Today I am officially retired. For a long time it felt like this day would never come. 30 years working a Honda plant. some good years, some not so good, various department, various roles. The best job I had was a leadership role for 8 years, 2006 to 2014. This was in the parts delivery/shipping dept. 2012 they told us this department was being outsourced. 2015, after training the new company associates for 2 years, I am put on the weld assembly line. 26 years of service, and I am treated like a day one associate, off the street. I plug away mindlessly online for my final 4 years, able to cope knowing the end is near. I am glad it is over, especially the shift work. I suppose I am thankful to be able to retire at age 51. But the shift work was difficult, especially as my kids grew up.

Congratulations WT ,,Went through the same grind but in textile mills ,,For 25 years until new owners decided you needed a college degree to be a department manager,,I ran the department for 10 years,,Retired at 62 8 years ago and still truckin'

Wow, congrats WT!!!! A very well deserved early retirement. I say early because the great majority of people can't or don't retire until 65 or even later.


I hope you have some nice vacation trips lined up!

Nothing planned yet Panzer. My son has been a nightmare the last 2 years. He has himself in some big time legal trouble. He is trying to get his life back on track. Having me available to him at all times is a big plus.
My wife is 43, she works hard and really likes her job. If it wasn't for her, I'd likely have to find work. So glad I don't have to though.

rwatson, I worked in a textile plant for 2 years before becoming an autoworker. They made geo textiles. No air conditioning in the summer, it was brutal humid.

Congrats, WT. It's just short of a year since I retired (but at 64). It's nice not having to get up for someone else, be somewhere for someone else, do what someone else tells you to do when they tell you to do it.

Welcome to the club.

Ah, I see you're also not married!

I'll be retired 5 years this June. I've been single for around 15 years too. No-one tells Chucky what to do (except perhaps my mum).

Welcome to the club

Congratulations mate, and welcome to the club where we take things just a little easier. I retired a couple of weeks ago, having just turned 49. Now I spend my days motorcycling or planning holidays. Oh the pressures!!!!!!!!!

Close. Widowed, actually. Eight years this past Valentine's Day. No apology needed, you didn't know and no need to drag down the thread.

On the other hand, she generally slept 'till nearly noon, so................

Thank you all. I knew I would not be alone here at SimHQ, when it came to being retired. I have plenty to do around my home. Piles of brush, fallen trees. I have 400 feet of ditch to care for. ( I live on a corner lot). I'll finally get things done. Doing shift work, half the month I was tired getting use to the new shift. I never got use to it.
Bought a new PC, and plan on focusing on one sim, Wings Over The Reich. I like the idea of an offline campaign. Waiting for my new HOTAS to show up.

Retired after 37 years at American Airlines. It's almost embarrassing, just how how much I enjoy not having to go to work. Almost! Don't sit around, though. Keep doin' stuff. Since retiring I've tried my hand at writing (got a short story published on Amazon). Bought an airplane. Sold an airplane. And now I 've gotten back into painting. The thing I went to school for in the first place!

Just so you don't think I'm doing finger painting, or something!

Congrats WT on the early retirement and welcome to the club, still got a few years to go to get your senior rail card/bus pass but it will soon be there


I took early retirement at 50 (about 13 years ago) and the wife has managed to keep me busier than ever, but it has given me a lot of time to tour Europe with my wife, we are just waiting for her to be able to retire so we can spread our wings further.

Ps. got my rail and buss pass 4 years ago, on some it gives me free travel and others at a greatly reduced cost

Congratulations Wango. You will love retirement.

If I knew how good it was I’d have done it 40 years sooner.


Everyday is Saturday !

Funny, in my thirties I was doing fairly well and thought I might have a modest but do-able retirement, then my life went to such hell during my forties I doubt I'll ever be able to retire. If I lose the ability to work before I'm dead I'm going to be WISHING I were dead very quickly.

Retired 3 years ago after 2 careers lasting 44 years altogether.

Never been so busy in my life! Quite apart from all the home and yard projects, running two volunteer gigs and also took up a couple of new hobbies/sports. Just, not golf! (and this from someone born just 25 miles from St Andrews’..)

The really (_really_) important thing is to stay busy. In my RAF days we would see chaps retire at 55 (mandatory retirement age for British military), and not make it to 60. Had one very nice friend, a very fine Irish squadron leader, pass away at just 55 & 3 months.

I think there’s a kind of “stress decompression” thing that can do you in, if you’ve been busy busy busy your entire life then suddenly stop entirely. So, one should aim for a glider landing not a carrier landing! (am sure everyone here will get that

Congrats WT ! my wife has 3 more yrs & I have 2.2 to go.

Thanks guys, it's a good feeling. I'll stay busy. I will find time for simming and gaming though as well.
As I said before, the biggest plus is the ability to help keep my 17 yr old son, on the straight and narrow. He's put us through a lot, but he has made very positive strides, that last few months.
He has a big court date tomorrow actually.

Btw, forget about that "now I'll finally have time to..." stuff.

Hell, most days I wonder how I ever found the time to go to work.

I went off the rails mid teens until my early twenties Wango. Court became just another part of my month for a long time. If i can come out the other side then anyone can, sending good thoughts your way for you and your son. Good luck mate and enjoy your retirement!

BTW Happy Birthday Ajay!

Yes, thank you Ajay.
And have a happy birthday.

My son is extremely lucky that Canada is soft (forgiving) on young offenders. He has one year to get his #%&*$# together.
If he breaks the law, the first 3 years after turning 18, everything that was swept under the carpet comes back to haunt him.
So there are consequences if he does not stay on the straight and narrow.

Same for me, Dart.

Gratz WT -- Enjoy!

4

Your retirement ages are just mindbogling.

I'm looking at being able to retire at 70, maybe even 72.

+1

I'll be happy if I'll be able to afford to retire at 65 but most likely I'm also looking at 70-72.

Congrats!

I'll be lucky if I have anything to retire on. I pay into the state TRS system, and into Social Security. In this global economy and uncertainty, who knows if it'll still be around in 35 yrs...

Congrats on retirement !. I took the plunge almost 3 years ago after working for 40+ years in construction and project management. It's great. Word of advice though ( from my GP , who went to high school a year ahead of me )

Do the stuff you want, travel , buy the car you always wanted now............because 'odds are' when you hit your 70s some Doctor is GOING to find something wrong with you

Truth. I don't work for a company that has retirement benefits

I sold my soul to Honda for 30 years. Missed half of my kids childhood. Early retirement is the payoff.
If I was single it would be difficult to fully retire.

Got home to Scotland last week to find a court summons waiting for me, glad it was for jury duty, never got picked so but had to attend every day just in case, there was a pool of 48 of us and 15 had to sit on the trial.
One trial had to be delayed as everyone on the jury knew the defendant, they recalled the jury pool from the previous week.
I had to check it wasn't the guy that damaged one of my properties but it should be another month or so before he has his day in court.

Now can go to McDonald's (or Tim Horton's) at 06:00 every morning to sip coffee and gripe about "the world today" with other "old" retired guys.

I'm not that old yet LOL.

Truth be told, I was aiming at 2020, but my work situation became unbearable. Supervisor who had never done my job telling me he knows all about it and flat ignoring his boss when told to do anything to help me. Other department sups letting their people get away with murder making my job harder and then me getting hauled in to HR for finally telling them to start doing their jobs and enforcing company rules. I had scaled back to this year because I couldn't afford to be without medical insurance under full Obamacare rules. When the mandate and its associated tax penalty were removed at the end of 2017 I decided that mid 2018 (a few weeks before my 64th) would be a good time. It was.

No retirement savings at all, but I own my home and the 10 acres it sits on, my cars and bike are mine and I'd worked off my credit card debt. So Social Security covers everything plus a little left over. The key, in my opinion, isn't having a lot so much as not needing a lot.

That's the key IMO vonBaur. Balancing the wanting and needing. I don't need a boat. I'm choosing quality of life.
One thing that comes as a huge relief to me is never have to worry about losing my job. Political Correctness is out of hand. I'm not racist, but I do find racial humor funny. (my wife says that makes me racist)
I can laugh at myself too. I miss the days of good natured ribbing with your friends/coworkers. The sensitivity training we were forced to take was ridiculous. You could joke with a coworker, but someone overhearing could be offended.
I asked the l women, is there a point of being TOO sensitive ? She stared at me a second and said no. So it's open season, scary.
First thing you saw when you walked in the plant was a poster stating the companies commitment to human rights blah blah blah. Good riddance.
Don't get me wrong, I believe I know the difference between a laugh and abuse. But PCness sucked a lot of the fun out of the workplace.

I think a lot of people are retiring way before they wanted. I know in the IT business there has been a trend in trying to force people out the door once they turn fifty. I had planned on retiring at 62, then I got cancer (along with other underlying health issues) at 50. I am still managing though. You are right about the quality of life thing WT. I always laugh when I see those investment commercials were the handsome , graying couple are sailing around the world or buying a vineyard in California. Hey, more power to them. My tastes are a lot simpler.

I didn't plan to retire at 55. I just snapped one day,under similar circumstances that vonBaur suffered. I had no plan,no idea how I would survive. I had some savings but that wouldn't last long and I still had a mortgage to pay.

I thought I could get another job and it wouldn't have been too difficult with my skills but I didn't want to spend another second in that industry. I would have been happy picking up litter off the streets knowing that all the stress was gone.

In the end it worked out. I took pensions early and although I have to live reasonably frugally I am happy. What's the point in doing a job that continually stresses you out,that makes you ill. I wanted to enjoy life and that is what I am doing.

You can't put a price on stress free, happy living.
I couldn't get my wife on a plane, so I don't have to be concerned about expensive trips. Truth be told, I wouldn't mind the odd trip, but it's not a deal breaker.
My sister who is very well off, retired a couple months ago. she bought a house in Florida for the winters, so I always can go there.

I would have preferred to have my Mortgage payed off, but my wife staying home with the kids for 8 years came at a sacrifice. But I don't regret it at all.
8 years mortgage free. At that time we may move to Eastern Canada . The cost of living is much lower than Southern Ontario. My wife would not have to work, but she enjoy what she does. We are an hour north of Toronto.

....I'm also retired....I was tired yesterday, didn't sleep well, so I woke up retired today.

Ah, the ultimate Canadian dream!!!

Just think, you won't have to miss any Leafs playoff games this year. Things look shaky, might not be that many.

Yes playoff anxiety will be at peak levels next week. Dam Bruins again.

Right there with you.


Wheels

You all make me feel guilty.

I’m living a real good retirement and am financially secure.

And I got good toys.

Don't feel guilty for having made good choices or having a little luck come your way. I am happy for anyone who can live the retired life and enjoy it.


Wheels

I'm kinds sorta working/retired. My wife and I have a real-estate franchise that gives us a reasonable living plus my half-pension. I have stage 4 cancer presently dormant but only work half days. My wife is 10 years younger and carries the business. It seems to work and we are reasonably OK financially and don't miss out on anything worth mentioning.

Not doing as well as you but I consider myself to be lucky. A mortgage that I can afford, two great dogs and enough money left over to do the things that I want.

Don't feel guilty oldgrognard. You obviously made some good choices in life.

I wager that your active life on the job was a bit less, hmm, "existentially secure" than most of ours, so maybe that evens out...

Indeed. Plus the toll on the body and health.

It wasn’t just the uncertainty you mentioned. In my year group only 34% of those who tried to make the 20 year retirement made it ( and that doesn’t count those who chose to leave). The rest were culled out by the promotion process, accession to Regular Army, disabling injuries, elimination for cause, RIFs, etc. Then there are the combat losses. Really hard on those who put in a lot of time and cost then did not make it to retirement. Most people don’t know that just making it to 20 years was a real achievement.

Wrote a lot of checks on my body that are being cashed now. But I’m still in good health and ability.

Worked another 15 years in civilian employment before fully retiring.

Would do it all again.

Too true. One of my best friends retired after 26 years as a Command Sergeant Major. He did multiple tours in Korea and Vietnam and then worked for the local county government for many years before retiring. He considers himself lucky to have survived long enough to retire from the Army.