Retirement--staggered or simultaneous?

H will be retiring from his full-time job which he has held for over 4 decades in the near future. His pension will be enough for us to live comfortably on and also provide health insurance for the rest of our lives, with us paying a portion toward the premium. I work part-time and am weighing the pros & cons of "retiring" with him. My "job" is working at a non-profit that I started which I enjoy--most of the time. I am leaning toward continuing to run it, so we will see how things play out. Don't enjoy having to chase grants, but that is mostly how our non-profit is run, like most non-profits.

Do any of you wish to share about whether you & your partner retired together or at different times, how well/poorly that worked for you? Some of H's friends tried retiring & ended up not liking it much, so they went back to different jobs--some now teach at the local U or other schools while one was hired at several different sequential jobs and others dabble at a lot of things they didn't previously have time for.

My DH is 10 yrs older, although he looks & acts younger than 65. So he retired about 3.5 yrs ago. I still work, for financial as well as insurance coverage. I wish I could retire now so that we could travel more, but am happy with the way it is.

Our arrangement works for us, he does most of the housework while I am at work. He has been called back out of retirement once for a few weeks- I admit I enjoyed that as we work for the same company & I had a chauffer for those few weeks. He wishes I could retire sooner, so we could hop in the RV & not worry when we had to be home. But as I said the arrangement works out pretty good the way it is. I get about 5 weeks vacation ea year, we use that to travel.

We retired at the same time (last year) and fortunate to be able to retire aged 57. It's worked fine for us and we are always busy, caring for our grandson and undertaking community voluntary work. The main bonus is that we can travel whenever we want, for however long and thankfully we can afford it. So we will do the long haul trips whilst our health is good and enjoy life and the opportunities we are blessed to have.

I guess I'll just see how well and long this goes for me at my non-profit. H will retire when he wants & I'll see. At least we COULD have both of us decide to retire and my job has a ton of flexibility. I also love most of what I do. Hmmm. Good to read the options & different view of folks.

I retired last year (mandatory from my employment). My husband will be working another 3-7 years. He is making good money to put away (did I also mention 3 college kids?). Since he doesn't adore cruising, I am getting in a lot of solo travel right now.

It works for us, but would not work for everyone.

It's nice to hear that many can and do retire early. My DS (25) says that we have it backwards. We should only start to work when we've done everything we want to do... :roll eyes: I will try to work as long as I can. In the next 8-9 years I will try to find a less stressful and more flexible position. DH is self employed and has partnered with our younger DS so he too plans to work as long as he can. I always say if I work I don't have time to do everything and if I don't I won't have the $ to do anything:p. No kids in college anymore, no mortgage, but I guess we have a comfortable lifestyle and like to help our kids as needed.

Neither H nor I have a job kids want to join. The closest we have is that S works for the fed govt, as H did. :) D wants to blaze her own trail in LA & I'm excited for her. We want to support her as much as she needs and we are able.

I always think it's neat when parents have a job/business that the kids want to and can join/further. It would be cool if things worked out for us in that manner, but so far it hasn't.

My mom just had an auto accident where the airbag deployed & fractured her sternum and two ribs! Helped remind us that we need to live each day to the fullest as the time when we need to care for them may be sooner than we think (or would like). She's recovering well, but it was a scare seeing her in the ER all hooked up to monitors.

Several months ago I was trolling the cruise line's sites and discovered a really neat cruise that I thought might be good for us. 28 days to Hawaii and French Polynesia. We both have the time, although our work places would not be really happy having us gone that long. The more we looked at the cruise, the bigger the light bulb that indicated we should both pull the plug at the same time. We are both mid-60s and are working full-time.

So, we made the decision. January 10 is the day and then the cruise starts February 1. What will we do when we return? That is a big question for our co-workers. They don't believe that either or both of us will be content to be at home 5 days each week.

Less than 150 days. We'll see what we shall see!

Jim

Just wondering whether either or both of your workplaces would consider giving you the right to return after your vacation/retirement, if it doesn't turn out to be as rosy as you had predicted?

At H's workplace, he can (& did) complete a form so if they NEED him back, he could be temporarily rehired. Some places offer a transition of less than full time before full retirement, for folks interested in that as well. H's workplace doesn't offer it and he's not sure he'd be interested if they did anyway.

Interesting that you mention this. My supervisor and I had a discussion about whether I should postpone my retirement for a couple of weeks, then take my 4 week cruise and then return to work. I think not! I hope that they have my replacement at the desk. If they need me for something, I will be gracious and advise. No returning there. Nice folks, but...

Karen has had a verbal offer from someone, but she would work only on her terms. That would be 2 full days a week, not 5 half days. I gave up with her trying to guess on things like that.

I am 66 and Karen is 65. At sometime in one's life, ya gotta pull the plug! We have 70 days of cruising set for next year. I don't believe that I will return to my old job. Maybe I'll get one of those things that has you standing in a grocery store, heating up whatevers to tempt people to buy. One for the customer, one for me, one for the customer, one for me! Our food budget would be minimal!!

Jim

Yea, there are some of H's buddies who were bored in retirement and have started new part-time careers, like teaching at college/community college level, manage property, active in community organizations, etc. H is hedging his options and has completed paperwork so he COULD go back when requested, IF he wants. Hard to say what he will ultimately decide he wants--whatever he wants in terms of full-time retirement or continuing to work full time or anything in between is fine with me.

I'm lucky that H has always been fine with me working as much or as little as I want, pursing what interests me. :)

OK, I understand your concern about his retirement, but what will happen when you eventually stop working? Are there plans? With you around, will that drive him to find work?

Jim

My husband (65) retired 3 years ago (got early retirement) and I am still working (63). I am working for insurance. Some days it is not so bad but some days are brutal. He helps our daughter and her husband ferry our grandkids to sports and visits my Mom in the nursing home a lot but when I call him during the day and he is napping I want to crawl through the phone and strangle him. When I retire the first thing we will do is the Panama Canal cruise.

I work in a nursing home and most of our residents nap both mid-morning and right after lunch. When people ask me what I intend to do when I retire, I respond that I am going to catch up on my naps!!

Jim

My wife passed away 7 years ago, and I continued working to have something to fill the days. I was blessed to meet a widow, and we were married over 4 years ago.

I retired in 2009 and have not looked back.

I am active in Civil Air Patrol, a Railroad Historical Society, and a food pantry. We live a half mile from a small airport that I fly from.

We are traveling as much as possible while we are in good health. We have been on 13 cruises and have 3 more booked for next year.

My current job is one that I do mostly out of our home & has great flexibility in how much/little I choose to do. It is one I can keep as long as I continue to get funding for it. I am getting tired of chasing grants, so am not sure how much longer I will keep this job.

Almost daily at work, someone comes into my office to make a comment something like, "You can't retire!"

Every time I hear that, it makes me want to tell them how many days it will be. Unfortunately, I don't keep track of that, so all I do is smile!

Jim

If you enjoy what you're doing...keep doing it! Being happy is a big part of life. My hubby is working toward his retirement.....I've been semi-retired for years....(I work for our business, but I make my own hours....and about 2 hours daily is all I put in! Lucky me!)....I don't mind what I do....and I can do it from almost anywhere, so even if he totally retires, I can continue on, if I choose.

I doubt you'll want to be "joined at the hip" every single second of every single day during retirement.....so figure out how much "togetherness" you want...and go from there.

Almost daily at work, someone comes into my office to make a comment something like, "You can't retire!"

 

Every time I hear that, it makes me want to tell them how many days it will be. Unfortunately, I don't keep track of that, so all I do is smile!

 

Jim

OTOH - I can say that I have been retired for 1 year, 3 months and 27 days,but who is counting ......

Retirement for me has been great!

We're getting closer! Karen on December 31 and I will finish on January 10. Then a 28 day cruise to Hawaii and South Pacific. Mentally, we are ready.

Jim

When my husband retired I retired. He had a home office for 15 years so I was use to having him around. We are having a blast - people ask me what retirement is like, I tell them "I get up when I've had enough sleep, go to bed when I am tired, eat when I am hungry, drink when I want and every day is a Saturday" There honestly are days when we have to look at the newspaper to know what day it is. We have a camp and we basically go there from May until October, only come home for Dr appts. Our watches hang on our banana rack for the summer - unless we have an appt who cares what time it is. We volunteer lots from October until April then after that we vanish. In fact I am in the Red Cross office manning phones and tomorrow I am driving. Our adult kids say they need a flow chart to keep track of us. My theory is "if I stop I will get old" and I am way too young to stop.

Our circumstances were slightly different. I was diagnosed with cancer 5 years ago whilst working in a job that I loved for 30 years. After chemo etc etc I was offered voluntary redundancy, with immediate access to my pension, so I 'retired' at 57. My husband is 8 years older and decided to retire at the same time.

We've had a fantastic few years and really don't know how we found time to work. We really 'got into' cruising, plus we have an apartment (condo) in Spain, and spend about 4 months a year abroad. The calendar is full (19 grandchildren) and I've had to block out 2 days as free time this month. BUT I'm now finding that I need something to do, feeling that my brain needs something to keep it active (if that makes sense), so I've found some voluntary work with a local school and that has made a huge difference.

Perhaps the difference for me was that I 'had' to retire, perhaps it's different when you work until pension age.

The date is getting closer. Karen is counting the number of days of work. I figure that I'll start to count when she retires.

People used to stop at my office and say that I could not retire! Now they are accepting it (I have a complete itinerary of our retirement cruise posted for all to see). And, little by little I clear out some personal things and that is being noticed. I am glad that I did not get fired, I would have had to enlist at least 4 people to haul away my 'stuff'.

The reality is beginning to set in. It is sorta scary, but I will look at it as a new-and-better phase of my life.

December 31 for Karen; January 10 for me.

Jim

Hi Jim ,

I wish you and Karen everything of the best. I am sure you will both enjoy your retirement. My DH took early retirement 15 years ago while I have always been a stay at home Mom. We both started doing volunteer work twice a week and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves helping other folks trace their family histories (Genealogy) It helped us expand our own family trees also. I can't imagine not having him around me all the time. We cruise as much as possible and are off to the Caribbean again in February for our 29th cruise.

Sheila & Alan

Congratulations Jim n Karen, you're going to love retirement ! I retired at age 50, 12 years ago with full benefits and my DH retired two years ago at age 63. i don't know how we had time to work for all those years.:confused: We devoted our time to our children and careers and saved our money for all those years. Kids are grown, college educated, weddings paid for and don't need any financial support from us. No debt or morgage. My DH said it's like when we were dating but now we have the time and a little money to spend on our entertainment. He says every day is like Saturday. We've been on 20 cruises,doing a TA and Eastern Med (22nights at sea & 3 nights in Rome) in April, and many land vacations.You can't always travel so you do need some hobbies and friends.

On a sad note since we retired we have lost our parents and a sister, and our 5 year old grandaughter passed away from brain cancer. We were available to help care for all of them in their last weeks and be with our grandaughter for surgerys , chemo, and radiation. she was ill for 9 months and was treated at St Jude's childrens hospital so we were out of town a lot and if we were working i know we couldn't have been off without a leave of absence which they might not have granted.

There are many people that are healthy and active into their 80's and 90's, but not everyone and not always both partners so if you can afford to comfortably retire financialy, I say the sooner the better. Enjoy yourself instead of spending what you saved on taxes !:p