What does it mean to be "retired"?

[FUEGO]

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Originally Posted by rodi My husband is in an even bigger quandary. He retired after decades of being a licensed architect. Turns out he can't call himself a "retired architect" because California legally restricts that term to people who pay a fairly large fee for a "retired architect" license. He can say he "retired after working as a licensed architect" - but can't say he's a "retired architect" without forking over money. Ironically - CA - land where every software engineer is an "architect" - the word "architect" is very encumbered - and all those software folks are in violation of state business code. Retired License - California Architects Board Pathways - Become an Architect - California Architects Board Career Website

Sorry to hear you're not retired!

I had the same quandary re: licenses. I called both boards I was registered with and talked through my situation.

The State Engineering board suggested I was too young to retire and filing for retirement is almost a one way street (requires approval from the whole board to reinstate after going to retired status). Much easier to stop paying the dues and drop into oblivion (license was "suspended"). I don't show up in their directory.

The State Bar asked that I file a petition to become an inactive member of the bar. Not retired exactly, but simply stopping the payment of dues would have led to some more serious consequences (disbarment?). So now I'm an inactive member of the State Bar for life I guess. I still show up in their directory of lawyers with a note that I petitioned for inactive status and I'm not currently eligible to practice law. The benefit is that I can take 30 hours of continuing ed and pay the hundreds (thousand?) of dollars fee to reinstate and then get my Saul Goodman on all I want!

[rodi]

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Originally Posted by kcowan Rodi I used to be a Professional Engineer but now I am just an engineer because I no longer pay a fee to be registered. (Of course I stopped doing engineering work in 1971.)

I never bothered with the PE stuff because my degree (BSEE) and profession (embedded software) didn't require it. But licensing in Architecture seems kind of important... same with civil and structural engineering.

The laws over the name "architect" crack me up - since an entirely unrelated field to building design (software) has co-opted the term and uses it regardless of the legality. I pointed that out to my employer's HR and they laughed and said it was the marketplace that dictates the titles... DH had to stop doing job searches using "architect" because they were 100% software.

[unclemick]

Never volunteer. Stay grumpy and curmudgeonly. 22 years.

heh heh heh - ok ok So even then one(aka me) gets nailed on occasion even if I don't want to admit it.

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcowan Rodi I used to be a Professional Engineer but now I am just an engineer because I no longer pay a fee to be registered. (Of course I stopped doing engineering work in 1971.)

I am shocked at your Unprofessional status.

[rodi]

I just realized another reason I'm not really retired. We have a granny flat in our backyard (1bedroom detached cottage). So I have the work of cashing the rent checks each month.

DH does the maintenance when anything needs fixing. And I handle the tenant turnover projects (cleaning, advertising, interviewing, etc.) But our current tenants moved in right after I retired (2 years ago) so that work has literally involved using my credit union smart phone app to deposit checks.

So many reasons other people would think I'm not retired. But I would argue my life right now is a lot better than when I was working for megacorp.... and it sure feels like retirement to me.

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodi So many reasons other people would think I'm not retired. But I would argue my life right now is a lot better than when I was working for megacorp.... and it sure feels like retirement to me.

You should also mention how short the commute is these days!

[FUEGO]

I'm in the middle of reading Armada by Ernest Cline (of Ready Player One fame).

There's a character in the book that "retired" after making a killing in tech stocks back in the 1999 tech bubble, then cashed in and opened up a video game store that also trades in used video/PC games and has a "war room" for rent for LAN parties and online clan battles. The owner works very little, doesn't care about making a profit at his store, and considers a slow day a good day because he has more time to play video games. He's okay just breaking even or operating at a loss because it's fun to be in the biz. He wants to introduce the younger gamers to the video/PC classics and uses his store as part of that philanthropy.

Interesting take on "retirement" in literature. The guy is at his store probably 40+ hours per week but mostly plays video games all day. Is he "retired"?

(I haven't finished the book, so maybe the guy loses all his money due to exceeding a 4% SWR and has to go back to work and/or operate his store for a profit)

[harley]

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Originally Posted by FUEGO Interesting take on "retirement" in literature. The guy is at his store probably 40+ hours per week but mostly plays video games all day. Is he "retired"? (I haven't finished the book, so maybe the guy loses all his money due to exceeding a 4% SWR and has to go back to work and/or operate his store for a profit)

I won't spoil the ending, but he's definitely not retired. I read the book when it first came out because it sounded like a rewrite of one of my all time favorite SF movies - The Last Starfighter. It was not bad, and I read they had sold the movie rights. I hope they make the movie and do a good job. I still watch TLS occasionally. The incredibly cutting edge special effects now look more like special-ed effects. But it's fun to watch.

[2017ish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FUEGO Sorry to hear you're not retired! I had the same quandary re: licenses. ... The State Bar asked that I file a petition to become an inactive member of the bar. Not retired exactly, but simply stopping the payment of dues would have led to some more serious consequences (disbarment?). So now I'm an inactive member of the State Bar for life I guess. I still show up in their directory of lawyers with a note that I petitioned for inactive status and I'm not currently eligible to practice law. The benefit is that I can take 30 hours of continuing ed and pay the hundreds (thousand?) of dollars fee to reinstate and then get my Saul Goodman on all I want!

Tennessee is more difficult, from the application for inactive status:

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1. I desire to have my license to practice law in Tennessee placed on exempt status; 2. Please check one of the following: A. I am 65 years of age or older. OR B. I am inactive with the Tennessee CLE Commission; I am at least 50 years of age; and I have not been practicing law in Tennessee for at least the past 15 years.

Won't be able to meet either of those. More interesting for DW--trying to find a way for her to maintain board certification without being in medical practice (just to keep locums possibility in pocket for response to black swan event(s)). May not be doable; makes sense on one level, but a P.I.A.

[FUEGO]

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Originally Posted by harley I won't spoil the ending, but he's definitely not retired. I read the book when it first came out because it sounded like a rewrite of one of my all time favorite SF movies - The Last Starfighter. It was not bad, and I read they had sold the movie rights. I hope they make the movie and do a good job. I still watch TLS occasionally. The incredibly cutting edge special effects now look more like special-ed effects. But it's fun to watch.

I got the feeling that may be the case - that there is something more to his character. I'm only 11% of the way through the book so just getting started.

At least the superficial portrayal of him reminds me of many "retired" people I know.

My grandfather, for example, retired from his auto shop and gave it to his son when he was in his 70's. That didn't prevent him from going to the shop every day, drinking Miller High Life in the shop office while looking at girls in bikinis in the auto parts catalogs/mags. He probably turned a wrench every now and again just for kicks but I bet he spent more time peeing than working.

[FUEGO]

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Originally Posted by 2017ish Tennessee is more difficult, from the application for inactive status: Won't be able to meet either of those. More interesting for DW--trying to find a way for her to maintain board certification without being in medical practice (just to keep locums possibility in pocket for response to black swan event(s)). May not be doable; makes sense on one level, but a P.I.A.

So what do you do? Just stop paying the Bar fees and get disbarred? Have you called your state Bar to ask what the best move is? I have to imagine there's plenty that decide to take a long term hiatus from the practice of law before age 65 and don't want to wait 15 years to petition for inactive status.

If you wanted to maintain an inactive license somewhere so you could reinstate later, you could look into reciprocity and join a bar in a different state with liberal inactive rules (like NC apparently). From what I recall I only have to pay the fee to go active and take 30 or 45 CLE hours (so a couple thousand $ max probably).

[2017ish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FUEGO So what do you do? Just stop paying the Bar fees and get disbarred? Have you called your state Bar to ask what the best move is? I have to imagine there's plenty that decide to take a long term hiatus from the practice of law before age 65 and don't want to wait 15 years to petition for inactive status. If you wanted to maintain an inactive license somewhere so you could reinstate later, you could look into reciprocity and join a bar in a different state with liberal inactive rules (like NC apparently). From what I recall I only have to pay the fee to go active and take 30 or 45 CLE hours (so a couple thousand $ max probably).

My firm will keep me enrolled for a year--hoping that I'll change my mind and do a little part time. And I'll double up on CLE so that I have it in hand for the calendar year after I quit. I'm a member of other bars, but in the unlikely event I ever need to practice again, it would be here.... (I took 15 years off previously to raise kids without much problem--but different state of licensure at that time and ended up doing half-time adjunct teaching.)

In our present situation, I'll likely keep it active for a bit (couple years?), then just tender resignation in whatever manner the Board deems most appropriate. Luckily, the cost to keep it in place is not much in our big picture.

[JonnyM]

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Originally Posted by Music Lover I retired from full time work in a government office, but still get paid for the occasional music gig. However, since music is my hobby I consider myself fully retired with the good fortune to occasionally get paid for a hobby that I enjoy.

Plus One

And I only play what I wanna play...