Retirement

[TexRiv_63]

Today is my first day of retirement after working 38 1/2 years for the same company. This morning I slept in and did not wake up to an alarm. I went to the gym and found it was not too crowded in the morning, took my time working out and came back home to breakfast and a leisurely cup of coffee. So far, not bad! I'm a person of habit so I will need to work out a new routine but the part I am looking forward to the most is finally having the time to work on my cars without the pressure to finish something in the space of a weekend. I'd like to hear from you other retirees, any advice or suggestions?

[Steve Moskowitz]

38 1/2 years for the same company....congratulations to your company and you! I wonder how many in the last couple of generations will be able to say the same thing. Loyalty is a trait I admire a lot whether it is the business to the employee or the employee to the business.

When I closed my Olds store I had one employee who had celebrated 50 years and in the body shop to boot! I had been there 30 years and I had many technicians that counted on 30 years.

Enjoy the retirement but you might find yourself busier then ever!

[Guest Kingoftheroad]

Congrats on making it to retirement !!!

Enjoy it !! Its your time to do the things you always wanted to do or never had time to do...

[Guest]

Congratulations on your retirement! I retired in 2006 after 34 years with the same company and in the automotive field, which means if you have the right job you don't feel retired anyway. Now you can look forward to waking up almost every day to a Saturday! Plus Monday never comes! Enjoy!

D.

[Shop Rat]

The best comment someone made to me was, "Don't be surprised if you feel a little lost for the first six months after working for 31 years and 4 months." Turned out to be very true.

June 29th of this year I will be retired for ten years. Greatest thing EVER to happen. Bill retired six months after I did.

[Ron Green]

Congratulations and totally understand your comment “finally having the time to work on my cars without the pressure to finish something in the space of a weekend”. Hoping to join the retirement ranks myself in a few years. 58 years old and have worked fulltime over 40 years.

[TexRiv_63]

38 1/2 years for the same company....congratulations to your company and you! I wonder how many in the last couple of generations will be able to say the same thing. Loyalty is a trait I admire a lot whether it is the business to the employee or the employee to the business.

When I closed my Olds store I had one employee who had celebrated 50 years and in the body shop to boot! I had been there 30 years and I had many technicians that counted on 30 years.

Enjoy the retirement but you might find yourself busier then ever!

Thanks Steve. I feel very fortunate to have been able to work at a job I enjoyed that long and retire on good terms. I'm afraid there are not too many companies left where that could happen to someone just starting out. I told both of my sons not to expect the situation I had and to watch out for themselves. So far they have been successful but both have had to change jobs multiple times to move ahead.

[Bhigdog]

I worked for the same company for 30 years and retired 11 years ago. My past job is now a distant memory and while I do miss some parts there are other parts not so much. My job had a fair amount of real world responsibility (Chief pilot) and what I missed the most was the feeling of being relevant. Now I'm kind of like a second handle on a p**s pot. Nice to have but not really needed. The answer to all that is to keep yourself challenged by whatever it takes to get you wanting to get up the morning. Do that and you will have a long, and most importantly, a happy retirement. Welcome to the club and good luck.............Bob

[Bill Harmatuk]

Most people I talk to are more busy when they retire than they were when they were working. Every one says that "How did we ever find time to do all this stuff working a steady job"??

I am as busy as I have ever been.

I Quit after 32 1/2 years at a paper mill.

To keep it simple.... It wasn't fun any more.

I got my Real Estate brokers license and now I work for my wife. Don't know if thats a good thing or not. She has only fired me twice. I sleep with the boss. Eat supper with the boss. Spend 24 hours a day with the boss.

I haven't thrown away my steel toe shoes either.

Life is good.

Bill H

[trimacar]

Congrats on your retirement.

It's a tough choice, and as mentioned, a lot of people don't adjust well. I really think the difference is in having a hobby, and a way to connect with other people.

My father retired, but his business (cotton gin and cattle feed) was kept viable by his two sons (my brother and me). We had an old-time office, plenty of space, and we converted one office to a full blown kitchen. My Dad's "hobby" then became cooking for us and the farmers who we were close to....my brother was a big hunter, so duck and venison was often on the menu, as was dove when the season was in...and the farmers would butcher some critter on their farm, and we'd have beef or pork or cracklins (to those of you who don't know, cracklins are the pig skin, boiled in oil until rendered crispy, one farmer would always bring cracklins that were'nt rendered all the way, and Dad would bake them to soak more oil out_...

It was always funny when it was a quiet day, and all of a sudden, around noon, numerous trucks would drive into the yard...

So that was his hobby, and I think it kept him going a number of years.

I hope to retire in another year or two, like you guys, I've been working for years (albeit for a couple of different bosses, including the toughest boss, myself). I'm ready to hang it up. And, when I take a day off, like today, I easily see that there is no end to what needs to be done.

Have a great time, and remember to keep busy and interested in something other than a glass screen with electrons dancing across it (the time sucker, TV).....

Edited April 3, 2012 by trimacar (see edit history)

[Guest bofusmosby]

Congrats on your retirement! I've worked for the same company for 35 years (6 days a week), and I finally figured out I'll be retiring when they close the lid! I like reading about the retirement of others. At least I can dream!

I doubt you'll have any problems keeping busy. Now you can get MORE cars!

[Buicknutty]

Congrats on your retirement, may it be long and rewarding!

I have a few more years to go before I join the ranks. My Dad said that he didn't know he found the time to go to work!

More seriously, what I think I would miss the most is the interaction with customers and co-workers, but not having to get up with the alarm every day will help to make up for it, I'd hope.

Keith

[Jim Bollman]

I took early out the end of 2005 after 37 year with the same company. Since I already had 2 weeks vacation planned over the holidays I came back from vacation and started the next part of my life. Never really missed it, even though most of the 37 years were enjoyable. I get together fairly regular with a few friends from work days but not many, work was all we had in common.

I retired with the motto: Wake up every morning with nothing planned and be happy if I get 1/2 of it done. That isn't to say just sit around, just don't over plan your days. I keep a pretty open schedule for doing thinks at the last minute that I decide to do. I have a friend that retired soon after I did and he often has his whole week planned by Monday morning from sun up to bed time. Makes it hard to go to the gun range at the last minute when the day turns off nice another spur of the moment things.

PS: I still get up within 10 minutes of when the alarm use to go off even after 6 years plus, I just don't set the alarm. Starting each morning with exercise isn't a bad idea, I walk 3.5 miles each morning with a couple of other guys in the neighborhood, solving the worlds problem.

Edited April 2, 2012 by Jim Bollman (see edit history)

[jackofalltrades70]

Don,

Enjoy your retirement! I have quite a many years to go before I get there! Take good care of yourself and enjoy everything you do! Congrats on the milestone! Matt

[MCHinson]

Don,

Welcome to the club. I retired in July of 2010 after a 30 year law enforcement career. Caring for a disabled wife sort of became my full time job then. I still go to the Police Department one day a week for Bagpipe and Drum band practice. I have recently started my own home based business to keep busy. The important thing is to find something to keep you busy. Enjoy your new freedom!

When people ask me about how retirement is, I normally tell them that it is really tough... One day a week, on Sunday, I have to set an alarm clock and wear long pants.

[john2dameron]

Congratulations. I worked 40 years, six months for Westvaco (It became Mead-Westvaco a few years before I retired). I worked 3 weekends out of every 4 and hated missing car shows and family events. I vowed to no longer get up early except to travel to car shows and to attend church. My main activities now are volunteer and church activities (2 churches regulary; others as I have time) and going to car and truck shows plus lots of photography projects. The dates for the shows go on my calendar right along with doctor visits. May through October fill up pretty fast. The busier you stay the happier you'll be.

[TexRiv_63]

Thanks for all the kind words. Some friends who retired before I did all told me they were very busy for awhile but most have now found part-time jobs, interesting. Bob, the relevancy issue has crossed my mind but I essentially passed on the supervisory duties I had to my successor a couple of months before I left and found I really didn't miss the political end of business at all. The only definite plan I have made at this point is travel, my wife and I are going to Paris with my older son and his wife later this month. After that I will start in on lists of car work I have put off combined with around the house work, that should do me for a while. I also plan on getting more active with local car club chapters and going to car shows and events, I definitely want to get into a "car buddy" network if possible.

[Guest myold88]

I retired at 66 after being laid off by the Hartford Ins Co. Helping my 5 grown kids and many grandkids keeps me busy most of the time. I sold my one antique car a few months ago as I was getting to old to keep it up. I'm still active with our local car club.

I've had a new 2010 Camaro SS for almost 3 years now. I've taken road trips to Florida, Canada, etc and plan a few more this summer in this great trouble free car.

Keeping busy &/or finding things to do has not been a problem for me.

Edited April 3, 2012 by myold88 (see edit history)

[Terry Bond]

Congratulations Tex-way to go! I tried it myself a few years back and failed miserably at retirement so be careful! When I retired from the Navy it felt pretty good to be young and unburdened by the responsibility of responding to the alarm clock and someone else's schedule. Trouble was I had no sense of priorities. Everything could wait until "tomorrow" which of course never seemed to arrive on time either! My friends would call and simply say "lets go on an adventure" and we were off in search of old gas pumps, signs, antiques, etc.etc. The grass began to grow, the house was falling apart, and everytime I got home with more stuff Sue gave me the evil stare - she was still doing the work thing! Well, I ended up going back to work to save money, maintain sanity (and peace), and even make a little money to spend on the hobby. Deciding to do more for AACA was wonderful too, but finding a great second career really made a difference. Now, I'm thinking about retiring again and I'm sure it'll be a much better experience this time around, with more time to enjoy all the toys, travel and take part in as many AACA activities as we can.

Terry

[TexRiv_63]

Thanks Terry,

I am a natural born procrastinator, so I will watch out but I'm not that young and I already have so much collected junk I have a hard time moving around. If I get bored I may start a business and sell some of it - bet I'm not the only person thinking about that...

[Guest Xprefix28truck]

38 1/2 years for the same company....congratulations to your company and you! I wonder how many in the last couple of generations will be able to say the same thing. Loyalty is a trait I admire a lot whether it is the business to the employee or the employee to the business.

These days it's hard to find a company that will stay in one place long enough to get that many years in with them!!!!]

[Guest Mochet]

I've worked for the same guy for 41 years. I'd like to retire, but the boss probably wouldn't last long without me. He and I are very close. In fact, I'm self-employed!

Phil

[TexRiv_63]

I've worked for the same guy for 41 years. I'd like to retire, but the boss probably wouldn't last long without me. He and I are very close. In fact, I'm self-employed!

Phil

Phil, it must great to be self employed, I've never had the pleasure. Must be tough though, as the employee you can't complain about the boss and as the boss you can't complain about the employee!

[Guest prs519]

Well, Tex, at last you can change the slogan, "so many cars, too little time" to "enough cars and however much time I want to spend" Enjoy, Man!

[John_Maine]

Congratulations as well. My wife is retiring at the end of the school year. I've pretty much made up my mind that I am going to get done December 31. I always said I would work through the year I turned 62 and I was 62 three weeks ago. I think we can do it. Won't have as much $$ obviously and will have to cut back on some things perhaps but we've got the place in Florida I inherited from my uncle and I want desperately to get away from winter. My father didn't live to retire and that's always been on my mind. I haven't met anyone yet who has retired at 62 that regrets it.

[Dandy Dave]

Retire??? Me??? Everyday I work on the stuff that you guys are waiting to retire so you can fix it. I see no retirement in my future at all. I'm just gonna keep wrenchin until I can't lift up a part, or tool any longer. I'm the Boss and I sez so.... So, it is OK. Dandy Dave!

[caddyshack]

Congrats Tex. I highly recommend your decision. Wanting to retire and actually retiring are gut wrenching decisions, but with sound advice and careful planning, it will work out just fine. Personally, I retired six years ago at age 59, and it raised a few eyebrows concerning my sanity. Everyone has their needs and long range plans, but the key for me was to be happy with what you are doing. Hobbies, close friends, travel, family, they are on an open schedule and not scheduled around work. Do what you want, when you want, and enjoy it.

Just my humble opinion.

All the best!

[TexRiv_63]

Congratulations as well. My wife is retiring at the end of the school year. I've pretty much made up my mind that I am going to get done December 31. I always said I would work through the year I turned 62 and I was 62 three weeks ago. I think we can do it. Won't have as much $$ obviously and will have to cut back on some things perhaps but we've got the place in Florida I inherited from my uncle and I want desperately to get away from winter. My father didn't live to retire and that's always been on my mind. I haven't met anyone yet who has retired at 62 that regrets it.

John,

I originally planned to retire at 60 but when I turned 60 that changed to 62. By the time I hit 62 the economy was in the dumper so I had settled on going at 65. Then my company floated an early retirement plan with enhanced benefits so I wound up going at 63 1/2. The stress level of my job had gone way up and I did not handle it as well as the old days so I was glad to be able to opt out. We moved from Chicago to Dallas 20 years ago and leaving winter behind was the best part, go for it!

[Guest]

Don, I was sort of forced into retirement too. I originally planned to retire at 60, but my company like so many companies these days had enough of California taxes and especially new regulations on the horizon and decided to move it's national headquarters elsewhere. I was given the choice of going with them (I was 55 at the time) or they would make me 65 and a package including insurance and retire me. The decision was obvious and so I retired. I figure it this way. My dad had his own business, could only take small vacations, and worked until he dropped at 60. I'm a active guy and I love to surf. When you get up in age you can't do some of the things you would like to do. Retiring at 55, I've been able to physically to do the things I want while I still can. So retiring as young as possible providing you have means lets you really enjoy retirement.

One day my wife and I were sitting in our beach chairs just after I had been in the water for a couple of hours. We were watching our grand kids playing in the surf when she turned to me and said; I can't even imagine what it would be like to go to work again. I just looked at her and ;)ed

Don

[John_Maine]

Responding to Terry's comments - my cousin in PEI retired in December 2010. When I talked to her last, she said she'd gone back to work 3 days a week. She said she didn't get anything done when she was totally retired because there was always tomorrow. She likes working three days a week because she knows she has to get things done the other two days.

Insurance is going to be the big expense for us. We can both be on my company's insurance until we're 65 but the premiums will take a big chunk. Beyond that, between social security, two pensions and investments, I figure our income will be just a little under what our net income is now. Seems like we ought to be able to do it.

I've want to build a nice HO train layout so I'm going to start buying things for that now while I'm still working. I've always wanted to drive to Alaska, the west coast, make a presidential library pilgrimage, go to Greenfield Village, and hit some of the larger car museums. And of course, there's always Hershey. I have Rotary and I'd love to learn to play golf. I want to do things while we're young enough and healthy enough and before gas gets REALLY expensive. Lastly, there's always my cars and there are plenty of things I can do around the house. I figure all of this ought to keep me busy for a couple of years anyway.

[Roger Zimmermann]

In 2002, I was put on early retirement by GM Switzerland; I was 57. I had no choice, and, of course, the amount of money at the end of month was about 50 - 55% of what I had before. As an help, GM gave me some translation to do for about 6 years; it helped somewhat. I had also other "small jobs" I still have from the dealers I visited as a District Service manager.

All in all, it was the best decision GM took for me, I never regret it! I had suddently plenty of time, sometimes too much so I began again with my "first love": building scale car models. Some from this forum are following the constuction of a Continenetal Mark II; I will still be busy with that for many years.

The secret to retirement, early or not, is to be busy and interested by something. People who don't know what to do the whole day and reading the newspaper 3 times just to be busy are poor people.

[Guest 4 bufords]

just before i turned 62 our company started to downsize and offered a buyout.was lucky enough to work 1 month past my 62 nd birthday.abot 2 monthe before i retired,we found my wife had cancer.she passed away 7 weeks after i retired. i do enjoy retirement tinkering in the garage,having morning coffee with my carguy friends.right now i'm hurting from a broken leg trying to stop a 57 buick.thanks for listening,4 bufords from ct i'm home now looking to be able to get to charlotte.

[tenugent]

just retired myself after 33 years as union painter.as my brother says-every day is groundhog day-or ive heard-saturday.ive been around custom painting years ago-trying to get back in the game with the new products.never was much on mechanics-trying to work on my projects and when i get frustrated a just go in the house-itll be there tomorrow.nice to work this way with no pressure.finishing 63 diplomat blue/silver425 2x4,inthe wings 64wht/fawn425 2x4,65 401 champaign/fawn,63 parts car.got plenty to do.hope my helth holds up-this is a great life.

[MrEarl]

Congrats Don, and may your health remain good so you can enjoy every minute of it. Man I can't believe how Father time just sorta creeps up on us when we're in our 50's and then all of a sudden jumps square on our shoulders and starts beatin the hell out of ya when we turn 60. At least that's what's happening to me. Aches and pains in places I didn't even know I had. But I hope I can get him off my back. Been on a weight loss and exercise program for the last 6 months. Lost 45 got 15 more to go. Will have 39 years in with the county engineering department come next February and plan to pack it in in April at 62 1/2. I'm writing procedures manuals of everything I have in my head til then.

I think you need to just find you another 63 Rivi and cruise. You know you would really rather have another Buick, right? Take care of yourself my friend.

and hey 4 bufords, see you in Shalotte....Chester:)

Edited May 15, 2012 by MrEarl (see edit history)

[R Walling]

I went into retirement severaL years ago. I own a body shop and had been doing paper work for the last twenty years which I reluctantly had to do.

After retireing, I had my little "toy box' in the back yard that I "played" with my cars. I was averaging about one a year. I had a few in the waiting line when my body shop became very slow, so I brought in my 56 F750 to keep the guys busy.

That was three weeks ago, now the cab is repainted, and a new ramp style body was constructed and is almost ready for paint.

At times there were 3 and 4 men working on it all at the same time. All this put me right back in my old job of supervising and trying to keep one step ahead of everybody.

After three weeks, I'm beat, I can't keep up with them anymore and to top it off, I no longer have next years project to do!