retire sooner or just work less? Update post 187

[debthaven]

Another update/question.

I am doing WAY more hours than I planned this semester. As I've mentioned before, I also teach faculty and staff who teach/work in English. Two faculty who planned to start in Jan 2023 decided to start in Sept at the last minute. Since I like them and want to continue those classes post-retirement, I agreed, even though I would have preferred not to do that many hours this semester. (Most of those faculty/staff hours are on Zoom.)

I keep telling myself, you're cutting WAY BACK as of January (when I officially retire). I calculated it tonight ... turns out my "cutting WAY BACK" works out to 20% less compared to last Spring semester! That's not enough!!! I'm NOT yet ready to stop working. But I'm NOT happy with reducing by only 20%. 

I know this is sort of a stupid question, and ultimately I need to figure it out for myself. But what would YOU consider a good amount to reduce? 

I'm thinking I should aim for at least 33% less? Because 33% less would be one day less/week AT school. (ie 2 days/week plus the occasional third day.) Last Spring Semester I did 3 days/week plus the occasional fourth day.

I plan to reduce further in Fall 2023, and I'll probably stop after that. 

What about all the rest of you? 

PS Thanks everyone for letting me "think out loud" ... I've decided to give up my last 5-week Spring Semester night class. (I had two, but I gave one up last spring.)

That'll put me at exactly 30% fewer hours, plus I won't ever get home at 8pm anymore, which is a huge relief. 

[TheOtherMe]

I can't give you advice since when the day ended on December 31, 1995, I walked out the door and was done.

[debthaven]

TheOtherMe I envy you, but I seem to be structurally incapable of doing that LOL.

But I'm making progress! I even wrote the email explaining why I won't be doing that night class again (but I'll only send it in a few weeks, it's too early now). 

[TheOtherMe]

[minnesotapaintlady]

Oct 7, 2022 19:38:42 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

I can't give you advice since when the day ended on December 31, 1995, I walked out the door and was done.

You've been retired 27 years?  Either you retired young or I'm way off at what I thought your age was!  

[TheOtherMe]

Buy out offer that was too good to refuse.  Way too good to refuse.  Worked lots of part time jobs so I could travel and get my $91 a month social security.  

Remember 2 of those years were spent fighting cancer.  I would probably have missed a lot of work from Sep 1999 to 2002.  I am glad I wasn't trying to juggle a job during those years. 

Up until the church closed, I always had a part time job with the exception of those years.

[NoNamePerson]

I gave notice on September 6, 2004. Hurricane bearing down on us I left town on Tuesday at noon and shorted my notice. Never looked back and absolutely no regrets    Will admit that I looked at savings, checking account, etc before make that decision but I had made up my mind I would not go thru another tax season if I had to stand on a street corner on Saturday nights.  Of course I probably would have had to give change back from a quarter given my age even then   

[resolution]

Oct 7, 2022 18:32:06 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Another update/question.

I'm thinking I should aim for at least 33% less? Because 33% less would be one day less/week AT school. (ie 2 days/week plus the occasional third day.) Last Spring Semester I did 3 days/week plus the occasional fourth day.

I think 2 days per week with an additional third day sounds lovely.

I have been toying with the idea of retiring in June when I have my 30 years in the pension system, and then asking to be hired as a contractor part time. However my manager just quit last week, so a lot of my plans will depend on if I like my new manager and how much my team changes.

[plugginaway22]

I would not look at it as a percentage of hours. For me it was days, how many days am I willing to work? Four days was ok when we scaled back during Covid but that still felt like full-time. Are you more comfortable with 2 or 3 days?

[debthaven]

That sounds like a good plan Resolution!

Pluggin, thanks, that makes sense. I use percentages because it’s easier to calculate my income, but you’re right.

So then yes, the plan for next semester is to work at school 2 days/week (plus the occasional 3rd day.) And indeed to give up that last evening class.

Thanks everyone!

[Rukh O'Rorke]

how big of a difference is it between 20% reduction and 33% in terms of effort and vs pay?

[debthaven]

Rukh O'Rorke reducing by 20% would mean shorter days, but I want to reduce the number of days I go in.

Reducing by 33% would mean one day less per week at school, and also some shorter days.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

TD is back to working 30 hours/week.  However, he was not working this much before we left for Fiji (I think he was working <10) and for him there is an end point.  

It seems that he does better working 2-3 full days than 5 part days each week.  Maybe you can approach it that way?  He can manipulate his schedule (somewhat) but know this is not always possible.

[debthaven]

The Walk of the Penguin Mich 30 hours is practically full time. 

It seems that he does better working 2-3 full days than 5 part days each week. Maybe you can approach it that way?

Mich that's what I do. Now I do 3 full days at school + 1 day on Zoom (most weeks ... I still have to go in 4 days one week/month). I'm generally off Fridays, but not always.

Basically, I want to reduce one day/week at school. As of January I want to will go down to 2 full days at school, plus the occasional 3rd day (plus the Zoom classes).

So the goal is to do 2-3 days/week at school (plus Zoom classes) instead of 3-4 days/week at school (plus Zoom classes).

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Oct 10, 2022 12:00:40 GMT -5 debthaven said:

The Walk of the Penguin Mich 30 hours is practically full time. 

It seems that he does better working 2-3 full days than 5 part days each week. Maybe you can approach it that way?

Mich that's what I do, and plan to continue. Now I do 3 full days at school + 1 day WFH (most weeks ... I still have to go in 4 days one week a month). I'm generally off Fridays, but sometimes I teach on Zoom.

Basically, I want to reduce one day/week at school. As of January I want to will go down to 2 full days at school, plus the occasional 3rd day (plus the Zoom classes).

So the goal is 2-3 days/week at school (plus Zoom classes) instead of 3-4 days/week at school (plus Zoom classes).

It’s not full time when you work for 8 weeks, then take 4 weeks off.  Can you work every other semester?  Choose specific classes that you will teach, and give up others?  

At this point, TD has stepped back from taking responsibility, has essentially turned into a grunt, so he doesn't have the headaches of running a project, he just does what someone sets in front of him.  The one thing I have noticed is that he doesn’t come home from work as frustrated.  He has given up control, and the problems are not his anymore.  

Interesting to note that my old boss has also taken this tack.  He goes in, teaches a class or two but is not in charge of anything.  

[debthaven]

It’s not full time when you work for 8 weeks, then take 4 weeks off. 
Ah I hadn't realized this! 

Can you work every other semester?
No, because once you stop completely there's no certainty of going back.

Choose specific classes that you will teach, and give up others?
Oh I've been doing that for a few years now! I have long given up any classes with very long, very badly-written group papers as their final project LOL. 

Going into school 3-4 days/week this semester is still too much for me.  But I like the idea of going in 2-3 days/week. So that's the plan for next semester. I'll see how it goes. 

Thanks to all of you for helping me sort through the mess in my head. 

[resolution]

Oct 10, 2022 12:18:54 GMT -5 debthaven said:

It’s not full time when you work for 8 weeks, then take 4 weeks off. 
Ah I hadn't realized this! 

Can you work every other semester?
No, because once you stop completely there's no certainty of going back.

Choose specific classes that you will teach, and give up others?
Oh I've been doing that for a few years now! I have long given up any classes with very long, very badly-written group papers as their final project LOL. 

Going into school 3-4 days/week this semester is still too much for me.  But I like the idea of going in 2-3 days/week. So that's the plan for next semester. I'll see how it goes. 

Thanks to all of you for helping me sort through the mess in my head. 

Do you have a plan on how you will spend the extra day off? Not having specific plans has been a factor in my continuing to work.

As I inch toward retirement I am trying different things. I joined a gym last week and have started going to the ladies bible study at church. I can see the gym being a long term thing but I'm not so sure about the weekly bible study. I have also been doing some paint by numbers paintings to decorate the house, and am thinking of taking painting lessons at a local studio.

[debthaven]

Do you have a plan on how you will spend the extra day off? Not having specific plans has been a factor in my continuing to work.

Not really resolution ... I too continue to work partly because of that, but at this point I think it's a vicious circle. I don't have the bandwidth or energy to even think about it, I'm too exhausted. 

I do plan to take an exercise class, but I'm not sure which one or when yet. 

[debthaven]

I am indeed retiring as of 1 Jan. 

DH is having knee-replacement surgery in January, so we won't be able to travel for a while. So (surprise) I ended up accepting a bit more work. 

I'm reducing my hours by 33%. As many of you pointed out, the percentage is meaningless. The important thing is that I'll be at school 2 days/week (plus the occasional third day) instead of 3 days/week (plus the occasional fourth day). 

If we'd known about DH's surgery earlier, I probably would have opted to retire at the end of the school year. By the time we found out, it was too late to change my retirement date.

So I'll be at Job 1 on Tuesdays, Job 2 on Wednesdays, and at home on Zoom on Thursdays for my professor/staff classes. I'll be off Mondays and Fridays. (I may have an occasional Zoom on Mondays.)

I'm very happy with that!

PS I plan to reduce further in the fall but I'm taking it one semester at a time.

[finnime]

That's a wonderful plan, debthaven. Congratulations!

[plugginaway22]

Congratulations! Less work is good! I don't remember seeing if your DH is also retiring? Hopefully after his knee is recovered you will be able to go. Spontaneous long weekend driving trips have been such a treat for us. If the weather looks good and nothing on the calendar we can be off to wherever!

[debthaven]

plugginaway22 he's retiring in May but he's self-employed and will continue working too. He can work from anywhere. 

I too am looking forward to weekends away! 

[jerseygirl]

Nice schedule debthaven!! Enjoy those long weekends

[dannylion]

Congratulations, debthaven!  Enjoy your leisure time and long weekends!  

[debthaven]

I am LOVING being retired, even if I'm still working 3 days/week LOL.

I've been going in 2 (shorter) days/week, and WFH on Zoom 1 day/week. I'm planning to do the same next fall semester. And then we'll see.   

It's also fabulous to be getting a modest pension AND earning a modest salary! (Part of the reason I plan to work through 2023 is that we are replacing our windows this spring.)

How are you others doing in terms of retirement? Empire the P.A. , plugginaway22 , resolution , Happy prose , The Walk of the Penguin Mich (re TD) , Rukh O'Rorke ? (Sorry if I've forgotten any others who have recently retired or who plan to retire soon.)

PS DH has basically recovered from his knee replacement surgery. He's retiring on May 1, but he'll still work PT (from home). 

[NastyWoman]

Last night I was talking to DS1 and he told me how he had enticed a friend to come out of retirement and work in his (DS1) company part time. That set me to really think about what I would do if someone asked me to do that. And my answer was clear: I am totally done and don't miss work one bit. I love my retired life!

[Empire the P.A.]

debthaven, so glad that you are enjoying your time in partial retirement. I have been free for 2+ years now and do not miss working at all. I’m a homebody and have been cooking/baking every recipe that catches my fancy. I don’t even mind doing housework because now I have time. 

[debthaven]

NastyWoman and Empire the P.A. so happy to hear that!

NastyWoman you were older than me when you retired so that makes perfect sense to me.

I am sure I will reduce my regular student classes further in 2024, or even stop at that point. However I DO plan to keep my individual admin/staff classes (which are mainly on Zoom).  

[NastyWoman]

Yes I am older than you are but let me tell you 50+ hours/week at 70 yo (now also "+") feels just about ancient LOL

[Happy prose]

debthaven I'm loving being retired too! Officially retired 1/1/23, but ended work the end of Oct, using accrued vacation time. We bought a house in a retirement community about 1 1/2 hrs south of where we were. So far I love my new neighborhood, and really looking forward to nicer weather, when I'll really be able to enjoy it. I'm glad to hear working part time is working out for you! Keep us posted along the way.