The Crane Pool Forum

I'm curious, in theory after 5 more years of work I'll have reached the magic number of 85 , that is aged 55 with 30 years of service in my job, as I'm a tier 4 NYS pension I could retire without penalty, many people I know over the years have done this and many come back a few days a week after a while ,some want to top up their pension, some are bored and want to keep busy , no doubt for most it is both.

I'm not sure if I'm retired or not.

On thing to remember is your health.
Don’t work so long you can’t enjoy it :/

Number 2 was the closest option for me. I'm going to try to work until I'm eligible for Medicare in 49 months. Beyond that, maybe I'll keep working, maybe not. Depends on any number of factors.

If I can't stay employed that long, I think I'll be okay. (More okay the closer I get, obviously.) But it would be far better if I can stick it out until I'm 65.

As I get closer, retirement is more and more closer to the front of my mind. My girlfriend and I have been talking about where we might relocate to. No firm decisions yet, but currently Nevada is a leading candidate.

I tried to think of many options, ideally I would retire when I reach the 30 years of service, but come.back part time, many people here do that until they reach 62 and can claim SS.


A former colleague moved to Nevada last year , half hour outside LV , she absolutely loves it there, weather was one factor

I'm still working because of the health insurance plan they have. The plan is the primary, with Medicare picking up the balance. After 30 months on dialysis, Medicare will become the primary and private insurance will make up the balance. I may retire then (2025), but will have to find a supplemental insurer that covers me well.
But when people ask why I'm still working at my age(older than Trump, younger than Biden), my wife just tells them I'm too young to run for President.

Later

If you are planning to retire in 2015 I’ve got bad news for you

I have no pension but now that I'm in my 50's I am hyper aware of my 401k balance, my Roth account balance, and my various investments.

I'm not quite where I would hope to be, mostly because I didn't spend more time in my younger days socking away more.

I expect to work until I'm 67 and reach the full Social Security benefits age. My current job pays me well and I enjoy doing it. I don't know about another 16 years and 10 months worth, but I'm pretty content most days.

whippoorwill wrote: ↑Tue Apr 09, 2024 12:01 pm If you are planning to retire in 2015 I’ve got bad news for you

OOPS. Fixed.
Thanks.
Later

Kramer: 'Jerry, I'm retired!'
Jerry: 'From what?'

I don't feel like my option is up there in the choices. My answer is closest to Fman's except the parts about being paid well and enjoying working

MFS62 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 09, 2024 12:41 pm

whippoorwill wrote: ↑Tue Apr 09, 2024 12:01 pm If you are planning to retire in 2015 I’ve got bad news for you

OOPS. Fixed.
Thanks.
Later

😺

I picked "I could retire but I'm still working." I have working here for 35 years and was offered a generous retirement package but was asked to stay on -- I was given a contract that will still give me a big payoff when I do retire. The last date on the contract is June 1, 2026 but if I can figure out a few things (like, who will take over for me and run this giant department I run) I might try to make it December, 2025 figuring that "I took care of the first quarter of this century, somebody else can take it from here."

One thing that is absolutely necessary and I think that everyone here is aware of it…. Don’t retire without insurance.

It’s easy enough to get Obama Care until you’re 65 but don’t put it off til a week before.

And this we learned the hard way…Medicare WILL NOT at 65 automatically start unless you are already drawing SSI…
When my husband retired he started drawing SSI right away (age 66 1/2) but had to wait 3 months for Medicare.
After numerous phone calls and run arounds he finally said fuck it and waited it out

I just turned 60, and love what I do, so I can see going another 10 years if I'm blessed with good health.

I'm 3 and 4. My wife and I have put away enough to retire on. We're hoping for a package from our company to retire, but if it's not forthcoming, we're going to make the jump in 2025. We've planned things out carefully, the mortgage is paid off, Lefty Jr's education was paid for with our 529's and he's off the dole and surviving quite well on his own.

So there's really nothing stopping us right now except the potential for bonuses later this year and the potential for a buyout, rumblings of which we've heard. But we're pushing the eject button one way or another next year.

whippoorwill wrote: ↑Tue Apr 09, 2024 10:17 am On thing to remember is your health.
Don’t work so long you can’t enjoy it :/

That's our feeling as well. We're in good health now but shit happens. We've got things we want to do before we can't do them.

Realistically I'll be working for a while (and don't hate my job). Our immediate challenge is paying for college without spending the retirement $$

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: ↑Tue Apr 09, 2024 5:31 pm Our immediate challenge is paying for college without spending the retirement $$

Brace yourself. The amount of money that FAFSA expects parents to pay is beyond ridiculous. They expected us (as parents) to borrow $40,000 a year. With two kids, that's eight years of college. They figured I could borrow $320,000 while I was well into my fifties. That would not have been compatible with retirement.

Fortunately, my oldest got a full tuition scholarship from his safety school (not so much from the others), so the only expense was his housing. And my youngest opted for an Associates Degree at the community college. Unless your kid is an academic superstar, figure on a state school. It's the closest thing to a reasonable option.

It's coming down to a state school vs. a not-state school that's 3X more expensive. We prefer the latter as a thing but not sure if we have the bread

My wife is retired and enjoys it but the lack of seeing people on a regular basis would be hard for me (it was hard during the pandemic). I do, however, go back and forth with this as more and more of my friends are retired. Having a fixed date for retirement, however, does make me happy.

That bothers me too. Retired friends say that you have to join something; a book group, a gardening club, a volunteer organization or something like that. You need to replace work friends with after-work friends. The pandemic was almost like 'retirement practice', in that you could be working in your pajamas at your dining room table. Still only back in the office 2 days a week, so the transition won't be as hard as it might have been 5 years ago.

Definitely college is a concern here too. Senior year of HS next term , I imagine I'll be doing a lot of bird photography when I do retire

i wouldn't mind a soft-retirement, in the 15 years when i'm probably eligible. like, working a few days in the office with some flexibility, to be a sage mentor to others in my organization and transfer my knowledge downwards. but, like, only if it's fun and useful work, and if it makes financial sense.

or maybe i'll need the paycheck. whichevs. i imagine i won't survive the coming purges.

my retirement plans involve running (hopefully), taking photos, and building lego with grandkids. and maybe reading words into microphones. i've been told i should give that shit a try. basically by anyone who hears me read words aloud.

my kids are gonna be rich professional runners and/or baseball players, so money won't actually be an issue.

Two bits of advice:

College grants. Do your FAFSAs. They are daunting but at least you can do them online these days, unlike in 2001 when we started ours 😺

For heavens sake, encourage your kids to go to college in state. You all live in states with perfectly fine in-state colleges.