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
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
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
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
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
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
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.)
My Observations
Fed Employee DOD Tue Mar 20, 2007 6:13 PM
All too often, I meet retirees of all kinds who retire for travel, golf, family, hobbies, etc. Then after a year or two, they are working a job at much lower pay and with a difficult schedule that interfers with their original reason to retire. I say work an extra couple of years, or longer. That way, you go back to work out of choice and not need!!
My experience bears out everything he says. The majority of persons have not seena financial planner, don't have a very good idea of income or expenses in retirement. I have been retired 13 years now, and have kept busy with volunteer work.
I passed up an early out because at the time I didn't know where I was headed.
Boeing Study
Retired Federal Engineer / Program Manager DoD Wed Mar 21, 2007 8:45 PM
I forgot one of the most important reasons I went out the door as soon as I could after my 55th birthday. At my workplace in the Navy we called it the "Boeing Study", but I think there were several studies that supported the same result. In the study they tracked employees (mostly professionals I believe) after retirement until their deaths. At death, they became a "point" on a graph that shoed how long they had lived after retirement on one axis and the age they retired on the other axes. The data showed an amazingly linear relationship... a straight line with a slope of 2:1.
The result: For every year that you work past the age of 55, you take TWO YEARS off your life expectancy.
There can be many interpretations of this data and I've heard many of them. But as I approached 55, I wasn't going to argue with facts.
Take it for what it's worth...
Still Glad He Got Out At 55
Re: Boeing Study
Analyst USDA Mon Mar 26, 2007 1:35 PM
Whoa! Don't tell me that...I am past 55 but don't have enough years to retire. I was told by HR that I can retire at 60, which is what I had planned to do (I still won't have 30 years, but will be able to retire with full benefits and no penalty).
Waiting for VERA
Computer Specialist DoD Mon Mar 26, 2007 10:33 AM
I am anxiously awaiting a rumored VERA to come to our agency. Our business line has been in a slow decline for years - we've seen most of the IT work we used to pride ourselves on being taken over by outside contractors - they run the show, not us. If we were still getting work, I wouldn't mind staying. But it's not fun anymore - I have had to nag my supervisors/divison chiefs to get work assignments for the last few years, and even then there have been long dry stretches of trying to look busy. My husband is older and retired from DoD, and he is wants me to leave too but I want to get early retirement before I go. He has found fulfillment in volunteer work and that's what I intend to do too. When I started my career 23 years ago I loved it and never dreamed I would be ending it with such a mix of sadness and cynicism. I am proud of being a Federal worker, but it's just not the same place it used to be. I didn't lose my job to outsourcing but my morale sure went away.
Anticipating
engineer Interior Wed May 2, 2007 12:18 PM
I agree with the commentor "Waiting for VERA". My agency seems to be in a sort of death spiral which I don't think it will pull out of. The fun has long since departed. I'd like to stay longer, but the working conditions have become intolerable. I have my 30+ in, so I'll be gone by the end of the year.
retirement
RETIREE US ARMY Sat Sep 1, 2007 2:00 PM
There are many things to do after you retire. Go on any web search on voluntarism and you will find a long list, especially in the social service area. The federal government could also find use for volunteers especially in such areas as EEO counselors, early childhood, counseling, medical support and MWR activities, just to mention a few. The federal government is far behind the power curve in the recruitment of volunteers, I suppose because it may pose a threat to appropriatedd and non-appropriated salaried positions
No reason to be bored after retirement
Computer Scientist DON Wed Oct 10, 2007 11:22 AM
There is no reason to be bored after retirement. You are only bored if you choose to be. There's volunteer work, hobbies, part-time jobs, etc. If a person is that unimaginative and unmotivated, they probably wouldn't make a good employee anyway and should retire.
Practical Advice
PM USN Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:33 AM
Thanks for the open, honest insights into your situation. Good food for thought.
Your New Identity
Retired Senior Manager Department of the Interior Mon Apr 21, 2008 7:56 PM
I had a big job and title for years. But, "going up" GS-7, GS-11 or GS-15, my family and I lived within our means--we acquired no debt and we saved as much as we could. I retired 2 years ago with 34 years of service and was "one of the few" but maybe not "one of the proud" who switched from CSRS to FERS. Despite everything, I am happy to be retired. My greatest challenge in retirement has been to re-identify myself. My identity used to be intertwined with my job title. Now I am doing whatever I want to. I am mainly into volunteer work with 3 schools, meals on wheels delivery and a myriad of other activities which are fun. The best part: no more complaints! Everyone greets me with a smile and appreciation. And, I know that if I get tired, overwhelmed, bored, or start getting into feeling like I have those insurmountable problems or complaints, I can just "retire" again. Key point: plan your finances but also think about what makes you happy and do it.
What the Federal Govenment is not doing.
Aircraft Maintenance Worker AFMC Tue Apr 22, 2008 1:55 AM
I am in the process of taking an early retirement. What our organization is doing for us is zip/zero, but they want as many people as possible to take the early retirement and are offering a bonus. This will hopefully eliminate the need for a RIF. DPC doesn't have the manpower to counsel employees on a one on one basis. We are what is considered a limited base, (part of our records are in the computer and part are still in paper files), so EBIS can't figure our retirement for us. We are being asked to make the decision without being given the information we need. Not only that but they want it yesterday. Career federal govenment workers should be treated better. That is why I am retiring.
Retirement
Postal MGR USPS Tue Apr 22, 2008 9:00 AM
I'm leaving because of the stress and stupidity that runs rampid in our company.
Shock of retirement
ASI FAA Fri Aug 1, 2008 10:04 AM
I would like to hear from those who had power, privilege and authority and then retired.
Any regrets? After 3 mos, six mos., a year, etc,
I'm ready to go
Disgruntle employee Dept. of Treasury Tue Aug 12, 2008 8:55 AM
I find these article very exciting, interesting and so on.
I am tired mentally, physically and you know the rest.
Am I prepared for retirement? Is any one ever prepared for retirement? Will I live to enjoy retirement? I have seen so many people who continue to work past retirement and then when they retire they die within a year. I can retire in 2010 so they say. I am ready to go
now. I switch to FERS. I should have stayed in the old system. The difference between now and 2010 based on an estimated is the difference of $183.00 so they say. I have so much to do and so much to say to help people when I leave. Some of you retirees should be writing books about your life as an government worker, I know that I am. Some of you retirees should be helping people when you retire, I know that I am. In my profession there are restrictions, restrictions that no other federal employee has. So I look forward to being set free when I retire so that I can spread my wings and fly. Can't wait..
Retirement Can't Get Here Soon Enough
Fed Employee Fed Agency Thu Jan 22, 2009 4:25 PM
I can hardly wait for the day I can walk out the door for good. I have 30 years and am ready to leave NOW; however, I do not have the age. I'm tired of the office pettiness, narrow minded controlling supervisors and always having to answer to someone. When my retirement date rolls around in 2012, I will definitely be history - 33 years of having the same routine and ritual will abruptly come to an end and I will be ecstatic.
Don't know when to retire financially
Program Tech USDA - Farm Service Agency Wed Mar 18, 2009 10:22 AM
You seem to be knowable on retiring financially
life after retirment/one fed. retiree's perspectiv
union official irs Fri Oct 9, 2009 9:54 AM
being a baby boomer myself...........i will agree that if one retires and has to suppliment his reitrement income with another job...........we shoud stay in our present job for as long as possible
retirement
SSA
Tue Mar 20, 2007 9:11 AM
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
DoD
Tue Mar 20, 2007 9:20 AM
Re: retirement
DOD
Tue Mar 20, 2007 4:52 PM
Choice
DoD
Tue Mar 20, 2007 9:17 AM
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!
DoD
Tue Mar 20, 2007 10:03 AM
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...
DoD
Tue Mar 20, 2007 10:16 AM
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?
US Forest Service
Tue Mar 20, 2007 12:58 PM
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...
DoD
Tue Mar 20, 2007 1:07 PM
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...
DOD Army
Wed Mar 21, 2007 11:50 AM
early retirement
DOD
Tue Mar 20, 2007 6:09 PM
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
FAA
Wed Mar 21, 2007 3:59 PM
You are obviously miserable, but retiring into poverty is not going to make you happy.
Re: early retirement
Navy
Wed May 2, 2007 9:26 AM
Re: early retirement
DOD
Wed May 2, 2007 11:32 AM
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.)
My Observations
DOD
Tue Mar 20, 2007 6:13 PM
All too often, I meet retirees of all kinds who retire for travel, golf, family, hobbies, etc. Then after a year or two, they are working a job at much lower pay and with a difficult schedule that interfers with their original reason to retire. I say work an extra couple of years, or longer. That way, you go back to work out of choice and not need!!
Life after retirement
USAF Civ.
Wed Mar 21, 2007 12:59 PM
My experience bears out everything he says. The majority of persons have not seena financial planner, don't have a very good idea of income or expenses in retirement. I have been retired 13 years now, and have kept busy with volunteer work.
I passed up an early out because at the time I didn't know where I was headed.
Boeing Study
DoD
Wed Mar 21, 2007 8:45 PM
I forgot one of the most important reasons I went out the door as soon as I could after my 55th birthday. At my workplace in the Navy we called it the "Boeing Study", but I think there were several studies that supported the same result. In the study they tracked employees (mostly professionals I believe) after retirement until their deaths. At death, they became a "point" on a graph that shoed how long they had lived after retirement on one axis and the age they retired on the other axes. The data showed an amazingly linear relationship... a straight line with a slope of 2:1.
The result: For every year that you work past the age of 55, you take TWO YEARS off your life expectancy.
There can be many interpretations of this data and I've heard many of them. But as I approached 55, I wasn't going to argue with facts.
Take it for what it's worth...
Still Glad He Got Out At 55
Re: Boeing Study
USDA
Mon Mar 26, 2007 1:35 PM
Waiting for VERA
DoD
Mon Mar 26, 2007 10:33 AM
I am anxiously awaiting a rumored VERA to come to our agency. Our business line has been in a slow decline for years - we've seen most of the IT work we used to pride ourselves on being taken over by outside contractors - they run the show, not us. If we were still getting work, I wouldn't mind staying. But it's not fun anymore - I have had to nag my supervisors/divison chiefs to get work assignments for the last few years, and even then there have been long dry stretches of trying to look busy. My husband is older and retired from DoD, and he is wants me to leave too but I want to get early retirement before I go. He has found fulfillment in volunteer work and that's what I intend to do too. When I started my career 23 years ago I loved it and never dreamed I would be ending it with such a mix of sadness and cynicism. I am proud of being a Federal worker, but it's just not the same place it used to be. I didn't lose my job to outsourcing but my morale sure went away.
Anticipating
Interior
Wed May 2, 2007 12:18 PM
I agree with the commentor "Waiting for VERA". My agency seems to be in a sort of death spiral which I don't think it will pull out of. The fun has long since departed. I'd like to stay longer, but the working conditions have become intolerable. I have my 30+ in, so I'll be gone by the end of the year.
retirement
US ARMY
Sat Sep 1, 2007 2:00 PM
There are many things to do after you retire. Go on any web search on voluntarism and you will find a long list, especially in the social service area. The federal government could also find use for volunteers especially in such areas as EEO counselors, early childhood, counseling, medical support and MWR activities, just to mention a few. The federal government is far behind the power curve in the recruitment of volunteers, I suppose because it may pose a threat to appropriatedd and non-appropriated salaried positions
No reason to be bored after retirement
DON
Wed Oct 10, 2007 11:22 AM
There is no reason to be bored after retirement. You are only bored if you choose to be. There's volunteer work, hobbies, part-time jobs, etc. If a person is that unimaginative and unmotivated, they probably wouldn't make a good employee anyway and should retire.
Practical Advice
USN
Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:33 AM
Thanks for the open, honest insights into your situation. Good food for thought.
Your New Identity
Department of the Interior
Mon Apr 21, 2008 7:56 PM
I had a big job and title for years. But, "going up" GS-7, GS-11 or GS-15, my family and I lived within our means--we acquired no debt and we saved as much as we could. I retired 2 years ago with 34 years of service and was "one of the few" but maybe not "one of the proud" who switched from CSRS to FERS. Despite everything, I am happy to be retired. My greatest challenge in retirement has been to re-identify myself. My identity used to be intertwined with my job title. Now I am doing whatever I want to. I am mainly into volunteer work with 3 schools, meals on wheels delivery and a myriad of other activities which are fun. The best part: no more complaints! Everyone greets me with a smile and appreciation. And, I know that if I get tired, overwhelmed, bored, or start getting into feeling like I have those insurmountable problems or complaints, I can just "retire" again. Key point: plan your finances but also think about what makes you happy and do it.
What the Federal Govenment is not doing.
AFMC
Tue Apr 22, 2008 1:55 AM
I am in the process of taking an early retirement. What our organization is doing for us is zip/zero, but they want as many people as possible to take the early retirement and are offering a bonus. This will hopefully eliminate the need for a RIF. DPC doesn't have the manpower to counsel employees on a one on one basis. We are what is considered a limited base, (part of our records are in the computer and part are still in paper files), so EBIS can't figure our retirement for us. We are being asked to make the decision without being given the information we need. Not only that but they want it yesterday. Career federal govenment workers should be treated better. That is why I am retiring.
Retirement
USPS
Tue Apr 22, 2008 9:00 AM
I'm leaving because of the stress and stupidity that runs rampid in our company.
Shock of retirement
FAA
Fri Aug 1, 2008 10:04 AM
I would like to hear from those who had power, privilege and authority and then retired.
Any regrets? After 3 mos, six mos., a year, etc,
I'm ready to go
Dept. of Treasury
Tue Aug 12, 2008 8:55 AM
I find these article very exciting, interesting and so on.
I am tired mentally, physically and you know the rest.
Am I prepared for retirement? Is any one ever prepared for retirement? Will I live to enjoy retirement? I have seen so many people who continue to work past retirement and then when they retire they die within a year. I can retire in 2010 so they say. I am ready to go
now. I switch to FERS. I should have stayed in the old system. The difference between now and 2010 based on an estimated is the difference of $183.00 so they say. I have so much to do and so much to say to help people when I leave. Some of you retirees should be writing books about your life as an government worker, I know that I am. Some of you retirees should be helping people when you retire, I know that I am. In my profession there are restrictions, restrictions that no other federal employee has. So I look forward to being set free when I retire so that I can spread my wings and fly. Can't wait..
Retirement Can't Get Here Soon Enough
Fed Agency
Thu Jan 22, 2009 4:25 PM
I can hardly wait for the day I can walk out the door for good. I have 30 years and am ready to leave NOW; however, I do not have the age. I'm tired of the office pettiness, narrow minded controlling supervisors and always having to answer to someone. When my retirement date rolls around in 2012, I will definitely be history - 33 years of having the same routine and ritual will abruptly come to an end and I will be ecstatic.
Don't know when to retire financially
USDA - Farm Service Agency
Wed Mar 18, 2009 10:22 AM
You seem to be knowable on retiring financially
life after retirment/one fed. retiree's perspectiv
irs
Fri Oct 9, 2009 9:54 AM
being a baby boomer myself...........i will agree that if one retires and has to suppliment his reitrement income with another job...........we shoud stay in our present job for as long as possible