Tomorrow I give notice to retire!

[Patagonia]

Monday I give formal notice to leave from megacorp and retire!

I'll offer the standard two week separation period, but if I get walked to the door sooner - fine by me!

Next chapter about to start - looking forward to it!

BBQ-NUT....How did it go today?

 

[BBQ-Nut]

Sorry - but this forum is blocked at work! And last night I had a bunch of personal matters to attended to.


Yesterday was surreal.


Got to work, but was not under the post Holiday face icky Monday morning cloud.


I sat at my computer and surprisingly remembered my password (heard later folks were waiting for IT help to reset everyone's passwords who had forgotten over the break).


I composed my 'letter' of resignation email to my functional supervisor and sat and looked at it for about 10 minutes - awash in different feelings, but the overriding one was that of excitement of pulling the trigger...so...I hit 'send'.


I had intimated to my functional before the break that I was pondering choices in 2015 as the current program I was on was 'downsizing' and I would be moved to a different program.


So, it wasn't a total surprise to my functional.


He replied he was sad to see me go, but would start the separation process.


Then I set about telling the team members - starting with the more senior management first and just kinda chit chatting it up.


Everyone was a bit surprised! Saying I was too 'young' to retire and how did I manage to pull that off!


I really didn't do much w*rk at all - aside from starting to clean up my cubicle and dispose of years of engineering documentation and notes that now are irrelevant and out of date, but never tossed out til now.


My last day is next Thursday.


Not sure what will be going on between now and then - there are some things to wrap up but it really is now about the 'handoff' to the designated person who will pick those tasks up...or not.


Then it was time to go home.


Like I said a bit surreal.

 

[Philliefan33]

Good for you!


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[Niuatoputapu]

It is a big step. Congratulations!

 

[2B]

My last day is next Thursday.


Not sure what will be going on between now and then - there are some things to wrap up but it really is now about the 'handoff' to the designated person who will pick those tasks up...or not.


Then it was time to go home.


Like I said a bit surreal.

Congratulations. You'll beat me by a few weeks.

DW and I decided to defer the champagne until I am truly retired.

 

[Mo Money]

Good going, BBQ! Like you, I am discretely cleaning out my office bit by bit. But I don't give notice till next week...

 

[Patagonia]

Sincere congrats! Thanks for the update. Do you mind sharing how young is too young for retiring?

 

[rodi]

BBQ - sounds like it went well.
2B - remember, you'll get a lot of grief here (in good nature) if you let it go past 3 months. We're holding you to April 5th at the latest... or else you really will be in 3 more months mode.
Mo Money - good luck in your notice giving in a few weeks.

 

[Ally]

BBQ, congratulations! I wish I could just send someone an email to retire. Unfortunately, I have to tell a board and give them more than a couple of weeks. That must be heaven to be able to leave so soon!

 

[MRG]

Congratulations. But I do have to ask, what kind of place do you work in where you would be concerned that they might walk you to the door when you announce your retirement?

Many places do that, sometimes internal security demands it.

I did ask HR to walk one person to the door. She wasn't a security risk, I didn't expect she couldn't find her way out by herself.


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[harley]

What will really bug your management is that you were able RE, despite the fact that they blocked this forum at work. Glad they didn't do that where I worked. I spent a fair amount of time on this site over the years.


And, congratulations! You'll love it.

 

[MRG]

Congratulations BBQ-Nut!

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[robertf57]

Congrats!

 

[Dog]

Congrats! Cheers to a spectacular 2015.


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[BBQ-Nut]

Sincere congrats! Thanks for the update. Do you mind sharing how young is too young for retiring?

55 by just a couple of months.

I waited for that so I could take advantage of the "rule of 55" to tap my 401k w/o penalty (but it will be only as needed and, if my estimates are correct, not a whole lot per year).

 

[2B]

BBQ - sounds like it went well.
2B - remember, you'll get a lot of grief here (in good nature) if you let it go past 3 months. We're holding you to April 5th at the latest... or else you really will be in 3 more months mode.
Mo Money - good luck in your notice giving in a few weeks.

If I go past March 31 I deserve more than what I get. I am trying to leave with the same level of courtesy I have been shown over the last 9 years. I have nothing but good to say about my boss and department.

I will complain about our accounting/payroll group. They managed to screw up my HSA deposit from the 12/26 check. It was taken out of my paycheck but hasn't shown up in my HSA account. I have faith they'll eventually get it worked out.

Yesterday, we had a quickie meeting called for my department. Wages freezes were announced until at least June. That's not too surprising based n the overall company. My division did a great job making all their financials in 2014 but we were the exception. Falling oil prices really hurt our business.

My boss is possibly nice enough to lay me off even though I've turned in my resignation. He's holding it until I'm "done."

 

[Live And Learn]

I composed my 'letter' of resignation email to my functional supervisor and sat and looked at it for about 10 minutes - awash in different feelings, but the overriding one was that of excitement of pulling the trigger...so...I hit 'send' <snip>
My last day is next Thursday.

Congratulations !!

 

[2B]

Many places do that, sometimes internal security demands it.

I did ask HR to walk one person to the door. She wasn't a security risk, I didn't expect she couldn't find her way out by herself.

I had one person escorted to the door because I though he was a security risk. He was being terminated for accessing/hacking into some company records he wasn't authorized to access. There was no doubt he knew he wasn't allowed access.

At this same company, I was laid off (somewhat expected) and following my exit interview/paperwork I was escorted to my office by an HR admin where I packed my stuff and then taken to the exit. The poor admin was embarrassed beyond belief because we had a good relationship over many years. I was given this treatment because as a senior manager I had access to documents and information that my boss (and above) wanted to make sure I didn't take. Since the lay off wasn't a surprise, I had more than enough time to take anything I wanted. Since I had created most of the documents he was worried about, it wasn't like I didn't already know everything of value in them. Some things defy logic.

I worked at one company that upon resignation the people were immediately taken to HR who would do the exit paperwork and escort you to the door. I wan't treated differently when I resigned. It kind of makes transitions difficult since you weren't supposed to contact ex-employees about work issues.

 

[rodi]

A good friend/former roommate was laid off from a company we both worked for. They had a security guard with her while she packed up her office. He offered to carry her boxes (nice) - but she told him he could follow her - and then proceeded to say goodbye to people. Her manager (a real a$$hat) came scurrying out and tried to stop her gracious goodbyes. He ended up looking really bad. My friend took her time, about 45 minutes. The security guard just standing back observing, as she went from one department to another to say goodbye. Then he carried her boxes.

One change this employer made, a few years ago - they started giving 4-5 days notice on layoffs... They realized that it gave the laid off employees dignity and space to figure out their next steps as well as the opportunity to hand off projects in an orderly fashion. It was one of the few good moves they made... after several years of downsizing...

 

[ArkTinkerer]

55 by just a couple of months.

I waited for that so I could take advantage of the "rule of 55" to tap my 401k w/o penalty (but it will be only as needed and, if my estimates are correct, not a whole lot per year).

Just to make sure--my understanding is that if you retire the year you turn 55 the rule applies. So, if its just a couple months, unless you are leaving in November 2015, the rule applies.

Edit--misread your post! Thought you missed rule of 55 by a couple months! I need to drink more coffee before posting...

 

[cranberryjoe]

Resignation submitted but my end date could be as much as 3 months out. I agreed to finish the project I'm on or until I'm not needed.

Hope that doesn't drag on too long, 2B. During my last week at work one of the managers told me in a meeting that I was being selfish and should delay my retirement until the project was finished (a month or two away - project size of about 20 people - my roles were critical but I had already trained my replacements). I told him if I did that I might never retire, as the projected end date had already slipped several times and I was sure it would slip again. I just heard last month that it was finished, over a year late.

Congrats BBQ-Nut!

 

[BBQ-Nut]

Thanks everyone.


My timing worked out well as many people were transitioning off of other projects, myself included because the period of performance on contract ended last year.


So management was trying to find 'homes' for everyone.


I didn't want to claim a spot for 2015 then decide to leave in a couple of months and leave someone out.


The notice may seem quick to some, but it actually dovetailed nicely for how the programs were budgeted and staffed.


Today, I'm cleaning up and shredding a bunch of docs and putting together the box of 'stuff' I want to bring home.

 

[2B]

Thanks everyone.


My timing worked out well as many people were transitioning off of other projects, myself included because the period of performance on contract ended last year.


So management was trying to find 'homes' for everyone.


I didn't want to claim a spot for 2015 then decide to leave in a couple of months and leave someone out.


The notice may seem quick to some, but it actually dovetailed nicely for how the programs were budgeted and staffed.


Today, I'm cleaning up and shredding a bunch of docs and putting together the box of 'stuff' I want to bring home.

Great news.

I cleaned out most of my office before Christmas. I will still take a couple of boxes home but I suspect DW will push me to trash almost everything I can't bear to part with right now. I certainly won't ever use my Perrys (a chemical engineer thingee) again but I can't bring myself to trash it yet.

I don't expect my transition to be very long. The instrument data sheets I'm working on just have to get through the client review. I really can't see this going past February.

We're also clearly having problems finding work for people that do roll off of projects. Unless the capital budgets get turned loose soon, people will not have projects to go to.

 

[harley]

Today, I'm cleaning up and shredding a bunch of docs and putting together the box of 'stuff' I want to bring home.

Regarding that box, when I retired I took a couple of boxes home. Some of it was my personal stuff, but a lot of it was things like awards (little Lucite trophies or plaques), diplomas, work related books, and a bunch of little knick knacks and doohickeys I had accumulated over my career. I took the boxes home, stuck them in the garage, and then a year or so later I threw most of it out. The books I donated. It's amazing how totally unimportant this stuff becomes once you are off of the treadmill.

 

[travelover]

Regarding that box, when I retired I took a couple of boxes home. Some of it was my personal stuff, but a lot of it was things like awards (little Lucite trophies or plaques), diplomas, work related books, and a bunch of little knick knacks and doohickeys I had accumulated over my career. I took the boxes home, stuck them in the garage, and then a year or so later I threw most of it out. The books I donated. It's amazing how totally unimportant this stuff becomes once you are off of the treadmill.

Same here. I wish I'd left the plaques and stolen more pencils.