Jumped Off the Cliff Today

Irishgirlyc58

Irishgirlyc58

Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Joined
Sep 26, 2020
Messages
1,061
So, today I gave my 3 month notice that I am retiring at the end of this calendar year. There is no going back now!
3-4 months notice is typical for my position.

So, a little about me.
I turned 63 this month and identified that December of 2021 maximized my CalPERs benefits about 5 years ago.
There were several times I thought I was going to cut bait and leave early but I hung in there. Until today. It felt like I was jumping off a cliff but after I submitted my notice it also felt like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders.

I've had a 35+ year career in social services/health and human services and reached the top position of my career field.

I am single (divorced many years ago) and raised 2 kids who have been adults for many years! 2 grandkids.

For income I will get about 110% of my current salary when I add my CalPERS retirement benefits and SSA. This will cover my expenses and leave enough left for extra expenses or savings.
I'm not an investor like many of you are. I do have a 457b account with sufficient funds to cover if something really drastic happens. I don't intend to really touch this account until I have to though.

I will continue with the health insurance I have through my employer but I will pay the premium. It's a high deductible plan so the premium is reasonable and I have an HSA for the deductible-but I think I can cover it with my regular income.
In 2 years when I am medicare eligible my employer health insurance becomes my supplement from what I understand.

63 really isn't early retirement in my world. Many people retire at 55-but I wasn't mentally ready to retire at 55. I am now though! I can't wait to not have anything to do-or think about. It's a new adventure at the bottom of that cliff I've jumped off!

Thanks for reading.
 
Congratulations!
I wish you many happy years in ER and in good health.
Each person has to create their own roadmap to and in retirement.
Enjoy!
 
Welcome to club not working (in 3 months) - :)
 
Good for you Irishgirl! Those state/ city pensions are awesome after so many years. It sounds like you figured out that financially you’ll be better of NOT working.
Did anything happen that precipitated you taking the leap now? Why will the next 3 months be torture? Just excited for the Final day To arrive?
Have you decided what you will do with your time when you wake up in January without the job you’ve had for 35 years to go to?

I’m getting close to the cliffs edge myself so I’m interested in the thoughts and process that goes on to get there.

Congrats and keep us posted on the leap.

Brian
 
Well done Irishgirlyc58 on making the decision to start your vocational freedom. The time will fly in. Are you still full time ? Why not think about part time working for the next 3 months. A gradual descent on your glide path rather than “jumping off a cliff”:D

It’s what I am doing until the day. My next milestone is handing in my resignation to MC in December.
 
Congrats and good job in planning it through.
 
Congratulations, and welcome to the club. It's a great (if rare) thing to be able to live comfortably on a pension and Social Security.
 
It sounds like you have earned your new job called retirement. I wish you well and hope you get to spend more time doing what you have planned to do. Like so many here have said, retirement isn't the end, it's just the beginning.
 
Congrats on your retirement from the public sector!

Since you don’t mention WEP, I assume you have paid into Social Security throughout your public sector years, unlike some—but I mention it here since several of my public sector friends were affected by WEP and were not aware of its impact.

I’m also a CalPERS retiree with a modest pension, but I have also had my Social Security decreased somewhat because my public sector employers didn’t always pay in to SS. I knew it was coming, and I’m thankful for the many years of private sector earnings that made the decrease less than it has been for others.
 
Congratulations and welcome (soon) to retirement !
These next few months will go by faster than you think, at least mine did just prior to retirement.
 
Congrats. It looks like you are in excellent financial shape. Many of us will not have the secure income that you will have in RE.
 
Luvtoride said:
Good for you Irishgirl! Those state/ city pensions are awesome after so many years. It sounds like you figured out that financially you’ll be better of NOT working.
Did anything happen that precipitated you taking the leap now? Why will the next 3 months be torture? Just excited for the Final day To arrive?
Have you decided what you will do with your time when you wake up in January without the job you’ve had for 35 years to go to?

I’m getting close to the cliffs edge myself so I’m interested in the thoughts and process that goes on to get there.

Congrats and keep us posted on the leap.

Brian
Click to expand...

Thanks Brian. I almost left earlier this year and last year when things got really bad due to covid. I stayed because I really wanted to see covid through to vaccinations. I am a director over health and human services which includes public health. It was more about ensuring those that wanted vaccines had access.
I decided on December 2021 several years ago based on my pension benefits. Also, COLA's begin 2 years after retirement in May. Retire in December 21, first Cola is May 23. Retire Jan, first Cola is May 24.
I built a lot of spreadsheets with different scenarios beginning a few years ago. I just kept dialing it in closer and closer.
I visited sites like this one for suggestions. I was in a different situation than those who pull down funds from investments so I had to figure out what monthly amount I was comfortable with.
One suggestions was to categorize your expenses as non discretionary and discretionary. if most of your income goes to the non discretionary expenses then you may end up with not enough money due to additional expenses and inflation. I started dialing that in and got to where I was 50/50. Leaving me a lot of wiggle room.

I am glad I started this several years ago as I never thought I would be tired of my job, but I am. I just don't have the stamina for it anymore.
I realized that I preferred doing nothing-watching murder mysteries-to working. So, the money was there and my attitude shifted. The perfect storm.
 
Accidental Retiree said:
Congrats on your retirement from the public sector!

Since you don’t mention WEP, I assume you have paid into Social Security throughout your public sector years, unlike some—but I mention it here since several of my public sector friends were affected by WEP and were not aware of its impact.

I’m also a CalPERS retiree with a modest pension, but I have also had my Social Security decreased somewhat because my public sector employers didn’t always pay in to SS. I knew it was coming, and I’m thankful for the many years of private sector earnings that made the decrease less than it has been for others.
Click to expand...

I am affected by WEP. The first county I worked at did not participate in social security. I was 27 at the time and thought, pfft, like ssa will be around when I'm old enough! And yet, here I am.
I worked there for 20 years and then went to a county that does participate in ssa. I was fortunate that these years have been my highest paid years which didn't hurt. I have done calculations on the ssa cite with the WEP calculator. I have also downloaded the detailed calculator and used that along with some of my own manual calculations. They all come up to the basic same amount, give or take a dollar due to rounding I assume. I think I could teach a class on WEP and how it will affect your ssa! It was really confusing when I first started checking it out but became easier the more I dug into it.
 
Congrats! Enjoy your retirement. Do you have anything fun planned already for 2022? Even if you don’t doing nothing and having your time to do what you want is better than working! Good luck to you for the next couple of months. :dance:
 
Congratulations on reaching the retirement goal. Sounds like you have planned well. Enjoy the new status as a short timer, and soon to be retiree.
 
Congrats!! The next 3 months will fly by. Especially with the holidays in there.
 
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