It's a Trap! The Keep W*rking Plan

[foxfirev5]

Yeah, I was lucky enough to realize age is an issue early in my career. At age 24 I was on the corporate chopping block but was saved when my boss told me they "cutting the old dead wood" first. I never forgot that experience and made sure I was ready to move on by the time I was 53.

[mystang52]

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Originally Posted by marko There's always Uber! Seriously, most of us here were able to stop working with some level of certainty. The harsh reality, as I found out personally, is that once you're over 55-60, your chances of getting a 'real' job are pretty slim; that's how you end up at Chick Fila. If for some reason you lose that $100K management job at 58 and you have nothing financially to back you up, you're in deep doo doo friend. Another thread talks about a percentage of folk who are bankrupted by health issues. I suspect there's a larger group out there who got blindsided by having to suddenly find a new job at 55. In reality people shouldn't be saving for retirement at 65, they should be saving in case they can't find work again at 50. I had a stellar resume, a huge name in the industry and thousands of contacts. At 53, I never even got a chance for an interview outside of two courtesy meets. When the recruiter you hire tells you to leave the year you graduated college off your resume, you know it's real. Not every ER is voluntary. Mine wasn't, not by any stretch but I was lucky smart enough to have planned ahead.

Couldn't agree more. I lost a high-paying j*b at age 52. I ultimately landed on my feet, albeit with a pay cut, but that was the first time I realized that 52 is old. I also had been unable to even get interviews for positions I was clearly qualified for. Scary time, and ironically it was the first time I realized that ER was feasible even at that point.

[Dtail]

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Originally Posted by marko There's always Uber! Seriously, most of us here were able to stop working with some level of certainty. The harsh reality, as I found out personally, is that once you're over 55-60, your chances of getting a 'real' job are pretty slim; that's how you end up at Chick Fila. If for some reason you lose that $100K management job at 58 and you have nothing financially to back you up, you're in deep doo doo friend. Another thread talks about a percentage of folk who are bankrupted by health issues. I suspect there's a larger group out there who got blindsided by having to suddenly find a new job at 55. In reality people shouldn't be saving for retirement at 65, they should be saving in case they can't find work again at 50. I had a stellar resume, a huge name in the industry and thousands of contacts. At 53, I never even got a chance for an interview outside of two courtesy meets. When the recruiter you hire tells you to leave the year you graduated college off your resume, you know it's real. Not every ER is voluntary. Mine wasn't, not by any stretch but I was lucky smart enough to have planned ahead.

+1
Same setup for me at age 56 yo, except took a package as the first package is usually the best one, plus at that time I figured I could definitely get another job even if at a deep pay cut.
Didn't happen and I stumbled on this site and many retirement calculators and realized I could FIRE.
Some luck and some savings.....

[HadEnuff]

As a self employed dentist, I don't think I truly appreciated the luxury of never having to fire myself, or lay myself off. Where I worked, the economy was not always great, in fact it fluctuated from "OK" to "pretty darn bad". Many of my patients ,friends and neighbors lost their jobs over the years, and had to pack up and move away in hopes of finding work elsewhere.

I would grouse about all of the headaches that I wouldn't have if I were in the middle of a large company, but of course, a lot of that was just "the grass is always greener" thinking.

As I got later in my career, I realized that one wonderful aspect of my position was that I could keep going, quit, or gradually wind down (as long as I stayed healthy). I truly feel for the folks who become victims of age discrimination.

[Surewhitey]

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Originally Posted by dtbach They are one recession away from being laid off.

Take me, take me!!

[Surewhitey]

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Originally Posted by Red Badger We've got three BU plans. 1. Domestic relo from mod COL area to LCOL area 2. Lake Chapalla 3. Chaing Mai In that order.

I've checked out Hot Springs, AR and East TX areas. Lakes, reasonable housing, not far from cities. LCOL for sure there and many other places out of the city.

Lived in Mexico for a few years and would definitely go back there, maybe 6 mo on / off (pretty hot in the summer).

Would be interested in checking out Portugal or Spain or other parts of Europe too. There really are a lot of things to see if you just step out of your comfort zone a bit.

[Dtail]

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Originally Posted by Surewhitey I've checked out Hot Springs, AR and East TX areas. Lakes, reasonable housing, not far from cities. LCOL for sure there and many other places out of the city. Lived in Mexico for a few years and would definitely go back there, maybe 6 mo on / off (pretty hot in the summer). Would be interested in checking out Portugal or Spain or other parts of Europe too. There really are a lot of things to see if you just step out of your comfort zone a bit.

Bolded - from what I read, Lake Chapala has decent temps in the summer. IIRC, May is the hottest month with temps in the low-mid 80's, unlike the beach areas.

[tb001]

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Originally Posted by marko In reality people shouldn't be saving for retirement at 65, they should be saving in case they can't find work again at 50. .

Yes, yes, yes. I’ve seen this so often, but it didn’t hit home until DH was let go at 48. He went from a c-level position to not even getting an interview at jobs he was way overqualified for. He was lucky and smart enough to have planned ahead, but he’s someone who really enjoys working, so it was a huge blow to his emotional well being. After 5 years, he found some consulting work for someone he use to work with in his 20s and was eventually hired full time at less than half his former salary.

I see so many of my peers spending their salaries on housing and living large in their 30s, then on kids in their 40s and 50s and thinking they’ll save a ton in their 50s. It may or may not happen...

[Dean56]

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Originally Posted by athena53 ... It made me realize that you don't always get to choose when your career ends.

This is so true at Megacorps. I've seen many careers end short due to cut-backs.

[TwoByFour]

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Originally Posted by marko Not every ER is voluntary. Mine wasn't, not by any stretch but I was lucky smart enough to have planned ahead.

I had planned my retirement (not an early one) and told my boss well in advance so a replacement could be trained. The last year I was working remotely and I got a call from him 2 months before my last day of work, telling me I had been RIF'ed. I couldn't believe it - my company policy was to give one month of severance for every year of service, maxing out at 12, so they were going to give me a year of severance in order to let me go 2 months early?? There were other bennies that went along with that - all-paid COBRA for one. I thought I had died and gone to heaven, it sort of sucked to get fired but the financial end was great for me.

I found out later that he was told to cut one head count in our group. By cutting me, who was quitting anyway, he was able to save someone else's job, so it worked out well all around.

[kgtest]

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Originally Posted by Walt34 Indeed. Yesterday at the gym I noticed that a lady on the cleaning staff appeared to be well over 65. It's probably a safe bet that she's not there for the social interaction.

the janitor at mediumCorp is pushing 90. Works PT 4hrs in the AM everyday. Even in the blizzards. I've been meaning to ask why, but don't feel it's appropriate.

[oldphd]

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Originally Posted by tb001 I see so many of my peers spending their salaries on housing and living large in their 30s, then on kids in their 40s and 50s and thinking they’ll save a ton in their 50s. It may or may not happen...

Whenever I read an article that says "highest earning years in career" referring to those in their 50s/60s, I think to myself it's out of date. May work out for some, but many will get laid off and not work or work at something paying much less (which is what happened to me), while others may experience health issues that prevent them from continuing.

LBYM. Save. Invest. Repeat.

[Teacher Terry]

My husband’s wasn’t either at 53. He is a engineer. We would have moved to a booming place like Texas for him to work and we chose not to do that. In the past 6 years he has had 2 contract jobs. He hates being retired and is working the polls the next 2 weeks.

[friar1610]

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Originally Posted by Walt34 Indeed. Yesterday at the gym I noticed that a lady on the cleaning staff appeared to be well over 65. It's probably a safe bet that she's not there for the social interaction.

I go to a restaurant where one waitress is an older woman who walks as if she has a deteriorating hip. I really feel sorry for her - always am thankful that my mother never ended up having to do that in her senior years. The Good Lord willing, my wife won't have to either.

[HI Bill]

I just watched a 30-something guy unloading 161-pound kegs of beer from a delivery truck. No lift gate. He struggled to get the keg down from the bed, which was about 5 feet off the ground, and onto a hand truck. I don't think he'll be able to handle this when he's 50, much less 65.

[HI Bill]

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Originally Posted by TwoByFour I had been RIF'ed...it sort of sucked to get fired but the financial end was great for me.

Glad you were RIF'ed, and not fired, or there would have been no severance package. BIG difference! Also, you could have filed for unemployment!

[MI-Roger]

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Originally Posted by marko In reality people shouldn't be saving for retirement at 65, they should be saving in case they can't find work again after 50.

Agreed!!

[HI Bill]

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Originally Posted by MI-Roger Agreed!!

IMHO, people should be saving like they might lose thier job or health at any time. That way, when the unexpected happens, you have a better chance of financially surviving the catastrophe.

My philosophy is that I'm a salaried mercenary. My plan since 1998 has been to maximize my earnings and savings, working with minimal breaks (no years away), so that as soon as I'm able, I can be out the door. I also did some fun stuff along the way (dive travel to Bahamas, Caymans, Indonesia, Australia, Bonaire, Florida, Japan, Guam, etc.). Balance in everything, but plan for the future!!

[athena53]

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Originally Posted by HNL Bill IMHO, people should be saving like they might lose their job or health at any time. That way, when the unexpected happens, you have a better chance of financially surviving the catastrophe.

I agree. I realized that, even though I wasn't close to FI, I had the resources to survive a period of unemployment when my company was acquired in 2006. Many people jumped ship and I wonder how many did because they were living from paycheck to paycheck. I decided to stay and see what happened and I lasted another 6 years. Thanks to better investment options in the 401(k) and a Phantom Stock Purchase plan, they were very good years for retirement savings, too. It was good to be in a position to take the risk.

[brucethebroker]

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Originally Posted by RunningBum 65 today isn't the 65 of 30 years ago. There's no reason some people couldn't work past 65, if they want or need to.

If not for blatant ageism discrimination in the workforce, I would be happy to agree with you. The only place I see 60 year old plus workers anymore is fast food restaurants, servers at Denny's and HD/Lowes.