General question : Retired or not?

[CurlyDave]

In my last job, I met a lot of guys who were in their late 60s or early 70s without a chance of retiring due to debt and demands of their families.

Amen to that.

In my last job, the company had two locations about 5 miles apart. One of the guys who worked on the loading dock was foolish enough to let not one, but two of his grown kids with families move back in with him.

The poor guy was over 70 and working to support his kids, their spouses and their children. Part of his job was driving a medium sized box-truck back & forth between the two locations. The company kept him doing this until he had his second heart attack, and then decided their liability was too high. So then he drove a little electric golf cart type vehicle around one location, making deliveries.

After his third heart attack, when he passed out in the golf cart in some obscure place and wasn't found for hours, they made him retire. He didn't last another two weeks.

 

[MikeD74T]

A friend & coworker of twenty years reached 100% retirement eligibility in early 2008. He told the company for the previous 6 months that he'd stay on long enough to train his replacement. Company was very slow at hiring & he kept working. In May,at age 61, on the first day of his vacation he died in his sleep 4 hours before boarding a plane to Las Vegas. I don't know if you can retire too early but you can surely retire too late. MikeD74T

 

[rfk]

As time goes by you will wonder where did you get the time to work a job.

 

[GreenWannabe]

I started claiming that I had reached "OOF-hood" several years before I retired, and with my financial situation didn't expect to retire before age 73. I finally saw my way clear, if I sold my RV, to be able to retire last year at age 65 years 10 months (full SS, ya know!). So nowthat I could really use the RV to travel in instead of just living in, I don't have it! But, that doesn't keep me from leaving later today finally on my long-planned three month trip to the northern states and west coast. So much travelling to do, so little time....

 

[radioman]

I have worked ever since I was old enough to ride a bike and then finally after working in the computer industry for 15 years I finally stepped down to part time work due to economy not being there for me. I am currently on SS due to disability and always looking for temp jobs near me. I am not even 50 yet but not considering to retire. I am one of those people who love to work and may do so late into 60's, 70. All the 401k's I had and other investment are worthless now due to tanked economy. Looks like I'll be working forever to survive. If the employers would step up and become loyal to their workers and start hiring again- I definitely would be working full time again.

 

[Foton404]

I retired and am not one to sit around waiting to die. I couldn't stand facing the boredom and started a mowing business. 4th year and it still does seem like entertainment rather than a job. It is satisfying, I decide when to get up and when to go to bed. No stress of comuting. I find it much better to please a customer than to please a boss. When you leave a mowing, look back and see a manicured lawn, now that's pleasing. We get about 40" of rain per year so I keep pretty busy with several lawns, several acreages, commercial lots and a cemetery. When I want to slow down I will cut back the number of customers/jobs. Of course it is not for everyone.

 

[greggh]

I have always dreamed about retiring, but fate has a way of putting obsticals in the way. Some of them were of my own doing. I depended too much on mutual funds that everyone said keep for the long haul. Everything was going well untill 2001, then things got better and I almost had the funds recoup what I had in 2001 when 2007-08 hit and not paying enough attention left the funds thinking that they couldn't retract that much again. Well.....as everyone knows that was a poor decision. By the time I woke up it was too late.

The other was fate, It seemed that all the companies I worked for were sold to others before I could gather enough time for retirement. The one I am working for at the present needs ten years for retirement eligibility. I have one and a half left to go. So I am real close again and keeping my fingers crossed that I can keep this one at least until the day of eligibility. I don't plan on retiring at that time because of the economic situation of today. All in all I have been very fortunate to still have a job when so many have lost theirs. I will be 66 in July and I will start drawing SS, but a person cannot plan retirement on that income.

I am slowly working my property into shape on weekends and hopefully I will have orchards in place and a good building spot finished for the day I do retire. Right now I really enjoy working on the property on the weekends and look forward every week to those weekends. As long as I have my weekends I don't mind not being retired, working allows me to be able to buy more toys..er.. implements for the tractor and the property.

Slow and steady is the course. Sorry for the long post, it seems like my fingers keep moving like my mouth sometimes.

 

[skent]

Hoping to make it happen in May of 2011. Will be 55 and have enough time (31 years) to take early retirement. We'll most likely have to sell property and move to another state, since Maryland is very high - both for income taxes and property taxes. But three of the four kids are off on their own and the insurge of development around me have changed the equation.

 

[Lil_FarmerJim]

Not even close to retiring, way to much time in front of me to even tink about it. I just keep doing what I love and that keeps me happy and busy. As my tag line says, there just isn't enough time in the day to do it all.

 

[Mace Canute]

I retired on the first of June this year after 35 years as a lineman for the provincial electrical utility. I grew up on a mixed farm and worked outside of school hours since I was 12-13 and many times I did the same work the men would do, nothing out of the ordinary there...that was the way of it for farm kids back then. All in all I have been working for a good 45 years, 40 of them out on my own. May 25, I had trouble peeing...and there was blood in the small amount of urine that did pass. A trip to the ER and they catheterized me, and did some tests while I was in. They found a good sized tumour on my right kidney and on June 10, I had the kidney removed. Now I will spend about 6 weeks recovering from the surgery. Summer is shot! They also diagnosed me with Type 2 diabetes combined with high blood pressure. A fine way of entering retirement, eh? I can't understand the people who say "I might as well keep working because I still have my health." What are they waiting for? Are they waiting until they are so old and decrepit that they can't work anymore? By that time you can't do anything anymore! And yes, I fully understand that many people cannot afford to retire and I truly feel for them...I am fortunate in that respect, but for those who can and haven't, give your head(s) a shake! Make your remaining time 100% YOUR time, not an employers. Remember, retirement doesn't mean you aren't useful anymore or that you are going to be bored out of your mind with nothing to do..it is what you make of it! Make it the best years of your life!

 

[newbury]

When I started this thread I expected to get about 10 or 20 responses and hoped to be able to gauge what the % of the board was retired.
Based on what I've read about half of us are in the "retired" category.

Now I never thought retired meant NOT WORKING. I plan on working my butt off when I retire, but not for someone who can fire me. My present job involves a lot of travel, which (until i figured I'd seen most of the world) was great. But now I'm getting ready to try and improve 300 acres in Mississippi.

Tractor time is smile time.

Funny, when I was growing up my father got me hired me by a farmer for a summer. Made me look around and decide I did not want to work like that.
Now I'm looking forward to doing about the same thing.

So peeps, please keep contributing to this thread, again I'm most interested in your user name and retirement status, but all the stories are great.

 

[Motorcop]

I plan to retire sometime in the next 5-9 years. By that time I will have 31-35 years with the PD and will be somewhere between 51-56 years old (46 now). I started with the department as a really young pup and just kind of stayed there like a fixture (hit 26 years this week). Love my job (If you like what you do, you'll never work a day in your career). Hate the politics. But I guess those are in any job.

 

[newbury]

<snip>If you like what you do, you'll never work a day in your career). Hate the politics. But I guess those are in any job.

And that's the grist - Sometimes I wondered why they paid me for the fun I had. Now the "regulators" are coming in and making it a JOB!

 

[flusher]

From another thread:


How many of us are doing this as "retired"?
I'm almost there and looking forward.
I know it's a big difference from holding down a 50 hr/week job and having to squeeze "seat time" in on the odd hour, or having "seat time" as a business.
/edit - retired = OOF - Official Old F@rt

That's me--a genuine OOF.

Retired in Jan97 after 32 years working as an aerospace engineer. Moved from So. CA in 2004 to No. CA, bought 10 acres, got my first tractor (2005 Kubota B7510HST), started haying last year. Joined the EDGE/TA local chapter last year and am deep into tractor and haying implement restoration projects. Now have 4 tractors (2008 Mahindra 5525, 1964 MF-135 diesel, 1951 Farmall Super A, 1951Minneapolist Moline BF that's now being restored). Looking for a used gooseneck trailer to haul my old tractors around with my F150.

 

[Iowachild]

I presently have 36 years and 4 months at the oil refinery I work for. 4 years, 7months, 6 days to go. But then who's counting?

 

[ragkar]

Your hobbies will change with retirement. One friend of mine use to spend every moment possible on the golf links. When he retired, he gave up golf. His explanation: a hobby is something that you steal time to indulge in. When you can do it all the time it is no longer a hobby.

 

[milkman]

I retired in '80, then in Jan '89 I decided to do what I wanted to do when I completed high school, I started driving a truck. Two years later I bought my own truck and had a bunch of good luck and made some good money. I retired again in '04 when I had to have shoulder surgery. Three surgeries on my left and two on my right shoulders and two kidney stones later, I'm ready to go again. I've had three different job offers, but I don't have time to work now.

 

[JAE 3400]

I will be retired two years come Sept. I worked 31 years for two different railroads spent a lot of time away from home and missed a lot of the kids school things but it provided a good living for us,and now the pension is great. Now when I work now its when I want to and doing what I enjoy [seat time] on my new L 3400.

 

[avgguy]

Been retired for 3 yrs, retired at 55. Seems like 55 is the goal for retirement for most. Been very busy at doing what I want, when I want........... well, ok, what and when SHE wants me to do it. Got a B2400 and ZD21 myself and son keeps his B3030 here, so I got plenty of toys to keep me smiling. and 20 acres of playground, lol.

 

[gordyy]

I am 52
Have been Partially disabled on and off since 1998 when an accident at work crushed my knee, a lot of doctor visits, tests, physical theraphy (lets just say Workers Compensation called the medical shots) finally the first arthoscopic exploratory surgery in 2006, and then several fix it surgeries. Finally a new knee, then a workers comp ordered fuctional test to see how bad I really was ( a fraud test they say) in which my knee cap was broken ( one of those you have to try, you cant just say no it hurts. try in front of us or we stop your compensation $$) Another surgery, apply for Social security find out I have not enough money to be comforatble but too much for anything but just the $ paid for no work. Got a list of assets a person can own and found out I can have a really big garden tractor to use on the house and yard and consider it part of the household assets, so I bought the SCUT that fits my leg best, did a little modifying on the seat and controls so I can use it.
The doctor says I can sit on it all I want as long as I don't feel pain.
Can maybe work my way up to 15 or 20 hours a week (Doc figures I can never sit or stand in one position to be able to work more than that at any job ever again)
Sure beats going to school to be a telemarketer like work comp wants
I can make more than $8.45 per hour on this and still be outside and having fun

Now just have to figure out if I want to live in a trailer on my acres ( Ifigure the odds of me making enough to build a real house ever are slim or none. but I dream of building a 60 'X 100' building with house, heated shop, and cold storage all in one) or staying in town where help if and when I need it are near.
The biggest problem with a disablility I have are being a fairly large strong guy is 4 years ago I could pick up 500lbs and move it now I am not supposed to carry 2 gallons of milk at a time.

Oh well all I can say is spending $20,000 on a TOY Tractor has been better than spending it on a shrink for depression (workers comp doesnt help with that either )
I sit on my tractor and grin from the moment I open the garage door till I close it behind me