Yay! I retired!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

I guess it means I'm old, but as of today I'm officially retired and couldn't be happier. It was sooner than I'd planned, but I had the choice of retiring now or moving to a city I didn't want to live in just to work for only two more years. So I jumped.

Don't know what will happen - I might have to find another job in a few months, which won't be easy. But for now I'm a very happy camper. I think I'll go have a drink in honor of my retired old ass.

Yay me.

[boston bean]

1. Congratulations! You made it!

[Brickbat]

3. Congrats!

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

4. Good for you!

Now you can start volunteering. Try RSVP to get started.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. Oh, I already have several volunteer activities going on.

I will definitely be busy.

[nolabear]

6. Congratulations! May you enjoy it thoroughly.

Hope you keep it going and have one on me, metaphorically speaking.

[dimbear]

7. May you have a long and healthy retirement.

The greatest thing about retirement is being able to just do what you want to do. Every day.

And if that happens to be making more money, go for that too.

[pacalo]

8. Good for you, Velveteen!

Enjoy decompressing for awhile from the hustle & bustle! You've earned it!

[Justice wanted]

9. Congrats. May you enjoy your retirement.

[mysuzuki2]

10. Conrats!

I retired earlier this year and so far it's great. The key is having enough $$ to live decently. You don't need to be rich but you don't want to have to sweat the bills either. Fortunately, I retired with enough and bit extra for fun. I hope you are in at least that good a position.

[rurallib]

11. you snake

well, Here is to a happy, happy and a LONG retirement!

[RebelOne]

12. Happy Retirement.

I was forced to retire in 2010 when I was laid off my job. I was wishing I could retire before then, but wanted to get some more money into my 401K, but my wish was granted. Anyhow, I will be OK with the money I now have in the bank. At least, I will be able to live for a few years before I have to eat cat food.

Have a great retirement, and I hope you don't become too bored. I know I am.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

13. Cat food...

My financial advisor thinks I should be able to afford Fancy Feast and not have to just eat dry Cat Chow. This was very reassuring.

Money is a concern, but if I'm careful I should be able to manage. I hope. I do know I won't be bored.

[freshwest]

14. Congrats! You made it.

[UTUSN]

15. Congrats!1 Some caveats

* Time will now, suddenly and immediately, SPEED UP and before you know it you will have been retired TWELVE YEARS.

* If you are younger than 62, you might need to keep contributing to Social Security. Each year you don't contribute into the system is called a "Zero Year." The years you worked/contributed are averaged to arrive at your age 62 amount. This means the Zero Years bring down your average. When they do it, they throw out the five lowest-contributing years, so if you are within five years of the 62, the Zero Years won't hurt. Each one of those over five lowers the amount you get at 62.

* SSA reps give presentations suggesting that most people should take the early/62 retirement instead of the regular age. Waiting to the full age might mean a bit more, but "you never know" what might happen the more you wait and you could well enjoy the earlier option.


Granted, I'm not up on the changes to the age guidelines, but I'm sure somebody knows.

* Even if you were one of those who was reputed to love their job so much they wouldn't quit even if they hit the lotto, I'm betting you will never look back!1

* Within the first six months, the new Now will sink in and you will set about cleaning out tons of junk from your files that you will never need again. And will organize your really important stuff, and pictures, and whatever. Fantastic!1

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

17. Good info. Fortunately, I'm over 62 already

and have no "zero years" at all in over 42 years of working full-time. I will probably wait until I'm 66 so I can claim the full SS benefits with no offset, since I will be doing some part-time and contract work for awhile. And I want to reserve the option of getting a full-time job if I need one (and can find one). In any event it's nice to have that evil socialist government program available if I need it.

A funny thing - was talking to another coworker the other day who is also considering retiring soon. He's pretty much of a right-winger but he had it all figured out how to get his max SS benefits...

[femmocrat]

16. Congratulations!!!

Enjoy your new freedom!

[krispos42]

18. Now you'll be able to double your cat population with no loss of...

...daily per-cat affection disbursement!




Congrats!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

22. If I double my cat population

I will become the neighborhood Crazy Cat Lady.

I'm thinking of getting an aquarium, though.

[krispos42]

24. You're going to put your new cats in an aquarium?

So it would be a... pussarium?

Well, that would keep the neighbors from knowing that you doubled your cats!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

25. The felinarium is my entire house.

The aquarium will be kitty TV.

[Odin2005]

19. Congrats, you old fart!

[TexasTowelie]

20. I'm envious.

The thought of another two decades of looking forward to servitude to corporate greed is discouraging.

[shanti]

21. yay you!

the world is your oyster!

[TZ]

23. Congrats..although

I wouldn't really call it retirement per se. Its just switching careers to spend more time attending to the gang of fur...

[geardaddy]

26. Congrats!

Have a drink for me.

[hifiguy]

27. Congrats!!

Enjoy a happy and healthy retirement!

[Tom_Foolery]

28. Now go and do a lot of this...

[Neoma]

29. Welcome to the world of, "Yay I can read more!"

[bigwillq]

30. Good for you! Congrats!

[Phentex]

31. Cheers to you!

Enjoy yourself!

[dixiegrrrrl]

32. One nice thing about retirement:I noticed the qualty of my sleep improved dramatically

Actually, I slept in longer for about 6 months..was surprised at how tired I had been.

Once there were no alarm clocks/set schedules/have to's in my life, I felt much more relaxed.
then, after a few years, I noticed even a haircut appt felt like a "have to" and made me tense!

As for boredom, it has never been in my life, so I wasn't worried about that.
Plenty to do or not to do , depending on mood and choice.
My reading increased 1,000% because I was not brain dead by end of working day.

And, strangely, altho the economy had dictated an early retirement from a career I really enjoyed,
I did not miss work at all. Retirement was not the huge adjustment I had hear of.

Luckily, we were able to move to an area where we could afford to live on half the income we had when working.

good luck with this new chapter in your life!!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

33. I already feel like a huge weight has been lifted from me.

I used to love my job but it changed a lot in the last couple of years - a lot of people have already quit or retired because of a big reorganization and now this transfer, and it wasn't any fun any more. I was glad to be able to walk away. I'm looking forward to not having to stress out about all the stuff that was going on, and to just being able to get some sleep, read more, do more of the things I really enjoy. I don't think I'll have much trouble adjusting.

[Dystopian]

34. Congratulations!

Velveteen Ocelot

Very happy for you....
So many wonderful things yet to be done ...and you're already doing them!

Enjoy!



peace~

[rurallib]

35. Still retired?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

37. Yup.

I just might stay in this bathrobe for a while longer... Feels good.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

36. congratulations!

my SiL retires last day of January. She is very excited but, already has a part time job lined up.

[kimi]

38. Congratulations!

Knowing that the stress level will go down must be a huge bonus and relief to you. All the best - read, sleep, walk, and enjoy life again!

[derby378]

39. Congratulations!

The way things are going, I'll probably never get to retire, so I'm working on my bucket list little by little instead of waiting two or three decades.

But I hope it works out for you and you get yourself some much-deserved rest!

[rurallib]

40. first real day retired - how'd it go?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

43. Awesome.

Slept until 10:20. Ran errands. Now I'm watching Rachel Maddow showing Republicans making asses of themselves.

[RebelOne]

41. Congrats and I hope you do not become too bored.

I have been forceably retired since 2010. I had been working for a corportion for 14 years and they downsized, which included my job. I had been wanting to retire for a while and wished I could, but was afraid if I did it would put an additional workload on my co-worker. Well, I got my wish and was laid off. I was actually relieved, but wanted to work another year or two to get more money into my 401K. I am really bored because there is just so much television you can watch. I have actually found myself watching (god forbid) Jerry Springer. Be careful what you wish for because you may get it, is my motto now

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

44. No chance of boredom.

I teach a couple of courses at a local university, do some freelance writing, sing in two choirs and take voice lessons; I'm a Master Gardener; I sail in the summer; and I'm about to sign up for an art course (drawing and painting). I'm remodeling my kitchen and bathroom, and am also the servant of three cats.

This is stuff I've been trying to do while working and couldn't effectively juggle. Now I can. I can't imagine being bored.

[rbnyc]

42. Congrats!

That's awesome.

[trof]

45. I quit work in '99.

Love it.
All the best to you.

[NRaleighLiberal]

46. Congratulations!

I "was retired" in 2008 - am now 55 and trying to decide what I want to be when I grow up! I did a bit over a year of consulting - now really trying to decide what's next -but boredom? Never - not for a second!

[sarcasmo]

47. Congrats

Keep your mind occupied.

[Lysistrada]

48. Congratulations.

Best Wishes and good luck