I guess the main anxiety that I had, was that I might fall through the cracks, might not be properly entered into the federal retirement system, and might just be forgotten - - and thus somehow not get my mini-pension, equal monthly TSP (~401K) payments, last paycheck payments, or health benefits in retirement, and would then have to deal with the biggest bureaucracy I know of (my former employer, the US federal government) to fix that. I had zero proof that I was a retired federal employee, since my agency does not provide retired fed employee ID cards. Since I worked at a secure location (and had to turn in my badge), I knew I couldn't just spontaneously show up at my workplace and waltz in there to deal with that type of thing. I got as many relevant phone numbers assembled as I could to prepare for the possibility of falling through the cracks, and kept them in a file at home. And waited. And waited, and waited for what seemed like an eternity. Nobody could even give me an estimate of how long any of this should take.Here were/are some of my bigger anxieties – What were yours?
I have one more hurdle early next year that causes worry. I will turn 70 and move from the late DW's social security account to my own. That will be a major portion of my retirement funding so I hope it all goes smoothly.I guess the main anxiety that I had, was that I might fall through the cracks, might not be properly entered into the federal retirement system, and might just be forgotten - - and thus somehow not get my mini-pension, equal monthly TSP (~401K) payments, last paycheck payments, or health benefits in retirement, and would then have to deal with the biggest bureaucracy I know of (my former employer, the US federal government) to fix that. I had zero proof that I was a retired federal employee, since my agency does not provide retired fed employee ID cards. Since I worked at a secure location (and had to turn in my badge), I knew I couldn't just spontaneously show up at my workplace and waltz in there to deal with that type of thing. I got as many relevant phone numbers assembled as I could to prepare for the possibility of falling through the cracks, and kept them in a file at home. And waited. And waited, and waited for what seemed like an eternity. Nobody could even give me an estimate of how long any of this should take.
But then, on the 78th day after I retired, the last of the expected deposits had appeared in my bank account. A month later I saw that my monthly deposits were continuing, so at last I could relax; I knew everything would be fine.
End of retirement anxiety! On with retirement FUN.... It's been such a wonderful adventure, best time in my life.
I'm in the cybersecurity industry, and so I deal with this every day. If the bad guys want you enough, they will get you. Your goal should be just enough of a PITA that they move to the next guy. In practice, that means:
- Don't use public wifi. It's trivial to sniff what is going over the wire.
- Make sure your systems are up to date with the latest bug fixes (use Windows 10 if you're a PC person)
- Use a password manager (I use Lastpass, but there are several of this ilk). Make all your passwords strong AND different. One of the first things I'll do if I get your Fidelity credentials is to try those same credentials at BofA, Lloyds, Citi, etc. until I get a match. And I will usually find a match)
- TURN ON TWO FACTOR AUTHENTICATION. This is a no-brainer and will protect you most of the time.
Also, monitor your credit card/bank accounts for suspicious behavior at least weekly. Set text alerts at the lowest $ amount possible - often times the first thing a fraudster will do is buy something for $1 just to see if the card is good. If it is, they hit you hard and fast. You're usually protected (at least in the US), but good to catch it early.
And no, Microsoft support will not call you at home telling you that they have detected suspicious behavior and can fix it for just $49.95.
Good news that at 60 your PSA normal range is 0..4.5 [emoji16]Oh yes - this anxiety really sucks, and scares us all. Ranks up there with having to eat cat food and live under a bridge.
Closely followed by the need to have access to good medical care with decent insurance.
Then, off in the distance, the LTC bogeyman is standing in front of the grim reaper.
Got a checkup after suffering from some indignities awhile back. Just got my second round of PSA results back today - down to 4.3 from 4.9 over six weeks. Still high. DW and I have been losing weight by eating Keto. I've also been taking Prost 10X natural remedy. The stuff contains bee pollen, saw palmetto, eye of newt, wing of bat and the like. This supplement has improved my symptoms but it is a friggin $100/month.
Interesting therapies that others have described never heard of before. I feel like I am on a watchlist. Next PSA is in 3 months.
Another thing I hadn't considered is what it'd be like ER'ing when most of the people living around me haven't. Those folks...are doing all sorts of improvements to their houses, remodeling, taking extravagent vacations, etc. ..
Those luxuries are nice...but if you didn't see people around you doing them, would you want them and regret not being able to get them? Or is it mostly a matter of envying what you see? Not talking about necessary things like home repair, but the fancy party you described, vacations, costly (and mostly unnecessary) renovations etc.
Because you can decide not to "see" it, or even to move away from it.
We moved to where we are basically the "poor" people among wealthy retirees, and couldn't care less. Our house is the smallest and plainest in the neighborhood, and the farthest from the ocean (which we wanted to be, anyway - no mandatory flood insurance). Yet, we are already garnering respect by doing repairs and yardwork that the previous owners had neglected. We have enough $$ for that, but not to put in a whole new kitchen, as some probably expect.
If it's a gmail login, you could use the + trick. first.lastname+random@gmail.com will still come to your first.lastname gmail account, and presumably someone would have to type in first.lastname+random instead of first.lastname to get your login ID correct. I haven't tried this myself.We use randomly generated strings of gibberish for those, and a password manager with strong encryption to manage it all..of course, it makes for some interesting conversations when you have to call in to a CSR..
Also suggest using something non-obvious for your login ids. I have one financial institution that insists on email for login id..I'm closing that one ASAP..
I have one more hurdle early next year that causes worry. I will turn 70 and move from the late DW's social security account to my own. That will be a major portion of my retirement funding so I hope it all goes smoothly.
Today was my last paycheck. Stepping off into the great unknown!
The biggest thing for us is that our house is approaching 20 years old, and things that will be fairly expensive to repair are starting to go kaput..so, we're looking at some big (roof - $15K+..floor repairs [flood] - $5K+, potential new driveway as current drive is cracked and sinking in spots - $15K+) repairs. Plus, we never intended to stay here as long as we have and are desperately looking to downsize into our 'retirement home' as current house is essentially a McMansion in an M-HCOL area, and it's pretty expensive on recurring costs (all in, $20K+/yr in property taxes, insurance, utilities and ongoing house-related costs). So, while we do have a plan that pays the bills, those repair expenses are like a cannonball or two hitting the broadside of the SS Early Retirement..
The other thing is that our house is pretty basic compared to those around us..graduation-party neighbor's house is crazy nice (he's a builder, which helps - probably got everything at 40% less than I could get it for), as are most of the others on our block. Ours is nice from the outside, but we never put huge $$ into the inside - unlike many of the neighbors have. (Of course, I also wonder how able to retire any of them will be and if they are essentially just living paycheck to paycheck, or close to it..) Soooo, when we go to sell this albatross, we're going to have a hard time meeting buyer's expectations for the neighborhood and are going to be competing with other for-sale houses that are much 'nicer' than ours..plus, we bought at market peak and every house in the sub today is selling for FAR less than anyone paid for it..I'm going to take a very heavy financial hit when we DO sell it..so, having a big chunk of $$ to put back into it now (at least finish the basement, for example), would make it more competitive..
So, no - we don't care about keeping up with the neighbors..but we do need to do things that are pretty costly just to keep the house competitive and reasonably well put together for when we do put it on the market..
Big life lesson in hindsight..even if you can afford it, buying more house than you "need" can be a huge mistake. (We thought we were buying as an "investment"..whoo boy, did that turn out to not be the case, as house has gone DOWN - not UP - in value..) The costs go on forever..and ever..if there was one thing I could do differently pre-ER, it would have been being in our retirement house BEFORE I ER'd. We tried hard to do that, but have not been able to find what we are looking for in many years of looking (lots of land..privacy..much smaller but still "nice" house. Like looking for a purple unicorn - that doesn't exist around here, and DW wants to stay in the area and near her big family)..
atmsmshr, this is off topic, but I am guessing that you worked at the FPL nuke plant on hutchinson island? My family and I used to go to hutchinson in the 60s. We would drive along a few miles and pull over and spend the day on the beach. There was no sign of any humans or buildings as far as you could see in any direction, and we would go all day long without seeing another person. I suspect it is not like that anymore!!!
Congratulations! Welcome to the retirement club! It will be an adjustment, but the stress reduction is wonderful!After 40 years in nuclear power, from 18 to 58, I am finally done smashing atoms. It was a career that has defined me and was part of my entire adult life.
An industry that had been a promising carbon free and inexpensive alternative to electrical power (not without controversy) is now in permanent decline in the USA. This is a pattern of economic forces so familiar to other industries. Very fortunate to have a career arc that spanned its zenith; providing me with intellectual challenge and my family with great benefits.
My abilities had peaked and I knew it, but did not let on. Memory not as sharp, stamina was waning, and stress was increasing. I had been the oldest manager for awhile - the previous majority burning out rather than retiring. My legacy knowledge was great for the position held, but mortality kept knocking at my thoughts. Following my internal decision to retire, I have lost 30 lbs since 1 April - the decision to become FIRE was such a relief.
My official retirement date is 1 August, but a large reserve of vacation got me leaving earlier. On Thursday I walked out for the last time from the security heavy and barbed wire fence line. My department had thrown a pot luck breakfast and then a lunch. The management team had a nice cake to say goodbye. Spent a day shaking hands and reminiscing. As expected, it was bittersweet- I will miss the people and challenges of problem solving but not the stress.
Now I have traded an office and 33 years at one power plant......
For the beach and unknown adventures with DW.
Atom
For Cyber security, I have heard using VPN's when you are out and about protects traffic by encryption. Is this false advertising?
It is not false advertising. A VPN can be used at all times, even when home. I use NordVPN (subscription) and it's easy peasy. I use mine 99% of the time. There are some sites (like my bank) where my VPN won't work but most of the time it works great.