Who is working PT in retirement

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Bikechuck

Recycles dryer sheets
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Hi, I am a 61.5 yr old first time poster. I am seriously considering retirement this July but I want to hold off on taking SS at least until I reach my full retirement age of 66. My wife is a year younger and would like to work one more year and then consider retiring at 62 as well.

We are making extra mortgage payments and we should have it paid off this July at which time we will be debt free with approx $2.1 million in mostly tax deferred savings plans. I enjoy a simple low cost life style but I know that my wife is not as frugal as I am.

I think that the key to making this work without losing my mind with anxiety is to find a part time job that I would enjoy.

Has anyone beat me to this lifestyle? If so how difficult was it to find your part time job and what type of job are you doing?
 
Do you have pension with the lump sum?
The reason I ask I see people with that kind of 401 with a pension.
I will retire somewhere in that spot 1.8 to 2.1 and I am hoping that's enough, should be we are frugal day to day, but we can have our moments myself and the wife.
House will be paid off in 2 yrs and I will be 55 hope to leave 59 or sooner



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So yes I might wind up with a part time job. Not sure what I want Home Depot or a Marshall on a golf course.


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I've got a good gig writing hands-on activities for a national academic competition for high school kids and I also provide some other consulting services for the organization. Overall, it probably takes something like 200 hours per year. There are several factors that make this more than tolerable:
1) the hours are limited and are concentrated in the bad weather months,
2) the hourly pay is pretty good - certainly better than Wal-Mart greeter,
3) I can schedule my own hours and work independently (for the most part),
4) it is creative work that is related to my interests, and
5) it is intellectually challenging.

I had been doing this for several years as part of my full time employment with the organization. We had one disastrous year when my boss decided that some other folks could do it as well as I could - he was wrong about those individuals. Although there are certainly others that could do this work, the organization is currently happy with the devil they know and don't want to risk a transition.

My number one suggestion would be to find something that you enjoy.
 
I still consult (engineering) part time to the oil & gas industry, private equity companies, and law firms. Most of the work is asset acquisition due diligence, so it is specialized. It has been very lucrative, but I can easily see myself working full time again if I am not selective with projects.

As long as I am physically in good shape, this PT work is fine. I suspect I won't be doing this much longer as we don't see the need for more money and paying high taxes.

I'm currently dusting off my golf clubs and eyeballing a trip around the U.S. to visit[-] pester[/-] family.
 
DH is retired with a pension that covers our expenses. I work PT as a a school crossing guard. I started doing this in 2006 to complete my last 6 SS credits but I continue to do it because I enjoy it and all the income goes to savings. I also have a PT summer job as an usher at an outdoor concert venue (Cleveland Orchestra and various Live Nation rock/country/etc artists). Many of the other ushers are retired folks and a lot of them also usher at sports events for a local state university or our local AA baseball park. Some even drive 45 minutes to usher at the NFL stadium. It's easy, fun and not on a regular schedule which is something many retirees are avoiding.
 
Someone I know who is retired has taken a part time job at a bar down in the French Quarter, designing and operating their audiovisual system for bands and other entertainers. He enjoys it because he gets to buy and play with expensive electronics using the bar's money to do it. Also he gets to hobnob with some of the top musicians in New Orleans and gets to see the shows for free.

I am such an introvert and homebody, that that would not be something I would like. But others might have fun with something along those lines. As for me, I am completely retired, and desire no part time job now or ever.
 
First time poster here. For the past 7 years, I've also consulted part time for the oil and gas industry from my home and hope to continue the arrangement at least OMY. Thereafter, I'll be in a position to be a full-time retiree. Cannot wait!
 
I consider myself as semi-retired. I only work approximately 7 months each year. For the work months, I only need to be in office about 2.5 days a week. I used to work 13 months in a year (counting evening and weekend hours) and made much more money. (I would argue the work time is not important, the state of mind is more important). I am technically FI, but not in a comfortable sense. I would like to enjoy my semi-retirement by starting enjoying some travels that I planned for the retirement.
 
I retired 11 months ago, but still work a few hours a month wrapping up an eminent domain case that I was working on when I retired. I can't wait until it's over. I've sidestepped turning hobbies into work by declining woodworking projects and photo gigs for $. I don't want to work in retirement, but if an exciting opportunity presents itself, I may do it.
 
DH and I retired approx. 3 years ago at 62 and 59, respectively. We had far less in the bank than you do, but can live on our pensions and SS.

As a former pastor, he returned to ministry activities he enjoyed (but preferred to do as a volunteer, rather than as a professional). To earn a living, he had worked as a pharmaceutical rep for 28 years while doing volunteer ministry "on the side."

I now work a yearly contract at my former school, mentoring new teachers. The time required is simply determined by the number of teachers they need me to work with. The first year I worked 20 school days, the second year 25 school days, this year only 10. It's been a delight, as I'd also enjoyed doing this back in my California school district in the '90's.

So I still get to help a school and young colleagues, while also making my own schedule. (And it's NOT subbing..........which would be OK for extra cash. But I just don't want to get up early any more!) :nonono:
 
I'd planned on looking for part-time work after retiring. But after doing some volunteer work I quickly discovered I no longer wanted anything to do with any endeavor where my time wasn't entirely my own.
 
LitGal said:
DH and I retired approx. 3 years ago at 62 and 59, respectively. We had far less in the bank than you do, but can live on our pensions and SS.



As a former pastor, he returned to ministry activities he enjoyed (but preferred to do as a volunteer, rather than as a professional). To earn a living, he had worked as a pharmaceutical rep for 28 years while doing volunteer ministry "on the side."



I now work a yearly contract at my former school, mentoring new teachers. The time required is simply determined by the number of teachers they need me to work with. The first year I worked 20 school days, the second year 25 school days, this year only 10. It's been a delight, as I'd also enjoyed doing this back in my California school district in the '90's.



So I still get to help a school and young colleagues, while also making my own schedule. (And it's NOT subbing..........which would be OK for extra cash. But I just don't want to get up early any more!) :nonono:
Click to expand...


I have been teaching PE in summer school the last few years. Never thought a school would have PE teachers too lazy to take summer school money, but whatever, I will take it. This allows me to continue to funding my Roth yearly.


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When we moved to WV the idea was that we'd both get PT jobs but we were hazy on what type. Well, we didn't have a clue... But we were careful not to have put ourselves in a position where we'd need the income so no big deal if it didn't work out. A guy I used to work with found a PT minimum wage job at the golf pro shop and he took that for the free golf that came with it. It was also close enough that he walked to work so all was good for him.

Anyway, DW applied for several full time jobs, interviewed for a couple, but no joy. After a few years I stumbled into an easy laid-back full time job that worked out well for me for about five years but things eventually went south so I quit. I'm retired law enforcement, the job was armed security and they paid well at the time for extensive LE experience.

At this point I have no further interest in gainful employment except, perhaps, as a photographer for Playboy.
 
I worked part-time for a number of years after I was FI but before I retired, but in the same job so it's not the same as what you are thinking.

It really comes down to you annual spending. If you truly have a low cost lifestyle then $2.1 million should be plenty. Have you run your situation through firecalc?
 
The big trick with ER is to have money available outside of tax sheltered accounts. Otherwise you have to do certain things carefully to avoid the 10% withdrawal penalty.

I do some PT work , a continuation of what I was doing when working, simply because it seems really silly for me to work at some random job for minimum wage, when I can make many times that.

I mostly do it as an obligation to previous client, it easily fills our Roth contributions each year.
 
Terryjm51 said:
Do you have pension with the lump sum?
The reason I ask I see people with that kind of 401 with a pension.
I will retire somewhere in that spot 1.8 to 2.1 and I am hoping that's enough, should be we are frugal day to day, but we can have our moments myself and the wife.
House will be paid off in 2 yrs and I will be 55 hope to leave 59 or sooner



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Click to expand...

Unfortunately neither my wife nor I have a pension, so we need to manage our stash so it lasts the rest of our lives. We would also like to leave a little something for our daughters and grandchildren if we can manage to do so.

We just cancelled our term life insurance as the premiums were creeping up and we would rather invest that money at this point.
 
I haven't yet pulled the trigger at 59 but plan to leave my full time job in commercial real estate and branch off "hopefully" part time on my own. I also own a self storage business that I'll work at on a part time basis. I'm hoping it ends up being a part time job and doesn't escalate into full time or more but feel I need to do something constructive until my 56 year old wife decides to retire in 2-3 years.

Working the storage business is important since it will be a critical part of my retirement. It should generate sufficient funds to cover our living expenses once all debt is paid off. Very much enjoy reading many of the posts in this forum.
 
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Don't listen to the full retirement nazis on the board. Whatever works for you.
If you don't need the PT gig, you can throw it overboard without compunction.
 
I do freelance personal finance and early retirement writing for a blog. It's a few hours per month and pays enough to cover a week or two of groceries for the family.

It's kind of like writing a really long ER forum post but getting paid a really high hourly rate. The main difference is I have to proofread my professional writing before submitting it. Here at the forums, I can just type whatever and hope it's comprehensible to others, warts and all.
 
DH fully retired 5 years ago. When he did, I semi-retired at 56. I continued working for my same employer 1 or 2 days a week for the first few years. The last year and a half or so I've worked very part-time, from home.
 
Thanks for this thread. I'm still new to this, but being FI enabled me to leave the university earlier than planned when the culture went south. As I left some clients reached out and I'm now doing independent consulting. It is not full RE, but I like it on several levels - I control the work schedule, pick the clients and enjoy adding value. Per the below great description , I left my j*b but continued to work - on my terms with no financial pressure. I'll work 3 days on site in April and 7 in May, 11 in June, 4 in July (Not counting Navy Reserve duty).


From MMM (Great News – Early Retirement Doesn’t Mean You’ll Stop Working):
I find that when people earn their freedom from money constraints, they usually don’t stop working. Instead they start doing their best work. Looking at many of society’s highest achievers right now, the world leaders and founders of the most productive companies, I see mostly people who have already made it. And yet are still working because it means something to them.
Early retirement, according to this new definition, does not mean quitting work, even while it may well mean quitting your job. It means opting out of the bullshit portion of your work. The commuting, the politics, the production of inferior products just because your boss has found a profitable niche to exploit. When used correctly, a sizeable ‘stash can help you become a more ethical person.
 
I quit working full time at age 30. Now, at age 35, I am self employed working around 100 days per year. I don't consider myself retired or even semi-retired because i'm not FI. I guess I could be considered semi-retired. I work just enough to cover my expenses and let my investments grow. Once i'm FI i'll stop working entirely. In the mean time, it sure is nice working less than half the number of days of a typical full time worker.
 
WE do by choice & love it. We each consult p.t.in our fields.
 
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