Fear of retiring and working part time.

[mountaintosea]

I think you will know when and if you want to fully retire. It hit me like a ton of bricks! All of a sudden I said enough is enough! I had planned to work one more year but decided it wasn't worth it. I've never looked back. No regrets.

 

[ICNTR]

I had the same concern for quite a few years. Finally decided we were indeed FI and we had put off moving to our preferred location nearer family for too long. That desire to relocate finally made me resign.

16 months later and NO REGRETS AT ALL. I always thought I may enjoy part time contract work for old megacorp and I do indeed. I take the assignments I want, do a lot of it from home, and am amazed and grateful for the hourly rate these arrangements can command. Since working is "optional" it is much less stressful and basically feels to me like another retirement hobbly that just happens to pay well. Still a lot of pressure to do well and "be worth it" though but that is part of what makes it rewarding. DW has worked part time for years and still enjoys it so we have not actually had to even draw off any savings yet.......(does that make me not retired?...do I care?)

Anyway, I am happy with our decision and really like my pathetic semi-retirement. Best of luck to you with your decision. Enjoy the ride.

 

[kyounge1956]

Accidental Retiree...that is probably the REAL issue. Maybe I am not really ready yet. I have a stressful managerial position now but I miss seeing patients and providing direct care. Perhaps a part time job would let me feel good about making a contribution and being of service. Thanks for that insight...it sounds like I might need a job change more than completely retiring at least for the short term.

I know it has been some months since you wrote this but I missed the thread when you first started it. I ran into a similar situation on my job, well before I was in a position to retire. What I did was make a lateral transfer to a different position with the same employer. I was working for a local government agency but if you are with a large hospital or organization of several hospitals, lateral transfers may also be possible for you. Since the transfer got me out of the supervisory role, there was also a considerable pay cut, but I was so miserable as a supervisor that I didn't care, and hadn't been spending my whole paycheck anyway so the loss of income was pretty painless. Financially speaking, you could stop working altogether, so I don't imagine you'd care about a pay cut either. For me, making a transfer turned out to be a great solution to my job problem. I got rid of most of my employment-related miseries, but didn't lose any years of service toward my pension, and I didn't have to go through a full-scale job search. I guess I should hope I'm too late for this to be helpful and you have found some resolution months ago. But if you're still in the dilemma, maybe changing to a different position with the same employer would help.

 

[Surewhitey]

Personally think you're fine on the financial side. We are w*rking PT (10-20 hrs / week from home) and we have to turn down things to do. You can always find things that interest you to "fill" time. We volunteer, but we also live near the beach, like the warm, year-round waters, love snorkeling and spearfishing.

Still want to learn to scuba and visit more of Central America. We still spend a month or so back in the States, but I feel busier here than the 60 work weeks in LA, except that I'm enjoying it!

My $.02

 

[annienz]

Very interesting thread, and it's really hit home for me too. I enjoy my job and while hubby is retired, I'm not sure I really want to just yet. PT is an option - I can have the best of both worlds and it's a way of dipping my toes in the waters of freedom before committing. Thanks everyone who's contributed because it's been very thought-provoking.

I'm quite certain my fears aren't money-related at all and I know I'm not alone in that.

 

[Ronstar]

Very interesting thread, and it's really hit home for me too. I enjoy my job and while hubby is retired, I'm not sure I really want to just yet. PT is an option - I can have the best of both worlds and it's a way of dipping my toes in the waters of freedom before committing. Thanks everyone who's contributed because it's been very thought-provoking.

I'm quite certain my fears aren't money-related at all and I know I'm not alone in that.

I still work part time, but I'm finding that the longer my toes are in the waters of freedom the more I realize that I don't want to take them out.

 

[CherylGrrl]

So funny, I just posted my "Hi I'm..." message titled "Afraid to Retire". In my case, though, I know I've got lots of stuff to keep me busy but am fearful about the economy given the weird political climate we live in. (Watching the stock market go down with the government shutdown...)

 

[traineeinvestor]

I enjoy my job and while hubby is retired, I'm not sure I really want to just yet. PT is an option - I can have the best of both worlds and it's a way of dipping my toes in the waters of freedom before committing.

This sounds a lot like my wife - she has been working part time for a while now because she enjoys her job (mostly) and gets plenty of time to do other things as well. It is working very well for her. Even though I have very recently FIREd, she intends to carry on as long as it suits her. The fact that w#rking is optional for her takes a lot of the pressure off.