How Did You Feel? - Last Day of Work before Retirement

[Old-Biscuit]

I wasn't aware that my last day was going to be my retirement day.

Due to 'deregulation' of the electric industry in So Cal. all power plants were sold to outside entities with a 2 yr. operation/maintenance contract. At the end of that contract the new owners didn't want to renew/extend it so those of us working under that contract no longer had a job.
A few of us were fortunate to be eligible for an early package...others just were unemployed. I took the package and then hired on with the owners of power plant I had been working at.
THAT lasted 2 yrs.......very long nerve racking yrs. due to new owners lack safety concerns, lack of training for new hires (right off street) and lack of any kind of investment/benefits etc. Just a job with a paycheck.
Then early one dayshift a major safety issue came up (sulfuric acid) and after a heated debate with couple of 'supervisors' I QUIT.
That was on Friday 10AM March 10, 2001. Second guessed myself all weekend.
Monday after meeting with the guy that had been handling my monies I became RETIRED. 2 months shy of my 50th birthday. HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY
That was 12 yrs. ago
Never had quit a job before in my life....been fired from a couple, been laid off from couple, had a few that just ended.

Funny how things work out!

[davendeb]

It is a bittersweet feeling. I spent the day observing my replacement do the job and offering pointers along the way. The ladies in the office surprised me with a farewell party at 4pm with friends secretly invited and hiding in the reception area.

[vapor3000]

I worked 40 years in the aerospace industry, 31 years with my last employer. I retired at 59 yrs old in Sept 2007. It was the BEST day of my life. Even better than the day I graduated from engineering school. I do not miss the daily grind of work, not for one minute.

My biggest task in retirement is finding out what day of the week it is!! Now that is pressure!!

[beamisl]

Rick,

I wondered how you kept track of the days of the week. Must be easier with a cell phone but do you even bother with that.

My husband's company announced about August that they would be closing and moving to Scandanavia about 13 yrs ago. They closed on Dec 31st. 196 people lost their jobs. Some young, some in middle age, and only 3 close enough to retirement to be ok.

Out of those 196 there were 6 couples who had the other person working and had insurance. A few lost everything because they could not find other jobs very fast. We were fine because I made enough money to support us. Still am glad for that. My last day is still 16 months off but I sure look forward to it.

[thirdbase]

My last day was great. I was the captain of a 777 and was flying a Beijing-Chicago flight.
Incredibly great crew and a very emotional trip.
Chinese passengers are usually quite reserved, but after we got the O'Hare fire department water salute, which they thought was really something, they wouldn't get off the airplane until I went back to the door so they could say goodbye.
Just a great way to wrap up a 32 year airline career.
A lot changed after 9-11, but it was still great.
I don't miss the time gone from home.

[olustee bus]

Great stories. here.

"My last 2 years of my last job was not fun, very high stress, sleepless nights, and lots of BS."


I was there when I retired but it was my last 7 years.

I went to an friends retirement last week and I know know I made the best decision. Everyone told me that it was truly terrible now.

I retired at 61 1/2. Coulda done a lot better going to 65 but I am doing fine at 71. Would really change it for any amount of money.

I still wake up in the middle of the night but that is because that is when I want to surf the net as it is quiet and I don't have to be doing anything but sleeping.

The best of luck to you all and to you folks who are not there yet.

[450Donn]

You dont really get a last day when the company lays you off at 63 and 64. You just suck it up and move on

[ArmandV]

It was one month ago today that I began my retirement.

How did I feel? One word: relief!

[Dr4Film]

I actually "retired" three times. Once an early retirement in 1993 from Kodak in Rochester NY, a second from Technicolor Film Labs California in 2003 and a third and final time in 2009 from UCLA in Los Angeles CA.

I was "forced' into my third retirement with the economic downturn and budget cuts BUT it was a Blessing in disguise. With all of the unemployment that California wanted to give to me and the multiple federal extensions too, in retrospect it was perfect timing.

At first I was pretty miffed but later when I figured out how much better off I was financially by being pushed out when I was PLUS the extensive traveling that it allowed me to do, it was the very BEST thing that could have ever happen to me and at a perfect time.

I received a full retirement from the state of CA after working only 5 years with UCLA. It wasn't too much longer after that when the entire state of CA retirement system was overhauled, DUH!

So I have no regrets and it has allowed me to enjoy so much during these last almost 7 years of full-time RV living.



Dr4Film ----- Richard

[alpha99]

Originally Posted by thirdbase

My last day was great. I was the captain of a 777 and was flying a Beijing-Chicago flight.
Incredibly great crew and a very emotional trip.
Chinese passengers are usually quite reserved, but after we got the O'Hare fire department water salute, which they thought was really something, they wouldn't get off the airplane until I went back to the door so they could say goodbye.
Just a great way to wrap up a 32 year airline career.
A lot changed after 9-11, but it was still great.
I don't miss the time gone from home.

I've got 26+ years at my airline and another 7 to go till mandatory retirement at 65 as a pilot. I have flown turnarounds and home every night since my kids were born 16 years ago. We bought the motorhome 3 years ago and have taken a couple 6 week, 6,000 mile trips and many other shorter trips.

So I guess, I'm semi-retired.


Cheers!

[AbdRahim]

Absolutely wonderful. Couldn't wait to get out. Never missed it for one day.

[Dutch Star Don]

I started at the L.A. County Sheriff's Department when I was 21. I worked one month past my 55th birthday and just couldn't do it anymore. The last 15 years I had worked the Arson/Explosive unit which I loved until about the last two years. My back had gotten so bad, it hurt just driving to work. I was lucky and had a County car for 15 years, but working the Arson unit sometimes required 300-400 miles of driving in one day. Because of the size of L.A. County, my roundtrip, just to the office, was 140 miles.

As someone said, your job can define you and I was no longer that guy. I was never closer to home than a 100 mile roundtrip in the 34 years I worked. It seems that I was always going as fast as traffic allowed to get to work and around the County. About six months into retirement I was driving down the freeway when suddenly this calm came over me. I had finally let go of the job and the driving. Now I find myself in the slow lane just putting along. It makes my wife crazy because she thinks I'm doing it on purpose, especially when were going someplace she wants to go.

[trashman1995]

The story of the last day is great to hear,as I wonder what that day might be like!

[olustee bus]

good for you. My story was not much different from that except I retired two years before the recession and took a big hit. Have fun you deserve it.