Back to Work......Temporarily

We are fortunate in some ways to have the options we do today. Not too many years ago, retirement was mandatory at 65 at a lot of places. Now, people chose to continue working if their health is good and they enjoy their work. Some retire and take part time jobs for whatever reason, it works for them. We can chose to just sit back, travel, volunteer--it's nice to have these choices.
 
I often wonder, how many people think as I do, that I am going to have to ease into the transition from full time employment to full time retirement. And this has nothing to do with financials. Just do not know if I can just go cold turkey. It may have something to do with the type of work I do. I know many people in the same line of work who will retire, but continue to do consulting work well into their 70's. I often ask them if it is because they just cannot turn away completely from it, or is it because they have to get away from their mates from time to time. None have ever said it is because of the need for money. I was thinking about about going to a 4 day work week, which I can and this keeps my benefits going. I am lucky because I do have some options to keep doing what I am doing, but have more control over how much I do actually work. The question remains, how many people here have eased into retirement and not because of financial reasons, vs just pulling the plug and going cold turkey.
 
Dennis K said:
I often wonder, how many people think as I do, that I am going to have to ease into the transition from full time employment to full time retirement. And this has nothing to do with financials. Just do not know if I can just go cold turkey. It may have something to do with the type of work I do. I know many people in the same line of work who will retire, but continue to do consulting work well into their 70's. I often ask them if it is because they just cannot turn away completely from it, or is it because they have to get away from their mates from time to time. None have ever said it is because of the need for money. I was thinking about about going to a 4 day work week, which I can and this keeps my benefits going. I am lucky because I do have some options to keep doing what I am doing, but have more control over how much I do actually work. The question remains, how many people here have eased into retirement and not because of financial reasons, vs just pulling the plug and going cold turkey.
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I worked 4 hour days and 4 day weeks for the month prior to my full time retirement to use up vacation time and other benefits. After that I walked away and never looked back!!
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Dennis K said:
I often wonder, how many people think as I do, that I am going to have to ease into the transition from full time employment to full time retirement. And this has nothing to do with financials. Just do not know if I can just go cold turkey. It may have something to do with the type of work I do. I know many people in the same line of work who will retire, but continue to do consulting work well into their 70's. I often ask them if it is because they just cannot turn away completely from it, or is it because they have to get away from their mates from time to time. None have ever said it is because of the need for money. I was thinking about about going to a 4 day work week, which I can and this keeps my benefits going. I am lucky because I do have some options to keep doing what I am doing, but have more control over how much I do actually work. The question remains, how many people here have eased into retirement and not because of financial reasons, vs just pulling the plug and going cold turkey.
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I worked three days per week for much of my final year, and got to do it from home. It was a perfect way to transition.
 
Started back to work yesterday, with a visit to the office in Boston to get my laptop along with an office phone, and then put in a full day today. It was rewarding to be greeted warmly in person and also via email. After a few hours of setup and some technical issues this morning, I was back in the swing of things as if I'd never left. I committed to give them 21 hours per week, but have the option to work more (or less) as time permits. I have to say, it feels good to have this option and still have plenty of time to go off for a quick trip and take advantage of good weather and fall foliage. By the end of December I'm sure I'll be ready to stop work again. In the interim it's a chance to earn some extra spending money and feel valuable again.
 
I retired a few years ago at the age of 58. I was gone only a month when I received a call to come in and talk with a supervisor about a new position. I thought "what the heck." I went in and they offered me a job looking over cold cases. I had to turn that down because I knew that some of those cases may take a long time to complete, even with DNA, etc. So, instead, I took a job teaching at the Academy. What am I teaching? Interrogation.
 
While I'd like to be traveling right now, with my wife's ongoing health issue it's just not feasible, so this is a nice way to do something different and take my mind off politics for a few hours a day.

So, instead, I took a job teaching at the Academy. What am I teaching? Interrogation.​
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911, are you happy doing this? I assume you are.
 
So, here I am at the end of my three month gig with my former employer. An original plan to work 21-24 hours a week morphed into a nearly full-time job by the time December rolled around. The money was certainly welcome, the contact with the lawyers and folks on the Finance team was nice and I really enjoyed feeling valuable again. While today marks the end, I think it's probably going to move into a more limited role that will put a limit on my hours (no more than 29 in a month), and leave the door open for a similar role next year in the 4th quarter. The money I earned in the past three months will pretty much pay for my health insurance for next year. That's huge! What I really appreciated was the compliments sent my way earlier today as I was about to sign off, saying it was nice to have me back. It meant a lot and was good for the ego.
 
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