Retirement--staggered or simultaneous?

[HImom]

Well, H officially retired on 12/31. He has gotten approval to go back as a short-term emergency hire on 1/28, keeping his pension & all his benefits of retirement, PLUS getting a salary. He gets to go back & do the things he enjoys but is limited to 8 hours/day (when he had been working 10-14). He can only work up to 40 hours/week (tho he had been working about 60-80).

 

I am thinking I may allow the non-profit to become more of a voluntary organization and not expend so much energy getting funding. Chasing money is very tiring, especially in this tough economy. Will have to see how things go. We feel very fortunate that we have attractive options and are relatively healthy, as are my parents & sibblings and kids. D is in her last semester of college and S has a great job in his field which has a program to pay for his grad school.

Edited January 11, 2013 by HImom

[JimnKaren]

Today is my first day of being a retiree! I tried to nap, but am still too wound up from yesterday's activities. I worked all the way to the time to leave. I thought I was organized, but there were lots of loose ends out there. And then there were my co-workers, I got more cards than we did for Christmas. I almost had to put people on a timer so that the next one could come in with best wishes. I told some folks that I was going to follow my wife around the house like a puppy. She threatened that there might be serious consequences to doing that!

 

Now, for the fun. 21 days from today were are boarding HAL's Statendam for a 28-day to Hawaii and French Polynesia. The suitcases are out, just not packed yet.

 

So far, retirement is good! It can only get better.

 

Jim

[JimnKaren]

HImom,

 

A thought for you to consider. Contact your local RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Program) and see if they have some folks who want to contribute to the community by volunteering for your non-profit. I am on our local RSVP advisory council and I am surprised at the number of 55+ folks who are willing to do stuff just because they want to. At our annual recognition luncheon a couple of months ago, there were 3 women who each volunteered more than 2000 hours in a 12-month period! Yikes! That's full-time...and they did it for fun!

 

Jim

[HImom]

Thanks--appreciate your suggestion and will look into it. So far, we had limited grant funding and were paying staff small amounts so we could have more reliable participation. Most of our volunteers have been students, who have many other obligations, to they aren't as reliable as would be nice.

 

H is easing into retirement and we both like not having to wake to his 5 am or earlier alarms, but rather being able to wake when the sun or our bodies wake us.

 

It has been great having him home and more relaxed while they kids were visiting on their vacations. We are very blessed that we have these wonderful options available. May start planning some future trips as well. ;)

[JimnKaren]

Another idea to consider. We are in a university town...University of Illinois. Lots of students want/need to do things all the time.

 

Ask around to see if there might be some students who need some experience as an intern. If you structure it right, you can have them contacting you all the time. Younger minds have lots of ideas, some not realistic, but it is great learning from them.

 

Jim

[Maere]

Jim and Karen--------followed your plan---how was the 28 day cruise?

[loujerb]

When i was 56 the company i worked for said that they was closing my plant. They offered a package deal and i took it and early retirement. My DW had always said that when i retired so would she, she was 53 then and retired with me. That's been 10 years now. 6 months after we retired, we dicided to move to another state, sold our house we had for 31 years and moved. We have love retirement since day one. We up and go to places that we want to now, because we have the time to do it. The main thing is to keep busy after retirement and live your live to the fullist. That's the way i see it. Have fun.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Same day same time ...

[genmasjoy]

Jim and Karen, Hope you will report back on your cruise. We are doing a similar one in April 2014 on Golden Princess. I retired at the end of December 2012, and DH who is older retired in 2005. He had been doing all the house work while I was working but I am starting to pitch in and also doing a lot of de-cluttering. Turned our 29 year old son's former bedroom into a home office, cleaned out closets, etc. This fall we have a 21 day collectors cruise booked on HAL, it will be 7 days in the Med and then 14 days TA.

[dorisis]

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

 

We did that cruise last October and had a great time in the ports and on the ship. Been retired for over 30 years and enjoying it.

 

~Doris~

[frisbeewife]

My DH is 9 years older than me, and he turns 65 later this month. He's been semi-retired since 2000 when he got laid off from his job and we realized that for him to get another job in his field would require moving and we didn't want to do that (and didn't need to, since my job was plenty to support us). He officially retired at 62 and started collecting Social Security. So he's basically been retired since 2000 and I've still been working. Yes, the men I work with are jealous. :)

 

But I lost my job in January 2011. My biggest worry at that time was health insurance, since DH has had some health issues in the past and COBRA would run out before he was eligible for Medicare. Then we got incredibly lucky and I got a 36 month contract job that actually has health insurance. When that contract runs out in 17 months I'll be 57 and DH will be 66 and on Medicare. At that point I am planning to retire.

 

Like many other people have said in this thread, life is short and you don't know how much time you have left or what your health will be like. DH and I like to travel (although cruising isn't his favorite thing to do :() and we want to do as much as we can while we can. Plus, my parents are in their 80's and I want to be able to help take care of them when/if they need it.

 

Whether or not you can afford to retire, and whether you really want to, is a strictly personal decision. DH and I have saved all of our lives, lived comfortably within our means, made some good decisions and a few bad ones, and were able to take advantage of some good luck. It's almost time to reap our rewards and spend time with family, travel, volunteer, and have the best-looking yard in the neighborhood. :cool:

[HImom]

We're leaning toward dual retirement, as we want to enjoy fun times together while our health is good enough to enjoy it. My folks are in their 80s as well and getting more forgetful.

 

We have lifetime medical insurance coverage for a reasonable price. H also qualifies for parts A and B Medicare. In 9 years I will too. We can afford to comfortably retire and it is looking increasingly attractive to both of us. We will likely do some volunteering and I may do some very part time work, but that's about it. Want to enjoy and smell the roses while we can.

 

One day, we'd like to be available to help with future grand kids too.

[E2ME2]

I guess, by strict definition, we are going to be staggered. The DW quit her job as Exec.Sec. for a church, about 10 years ago and she has not gone back to work since. At this point, looks like she has no desire to return to the rat race. I plan to retire in 5-7 years.

Sounds like I'm a prisoner, doing 5-7 years of hard labor, with no time off for good behavior:D:D

[JimnKaren]

Oh boy, I have been lax in coming back here. Retirement is sooo tiring!

 

Our cruise on Statendam from San Diego to Hawaii to French Polynesia and back was great. Lots of sea days. I read so many books I cannot recall how many, Karen knitted socks for half the crew. Our favorite ports were Bora Bora and Nuku Hiva. In fact, when we returned, I tried to find some property to buy on Nuku Hiva, but was unable to locate anything on the Web.

 

My biggest gripe (and I did gripe) was the service in the Main Dining Room. It was spotty, at best. After my second complaint, we got better, but not great, service; however, they put us at a table for 2, even when we requested to sit with others. Other food services were great!

 

I don't know if we would do that itinerary again, although we will be cruising to Hawaii in February. In the mean time, we have a 42 day FLL to Europe/Africa and back on Maasdam starting at the end of October. Lots and lots of sea days in a row and then lots and lots of port days!

 

As to retirement, I find it so difficult to keep track of the days and the dates. Whenever I go anywhere, I have to ask the date and sometimes the time. Wow! I still get up before the sun, but Karen has decided to sleep late every day. And...I have been grabbing some nap time, although not as often as I thought I would.

 

Jim

[rkr]

DH retired in 2000 and I retired in 2010. The staggered retirement was a good choice for us. DH needed to figure out what to do with himself before I retired and ended up as his secretary, chief cook and bottle washer and personal butler! During the ten year span, DH figured it all out and managed to learn many things about himself and what it means to be a "housewife." When I retired, I just slid into a life of travel and leisure. Life is good!

Kathy

[LindaM]

We retired 4 years apart. I was able to establish a routine, that included bowling, lunch and outings with friends, joining 3 clubs (including being president of a national one). When DH decided to retire, he knew I already had my new life going strong. We do a lot together on my free days, so the only issue is that I never have much free time!

[lrm]

My DH (7 yrs younger) plans to work for a few more years--but I retired 12/2012. I cleaned our house, etc. for 3 months, bought a new car and went to work part time. I decide which days I want to work, so that is very nice! We both love to cruise and travel. Our bucket list includes cruising (Hawaii 3/2015), buying a travel trailer to visit states we have not seen, taking a train across Canada.....and more cruising!

 

We still have 3 college students and our 3 year old grandchild at home. They keep us very busy as well. I am not really looking forward to having an empty nest.