Not eligible to retire

[easysurfer]

I left at 47 and it wasn't "officially retired" as for me the health benefit and fully vesting didn't happen as the magic age at Megacorp was 50. Actually, calculating with the old rules, I would've been considered retired, but Megacorp jazzed around with the calculations a few years early..but that's a different story.

The thing is, I tell everyone that I retired. I feel that I retired from Megacorp and had totally forgot that I officially did not until coming across this thread . In other words, mentally I was FIRE'd already before pulling the plug.

 

[rodi]

I can relate to your post. My original plan was to retire at age 55. We hit FI when I was 52, and DH was 62. So I changed it to 53... then I realized if I waited a few months after my birthday, I'd hit the official 20 year mark with megacorp. No pension or medical benefit - but a mindset benefit. (They froze our pension in 2009 and I didn't have "the rule of 75" when my mega-megacorp split into 2 megacorps in 2011... the medical/pension went with the other megacorp... so I lost that.)

I was all set to stick it out to hit the milestone. (Plus a few more months to get one more round of ESPP and the annual bonus)... when my boss started talking about rotating a small number of us through a customer site through the summer. I dreaded the week away from my family, every few weeks, indefinitely. I enjoy travel for ME, not so much for business. So... I looked at my finances again, ran firecalc, RIP, i-Orp, etc and then gave 2 weeks notice.

 

[LoneAspen]

Call me un-sentimental, but I couldn't care less about being an official retiree of any company I've worked at, including the one I'm at now.

Of course, the longest stretch I've ever had with an employer is 6 years (and that was about 3 years too long in hindsight), so I've never had any emotional investment in any of them.

 

[Finder]

Don't quote me on this, but being able to tap the 401k, although it depends which employers allow it, I believe it is on the year you turn 55. So depending on your date of birth it may be almost a year before. For example if you turn 55 on Dec 31st you may be able to retire on Jan 1st of the same year when you are only 54 and 1 day.

Please double check with your plan if this is interesting to you, it probably all depends on the actual wording of your individual plan.

 

[pb4uski]

....Even with the healthcare subsidy I would still be paying ~$16K per year to cover both me and DW. Plus whatever copays, etc. No health issues yet so I'm fairly sure I could do at least that good on the open market.....

It is very easy to check. Try healthsherpa.com to get an idea. I suspect you can get a good plan for much less than $16k a year.

Looks like a bronze plan for a couple would be a little more than half that.

 

[ggbutcher]

Believe, me, the the only considerations the company has for "retiree status" is with respect to if/when benefits are bestowed. Vesting is the primary criterion, after that comes the minimum ages most companies have for bestowing benefits. In most cases, you can leave any time after vesting, and long before you start to collect. After you consider that, retiree status is all in your head...

Even at its very best, employment is a mercenary relationship, on both sides.

 

[Finder]

...The thing is, I tell everyone that I retired. I feel that I retired from Megacorp and had totally forgot that I officially did not until coming across this thread . In other words, mentally I was FIRE'd already before pulling the plug.

this looks like a cool approach

 

[MuirWannabe]

It is very easy to check. Try healthsherpa.com to get an idea. I suspect you can get a good plan for much less than $16k a year.



Looks like a bronze plan for a couple would be a little more than half that.

I've checked the fed sight for ACA. I need to look more and study the differences in plan choices. I'm sure it's not that hard but I found it confusing. A homework assignment for me.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[harley]

Some megacorps (my old one for example) will add a year each to your age and years of service if you get RIFed. We didn't have the age 55 limitation, but I needed to get to the "magic 75" number (age + YoS) in order to get retiree medical coverage. So when I was 50 with 23 YoS I volunteered to be RIFed. The extra years they added pushed me over the line.

You might want to check and see what the policy is in your company. Volunteering to get RIFed can save someone else's job while allowing you to escape early. Talk about a win-win.

 

[bssc]

Exact same situation, you needed to be 55, 10 years of service at my Megacorp. Day after my 55 birthday, I gave notice. I waited for benefits and a few other things.

 

[easysurfer]

this looks like a cool approach

On my second to final day, I even sent a goodbye thank-you letter to co-w*rkers saying that I decided to hang it up. I left some $$ and benefits on the table when leaving, the the moment walking out the door felt so free feeling like I left on my own terms.

 

[tryan]

So I golfed yesterday with my old boss who "officially retired" from Mega corp. The place was bought and the facility was butchered and closed this year.

All gone and forgotten.

As a side note, I believe Obamacare will make cadillac plans cost prohibitive .... wouldn't hang my hat there.

 

[ChicagoGal]

We didn't have the age 55 limitation, but I needed to get to the "magic 75" number (age + YoS) in order to get retiree medical coverage.

A few years ago, my Megacorp changed their retiree medical program. You had to have 60 credits (age + YOS) to be grandfathered into the old program (which would have paid over 50% of the premiums for life). I was 4 months shy at the time, so I ended up in the middle tier (a benefit of about $1800/year starting at age 65). Newer employees essentially don't get any retiree medical benefit, other than being able to keep the insurance (at full cost) until Medicare kicks in.

So probably not terribly worth it for me to stay to 55 just for the retirement benefits. At this time, I don't estimate that I will be FI until just around that time (or slightly later) anyway, so not a decision I need to make right now. Just good to know if circumstances change.

 

[LoneAspen]

Even at its very best, employment is a mercenary relationship, on both sides.

That is EXACTLY how I view employment.

My first job out of college, I thought I'd be somewhere my entire career and retire with them, just like my Dad did with his job.

Boy, was I mistaken. It took me a few years to learn that there's zero loyalty anymore in corporate America, so I quickly changed my mindset to one of a mercenary.

My employer buys my loyalty two weeks at a time with every paycheck, no more than that.

I figure they can tap me on the shoulder and walk me out the door on a moment's notice if it suits them, so I'm always prepared to do the same to them. When I've learned everything I can where I'm am and a better position comes along to capitalize on, I'm outta there.

 

[W2R]

My initial goal was to RE at 55 in the year 2017. However, I'm actually well positioned financially to be able to leave next year at age 52-53. And I very much want to go! Unfortunately, to be eligible for official retirement from megacorp you have to be 55 along with having 10+ years of service.

I've worked for this company for 26 years so years of service is clearly not an issue. The age 55 requirement seems so arbitrary like many such coporate policies. It is frustrating.

The main retirement benefit is subsidized health care. Our plan is a cadillac so even with subsidies it is very expensive. I'm positive I could get cheaper insurance with a HD plan on the open market. But it would be nice to have this option. There are other retirement benefits but they are minor at best.

But after 26 years my desire to be an official retiree of this company matters to me. I know that may sound weird. But I'm bothered about leaving the company and not being a retiree of it.

Anyone else faced this situation? Am I silly for even concerning myself with it?

I guess I represent a dissenting viewpoint here.

What I am reading in your initial post, is that it just doesn't quite feel like the right time to retire, somehow. Something seems a little "off" and you don't feel comfortable with it. You had a goal, to be an official retiree, and you want to reach that goal. I'd go with your gut instincts, and retire when everything is telling you the time is right.

When All Systems Are Go, then do retire and you will have no regrets! Retirement is wonderful.

 

[hakuna matata]

Like all things in life, to each their own.

Personally I would retire. Even a month from now I honestly doubt you will care about the official 'title'. Maybe you will as I don't know the reasons why the title is so important. For me, I can honestly say it wouldn't matter.

My wife had a friend who wanted to get 30 years in, she had like a year and a half left. Again not sure why, I think she liked the idea of 30 years, a nice round number. I also think she thought it would make a huge difference in her pension amount. They were on vacation in Hawaii, and her husband sat down with her and ran the numbers. She realized that that she was doing a horrendous commute for about $2.00 hr. Basically she was working for the incremental amount of her pension each year. She didn't need the money and I think when she saw the actual numbers it shocked her.

She called from the beach and gave notice

We were at their house this weekend (they just had a mortgage burning party) and she has no regrets. She in some respects I think is kicking herself that she didn't retire a year earlier when her husband did.

Good luck. Either way, you will be retired soon and that is good comfort either way.

 

[kaudrey]

You retire when you retire. You are in your 50s and no longer working. Hence, you are retired. No one outside that organization is going to say "but were you old enough to be an official retiree?". I am not even sure mentally what this does for you.

Now, having said that, I am planning to work until 57 because I have to in order to keep my federal health bennies, and those are valuable. But, if, before then, I figure out that the open market can give me something comparable for the same cost, I may go earlier. I don't think I'd stay just to earn medical benefits that cost me MORE. Like you, I am building up my taxable accounts in the event I can FIRE earlier.

 

[Zorba]

MuirWannabe. Three years is a long time. Have you considered that company benefits can change under pressure from political, financial and demographic forces. You and I were on a similar trajectory, i.e. retire at age 55 but our company changed its retirement eligibility rules. Nothing evil, we are a non-profit with a growing benefits burden (i.e. aging workforce). Now the eligibility age for company-paid medical is 60 years old, up from 55.

It sucks to have the goal posts moved as you charge in for that touchdown.

 

[Live And Learn]

What I am reading in your initial post, is that it just doesn't quite feel like the right time to retire, somehow. Something seems a little "off" and you don't feel comfortable with it. <snip>. I'd go with your gut instincts, and retire when everything is telling you the time is right.

I read the same thing. I think this is OMY in a moderately clever disguise.

To the OP - the only people who will know if you are an "official retiree" are the people who still work there, and I'd bet most of them will say "how cool it is to be able to retire so early !"

 

[MuirWannabe]

MuirWannabe. Three years is a long time. Have you considered that company benefits can change under pressure from political, financial and demographic forces. You and I were on a similar trajectory, i.e. retire at age 55 but our company changed its retirement eligibility rules. Nothing evil, we are a non-profit with a growing benefits burden (i.e. aging workforce). Now the eligibility age for company-paid medical is 60 years old, up from 55.

It sucks to have the goal posts moved as you charge in for that touchdown.

Zorba, that really does suck. I'm trying to move the goal posts in. Can't imagine having them moved out on me by 5 years. Hope you can find a way to go early.

 

[MuirWannabe]

I read the same thing. I think this is OMY in a moderately clever disguise.

I'm not that clever.

 

[Meadbh]

In my mind, the only issue that matters is the benefits. Is the package worth staying on for 3 more years? (Assuming it's still there at that time). The "official retiree" issue is very puzzling to me. Why in the world would you need the validation of a meaningless title from a company that you will be leaving behind?

 

[MuirWannabe]

In my mind, the only issue that matters is the benefits. Is the package worth staying on for 3 more years? (Assuming it's still there at that time). The "official retiree" issue is very puzzling to me. Why in the world would you need the validation of a meaningless title from a company that you will be leaving behind?

I don't know Meadbh. It is weird. I can let it go. It's not worth 3 years of my life. It's just a disappointment. I'll be severing all ties with the company I've been a part of for so long. As an official retiree I would still have some linkage. That would be nice.

But I get it. In the grand scheme it don't mean much. And I agree. When ready I'll pull the plug regardless.

 

[Live And Learn]

It's just a disappointment. I'll be severing all ties with the company I've been a part of for so long. As an official retiree I would still have some linkage. That would be nice.

There are other ways to continue to be associated with the firm. Do they have a LinkedIn Alumni group ? Do any of ther other people who have left the firm get together for holidays ? We call our "gang" the "old mans club". They get together every year at Xmas and have been doing so for 20 years. They are not all official retireees, and some didn't even work for the Corp for 10 years, but they are all very well respected throughout the org (for those of us old enough to remember them !).

Retirement is a tough mental transition for some. For me the challenge is that I will no longer be increasing my savings. That's scary to me.

I too will be 3 years shy of the "official retiree" moniker. By staying I'd be eligible for access to the group HC plan (unsubsidized). Since both DH and I have preexisting conditions that would be a nice Plan B if Obamacare is repealed. OTOH I would hope that even if it were repealed those provisions would get passed again in another law. It's a bit of a gamble.