My wife and I have been looking forward to the day when we both could turn off the alarm clock forever, and do whatever. I made the first move eight years ago when my company decided to make me an offer I couldn't refuse. The one year severance pay, payment for my vacation accumulated, a pension, and a program called income leveling allowed me to receive the equivalent of future Social Security benefits until I reached the age of 62, was too attractive to turn down. My wife turned in her resignation about a month ago but yesterday, retirement became a reality for her.
My wife thought that she was going to leave her job without much fanfare but as she punched out her timecard for the last time, she was asked to meet her boss in the break room. As she opened the door she was surprised by a lot of her old friends who showed up with gifts, a giant card signed by everyone and a cake, to enjoy a good cry and share well wishes. Of course they all promised to keep in touch and do lunch sometime but sometimes that is just the customary sendoff. I hope not because I always look forward to reconnecting with my old workmates.
When she came home I thought something that happened because her eyes were still all puffed up. We finally completed the full circle with a planned family dinner last night at La Tejanita. As our grown children were making suggestions as to what my wife could do with all of her free time, she looked at me and winked because that's the same thing that they did when I retired. My wife has been working since she was 16 years old, so I'm sure her decision to finally retire has not fully set in. That's why I will give her the space and approval, as she tries different things to keep herself occupied. That's what she did for me.
Some of my my younger friends( who would ever thought I would be calling someone 55 years old,my younger friend) have their goals set to retire at age 65 , so they can receive the maximum benefit. That's their prerogative and a worthy goal but maximum never entered into my thinking. Being able to attend my grandchildren's events, being out of the rat race, and keeping the stress levels down may not appear on a financial printout but they should.
7 comments:
Congratulations Mikes wife, Oh and Mike? Either your honey do list will get longer or shorter now. lol
One of my former co workers was torn between retiring at 62 or to wait until full retirement age. That is until he realized that taking the lesser amount, three years early, equaled six years of full retirement income.
Yes, congratulations to Mrs. Mike! How nice for both of you. Perhaps some travel will be in order.
Edith Ann
Thanks for the congratulations and you're right, we went to Corpus Christi yesterday, just because we could...:-)
Can you tell me the difference between a hit and a visit?..Blogtracker.
The natives are getting restless on the Advocate forum... Attackers are attacking the attackers.... They recycle the same old talking points as if it's " breaking news!"
Thanks Legion357
You're right about that list, on the way back from Corpus yesterday, it was about 180 miles of what she was gonna do, now that she is retired.... I was exhausted when I got home; I don't know we if it was from the anticipated activities or the drive?..:-)
Our company went all out and invited speakers from the Social Security Administration, human resources, and Aetna to help smooth the transition... The speaker from SSA told us if we retired at age 62 instead of 65, we wouldn't see the difference for 12 years. But that was in 2002.
I will never forget a question a man from our group asked.He had recently married a woman 28 years his junior.... He started out by saying " my wife is 28 years younger than me" but then the speaker interrupted him by asking him if he was bragging or complaining... Everyone broke out laughing especially our wives..:-) It was a question about SS and his IRA.
Mike--
Go to BlogTracker, any of the first pages. Up at the top is a 'click on' called 'support'. Click it, and you will see a series of FAQ's. Your exact question is there.
The natives on the VA are always restless! What I am finding amusing is how quickly rollingstone can be shut down. Just provide a fact or counter claim, and Poof!, no further comment, for a while.
I loved your recent response to jbj--"I get your message of, if something goes wrong while the GOP is in power, it's a bipartisan mistake, but if it happens on Obama's watch, it's his alone....That's OK, admitting guilt is not a sign of weakness in my book." Good stuff!
Hey Mike! Congrats to you and your wife! I think I know what I would do if both my wife and I recently retired, ahem..., I don't I can go into too many details, but getting out of bed would not be one of them, where is the blushing numerical symbols *:) or is it ;*) or something like that.
BTW, just to let you know, I found your blog via EdithAnn's plug. Be extra nice to her today!
Thanks Jared
I will always be appreciative of Edith Ann. She took the time to help me with this blog.
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