Reason you retired ? Poll

[Mdlerth]

aka Laid Off

I chose to retire as any extra earnings/savings wouldn't move the needle enough to bother with.

What does RIF mean?

"Reduction in Force"

 

[jcretire77]

Voluntary severance package at the same time with my DW. Our system admin team was brought screaming and kicking into the corporate IT department. I think when my new boss told me to set up another weekly meeting with our Japanese design center (after hours) which would really had zero benefit, but a time waste. I thought this is damn silly, I don't need this. The timing has been great with the upswing in the economy.

 

[FlaGator]

Gave up the paycheck to be a stay at home dad one year after my wife died.

Worked for several months after she passed, but it was clear my kids needed me more than my employer, who had been very supportive during her illness and the aftermath.

 

[W2R]

I've been sleep-deprived my whole life. Surely six decades of waking up at 4:30 is more than enough.

The first casualty of my retirement: the alarm clock. I will get up when my body says it's time, not when some machine tells me to.

I used to set my alarm for 5:30 and be at my desk at work before 6 AM. I never got to choose when I would awaken, even as a child or teen (strict parents) and certainly not as an adult. I thought that was normal and that I must be a morning person.

Now that I'm retired, if I got up when my body says it's time, I'd be sleeping some pretty irregular and weird hours (probably a 25 or 26 hour day from what I could tell). I guess I never got attuned to my biological clock. A 26-hour day just isn't very convenient for me when the rest of the world isn't doing it. To avoid such problems I have been setting my alarm for 11 AM and that works for me. I don't feel like I am getting up terribly early....

 

[HadEnuff]

Had enough money to live my life without having to answer a bell every morning. I didn't hate work, at times I even liked it. But it kept me in a cold climate in the winter, which I did not like. The opportunity to sell my practice came along, I took it. I have no regrets. Glad I worked as long as I did, glad I hung it up when I did, and especially glad I funded my retirement along the way so I can live my life at least to the standards to which I'd become accustomed. Actually, probably a bit better because I don't have to live in a cold and snowy winter anymore.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Was w*rking a job that was fairly enjoyable at first, but less flying and more BS continued to mount. I came in one day and was told about some BS that needed to be done and some other BS that was coming down the pipe...and told my boss...well, that's it...I'm out.

That afternoon, I applied for retirement (was military, so you did the application online to get the process going) and when it was approved (for a few months later), I printed it out and gave it to my boss. He was somewhat surprised, but not really. He knew I had grown tired of the BS and had been "threatening" retirement for a couple of months. Plus, it was a controlled assignment that would neccesitate me moving soon, and I wasn't doing that. The AF was dumb enough to give me an assignment back in my home town and there was no way they were sending me anywhere else.

I considered a bridge career post AF, but the numbers all told me that it wasn't necessary. I did go to law school after retiring, but I have no desire/willingness to practice law. I am currently *trying* to study for the bar exam (it's a pride/accomplishment thing) but it's very hard to actually study well when you have no desire to *do* the j*b.

 

[robnplunder]

Had enough of work category is leading the charge. I also fall into this one. I couldn't/didn't want to deal psychopathic boss and a co-worker. They were very high in food chain of a mega corp where majority of VPs are (or act like) psychopaths. Nice guys get chopped down before get to director/VP level. Once I had enough money to retire, on one meeting with the VP who was venting on me, I told him I am giving him 2 weeks notice. LOL, he tried to make me stay on for a 1/2 year and then a few more months when I said no. I told him two weeks and that's it. Life is good since then.

 

[karen1972]

Mine was a combo of a lot of these.

1. Work moved locations adding 45 minutes each way to my commute.
2. Sick of the job/employer in the first place
3. didn't feel like starting over and dealing with the politics all over
4. My health from all the stress the job created was terrible
5. and my mom was having surgery and dad had been diagnosed with cancer

the moving of the office was the final straw but it was all piling up to the perfect storm.

wouldn't change it for a minute, spend the last few months of my dads life by his side, my health is so much better, my relationship with everyone is better, and I'm just happy all the time.

I could have used 2-3 more years of income, so we do keep to a tight budget but the trade off was worth it.

 

[arch57]

Wow I chose "had enough" and it made me feel better that a lot of others had the same reason. That being said it's a said commentary on today's workplace. I had enjoyed most of my career as an engineer, then product manager at a large conglomerate.

Worked with bright, energetic people and learned a lot developing internet connected products. Until 2012 when our VP retired (she supported a lot of my projects and cut thru the BS) and the new young buck was brought into replace her. He changed around management roles, dumped a ton more responsibility on folks and matrixed the heck out of everything.

In early 2015, I was turning 57 that November and they froze our pensions at end of 2015, I was sitting thru yet another project planning meeting and counted 13 managers (including myself as product manager) and only 4 engineers on the call. As the meeting ground deeper into the abyss over requirement specs, the engineers were all private messaging me saying they wish I had final say as my engineering background was well respected. Realizing I kept banging my head against the wall trying to focus the specifications into something we could build I decided during that meeting to hang it up for good. Had to wait for our old house to sell and when it finally closed on March 29th I waited until April 1st to announce my retirement. I figured it would mess with them on April Fool's day and my immediate manager was like "come on really?" when I said yes he proceeded to say jokingly "f***K you but man I'm jealous as hell".

I love retelling that story

 

[DeborahB]

The work stress was taking a major toll on my health. I planned to retire at 62 but not right then. A close friend’s husband dropped dead at 67. It shook me up. It was unexpected... He was also a close friend. I gave 2 week notice as soon as I could and left about 2 weeks after my birthday. No regrets. I’m living on dividends from investments, mostly.

 

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

The US Navy has a 'High-Year-Tenure' policy, as an E6 I was not allowed to stay on Active Duty beyond 20-years. I was involuntarily forced onto pension at that date.

I hated the job anyway. I only stayed there for 20 years to get the pension.

 

[iloveyoga]

I am in the had enough category. I was lucky to have a long, fairly happy, profitable career. I was going to retire at 57 anyway, and then I got that one last bad boss. After just a bit of misery, I was out of there at age 54 with 34.75 years. I'm almost 60 now and these have been some of the best years of my life.

 

[Monterey298sc]

I am 59 DW is 57. Meet with accountant today. We could afford to retire today. However we would have to close a family owned business after 133 yrs. now have to work on the guilt I would have.

 

[HadEnuff]

I am 59 DW is 57. Meet with accountant today. We could afford to retire today. However we would have to close a family owned business after 133 yrs. now have to work on the guilt I would have.

Wow, 133 years. May ask what the business was? I was the last of 3 generations, 4 people, and nearly 100 years of a small dental practice in a small town. That had some emotion involved when I decided I ( the last man standing) would retire. I was able to sell it, and the new doc has been very respectful of the history, but still...

When you retire will the business just stop, or will you be turning it over to someone to take over?

 

[Monterey298sc]

Family owned 4 generation funeral home. We are still successful , however we have no kids and the funeral market has changed and the future ( next 20 yrs) 80 percent of family’s will be doing direct disposal without any memoralization of there loved one. You won’t need people like me anymore. It will be big disposal company’s. So we will close and sell off properties. Good thing is we are debt free and what ever I get for property’s will go to retirement.

 

[vrijheid]

Retired at 58 rather unexpectedly. Turn 60 next week. I was widowed at 50 with one son in college and one in high school and just always felt like I needed to keep working. I had been tracking and planning and knew I (we) had planned well and would be ok.

Deciding factor #1 (besides the usual bs at work )was my youngest son had decided to build his home at 24 and since his dad couldn’t be there to help him, I wanted to be.

Deciding factor #2 was to spend more time with my 81 yr old mom who had survived breast cancer twice. She s still strong of mind, body and spirit and I wanted this time with her.

Best decision ever!!!

 

[Monterey298sc]

Wow, 133 years. May ask what the business was? I was the last of 3 generations, 4 people, and nearly 100 years of a small dental practice in a small town. That had some emotion involved when I decided I ( the last man standing) would retire. I was able to sell it, and the new doc has been very respectful of the history, but still...

When you retire will the business just stop, or will you be turning it over to someone to take over?

Must have been hard. What age were you? Now are you glad you did it , or regrets?

 

[ckelly78z]

Not retired yet, but really don't like getting up at 4:30 am for the daily slog. I am a prototype engineer at a large auto parts manufacturer, and can see the handwriting on the wall....all of the foreign car makers we deal with are ultra perfectionists, and keep sending younger proteges to America to ensure quality/quantity. We lost 1 large account due to production demands, and might lose another one soon.

I am working towards a 62 year old goal, but the company might not make it 8 more years. I currently have 20 years, and a pension (from it's megacorp parent company), along with a decent 401K, that I hope to double in the next few years.

Looking to buy a farm/ranch in Ky, or Tenn, (not cold NW Ohio), and live a quiet, simple life growing my own food, and enjoying nature.

 

[eytonxav]

While I could point to corp bureaucracy and stupid decision making, the principle reason was a commute that became unbearable due to traveling through 2 different highway construction projects to and from workplace and company policy that did not allow work from home.

 

[HFWR]

"Ran into a chum with a bottle of rum,
and we wound up drinkin' all night."


Oh, wait...that wasn't me, that was Jimmy Buffett......never mind, carry on...

Close enough!

 

[Gallaher]

After years off top performance, and saving, I planned to retire at 58 when I qualified for corporate retiree health insurance.
Was fired 8 months before I qualified for the benefit. It seems this is a pattern of behavior for this megacorp.
Oh well, have plenty of money and was tired of the corporate games.
My options are to be mad or move on. I kind of chose both.

 

[Rambler]

Old timers around here have seen my story, but it boils down, really, to two reasons:

1) I had enough (assets to retire on), and
2) I had enough (of the frustrations of staying in the workforce).

 

[USGrant1962]

...
My options are to be mad or move on. I kind of chose both.

+1

I wasn't actually laid off, but offered a crap job two time zones away so took ER a little earlier than planned. Moved on...

 

[Markola]

I read all 98 responses so far and have a couple questions: Only a few people mentioned that they dialed down full blown careers to part time work, hobby jobs or passion businesses, etc. It sounds like most above worked full tilt for decades, then stopped all paid work cold. Personally, I assume there is a world of part time work awaiting when I quit the career, but maybe that’s just a coping fantasy on my part. Did any of you assume you’d do part time work someday and then, when it came down to it decided, “nah....”. Or does part time work + portfolio allow a semiretirement in which you still need to work some but you can avoid most of the grind? Thanks for sharing.

 

[Lakewood90712]

I read all 98 responses so far and have a couple questions: Only a few people mentioned that they dialed down full blown careers to part time work, hobby jobs or passion businesses, etc. It sounds like most above worked full tilt for decades, then stopped all paid work cold. Personally, I assume there is a world of part time work awaiting when I quit the career, but maybe that’s just a coping fantasy on my part. Did any of you assume you’d do part time work someday and then, when it came down to it decided, “nah....”. Or does part time work + portfolio allow a semiretirement in which you still need to work some but you can avoid most of the grind? Thanks for sharing.

In general, I believe your observation of full ahead and full stop is correct. Quite a few got tossed out with the economy a decade ago. IMO Most employers want fewer bodies working long hours. Many who would like to semi retire never get the option of PT.