Considering part time option -OMY

[Octogirl]

I am retiring from my full time position in December.

- Today, a friend of mine announced she is leaving her great part time job (20 hours/week) for which I am well qualified . It would start in December, include health benefits and pays well - better than position I am leaving !



I'm conflicted - I am looking forward to retiring from the current job, which often required evening and weekend work. But now I am considering applying for the part time position. No evenings/weekends.


I 'd work 2 more years part time and postpone use of tIRA / SS.
My health is good, and I'd have long weekends every week.



I think I'll apply for the job. Thoughts ?

 

[ReadySetGo]

Sounds like a win win! Good luck.

 

[joeea]

I am retiring from my full time position in December.

- Today, a friend of mine announced she is leaving her great part time job (20 hours/week) for which I am well qualified . It would start in December, include health benefits and pays well - better than position I am leaving !



I'm conflicted - I am looking forward to retiring from the current job, which often required evening and weekend work. But now I am considering applying for the part time position. No evenings/weekends.


I 'd work 2 more years part time and postpone use of tIRA / SS.
My health is good, and I'd have long weekends every week.



I think I'll apply for the job. Thoughts ?

I think you need to decide what you want, and then do that.

You haven't provided enough information for any other suggestions.

 

[pb4uski]

Why not give it a try.... if after a while you find it isn't working you can always fully retire.

I worked part-time for many years before retiring.... it was wonderful.

Just make sure not to get sucked into working more hours than you are getting paid for.

 

[SheitlQueen]

Go for it! A nice way to ease into retirement in two years.

 

[MarieIG]

Sounds like Nirvana to me, but then I worked 13 hours today.

You can always try it out, and if you don't like it, quit.

 

[Jerry1]

It worked for me. I worked part time my last two years. It did have some drawbacks, but they were related to being in the same chair and being treated differently because I was no longer in charge like I was before. You will not have that issue. For me, even that worked itself out. Why should they treat me the same, I was in a different arrangement with them. As soon as I got myself squared away on that issue, it was actually a pretty good deal.

I will say though that once I started working part time, I realized how badly I wanted my free time and it made wanting to retire that much more desired.

 

[frank]

I had the same situation and went to work part time. no nights or weekends. worked 20 hrs a week. I was there for 3 years and now retired and actually miss the part time work. I think transitioning from full time to retirement is more than a one step process.

 

[target2019]

I am retiring from my full time position in December.
- Today, a friend of mine announced she is leaving her great part time job (20 hours/week) for which I am well qualified . It would start in December, include health benefits and pays well - better than position I am leaving !
I'm conflicted - I am looking forward to retiring from the current job, which often required evening and weekend work. But now I am considering applying for the part time position. No evenings/weekends.
I 'd work 2 more years part time and postpone use of tIRA / SS.
My health is good, and I'd have long weekends every week.
I think I'll apply for the job. Thoughts ?

I can relate, as I was retired in 2014/2015 period, then went FT, and for 2019 it's been PT. Part time will end early 2020.

Part-time is a nice transition for a year or so. If the job details are positive, as yours are, I would definitely go for it. Mo' Money? I know Mo' Money!

 

[Aerides]

If you are FIRE, and totally ready to retire, then....eh.

But if you're not totally ready, this might be a good way to glide in. And you don't have to do it for 2 years - you could try it out and go (in your head anyway) month by month, knowing you can retire when you want.

 

[Retiree_Having_Fun]

Since the standard notice is 2 weeks, you really don't have to think any farther than 2 weeks out if the job is giving you more that you are giving it.

 

[pacergal]

Doesn't hurt to try it, you can always leave that job, too, if it turns out not to be what you thought.
I went back part time off and on to help train new folks at my previous job. It was so much easier, as I was not sucked into the politics, etc.

 

[mrfeh]

FWIW - I went from full time to 2 days/week 3 years ago and love it.

 

[Bir48die]

Did it. Tried it. Threw it in the garbage. Retirement was too tempting

 

[Live And Learn]

I worked PT for 3 years and loved it. It was the best of both worlds. The only thing I couldn't do was non-local travel, which is not important to me anyway. Go for it !

 

[pb4uski]

4 years part-time for me. Initially to reduce travel to address a family situation, then continued because I liked it and didn't need the extra money and didn't want to travel as much... at that point I didn't mind that I was effectively on call 24/7 even though I only worked 20-26 hours a week. Later, I minded being on call 24/7... so I quit.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

Sounds like Nirvana to me, but then I worked 13 hours today.

You can always try it out, and if you don't like it, quit.

Not only that, you can apply, then see how you feel about it if you're actually offered the job. Sometimes when I suffer from overanalysis paralysis, I need to flip a coin. I often have a flash of "YES!!!" or "HEY, wait a minute!" that cuts through the overanalyzing and makes clearer what I really want. Getting an offer might spur a stronger impulse to take it or leave it.

And since you don't have to worry about your resume or recommendations for your next job, you can always work it for a week, and then quit if you don't like it!

 

[38Chevy454]

Worked P/T for approx last year of my working life. Was great for me.
I encourage Op to try applying for the P/T position, assuming the thought of still working is OK, which appears to be.

 

[Octogirl]

part time option

Thank you so much for the thoughts on part time option.
I have a phone call interview tomorrow.

It's a nice feeling- I don't need the job but would enjoy the work and extra funds while we are still healthy to travel.



We fly to California 3 - 4 x/year - for 4 grand kids !!

 

[ER Eddie]

I did part-time for 3 years, before pulling the plug entirely. It worked well for me. I preferred the idea of a gradual step-down transition to retirement, rather than an abrupt change from full-time work to full-time retirement.

I really enjoyed the increased free time. Four-day weekends were great (although I have to say, seven-day weekends are better, heh). I enjoyed my work for the most part, so it wasn't a stress for me to stay on.

Working PT allowed me to "test" how I'd do with semi-retirement. How would I deal with that increased free time, for instance? How would it feel? It helped with any retirement worries I had, because it allowed me to test the waters. Turns out, I did fine with PT; it felt great. And of course, there was some additional money and benefits, which is always nice.

One rule that I put in place for myself though, was this: "I'm only going to stay as long as I'm still enjoying it. If I stop enjoying it, I'm out." I didn't want to be working just because it was comfortable and familiar, or worse because I was afraid of some aspect of retirement (e.g., running out of money or dealing with the responsibilities/challenges of complete freedom). I didn't want to get stuck in some anxiety-motivated OMY syndrome.

I stuck to that rule. I stayed PT until I wasn't enjoying it anymore, then I left. Part of that was the work/company itself, but part was me. My feelings about working PT changed over time. At first, it felt great to have 4-day weekends. But after a couple years, that wasn't enough. I wanted more freedom. I wanted my whole life to be free, not just four days a week. So I pulled the plug. By then, I was more than prepared.

Overall, I'd say going PT was a good decision. It provided a gradual transition, a little extra money, and more confidence going into full retirement.

 

[ER2B]

Part time after retirement worked very well for me. Retired in September 2017 from FT to 10 hours max a week working online from home/ anywhere in the world. Making a quarter of previous salary. Didn't really need the money but needed it to occupy me, stay out of trouble and still feel a contributor to the household. DW loves it too.

 

[Octogirl]

part time option

Thanks for reply - yes, I still have some retirement worries and want more time to "practice life on a fixed income"

I spoke with the director yesterday and she was pleased that I wanted to apply - one of the benefits of being "older" is the years of experience in my role.


I agree- One rule will be: "I'm only going to stay as long as I'm still enjoying it. If I stop enjoying it, I'm out."



The director and I will negotiate next week the exact position - per diem or 20 hours/week. Both options have good features for me and for the org.



My current full time job has become unfulfilling - to put it nicely.

 

[lakerunner]

I had a similar option when I retired six months ago. I was offered a part-time hourly position with an average work week of 20 hours a week. So for, the good outweighs the bad. I make about half what I did before, but I work from home (or where-ever.). I have some scheduled calls, but about half the time I am free to work whenever its my mood: get up, have coffee, work out or go for a walk, then get on a call or work on my own. This is a new project and everyone id remote, so I am not missing anything by not being in the office. My wife works about 19 hours a week. We have a son in college about an hour away. So it works. As soon as I feel it is getting in the way, I will fully retire.

 

[Walt34]

I agree- One rule will be: "I'm only going to stay as long as I'm still enjoying it. If I stop enjoying it, I'm out."

This is key.

I stumbled into a low-stress job after retirement and stayed there ~5 years, but for every minute it was optional and I could leave if things went south. Eventually things did go south and I quit.