They want me to stay.... What Would You Do?

[Dtail]

You know already the answer is no.......

 

[skyking1]

I'll pile on too
the 300 on the pension is so not enough. Run don't walk!

 

[street]

If you invest that pension & 401K to work for you, it will make you more money, then your yearly salary. You will be surprised how much more you will have then working. Get the money working for you.

 

[USGrant1962]

When "THE MAN" wants you to keep working you are in the driver's seat. You should ask about a retention bonus. Basically, if you stay for 24 months (or if they release you within 24 months) you get a substantial bonus. For a 2-year commitment, one year's salary is typical. They probably won't go for it, but if they offer that you can come back here and discuss if it is worthwhile .

Otherwise, FIRE away! Per the "miserable" word.

 

[street]

^ Very good point. If they really want you, then they will have to come up big.

 

[RunningBum]

Where's that Time > Money cartoon? The OP almost certainly doesn't need the money, but you want him to stick around for 2 miserable years? That's crazy! Terrible idea.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

If "they" = "mafia," then yes, stay.
If "they" != "mafia," then no!

 

[VanWinkle]

My director pulled me aside the other day and informed me that they are not wanting me to retire, and are asking me to stay at least 2 more years and restart a substation we tried a few years ago. Back then I worked it and it was miserable, and our call volume is now higher.
I recalculated my retirement with the possibility of working it, and it will only add about $300 a month to my monthly retirement check. I can almost make that working PT one shift a month.. (If I decide to go back)
Other benefits ....
Saving about $550 a month for insurance for 2 years.
Adding $20-30K to my 401K.
SS wont really change any.

Currently FireCalc says I have a 98% success rate on retiring this year,
WITHOUT the wife's money included, Dropping $25K in a few years for a truck and waiting till full SS at 67.

Will this help you buy the most precious commodity- Time? We have
a limited amount of time and no way to purchase more. Remember this
when making your decision.

VW

 

[Jerry1]

Old medic - you do realize that you posted this question on an early retirement forum, don’t you?

You’d have to make a pretty good case to remain working for this group to encourage you to not retire.

 

[old medic]

Again Thanks everyone.... not long here, and have picked up a lot of info, and learning more on a regular basis, Developed a FireCalc addiction. LOL.
I truly understand the time aspect of life... get to see the dark side of it on a regular basis.
Being this is not a private company, Theres not a chance of a huge retaining package...
Honestly they could hire 2 new bodies for what they pay me now.
And Lord knows I have plenty of work around here to do...

 

[mystang52]

OP made his decision already, but I just wanted to add something significant about the request that was made. They wanted him to stay AT LEAST 2 more YEARS. Yikes. Seriously, I could understand them asking for a few months, but their actual request was outlandish.

 

[dirtbiker]

So to sum things up, the general consensus is to keep working?

 

[Chuckanut]

My favorite FIRE cartoon is below. I can't tell you what to do . I can only share my own experience. I have been retired for nearly 9 years. I am in descent health and a few years ago had a new knee joint installed to replace my old damaged one. But, there is no doubt that at this point in life, I am more limited in what I can do physically than 9 years ago. Thankfully, during the previous nine years I traveled and did a lot of other things that I wanted to do in retirement. Money was not a big issue. I flew premium economy rather than 1st class. That is about the biggest money saving sacrifice I made. I can can still travel, play with the grands, and enjoy life. It's just that there are a few more limits on my activities. As time goes by I expect those limitations to increase. It's the nature of things.
My 2¢. Take what you wish and leave the rest.

 

[ivinsfan]

Again Thanks everyone.... not long here, and have picked up a lot of info, and learning more on a regular basis, Developed a FireCalc addiction. LOL.
I truly understand the time aspect of life... get to see the dark side of it on a regular basis.
Being this is not a private company, Theres not a chance of a huge retaining package...
Honestly they could hire 2 new bodies for what they pay me now.
And Lord knows I have plenty of work around here to do...

No chance of a nice retention Bonus..I'm intrigued that this company thinks they are so special that you owe them a favor at the cost of your personal time...that's pretty nervy IMO

 

[Dalmore]

If staying isn't going to improve your retirement lifestyle, there is no reason to stick around. As Aerides said, "What do YOU want to do." "They" don't care about you or your health. THEY only care about the bottom line and what you can do for them today.

Do what is right for you.

 

[RetireeRobert]

.
You will have to offset the value of two years of healthy retirement against the opportunity cost of acceding to your director's request.

Just one thing....you cannot buy time. Especially healthy retirement time. Once it has passed it has gone forever.

+1 You will "never" ever get back that two years. And you still have to option to w*rk parttime if you really fell you need that little extra bit of money.

If it were me, I would retire!

 

[Scrapr]

If "they" = "mafia," then yes, stay.
If "they" != "mafia," then no!

https://images.app.goo.gl/wWyhssXGvAqdtDPu5

just when I thought I was out....they drag me back in

 

[old medic]

The "company" is actually public service... and they aren't making any profit from me..
Well except off my property tax... Its the dedication and experience that they don't want to loose. Half the medics we have were not even born when I started, and the mind set shows in many of them.

 

[ivinsfan]

The "company" is actually public service... and they aren't making any profit from me..
Well except off my property tax... Its the dedication and experience that they don't want to loose. Half the medics we have were not even born when I started, and the mind set shows in many of them.

That makes it easier you have provided plenty of public service, don't let them guilt you into providing more.

 

[dirtbiker]

The "company" is actually public service... and they aren't making any profit from me..
Well except off my property tax... Its the dedication and experience that they don't want to loose. Half the medics we have were not even born when I started, and the mind set shows in many of them.

I wouldn't let this change your decision.

 

[Andre1969]

Old_Medic, even though the consensus here seems to be, get the hell outta Dodge, and as quickly as possible, it's still reasonable, that you posted your question. After pretty much spending your entire life either working in your career, or leading up to it (school, training, etc), it's hard to make a decision that's suddenly going to leave that all behind. So, even though the answer might seem obvious in retrospect, it's still good to bounce your thoughts off of us here, just for that added peace-of-mind that you're probably doing the right thing. Or, in the off chance there's something you're missing, I'm sure someone here would catch it.

I'm in a somewhat similar situation, where I could easily retire, presuming my FireCalc assumptions are correct and I didn't make any mistakes with the input. But then, for each month I keep working, I think about how much is going into my checking account to cover expenses, how much is still going into my 401k, and how much it's saving me on health insurance. And, as a result, it's hard to make the jump into retirement.

When I do start getting serious about it, I might be posting a similar question, with my own specifics, just to get sort of a reality check.

 

[FloridaJim57]

After a certain age, time is your most important commodity, not money. After age fifty or so, you realize that there is more of the landing strip behind you, than in front of you. And the plane does not go backwards under any circumstances. Tell your managers or whomever that your retirement plans are firm and make the most of whatever space you have left on the runway in front of you.

 

[nhcycling]

Do you want to work 2 more years or do you want to retire? The money is secondary at this point, you’ve reached your goal!

 

[38Chevy454]

You can add more years to your working, but you can't add more years to your retirement.

 

[W2R]

Good heavens, in your situation I'd RETIRE. You can afford it and time is slipping by.