I Retired 4 years ago and recently started a new job...

[EarlyRetirementWorld]

As per the title, i retired a little over 4 years ago and loved it. I had a ton of projects that I got done around the house, tried a few new hobbies, all of the great things that retirement is supposed to be.

Here's the thing...I got a job offer from an old colleague and have been working for the past 3 months. The job is good, the pay is good. But I have no passion for it!! I don't need to work, but the extra income certainly helps out since I did retire early and I am still cautious that my money will not outlast me.

I has always been a top performer, and I feel I am maybe contributing at a 50% level since I'm not really driven to achieve any more. They are happy with my work though, with my previous knowledge and experience, even at 50% it's probably 110% more than many others within the company.

I guess not really looking for advice, as I know I can just pull the plug and go back to my workshop. Just sharing my thoughts right now as I sit here contemplating why the hell I accepted the job in the first place. Oh right, there's the pay check .

Have a great day everyone!!

 

[mh]

As per the title, i retired a little over 4 years ago and loved it. I had a ton of projects that I got done around the house, tried a few new hobbies, all of the great things that retirement is supposed to be.



Here's the thing...I got a job offer from an old colleague and have been working for the past 3 months. The job is good, the pay is good. But I have no passion for it!! I don't need to work, but the extra income certainly helps out since I did retire early and I am still cautious that my money will not outlast me.



I has always been a top performer, and I feel I am maybe contributing at a 50% level since I'm not really driven to achieve any more. They are happy with my work though, with my previous knowledge and experience, even at 50% it's probably 110% more than many others within the company.



I guess not really looking for advice, as I know I can just pull the plug and go back to my workshop. Just sharing my thoughts right now as I sit here contemplating why the hell I accepted the job in the first place. Oh right, there's the pay check .



Have a great day everyone!!

I went back to work under very similar circumstances. Just coasted because the job didn’t require more than that. But I

 

[pacergal]

A job is just a job if you have no passion for it. Is the money worth it to you?
Are there things at home you would rather be doing?
I worked on call for three years after retiring.We didn't retire until we were sure our financials were in place to avoid having to work. The money was nice, but I stopped last year and have really enjoyed this past year with no requirements on my time. thats what I don't have more of.

 

[RyanSoCal]

I feel for you. The last company I worked for had two people that I know join after they had pretty much retired from working life. They did it because they knew the people asking, it was an interesting opportunity, and it paid well.

Both had little passion for the job but tried to grind through it based on their high rates of historical work ethic.

Over time you could tell the were not giving it their all and it did affect their reputation a bit.

I hope it works out for you but you may want to find a graceful exit at some point.

 

[REWahoo]

...I got a job offer from an old colleague and have been working for the past 3 months. The job is good, the pay is good. But I have no passion for it!! I don't need to work, but the extra income certainly helps out since I did retire early and I am still cautious that my money will not outlast me.

I has always been a top performer, and I feel I am maybe contributing at a 50% level since I'm not really driven to achieve any more. They are happy with my work though, with my previous knowledge and experience, even at 50% it's probably 110% more than many others within the company.

I guess not really looking for advice, as I know I can just pull the plug and go back to my workshop. Just sharing my thoughts right now as I sit here contemplating why the hell I accepted the job in the first place. Oh right, there's the pay check .

I never returned to the working world after retiring but have often had dreams about just what you describe above. In those dreams I returned to working for my old boss and, at some point asked myself "What am I doing here, I don't need the money!".

Always nice to wake up to reality after one of those.

 

[Markola]

I feel for you. The last company I worked for had two people that I know join after they had pretty much retired from working life. They did it because they knew the people asking, it was an interesting opportunity, and it paid well.



Both had little passion for the job but tried to grind through it based on their high rates of historical work ethic.



Over time you could tell the were not giving it their all and it did affect their reputation a bit.



I hope it works out for you but you may want to find a graceful exit at some point.

Interesting story. On the flip side, there are many, many (maybe even most) FI people on this forum who have not REd yet who say they have no passion left and are just grinding out the final period of their jobs. It seems achieving FIRE is very often detrimental to motivation, both before and after. A FIRE Hazard? [emoji15]

 

[Rianne]

You didn't mention age. DH kept a consulting gig from home, still doing that ~ 20 hours, probably less, a week. So we still contribute to tIRA to keep income down for ACA. We're 62 and have the NW for FI. He just likes staying in touch with colleagues and the university. He set his consulting income at $42K, then portfolio CG and dividends reinvest. Also, have HSA, keeps income low and acts like a medical Roth.

 

[Bigdawg]

Interesting story. On the flip side, there are many, many (maybe even most) FI people on this forum who have not REd yet who say they have no passion left and are just grinding out the final period of their jobs. It seems achieving FIRE is very often detrimental to motivation, both before and after. A FIRE Hazard? [emoji15]

This is us. We are FI. DW is 48 and still loves (likes?) her job enough to stay a few more years. I am 54 and into my rule of 55 year. I am down to 32 hrs/wk. My plan is to go down to 20 hrs/wk from home here in the future. Maybe mid March of 2021. Kind of in flux right now. I WILL NEVER go back to 40 hrs/wk. Barely have the motivation for the 32 I work now. One think I am working towards in fully understanding what I will do each day from 9-5 when I am not employed. Until I can answer that question I will down scale as necessary and/or as feels comfortable.

 

[Lawrencewendall]

FIRE for 7 months. Not sure I would be willing to give up my naps!

 

[ugeauxgirl]

This is us. We are FI. DW is 48 and still loves (likes?) her job enough to stay a few more years. I am 54 and into my rule of 55 year. I am down to 32 hrs/wk. My plan is to go down to 20 hrs/wk from home here in the future. Maybe mid March of 2021. Kind of in flux right now. I WILL NEVER go back to 40 hrs/wk. Barely have the motivation for the 32 I work now. One think I am working towards in fully understanding what I will do each day from 9-5 when I am not employed. Until I can answer that question I will down scale as necessary and/or as feels comfortable.

Y'all are almost exactly the same ages as me & DH. I read a very interesting interview in which a therapist said that you CAN'T know what you'll do when you're retired. When you're working you view retirement through the lens of work. When you retire your viewpoint is different. It's good to have an idea of what you'd like to do in retirement, but it's entirely possible that when you retire you won't want to do that at all.

Many retirees on this site have said the same

 

[Markola]

Yeah, that makes great sense. I know a guy who was a marketing exec at a Fortune 500. He “wondered what he would do after he retired” and a pet idea became a fantasy crutch to get him through the job. He had a highly specific plan to open a craft ice cream shop in a tourist town where he and his wife owned a farm. He studied it and bought some equipment. No doubt it was a great idea but when he finally quit to do it, he lost all interest in the fantasy, and he certainly let go the mega corp grind. I really can’t tell if he’s happier person now or not, as he’s always been a well-meaning curmudgeon, but he seems content and he is clear that he has zero regrets about both leaving mega corp and shelving the ice cream idea. He just spends his time as he wants on other things, like motorcycle trips, winters in California and tinkering on things at the farm.

What to make of it? Ugeauxgirl seems on to something important for those of us who just aren’t sure of anything beyond the awareness that our current career interest is deteriorating. Personally, my attempt to deal with it is DW and my plan for taking a Gap Year in 11 months or less to do some serious international travel. She’s doing Rule of 55 already and I turn 55 this year, too. Maybe we’ll start to “know” and accept a new path for ourselves.