Semi-retired to fully retired

[Upstate NYer]

For those of you who went from full time work to part time work (semi-retired), how long did you work part-time until you pulled the plug completely? What made you decide to fully retire?

I'm finding that although I'm working less and have a great gig, I still have to sometimes deal with office politics...which sucks.

Thanks for your feedback.

[funcomesfirst]

Great question! I'm curious too.  I just transitioned to part time last week & I'm working from home full time so I'm not sure how that will affect me.  I am hoping that part time works for at least 5 years unless we decide to homeschool.  Did you have any expectation for how long you'd work after semi-retirment?

[Upstate NYer]

Initially I was thinking until I was 50 (so a little over two years) but the gig has been going so well, my boss has been flexible about my trips, I have extra money to travel, I thought indefinitely. I like the structure, the paycheck, etc.

But this was a really bad week at work...and I get the impression that on some level, one or two of my co-workers resent me because of my part time schedule. And we're a small office.

[Classical_Liberal]

Great question! Following, as I am contemplating a part time work to eventual full RE.

[Cassie]

It has been 4 years now but I don't have a boss.  I work from home teaching an online college course.  I love it and can't imagine quitting but you never know when that may change.

[Ready2Go]

I've been working part-time for about a year now.  For the most part its good; no office politics, I only do technical work that I enjoy, and I can work at home as I please. But I find myself slightly bored with the whole arrangement, and just ready to move on to something completely different.  Something physically creative and challenging that has nothing to do with software or servers or databases.  I'm thinking about calling it quits at the end of summer and starting some art classes at a community college.  It feels like a natural transition to start a new phase of my life in the fall.

[Rezdent]

Initially I was thinking until I was 50 (so a little over two years) but the gig has been going so well, my boss has been flexible about my trips, I have extra money to travel, I thought indefinitely. I like the structure, the paycheck, etc.

But this was a really bad week at work...and I get the impression that on some level, one or two of my co-workers resent me because of my part time schedule. And we're a small office.

I worked part time for several years.  When coworkers threw at me, I didn't back down. I let them know the reality of my position.
Examples:
coworker, "must be nice to have Fridays off"
Me: "yes it is nice.  You should absolutely do it too.  Of course, you'll give up 20% of your pay like I did. Now, I wish I had a 20% reduction in my bills...(Pause).  If you can live on 80% of your pay then I highly recommend asking for a reduction in your hours."

coworker: "well the deadline for X project is Monday."
Me:  "yep, and I have to finish it two days early, because I am part time."

By doing this in a casual way, most of my coworkers decided that they would not like to be part time, and the jealousy was reduced to wishful thinking on their part.

But I still have bad weeks at work.  I don't think it is the number of hours though.

[Upstate NYer]

Cassie, that sounds like a pretty sweet gig. No boss, no office politics, etc.

Ready2Go, that sounds great, I'm going to have to keep taking some classes in mind for when I finally pull the plug. Please come back and let us know how it's going.

Rezdent, I do that in a roundabout way...by pointing out choices I've made so I can do this. I don't know if I can get away with a more direct approach in such a small office, we all have to get along, etc.

[Cassie]

Actually teaching is something new for me and not what I did in my career. I love helping the students learn about disabilities, etc and find the whole thing fun. I know I am very lucky.

[Exflyboy]

2 months shy of 2 years.

I mostly loved the job, travel with bennies, paid for every hour I travelled.

Getting kicked out next Friday.. I am well beyond FI and I have sense that its time.

[Lagom]

Actually teaching is something new for me and not what I did in my career. I love helping the students learn about disabilities, etc and find the whole thing fun. I know I am very lucky.

Is this an adjunct position? Are you teaching through a MOOC? Some other option I'm not aware of? I've thought about pursuing something like this eventually but have not yet thoroughly explored the options beyond glancing at some in person adjunct postings.

[LAGuy]

I'm interested in this as well. It seems from the replys here, not that many have actually gone this route.

As for me, I'm currently in escrow on my place. Will get a big payout (cross fingers it doesn't fall out of escrow), and with my other savings will have quite a bit to live on. But perhaps, not quite enough. I'm going to travel and live abroad half the year and see what kind of expenditures I rack up. Then, I'll come back and work half the year as a healthcare traveler (like a traveling nurse, but in my field - laboratory sciences). Should work out well with a lot of my expenses covered while I'm working, a taxable account to live off of from my home sale proceeds, and the ability to then sock the max into my retirement accounts. My taxable income will be so low, I'll probably be down in the 10% federal bracket.

I too am wondering. Will I love it? Or will those 6 months of work be pure torture? At least it'll be nice to just be a guy in the lab running tests. Can't imagine they'll ask much more of a contract worker. One of the things I hate about full time work, is if you prove yourself to be competent, they start piling a bunch of extraneous crap on you. For me, I just want to run the lab tests. Not write validation studies, or implement a new computer program for the reporting of results.

[Mmm_Donuts]

I've been semi retired for a few years, but I work very minimally, just a few weeks per year. DH is FIREd as of last year and I'm concerned that we're vulnerable to sequence of returns risk. As the years go by, depending how our stache does, I'll hold on to the part time work until I'm more certain that we're in the clear. If there's a recession in the next 5 years, I'll ramp up the freelance work.

Cfiresim currently gives us a 75% chance of success. Every month that goes by and our investments do well, I'm more and more inclined to throw in the towel! But I'll likely hang in for a few more years, till I'm 50. It's easy, well paid work, so it's tough to say no.

[pdxbator]

I'm 42 and for about the last 4 months I've gone down to 32 hours a week. I'm an hourly employee in health care. It has helped in the clinic because there are other part time employees that got my 8 hours. I can see doing this for a bit longer even though I'm FI. The pay is pretty decent, I get health care a while longer, I get more into my pension. I have gotten a few questions at work about it from other coworkers who are living the 'American Dream' with much larger houses, multiple care payments, multiple children. I have taken to explaining that my husband and I are  DINKs (dual income, no kids) and that by living a little more frugally I don't need to work full-time. I haven't let on that I could leave work tomorrow and be fine for a very long time. That would ruffle some feathers for sure.

[Exflyboy]

I'm 42 and for about the last 4 months I've gone down to 32 hours a week. I'm an hourly employee in health care. It has helped in the clinic because there are other part time employees that got my 8 hours. I can see doing this for a bit longer even though I'm FI. The pay is pretty decent, I get health care a while longer, I get more into my pension. I have gotten a few questions at work about it from other coworkers who are living the 'American Dream' with much larger houses, multiple care payments, multiple children. I have taken to explaining that my husband and I are  DINKs (dual income, no kids) and that by living a little more frugally I don't need to work full-time. I haven't let on that I could leave work tomorrow and be fine for a very long time. That would ruffle some feathers for sure.

Ruffling feathers is part of the fun.. Most of my colleagus don't believe I only returned to PT work because I wanted too. The number of them that have gone into "auto commiserate" mode when they hear I'm being given the boot.. Its pretty funny..:)

What WILL you do?... Retire... " CAN't retire your too young" blah blah.

As this is my third retirement its a gift that keeps giving...:)

[Classical_Liberal]

I too am wondering. Will I love it? Or will those 6 months of work be pure torture? At least it'll be nice to just be a guy in the lab running tests. Can't imagine they'll ask much more of a contract worker. One of the things I hate about full time work, is if you prove yourself to be competent, they start piling a bunch of extraneous crap on you. For me, I just want to run the lab tests. Not write validation studies, or implement a new computer program for the reporting of results.

I'm a travel nurse and have had the opportunity to meet many traveling lab folks.  Travelers of all professions in hospitals often manage to find each other.  The vast majority of the lab travelers seem to be enjoying themselves.  My anecdotal experience shows that it's about an equal split of young people going at it for the fun & life experience, "mid" career folks doing it for a monetary goal, and "end" career folks doing it as a last work adventure before retirement.  The beauty of travel work, particularly with a decent stash in the background, is that a person can take time off between gigs to recharge the soul. After significant time off, I've heard many travelers say they were looking forward to coming back to work for awhile (I'm doing it close to full time stache building, so I cant say).  Also, even on the worst days, you always know you are only a couple months from being done. Honestly, there are fewer bad days because we rarely stay long enough to get caught up in the politics, organizational changes, studies, and are generally excluded from mandatory meetings.

On the bad side, it takes a few weeks before a traveler is trusted not to screw up, expect some initial micromanagement in each assignment and take it with a grain of salt.  The hospitals have staffing problems (hence the need for you), so the workload tends to be a little higher than the industry norm.  They sometimes try to abuse you via scheduling and assigning you to do more of the less desirable parts of the job.  Stand up for yourself when needed, make sure your contract is specific about hours available to work, etc.  Remember they are the organization desperate enough to hire travelers, it's OK to use that leverage on occasion once they realize you are awesome at your job.

One general piece of advice, take it or leave it.  Travelers who thrive are able to enter an organization, learn the systems quickly and go with the flow.  Those who come in and start complaining; "my way is more efficient, best practice this, other hospitals that"... tend to run into problems.  I'm not the CEO and dont wanna be, unless it truly compromises care, ethics or professional standards, just let it go. No one likes an outsider coming into their home and telling them better ways to do things.  Save the "I can't believe they still do it this way", for after work beers with your new and super fun/interesting/awesome travel friends.

Congrats on making it to SemiRE!!!!

[LAGuy]

I'm a travel nurse and have had the opportunity to meet many traveling lab folks.

Thanks for this excellent post! It certainly is sounding like something that would be perfect for me at least. Seems to address my two biggest complaints about full time work; 1) the lack of enough time to pursue your other interests and 2) the endless push to make you participate in more and more extraneous tasks that are only tangentially related to your job which, of course, never come with a pay increase (and often come with a yearly performance review stating that you're barely meeting expectations at that).

[Cassie]

Yes I am an adjunct and they renew my contract for 1 course each semester. I have been doing this for 4 years.

[Upstate NYer]

Sorry I have been MIA. Lots of great responses.

I really like the idea of the traveling nurse/lab tech, 6 months on/6 months off. Maybe I could do something like that...I'm an administrative assistant, but I could always temp part of the year.

But I'm ready to pull the plug on my current part time job, at the end of 2016. I have the money, it's just a matter of having the guts to take the leap. And what to tell people after I do it...? I work from home? I freelance? IDK.

[flyingaway]

I think the choice of jobs can make a big difference in semi-retirement. I also teach at a university, but I do not teach in summer months, so I get summer and winter breaks for a total of almost 5 months. For the 7 months that I do teaching, I only teach two or three days each week. (I used to work 7 days a week and at least 10 hours a day).

For me, the semi-retirement frees time for travel and other things, such as gardening. I have 5 months (and every other day during work months) to do those things, which makes a full retirement not that urgent. I have been to 10 countries and areas this year.

I plan to continue this type of semi-retirement for three more years when my younger son finishes college. At that time, my wife will retire and we will see how life may look like. We are FI at the comfortable level (beyond the basic level), but not at the first-class ticket level yet.

[Upstate NYer]

Yes, flyingaway, I think if I had a schedule like yours, I wouldn't feel the need to FIRE completely.

But I work 4 days a week...and this month, because I took a two week trip in August and I'm taking another at the end of September, I'm back to working Fridays as well to make up time. So I get out early, but I'm working 5 days a week. :(

I help my adult daughter quite a bit (mental illness), have something else going on in my personal life that takes a big chunk of time...so I feel like even with part time work, I still don't have a lot of down time, or time for myself. I'm stressed.

[Upstate NYer]

I just pulled the plug. My last day is June 23, 2017.

281 days.

Wow. I can't believe I actually did it.

[Classical_Liberal]

I just pulled the plug. My last day is June 23, 2017.

281 days.

Wow. I can't believe I actually did it.

Congrats!  Regale us with tales of the no longer partially employed.

[Upstate NYer]

Thanks CL!

I will, in about...282 days. :)

p.s. It's nice to hear encouragement here, my mom is freaking out. :(

[FIFoFum]

Congrats!

I'm one of those people who does better with the structure of somewhere to be on my calendar, at least part-time. Whether that thing pays or not, though, doesn't matter so much. So moving between categories of "semi" and "fully" is more about the terms of the obligations I am making (flexible, how long, $) than anything else.

[Upstate NYer]

FIF, I'm going to add some structure to my days, which will include going to the Y for classes or a swim, plus occasionally volunteering for school day shows, going to the library, etc. A little structure, but not too much structure.

lhamo, if my FIRE date doesn't change, I'll have made it through a year an a half of working part time. The opportunity just presented itself today with my boss to pull the plug, so I just did it. Totally unplanned (although I've been thinking about it for a long time). After the shock wore off, my second feeling is just one of relief.

[Cassie]

If I could not work from home when I wanted too I probably would not still be working. It is the best of both worlds.

[Classical_Liberal]

If I could not work from home when I wanted too I probably would not still be working. It is the best of both worlds.

See, here's my thing... I actually enjoy the having to go into work part.  I can quickly become a bit of a hermit. Which is refreshing for a few days, but after that I start to get a little weird (this is saying alot considering my baseline).  Going into work forces me back into the social world, I enjoy the interaction of other humans and feel energized from it.  Please note this is after one day, I'm much less enthused after day two, three, etc. Setting a perfect schedule to do this a few days a month would be bliss.  On the other hand, if I simply committed to certain social groups (which I find difficult to do because of my work schedule), I could probably get even more joy from that. 

Alas, if only I was Upstate NYer!

[Upstate NYer]

Cassie, yes, if I had that level of freedom/flexibility, I'd probably keep my pt job too.

CL, I'm hoping I can get people contact from other activities. I'm not a hermit, I am social...but I need down time from people too. How far are you away from FI?

[Classical_Liberal]

CL, I'm hoping I can get people contact from other activities. I'm not a hermit, I am social...but I need down time from people too. How far are you away from FI?

To attain full FI my projections put me somewhere around 6 years.  The Semi-retired thing makes for more murky water. 

I'm only about 3 years into a new career and even if fully FI I would probably work around 100-200 hours a year just to keep my professional license.  It was kind of a PITA to get and it makes for a very nice sense of security as my job is likely one with increasing demand over the foreseeable future.  I could always work more if bad economic times push me that way.

The earliest I would feel comfortably going Semi-Re would be maybe 20 mos or so. That would entail a variable withdrawal rate based on real returns. The amount I would work could vary from the bare minimum above, up to half time to cover all expense plus a little extra cash to push into a depleting stash.  Of course, the longer I stay full time, the less I would have to likely work going forward. 

My guess; I'll pull the trigger somewhere in between the two options.

[Upstate NYer]

CL, that's not too far off. You'll be younger than I am now. :) And I just went part time last November. I've been able to live off of my part time salary ($1300/mo.) with the exception of travel and car repairs and some small unexpected expenses. For travel, etc. I've mostly used the dividends/capital gains I got from mutual funds last year.

Trying to envision life post-work, and this popped into my head for next summer:

http://nysparks.com/admission/empire-passport/

$65 for access to NYS parks for a year.

[Upstate NYer]

Just bumped up retirement date to end of April, 2017. Couldn't face another busy season here, very stressful.

Both excited and nervous.

Retiring one month after my stepfather, which is kinda weird...

[Exflyboy]

Just bumped up retirement date to end of April, 2017. Couldn't face another busy season here, very stressful.

Both excited and nervous.

Retiring one month after my stepfather, which is kinda weird...

Awesome.. Congratulations..:)

[Upstate NYer]

Thanks Exflyboy. My boss wanted me to cut back on my personal travel for next year, and I thought um, no...so that's what brought about me pulling the plug.

Then I thought...why suffer through one more busy season? Six months is plenty of time to find someone else and have them up and ready to go for the two busiest months of the year.

I'm only going to withdraw 3% to start...I can live on $1500 a month, with travel being an additional $8K this year (travel hacking covered about $2500 in expenses or that number would've been higher, but I'll have been on 9 trips this year, ranging from weekend trips to two weeks long).

Travel will be covered by taxable mutual fund distributions. Insurance will be covered by muni bond fund distributions. I will have to do a systematic withdrawal for the other $1400 a month.

For health insurance, I'm going to use the essential plan through NYS, which is only $20 a month.

Am I missing anything?

[Fishindude]

I started part time Monday.
Already adapting quite well.   Went home at noon Monday and went fishing :)

[Exflyboy]

Thanks Exflyboy. My boss wanted me to cut back on my personal travel for next year, and I thought um, no...so that's what brought about me pulling the plug.

Then I thought...why suffer through one more busy season? Six months is plenty of time to find someone else and have them up and ready to go for the two busiest months of the year.

I'm only going to withdraw 3% to start...I can live on $1500 a month, with travel being an additional $8K this year (travel hacking covered about $2500 in expenses or that number would've been higher, but I'll have been on 9 trips this year, ranging from weekend trips to two weeks long).

Travel will be covered by taxable mutual fund distributions. Insurance will be covered by muni bond fund distributions. I will have to do a systematic withdrawal for the other $1400 a month.

For health insurance, I'm going to use the essential plan through NYS, which is only $20 a month.

Am I missing anything?

 $1500 a month is impressive!

I need to learn to travel hack.. I made a big hole in my airmile balance this years..:)

What is the NYS essential plan?.. is that Medicaid?

[FB2020]

Thanks Exflyboy. My boss wanted me to cut back on my personal travel for next year, and I thought um, no...so that's what brought about me pulling the plug.

Then I thought...why suffer through one more busy season? Six months is plenty of time to find someone else and have them up and ready to go for the two busiest months of the year.

I'm only going to withdraw 3% to start...I can live on $1500 a month, with travel being an additional $8K this year (travel hacking covered about $2500 in expenses or that number would've been higher, but I'll have been on 9 trips this year, ranging from weekend trips to two weeks long).

Travel will be covered by taxable mutual fund distributions. Insurance will be covered by muni bond fund distributions. I will have to do a systematic withdrawal for the other $1400 a month.

For health insurance, I'm going to use the essential plan through NYS, which is only $20 a month.

Am I missing anything?

Howcome NYS has insurance at $20/month?  that's cool.
Do other states have such plans?

[Upstate NYer]

Fishindude, congrats! Very nice.

Exflyboy, thanks! I have a roommate, which helps a lot. Rent, utilities and internet is just under $600 a month for both of us.

Here is the link for the travel hacking class I took, it's free:
http://www.travelmiles101.com/travel-rewards-course-registration

They also have a Facebook group call Travel Miles 101 if you want to check it out.

Exflyboy & FB2020, NY and Minnesota are the only two states in the country that have the essential plan (for 2016). It's basically gap coverage--when you make too much for Medicaid, but don't make enough to afford a plan off of the exchange. If I make less than $23,000 a year (I think it's 200% of the FPL) I will qualify for it.

[MMMotivated]

Upstate NYer,  Congratulations on your April '17 retire date!  I am in a somewhat similar situation; I took a severance from my company in April 2016, then took a 20 hour per week job with a trade association in Washington, D.C.  I am able to work from my home in Pittsburgh. 

What I have found, though, is that I really want to be fully retired.  Our (married) household has the financial means to do so... but I was attitudinally unprepared last April to actually pull the plug and retire. And ironically, shortly after I took the 20 hour/week job, my hiring manager left and I was put in charge of her 4 other direct reports, which was not in the cards when I was hired.  Long story short - I am fully retiring at the end of April '17 also.  I am working with the organization for a smooth transition.

Two risks to retirement come to mind - investment risk, that is, loss of principal; and inflation risk - the erosion of earning power over time.  One dear relative of mine, caught by inflation, had to return to work at age 80 to make ends meet.  To counter the risks, I am now looking more closely at asset allocation and have calculated that we should have money to age 92, if we can retain a 2.5% annual return or better.  We are working to do that!  And, we will be able to live comfortably, following the 4% annual withdrawal rule.  My DH is adapting to the idea of my being fully retired, and he will FIRE at age 58 in two years. 

Best of luck to you in your journey!  It sounds like you have been putting things in order for a long time.  And best to you with the NYS park pass!  We bought a travel trailer (a used Casita fiberglass 17 footer for the initiated), and have already spent 40 nights in it in the 7 months of ownership.  I am so eager to spend more times at parks of the USA with DH.  I have already had a chance with the trailer to engage in 'carpentourism' and visiting family for extended vacations, as MMM describes.  Perhaps our paths will cross in the NYS parks.  Look for a 17 foot fiberglass trailer and a grey haired guy (or two),

With warmest regards, David.

[libertarian4321]

If I could not work from home when I wanted too I probably would not still be working. It is the best of both worlds.

Same here.  I was fully retired for a couple of years, only came back to "part time" consulting, from home because I got to work on my terms- meaning work from home (I hate city traffic!), no more than 40-hours per week ever (usually less), no management responsibilities, no travel/meetings unless I want to go, generally having someone else do client interaction- I just do the technical work.  Makes life a whole lot less stressful.  Though I make a lot less than I used to, I no longer hate work, and since I really don't need the money, that's fine.

[Upstate NYer]

MMMotivated, thanks! It's ended being even earlier than I was anticipating--after a discussion today, it looks like it's going to be sometime between the end of January and the end of February. Not overly excited about retiring in winter, but hey, I'll make the most of it.

It sounds like the two of you will have many adventures ahead, enjoy!

[Upstate NYer]

Just over 14 weeks till full retirement!!! {doing a happy dance}

Top 10 things to do the first week I retire:

10. Swim at Y
9. Take classes at Y
8. Sleep in late
7. Nap
6. Read
5. Artsy-craftsy stuff
4. Hang out with friend in her hot tub
3. Visit library
2. Have coffee with other friend
1. Whatever the hell I want!!!

The end. lol

[Financial.Velociraptor]

MMMotivated, thanks! It's ended being even earlier than I was anticipating--after a discussion today, it looks like it's going to be sometime between the end of January and the end of February. Not overly excited about retiring in winter, but hey, I'll make the most of it.

It sounds like the two of you will have many adventures ahead, enjoy!

Gratz!  I'm saying a sup3r-w00t just for you!

[Exflyboy]

Fantastic.. Enjoy every minute of it..:)

[Metric Mouse]

Just over 14 weeks till full retirement!!! {doing a happy dance}

Top 10 things to do the first week I retire:

10. Swim at Y
9. Take classes at Y
8. Sleep in late
7. Nap
6. Read
5. Artsy-craftsy stuff
4. Hang out with friend in her hot tub
3. Visit library
2. Have coffee with other friend
1. Whatever the hell I want!!!

The end. lol

Not much for sleeping, but the rest of the list sounds great! Always awesome to have something to look forward to.

[FB2020]

Another great advantage is you can go to places at non-peak hours when usually its cheaper and/or less crowded since you got the free time

[Upstate NYer]

Financial Velociraptor & Exflyboy & Metric Mouse, thanks! I'm going to try and have low expectations of myself during the decompression period--meaning other than exercise, not expect myself to be doing wildly productive stuff. During the warmer months, I see lots of nature walks and kayaking. :)

FB2020, very true! And I hate crowds. I'm leaving work later this week, to make up time for an upcoming trip, and I'm hitting the beginning of rush hour traffic every day...ugh, I hate it.

[Upstate NYer]

The problem with giving lots of notice...is that once everyone knows at work, you're ready to head out the door and start living your new life. Mentally, you are outta here!

Unfortunately, I've still got 13 more weeks...not that I'm counting down or anything, lol

[Exflyboy]

The problem with giving lots of notice...is that once everyone knows at work, you're ready to head out the door and start living your new life. Mentally, you are outta here!

Unfortunately, I've still got 13 more weeks...not that I'm counting down or anything, lol

Oh my tell me about it! Christmas vacation 2013 I could barely face the idea of returning to work. I planned on quitting in April 2014. Turns out I had "engineered" my own firing rather well and the first day back in the first week of Jan I made it clear I had no intention of performing to their (unreasonable) expectations.. I got fired with a nice severance package on Jan 9th that paid more than the salary I didn't make by staying till April.

If I had to wait till April I would have gone mad!

[Upstate NYer]

Yeah, every day this week when I get up in the morning I think "a mental health day would be really nice today."

Then I remind myself that I have no PTO left and in 13 weeks I'll get as many mental health days as my little heart desires...