Once you knew you could retire - how did you feel?

[Dtail]

Volunteered for a package, then couldn't find work for 15 months. Figured out I could retire, so did so. Thus no great story involved.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

Just wondering from retirees once they knew they could retire, what changed for them when they were still working?
Just curious as to what changes once you know you can retire.

Since I discovered this site in 2020, the plan was to pull the plug sometime after January 1, 2025. I worked diligently at building up my most current 401(k), while also maxing out a Roth IRA and DW's T-IRA. My immediate supervisor knew I was hoping for 2025, but in 2020, that still seemed pretty far away.

Then in 2022, I was called in to the office and told that my employment was at-will and that either party could decide to terminate my employment... which they were doing.

So, three years from my hope-to-retire date, I had to find a new j*b. Luckily I found one within a few months. I had to wait a year to be able to contribute to my new 401(k) but they let me roll over my previous 401(k) into my new one since they were both through John Hancock. After the first year, I was able to calculate that I could still retire in 2025. Since DW was a teacher, I decided on the end of June for my date and let the owner of the company know I would most likely retiring in two years. I contributed the maximum into the 401(k), my R-IRA, and DW's T-IRA as long as I could.

Then DW ended up retiring at the end of 2024. While I most likely could have retired in January, I decided to stay on until the first week of July since that's the date I gave and the owner had been pretty good to me. I had to stop contributing more than 6% into the 401(k) and stop funding DW's T-IRA for those 6 months so we had enough $$ to live.

I helped to train my replacement during the last 6 months or so. I got him up to speed on all of the 'normal' job duties, but as far as the emergency repairs and/or/travel, he was going to have to learn by doing - just like I did.

They threw me a nice retirement party during lunch on my last day. Two weeks after I left, the guy I trained as my replacement quit.

I still get calls once in a while asking if I would come in and help out with some minor issue and so far I've been helping out where I can. Like I said, the owner's a decent guy.


As far as your questions:

Did the stress go way down? Never had much stress to begin with, so No.

Did you care less about doing your work (less productive)? Nope. I continued giving 100% up until that retirement party at lunch on my last day. After lunch, however, I pretty much coasted from 12:30 until 3:00 p.m. Cleaned my area and brought my personal stuff out to my truck.

 

[38Chevy454]

Basically felt a lot more freedom. Let office politics just roll on by not getting involved. Essentially made a big hole in my BS bucket so it wouldn't collect anything. Changed to part time 3 days/week, which was mostly to keep health insurance and delay any withdrawals. I was already saving 40% so no change in lifestyle with the 60% working; just cut back the savings. It was liberating since company needed me more than I needed the job. But it was a nice way to kind of taper down with a 4 day short time retirement every Friday through Monday. I worked Tuesday through Thursday, unless a big meeting or some need to swap days.

I had also switched jobs a couple years before and stopped the travel. That was very nice in itself. But reaching FI was a bigger effect on mental health and work happiness.

 

[freedomatlast]

Things like office politics that used to be stressful, became a source of amusement and humor.

Saying the things that everyone was thinking but were afraid to say, and observing the reactions, was also a source of great amusement.

Working on the things I enjoyed and letting the rest go for someone else was liberating.

I still did excellent work on the projects I worked on, but the upper echelon soon realized they no longer had power or influence over me.

 

[Davidhelp]

Hi All,

Just wondering from retirees once they knew they could retire, what changed for them when they were still working?

Did the stress go way down? Did you care less about doing your work (less productive)?

Just curious as to what changes once you know you can retire.

Thanks!

First was panic as I would be quitting my job and YAHOO! I would be quitting my job and would have no worries about money. I knew I had to get health insurance after some months after retiring. I also knew how much I would have every month with social security and my savings and that my savings would grow due to stock picks. I would make more then when I was working with less tax as well.

 

[martyp]

Psychologically it was a huge relief. When I told my supervisor I was retiring in a few months she reassigned my employees. The next few months were incredibly boring. I arrived late, took long lunches, and left early. I had nothing to do. I kept a low profile. My retirement party was great. When I got home it took a few hours to adjust to retirement.

That was 15 years ago. I couldn't be happier.

 

[Surewhitey]

1st time in 2011, we took off 3 years and didn't think twice. In hindsight we were lean FI...

Fast forward to 2019, I had an epiphany I could start my biz & Coast. Leaving big corps was a no brainer to get rid of the commute and 12 hr days. W*rking 3-4 days & very local (last year I drove a whopping 6k miles, most in 7 years & including road trips).

DW finally, in 2024, went to 4 day WW and still likes what she's doing, so I still do my "thing".

Definitely less stress and courage to do crazy things...

 

[Steve P]

Hi All,

Just wondering from retirees once they knew they could retire, what changed for them when they were still working?

Did the stress go way down? Did you care less about doing your work (less productive)?

Just curious as to what changes once you know you can retire.

Thanks!

I'd say the annoyance factor for the major public company I worked for actually increased. I became more irritated in the stupidity, short sightedness, politics and self interest of leaders around me. Knowing I didn't have to accept the garbage made me more cynical of the company.

 

[three putt]

I knew I could retire about a year before I actually pulled the cord, though two events pushed me to do it. The first was I had a total knee replacement and was out on disability for six weeks. Even though I was in some pain and not sleeping well at night, I was still enjoying myself more then when I was w@rking. Plus we had a couple of close friends pass away during that time and it made me wonder why I would go back to sitting in front of a computer screen for 50+ hours per week. The old saying "you have more money than time" started resonating with me even more.
The second event was we became grandparents and I offered to watch our GS three days a week. I am w@rking harder now on those three days then I did for the past 10 years but it is well worth it.

 

[sdtech]

When I went in to tell my boss I was retiring he told me he went to a seminar 20 years ago for new supervisors and listened to me (I was on the panel) say if someone comes in and resigns, don't try to talk them out of it, just thank them and shake their hand. He stood up and shook my hand!

 

[equakesfan]

About six years before I retired I was laid off (read fired) from my high paying job. I took a year off (mostly applying for jobs I was way over or way under qualified for to keep unemployment going). After a year I decided to take a low paying and low stress job so I didn't have to sit at a desk all day. I didn't think I could retire and it wasn't on my radar. After about 5.5 years I saw a video on YouTube about the 4% rule. I decided to do the calculation. I estimated we had about $4M (not including some of my wife's assets) and expenses of about $10k/mo. which is 3%. I then started to think about retirement seriously. We had about $5.2M and I estimated our expenses to be about $11k/m which is a 2.5% withdrawal rate. Once I figured out I could retire, I spent 2 months trying to shoot holes in my plan to be sure it was bullet proof. I figured it was bullet proof.

I told my co-workers and boss my plan to retire in 3 months. When my replacement was trained, I gave my 3 weeks notice. I wrapped up my open projects or got my replacement up to speed. I didn't give less effort or do less work (I probably did more work to close out my projects). I didn't feel less stress because I had dropped a lot of stress by being laid off at the high paying job and now had the stress of the question "will my money last?"

 

[YellowSubmarine]

At age 44 I knew I could retire on a careful budget plan . So, rather than sell my business, I semi retired for the next 15 years. I sold my office building after extending my rambling ranch (office/lab) another 1500 sf+ and went to a virtual office for receiving packages and phone messages, related stuff. We decided to wait until the youngest hit college. The plan from 1996 played out to perfection in spite of the business, economic, sell conditions in 2011. Semi retired meant combining hobbies, activities and family on business travels; and just taking vacations or long weekends. Further, I was no longer in business growth mode as I just worked with existing clients and any referral that may come in. What a stress relief with no more full time employees, no more commuting traffic, no more compulsory child care as DW was home when the kids got out of school.

 

[indiajust]

by the time i discovered the RE and FI discussions and tools, I had been out of work for 8 years. I was the last one to discover the obvious.

 

[audreyh1]

I just remember that last year as feeling very surreal. We been through a couple of market freakouts the prior two years (Asian financial crisis ‘97, arussia default and LTCM collapse ’98), that hit my investments hard, but by 1999 things had bounced back and I figured out we really could do this. It was then a matter of laying out a timeline and executing both at work and transitioning my investments to more appropriate for retirement.

 

[hmrambling]

The drive to work started to seem lighter, Sunday-evening-dread went away, I took a job as a worker bee and left management. A huge weight lifted off me when I realized I chose to go into work. Having FU money changes a lot of things. Am I rich? No. Do I have to go in tomorrow? Also no.

 

[1242Vintage]

I started my career as a junior engineer and ended 40 years later as the chief engineer. I had achieved what I wanted and knew it was time to retire. Took about 8 weeks to wind down and bring my replacement up to speed. It was a good transition.

Picture is after my last work conference call. I walked out onto the beach and absorbed this beautiful sunset. I knew my world just changed that day. Dear wife felt that transition happening too and snapped this picture to capture the moment.

 

[freedomatlast]

My username describes it best.

 

[athena53]

It was a relief, but like others in this thread I stayed on. Work was definitely less stressful knowing I could walk out any time and be ok.

Same here. An interesting interim point was when my company was acquired in 2006. Many of my coworkers jumped ship immediately, panicked at the thought that they might lose their jobs. I realized that our savings were enough that I could withstand a few months of unemployment if that happened. It turned out to be a very good decision- the acquiring company was a class act (better than original owners) and I stayed there another 6 years. My next employer was not so great and although I'd had two different financial advisors tell me I no longer needed to work for a living, I stayed on- I figured more retirement savings was better. In 2014 my BS bucket was full and I left at age 61.

 

[OK EE]

My transition didn't happen as much in a single day as it did over a period of maybe a year. I've always had the target of retiring at 55, and that was the goal I was working towards starting at age 45 or so. The projections at first showed the time line being "realistic" and arriving there right about the time I would turn 55. Then about 3 years out (in 2023) the stock market went on a wild run that continues today and we hit our number maybe a year ago.

I had already been transitioning to "40 hours, not a minute more" and "no work when not at work" but I took it to a new level. I still cared about my job and did work at as high of a quality level as before. The writing was on the wall that I would make it so work became more "if I get fired or laid off, oh well"

Now here's the interesting part. Fast forward maybe a year to the day of my retirement date 1 year out. Since I hit that day, I've had serious onset of short timers syndrome. It might have to do with the fact that work was slow at that time, but my Give-A-F*ck meter is pegged at zero. I still have 6.5 months to go until I turn in my retirement letter. Honestly I don't know if I'll make it. I just don't care any more.

 

[mebden]

My transition didn't happen as much in a single day as it did over a period of maybe a year. I've always had the target of retiring at 55, and that was the goal I was working towards starting at age 45 or so. The projections at first showed the time line being "realistic" and arriving there right about the time I would turn 55. Then about 3 years out (in 2023) the stock market went on a wild run that continues today and we hit our number maybe a year ago.

I had already been transitioning to "40 hours, not a minute more" and "no work when not at work" but I took it to a new level. I still cared about my job and did work at as high of a quality level as before. The writing was on the wall that I would make it so work became more "if I get fired or laid off, oh well"

Now here's the interesting part. Fast forward maybe a year to the day of my retirement date 1 year out. Since I hit that day, I've had serious onset of short timers syndrome. It might have to do with the fact that work was slow at that time, but my Give-A-F*ck meter is pegged at zero. I still have 6.5 months to go until I turn in my retirement letter. Honestly I don't know if I'll make it. I just don't care any more.

OK EE I had that s thought in my head to when I hit my number I just didn't care anymore for work and I just decided to leave earlier than I wanted to but when the Knuckle heads I worked with decided to restructure jobs I just told them from the beginning if you ever do that to my job I'll walk so they tried to do it and I said I told you not to restructure my job and you didn't believe me that I'd walk and said it right to all 3 people that hired me to work there and right to their faces you can take this job and shove it and the look on their faces was priceless and I should of took a picture but whenever I get this thought of going back to work I just remember that moment and the job idea disappears from my mind. It is nice to know that you control your work, and I figured I got less time on this earth, so I just retired done done and staying done period. If I was you if you got your numbers get out, you never get back the time in your life

 

[Koolau]

Honestly I don't know if I'll make it. I just don't care any more.

My remaining friend from Megacorp and former office mate used to say "I care. I just don't care that much." Always cracked me up. I think he expressed what I felt from time to time. As long as I was at w*rk, my "w*rk ethic" meant I did a good j*b. I never played hooky but my heart wasn't always in it. I too got so I cared - but just not that much!