yesterday at the meet, so we did not have to take the bus. Meet started at 8am cioaches were givin free coffee , bojangles breakfast. Team got to the meet parents and some drove themselves. Meet started Our Girls team broke two school records the boys team members had some personal best times. Sunny 70 degrees no wind. We were done at 11:45 am. Left for a day of fishin on the kayak.