Recent content by BobM

I retired at 56 about 20 months ago. I selected my ER date (12/23/05) a little over 3 years earlier. I did not keep it a secret. I told everyone, especially my boss, for succession planning purposes. It was very important to me that I left on my terms, when I wanted to. I have seen too many...

Hi. I am retired fed govt. also. I left in December 2005 and I have not missed work a nano-second. I too saved my leave time for an entire year (even had some "credit hours" to cash in) and got a check for $18,600.00 after taxes. Sorry to hear that "early out" is not an option for you this...

Probably more than the money issue is fear of "free time" that keeps people working. I know so many people my age (58) and older who could easily retire, but they always say "I wouldn't know what to do". Infortunately, if you've waited this long to even give passing thought to that subject, it...

I strongly recommend that you look for an "Institute for Continued Learning" or a "Learning in Retirement" organization near where you live. They are usually affiliated with univeristies or colleges. Go to Elderhostel: Welcome! and on the left hand side under ABOUT US, scroll down to...

It didn't take too long after I retired to discover that the traffic was much worse on the weekends and the stores are much more crowded. Did grocery shopping today and it was wonderfully uncrowded.

Hello everyone. I have been visiting the ER forums for a while and decided to join. There is a lot of good info here. I am 58 and retired in 12/05, so I have been "out" for about a year and a half. I have a pension of $65k per year that is cola'd and I carried over health insurance from my...