Many of us (me included) have suffered from the OMY syndrome. (One More Year) I stayed on 2 years longer than I really should have. Sure wish I had that time back now. But of course, only you can make that decision.
Not sure that I agree. Ask a somewhat ossified middle-manager who recently got downsized, how goes the prospect of being able to make more money. Sure, if he has a large portfolio, we can gamely call a layoff a forced segue into early retirement. That's a nice position in which to be. Many of us aim for it. But it's not the same as being able to make more money. Sometimes our money-making prowess is fragile. One oops, one bad quarter, and we're done... with no second chance.
Given the way that your employer's golden handcuffs are structured and the timing of awards is there ever a point of time that you wouldn't be leaving money on the table? IME, one is always leaving money on the table.
I tend to agree with your sentiment and statements, however, "Time, I generally waste" resonated very strongly with me when I was contemplating retirement before pulling the trigger last year. I was in a good role on the critical path and my efforts generated product revenue so it was materially contributing to the GNP, at least psychologically. I felt my time was not being wasted in a macroeconomic sense because I felt I was performing productive work for the overall economy. With that bolstering my ego it was difficult to conceive not being productive and switching to unemployment and retirement. I felt I was wasting time when I wasn't working and producing. I guess that is a defense mechanism to keep me gainfully employed in my adult life or something.
I would retire. Life is too short. You have plenty of money.
You retired at 68, correct? A lot of folks joining the Forum and contemplating retirement are 50-55, a full half-generation younger than you were, at point of retirement. They're going to have more soul-searching and more contemplative deliberation, even if they're fully prepared financially. You were ready. You knew that you were ready... so, you took action. You have no regrets.
4% of 5.5M is $220K. Way more than enough to cover your annual expenses even if you don't have a pension.
Well said. I was in a very enviable position at age 68. Peak earnings, satisfying role, minimal politics and BS, on the critical path and not just in an overhead role, high productivity reflected in reviews and metrics, voluntarily working 10+ hours/day by choice and most importantly, a good team around me with no troublemakers or noise. It was not a country club and the environment was very intense and pressure-packed, so don't get me wrong, but I found I functioned well in that environment. My wife convinced me to leave as I would never have left without her telling me it was time. Once I decided to leave a year prior things became incredibly enjoyable. I did not announce it to anyone until about 3 months prior and it was only because my manager was reviewing our roadmap and assigning me to various projects moving forward. At that point I felt it was my professional duty to let him know even though I really wanted to do it (resignation) 2 weeks prior to my target date. I spent those last 3 months working as hard as I ever worked in my life making sure everything was documented and turned over properly. My last day of work on a Friday had me in the office until 7PM attending one final meeting and this was on a Friday when my badge had already been disabled at 6PM. We all got a good laugh about that when I finally peeled myself away and said goodbye for the last time. I couldn't have scripted it any better than it turned out.
The question is "What will you do for the six months remaining in 2026" if you pull the plug now?
From a 54-year-old that pulled the plug last summer, I am glad I did it instead of giving away six months to my corporate role.
