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Life After Retirement: One Federal Retiree's Perspective

retirement

judge
SSA
Tue Mar 20, 2007 9:11 AM

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I have looked at retirement, but after my 65th birthday, I realized that there was nothing to keep my time at retirement. I enjoy my work, in good health, so at this time in my life, I chose to continue working.

Re: retirement

Program Manager
DoD
Tue Mar 20, 2007 9:20 AM
Congratulations, but good public service includes making room for those we train and prepare to succeed us. If we hang around too long, we impede others' ability to move up and make contributions. The longer we stay, and despite the best intentions to be progressive and advance to ideas, our perspectives get stale. Sometimes the best thing we can do to make a contribution is to retire.

Re: retirement

Reservist
DOD
Tue Mar 20, 2007 4:52 PM
As much as many people long for the day they can retire the reality is that working can keep you healthy, mentally alert and feeling that life has real meaning. Many people who thought they would be happy in retirement discovery that they become board and depressed. Alcoholism rages among the depressed - retired community. As far as retiring for the purpose of making room for the younger generation, I think that reason alone is a bad reason to retire. The world is getting increasingly older and the American workforce of the future will be filled with lots of 60 and 70-somthings. Age alone is not a reason to retire---lifestyle, happyness, family considerations and personal goals are some key factors. There is room enough for the younger generation and we can serve them well as older (hopefully wiser) mentors. Think hard about retirement--work may keep you alive and vital.

Choice

Program Manager
DoD
Tue Mar 20, 2007 9:17 AM

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The great thing about voluntary retirement is that is a choice. For those that plan well, invest wisely over the long term, set reasonable goals and are in generally good health, the change in quality of life should improve dramatically. If one still has a passion for public service, the choice could be to continue to work or, to make room for those coming under that ladder behind you, retire and fulfill your passions with volunteer work or elected positions. In many locales, there are too many elected officials that serve not for the passion of public service, but for the springboard it provides to personal financial interests. Maybe we need to encourage retiring public service employees to seek elected positions and return to the people the results of their tax contributions to their salaries. This could increase the number of elected officials who are focused on service to the public, and give retirees a chance to continue their public service and achieve personal fulfillment.

Why Retire--Here's Why!

Technical Information Specialist
DoD
Tue Mar 20, 2007 10:03 AM

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I'd urge everyone to take a retirement seminar a few years before they are about to retire. My agency sent several of us to a three day seminar--it was terrific! They talked about all aspects of retirement, not just how to figure out your annuities, but we learned about health concerns, financial planning, how to cultivate outside interests, where and when to retire. The author is extremely fortunate that he was able to find a consulting position after retirement. But most of the rank and file will not be able to do that. They don't have the contacts, networking abilities or marketable skills; his story is not typical. I don't want to work after I retire (which will be in 5 years--I have to hang on to get that 30 years). Why do I want to retire? Because I am bored on my job! It's dead-end and not fulfilling. I want to sleep late, pursue my hobbies, travel, read books, participate in senior activities in my area--trips, exercise, volunteer, church work--have some fun in life!

Retirement quotes to live by...

Retired Federal Employee
DoD
Tue Mar 20, 2007 10:16 AM

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At my retirement luncheon I gave three quotes that I believe in:

The first is by author unknown, but quoted by Steven Covey (7 Habits of Highly Successful People): "No one on their death bed ever wished they spent more time at the office"

The second is by fitness guru Jack LaLanne: "You've got to work at living - 99.9 percent of Americans work at dying!" (PS he's 92 so their must be something to this one).

The last is by author unknown (but again often quoted by Steven Covey): "I'm trying to become the kind of person my dog thinks I am"

I live by these and have never looked back or regretted retiring for a minute...

On or Off The Fence?

Contracting Officer
US Forest Service
Tue Mar 20, 2007 12:58 PM

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I have less than 4 yrs. to retire, do I want to retire? NO, however the job stress and dysfunction is too much. For many of us it's a difficult choice to either stay or take a calculated risk and leave. For me I value my sanity and health, therefore I believe the trade-off to leave is worth it to leave.

Still Not Looking Back...

Retired Federal Engineer / Program Manager
DoD
Tue Mar 20, 2007 1:07 PM

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I retired from DoD almost 3 years ago. I also had a job that was just not fun anymore, which made retirement a no-brainer option as my age approached 55. I was lucky, in that I had almost 38 years of service, a decent GS grade, and had participated in the TSP fully for quite some time. Thanks to a pretty sophisticated spread-sheet program I had developed over the years, I knew to the penny how much money I was going to receive at retirement and what percentage of my current take home salary it represented. There were no financial surprises.

All that said, I have to admit there may come a point where I will take on a part-time job just to keep busy. But it is very nice to work because you want to versus having to.

A couple of lessions learned. Remember that not all of the expenses you have today follow you into retirement (you don't have to pay CSRA or Medicare Part B, for example). And it IS possible to reduce your finanacial requirements.

Enjoy,
Never Looked Back!

Re: Still Not Looking Back...

Budget Analyst
DOD Army
Wed Mar 21, 2007 11:50 AM
I can retire in 4 yrs and 6 months. I will not work one day longer. Money is not always the reason people wont retire. They like the power and will lose it when they retire. I am CSRS offset and a widow. I get both my pension and Social Security. I have learned that material things are so unimportant. I left Civil Service for 10 years because my husband had retired and we were full time RV'ers. We had a blast and lived only on his military retirement. The quality time we spent together will comfort me the rest of my life. He passed away 4 years ago and I have never regretted one second of this time when we were retired. I went back to the government to finish my time and have 4 years to go. Life sometimes teaches you what is really important by showing you what you really can do without. You dont need material things, you need family. Retire and enjoy, you dont need lots of money for the fun things in life. The best retirement gift you can give yourself is yourself

early retirement

Nameless, faceless nobody
DOD
Tue Mar 20, 2007 6:09 PM

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I am a very low ranking office flunky. Even if I stayed until just before I died I would not have much money to retire on. I am also CSR, I hired on in the very last year of CSR eligibility. I have a great deal of fear as to what "they" will do to the rules, (high 5 vice high 3, avail of health ins, etc.) I keep getting caught in BRACs, RIFs, CA-76s, reorganizations, etc. I have trained and retrained BUT...don't have a degree and for various inescapable reasons won't. My various credit hours just don't add up to a degree and won't in time to be of practical use in government.

However, I am seriously contemplating retiring as soon as I can qualify for a voluntary early retirment. I will have 25 years. It just isn't fun any longer. I will have to work another job and plan, since I will have my income supplimented by my (2% reduced per yr,) retirement to stash as much as I can into my 401K or IRA.

I would rather stay until/past 55. But, don't know if I can risk it.

Re: early retirement

Principal Safety Inspector
FAA
Wed Mar 21, 2007 3:59 PM
I really think you should find a new position in the private sector and then quit your current job.
You are obviously miserable, but retiring into poverty is not going to make you happy.

Re: early retirement

Gov't employee
Navy
Wed May 2, 2007 9:26 AM
Never, ever consider yourself a low ranking office flunky. Whatever you do is of value. Someone has to do the "grunt" work but TOGETHER we succeed. Those at the top are nothing without those in the middle and at the bottom. I used to work for a guy that said "be careful on the way up, because you might be working for them on the way back down." My recommendation is that you take on any and every project or event that will give you both satisfaction AND the visibility you need. Remember "It's a Wonderful Life"... as for hanging in there until 55, you've come this far...dig in!

Re: early retirement

Nameless, faceless nobody
DOD
Wed May 2, 2007 11:32 AM
Hey Safety Inspector...

As I said, I am CSRA. I walk away with nothing if I leave now. I need 25 years and a VISR authority to leave to private sector now. And I will likely go to work in a non-profit if I get out in the next couple years.

I am not miserable. Just stating facts. It isn't SAFE to be where I am in government any longer but I have to hope I can hold on. I now find my "value" almost completely outside of my job instead of having a healthy combination of satisfactions both on and off the job. I am hardly the only one. I still perform very well out of pride. I am also one of the few survivors. So many in my kind of work have been forced out. Those I serve gripe when they don't have our services and have to pitch in on the routine stuff but they don't respect us or our skill sets.

I once worked for a cdr who felt that if we weren't having fun while we did the job then we weren't doing it right. (We were constantly rated top in our field back then.)
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