Retiring this Friday. Now what?

[tealeaves]

My last day is August 14th, as I retire at age 59 1/2. No regrets on the decision - financially OK (including health insurance until 65), and excited (for several reasons) to leave my current employer after nearly 2 decades. Have thought about all the advice to retire "to" something, but I am not; few hobbies, we aren't travelers, and in general we're pretty happy "sitting around" (though this has not been "tested" in an unemployed scenario).

Still, I find myself looking at online job ads and updating my outdated resume. Why? What if I am unable to find enough purpose/structure in my retired life? What if I miss too much interacting with younger folks (most easily accessible via work)? And if I'm out of the workforce for any length of time (which I have fortunately never been), re-entering will be that much harder (it will be hard enough at my age). Also, although DW and I won't need the additional income, more will always be welcome to be able to help my children (who could use it).

I'm curious about the experience of other retirees here who went though similar adjustment periods, especially those that have tried to re-enter the work force with finances not being the number one consideration.

[DJZ]

My last day is August 14th, as I retire at age 59 1/2. No regrets on the decision - financially OK (including health insurance until 65), and excited (for several reasons) to leave my current employer after nearly 2 decades. Have thought about all the advice to retire "to" something, but I am not; few hobbies, we aren't travelers, and in general we're pretty happy "sitting around" (though this has not been "tested" in an unemployed scenario).

Still, I find myself looking at online job ads and updating my outdated resume. Why? What if I am unable to find enough purpose/structure in my retired life? What if I miss too much interacting with younger folks (most easily accessible via work)? And if I'm out of the workforce for any length of time (which I have fortunately never been), re-entering will be that much harder (it will be hard enough at my age). Also, although DW and I won't need the additional income, more will always be welcome to be able to help my children (who could use it).

I'm curious about the experience of other retirees here who went though similar adjustment periods, especially those that have tried to re-enter the work force with finances not being the number one consideration.

I retired at a similar age, six years ago, and also looked into returning to part time work for a time; ultimately, after one year without working, I did work again 1/4 time for 18 months. But that was not really enough to stay at the top of my game so I stopped.

Financially it was helpful but in retrospect it would probably have been better to move on sooner - it was really 2.5 years in limbo.

Since then, I *did* move on and am much happier. Also much healthier. I had a really interesting job but retirement can be even more interesting! Have met a lot of great people too.

[bestplans]

I used to facilitate a group for recent retirees and found that these types of feelings are very normal. Beyond the objectives you stated, many are wary of losing the positive reinforcement they experienced while working and the recognition of having "competency", especially if they are moving from a job with specialized skills that would be difficult to replicate in a volunteer position. More likely it will just entail a period of adjustment; some have wondered a few weeks later "what was I thinking?" (in terms of whether to go back to work). Others experience regret months later and attempt to move back to a similar position (often as a contractor); some with success and some not. You have nothing to lose by going through the job search process now; this actually might be helpful in giving you some clarity.

[flaccidsteele]

My last day is August 14th, as I retire at age 59 1/2. No regrets on the decision - financially OK (including health insurance until 65), and excited (for several reasons) to leave my current employer after nearly 2 decades. Have thought about all the advice to retire "to" something, but I am not; few hobbies, we aren't travelers, and in general we're pretty happy "sitting around" (though this has not been "tested" in an unemployed scenario).

Still, I find myself looking at online job ads and updating my outdated resume. Why? What if I am unable to find enough purpose/structure in my retired life? What if I miss too much interacting with younger folks (most easily accessible via work)? And if I'm out of the workforce for any length of time (which I have fortunately never been), re-entering will be that much harder (it will be hard enough at my age). Also, although DW and I won't need the additional income, more will always be welcome to be able to help my children (who could use it).

I'm curious about the experience of other retirees here who went though similar adjustment periods, especially those that have tried to re-enter the work force with finances not being the number one consideration.

Go on social media and create a new community

That’s what I did in retirement. 45k followers. You can contribute by helping the younger crowd live a better life

[KingRiggs]

Find an outlet that will benefit both you AND others - food pantry, mentoring, whatever. Since income generation isn't an issue, something personally satisfying is in order.

Best of luck in retirement!

[Dave55]

I was retired by external forces at 52 from my main career. I got into a second career at 53 that kept me busy and stimulated for 3- 4 years. Then I retired.

Explore using an unstructured improvisational approach to your new life. Another way of saying go with the flow. You may be surprised. I got great results with it. I have activities and interests that never occurred to me previously.

Dave

[Bogle7]

Exercise every day.
Walking or biking.

Exercise every day.
Strong legs appear to a prophylactic against dementia. Do your squats.

Read more.
Fiction, non-fiction, magazines.

[coacher]

I retired at about your age and had similar feelings. Even got to the point of searching for and receiving a job offer soon after with similar pay but in a better environment. But what swayed me to turn it down was the realization that the chase to validate that I was still marketable was more important to me than actually working. Since you have worked a long time to get to this point, I would suggest giving "full retirement" a chance (at least a couple of months) before deciding on a course of action (or inaction). If you are truly marketable now, chances are you will be in a few months as well. Good luck!

[Golf maniac]

Find an organization or two (nonprofits) where you believe in their mission and get involved. A few hours a few days a week can make a huge difference to you and them. I retired at 56 (retired almost 5 years now) and it took me a year to find the right fit for organizations I supported with my time. Also, find at least one hobby to spends some time in. Think about going back to school, not for a job, but studying an area of interest. Finally, get into an exercise routine and be consistent. Even if it is just walking a few days a week, it makes a huge difference. When you get these things in place and have a schedule you will forget about work and enjoy this new phase of your life.

Give yourself at least a year before you start looking for a new job. You may be a person that needs the structure of a job, but the flexibility of doing what you want when you want, it makes me smile every day I wake up.

[GerryL]

I retired about 6 years ago, but I prepped myself in the preceding years. Once I knew that my finances were in order, I focused on being mentally ready. I read up on living in retirement from various perspectives. I interviewed retired friends whose circumstances were similar to mine. I started a list of things I might do to fill time, everything from taking classes to cleaning/organizing the garage and trip long and short (e.g., day trips).

I ended up taking a separation one year before the planned date. I was figuring that it would take me a few weeks to settle into this new phase. It didn't take a day. My days/weeks aren't quite like what I thought they would be, but that is by choice. And I have had little need for the list of just-in-case activities.

A little late for the same kind of prep in the lead-up to your retirement, but you could always give yourself an assignment to use the first few months to do Retirement 101.

[abuss368]

I was retired by external forces at 52 from my main career. I got into a second career at 53 that kept me busy and stimulated for 3- 4 years. Then I retired.

Explore using an unstructured improvisational approach to your new life. Another way of saying go with the flow. You may be surprised. I got great results with it. I have activities and interests that never occurred to me previously.

Dave

Excellent advice in business and life.

Thanks Dave!

[depressed]

Two ideas:

1. In the first eight days, plan nothing. Just do what strikes you in the moment. The activity (or lack thereof) may be enlightening. Ideally, this will be the first eight days of retirement.

2. If you enjoy the outdoors: Take sixteen days away from everything, camping or biking, with little or no human contact. This may be any time soon, not necessarily the first sixteen days.

And congratulations on a long work life and whatever comes next.

[phisher4]

The modern American employee works so hard that he/she is often unable to maintain hobbies, avocational interests, and educational pursuits outside of work. It's a little sad that retirement leads to emptiness in so many people.

I'm trying hard not to not have the same fate, but alas, I'm really having trouble juggling a family, a (more than) full-time job, and exercise. I'm slowly but surely losing outside interests and skills, and I'm certain it will be especially difficult to regain them once I retire.

It's cliche', but we all need to "work to live, not live to work." The problem is that we are all competing against people who "live to work," so the cycle continues.

[Cruise]

OP:

Congrats on entering the retirement force. As was said above, if you were a hard-charger, you may have to deal with a loss of perceived competency as well as a wider social (business )network. Loss of these aspects was an expected adjustment. It gets better with time, but I needed to set identify and actualize goals for my retirement. For me these were:

1. Exercise more
2. Audit classes at the university that I never got around to take the first time around.
3. Find volunteer opportunities
4. Take over household duties because spouse decided to keep working.

In my professional life I was the "go to" expert in my field in my community. Now, I am just another retiree enjoying what life has to offer. It works for me.

Good luck!

[lionroar22]

My last day is August 14th, as I retire at age 59 1/2. No regrets on the decision - financially OK (including health insurance until 65), and excited (for several reasons) to leave my current employer after nearly 2 decades. Have thought about all the advice to retire "to" something, but I am not; few hobbies, we aren't travelers, and in general we're pretty happy "sitting around" (though this has not been "tested" in an unemployed scenario).

Congrats on your retirement on Friday!

I retired just shy of 54 without a specific "retiring to something". 7 years later I have zero regrets. My spouse still works (from home) and I just get up and take the day as it goes. I/we also have few hobbies, not big travelers, and like hanging out at our home. While I do miss some of the people from work, I for sure don't miss the drama of supervising and other unpleasant aspects of the job. It is a strange feeling at first to go from 100 mph to a slow crawl, BUT you do get accustomed to it extremely fast, lol.

Still, I find myself looking at online job ads and updating my outdated resume. Why? What if I am unable to find enough purpose/structure in my retired life? What if I miss too much interacting with younger folks (most easily accessible via work)?

If you decide you are bored you always have the option of going back to work, either a paying job or a volunteer position that interests you. I do volunteer work from time-to-time, and it's a good feeling to help out in the community or wherever.

Also, although DW and I won't need the additional income, more will always be welcome to be able to help my children (who could use it).

That is always a nice thought. My spouse and I do that for our children/grandchildren now rather than to wait until we are no longer here.

I'm curious about the experience of other retirees here who went though similar adjustment periods, especially those that have tried to re-enter the work force with finances not being the number one consideration.

Have not tried to enter the paying workforce, but depending upon what you want to do there normally are people hiring (especially these days). Good luck on whatever you decide, and again congrats!

[Watty]

Still, I find myself looking at online job ads and updating my outdated resume. Why? What if I am unable to find enough purpose/structure in my retired life? What if I miss too much interacting with younger folks (most easily accessible via work)? And if I'm out of the workforce for any length of time (which I have fortunately never been), re-entering will be that much harder (it will be hard enough at my age).

One thing to consider is that if you do go back to work then you will still likely face the "Now what?" question when you eventually retire. People do work past the age of 65 and sometimes well past that age but you will eventually retire again probably sooner rather than later.
At that point you will be older and your health may also be worst so making the transition to the next phase of life may be even harder then.

If you do want to work longer then you might look for some part time work so you can still have some structure from the job, but you will also have plenty of other time to transition to being retired more gradually.

[louiethelilac]

This question is one I can relate to, as one who had struggled with the fear of not "staying in the game" with regard to being employable at "pre-retirement" levels. However, having contracted and thankfully surviving (hopefully without long term damage) Covid-19 changed my perspective on this several months ago. I would echo the comments you have received from others encouraging you to give retirement (whatever that might mean to you) a good trial run before rushing back into a role that although might be comfortable for you because of its familiarity, could just delay a more fulfilling existence that you have worked long and hard to achieve. You also mentioned the desire to help your children; perhaps getting out of the grind might allow you to do this (once conditions allow it) by giving more of your time (vs. money).

[999]

2. If you enjoy the outdoors: Take sixteen days away from everything, camping or biking, with little or no human contact. This may be any time soon, not necessarily the first sixteen days.

And congratulations on a long work life and whatever comes next.

What’s the significance of 16 days?

[Hubris]

It hasn’t been long enough for me to give any advice but I can share my experience thus far. I retired (I think) in March of this year. And leapt from hectic overdrive at work to hectic overdrive of house purchase/sale/relocation/reorganizing finances/finding key providers in new community and making sure I exercise every day. Only in the last 6 weeks has some more moderate equilibrium at a slower pace, to hopefully allow some more possibilities to creep in.

I’ve been doing some light networking, initiated equally by me and others, in the event that an interesting work project pops up but have also turned down a few things out of determination to truly get some decompression time. I did a leadership development exercise with a friend and expert in this. A few themes emerged...
- be sure to really take time to decompress and don’t jump into something simply to stay busy, etc
- explore connections with people and ideas that might seem truly distant from my former area of expertise/professional identity. I can always come back to “what I know” if needed or wanted but will do so with enhanced perspectives for the broader explorations.
- if possible (financially and otherwise), be sure to keep the possibility of “follow your bliss” on the list of possibilities.

“In order to discover new lands, one must be willing to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.”
- Andres Gide

[MathIsMyWayr]

Go on social media and create a new community

That’s what I did in retirement. 45k followers. You can contribute by helping the younger crowd live a better life

I consider social media a complete waste of time: it does more harm than good unless there is a specific agenda. They tend to see and hear only what they want by isolating themselves from the rest of the world. Social media is the source of all the things fake around us.

[LadyGeek]

This thread is now in the Personal Consumer Issues forum (how you spend your money and your time).

Be sure to register in the Roll Call for the Retirement Class of 2020! thread.

[Chuck107]

.....

[clown]

OP mentioned being the "go-to" person, implying that he/she has great skills. I have friends who have joined the Service Corps Of Retired Executives (SCORE), a volunteer group that shares skills with new entrepreneurs who have hit a plateau and need additional skills to grow their companies to the next level. This lets you use your skills and benefit those who need same. Best wishes and congrats on retirement. I did so almost 17 years ago and never looked back.

[TimeRunner]

You're not retired if you re-enter the workforce.

Join a local triathlon club and train for an Ironman. That will keep you fit, busy, and you'll interact with a bunch of Type A young and middle-agers. You'll only have time to sleep on the couch, not sit on it.

[Sandtrap]

Part time work in this Time of Transition?

Some people jump in the lake and others put a toe in first.
j

[go_mets]

I am surprised that given the pandemic that you are not considering doing nothing for the next 6-12 months.
I personally am in no rush to go back to work at a job that would require me to be on-site.
I will be postponing my semi-annual dental exam next month.
Being around people indoors is something I try to avoid.

[flaccidsteele]

Go on social media and create a new community

That’s what I did in retirement. 45k followers. You can contribute by helping the younger crowd live a better life

I consider social media a complete waste of time: it does more harm than good unless there is a specific agenda. They tend to see and hear only what they want by isolating themselves from the rest of the world. Social media is the source of all the things fake around us.

A person’s reality is what they believe it to be

I like to contribute by helping our youth make better decisions, and to live a better life

[flyingaway]

Go on social media and create a new community

That’s what I did in retirement. 45k followers. You can contribute by helping the younger crowd live a better life

I consider social media a complete waste of time: it does more harm than good unless there is a specific agenda. They tend to see and hear only what they want by isolating themselves from the rest of the world. Social media is the source of all the things fake around us.

A person’s reality is what they believe it to be

I like to contribute by helping our youth make better decisions, and to live a better life

Maybe that will become an important income source in retirement.

[carolinaman]

I retired 10 yrs ago at age 66. My biggest regret is that I did not retire sooner. My first 2years of retirement were incredibly busy. I worked part time as a management consultant for a global non profit, I did a lot of remodeling, took care of my ailing mother in another state, was president of a local professional organization and did more volunteer work for my church. After 2 years most of that went away and I had to learn how to live a retired life which, fortunately, is not hard.

I sometimes miss my work but then I think of all the stuff I had to deal with that were not fun and I am glad I no longer have to deal with all of that. Hobbies, activities and social networks are really important. You need to figure out what to do after breakfast for the rest of your life. Most of us have to figure that out and put real effort into it to make our lives enjoyable and purposeful. Do not rush into it but give it some serious thought, talk with other retirees and determine what is the right mix of things for you. Best wishes.

[tm3]

Prepare yourself for an amazing experience.

Retire on Friday. When you wake up on Monday, it will all be unicorns and rainbows!

Not. However, a number of folks that I have talked to had the above expectation and they were the ones that ended up unhappy in retirement. IMO, success in retirement is like success in many other endeavors -- it takes planning and execution.

Also, expect a transition period. I put it at about 2 years, my wife says 18 months.

Good luck!

[deserat]

You're not retired if you re-enter the workforce.

Join a local triathlon club and train for an Ironman. That will keep you fit, busy, and you'll interact with a bunch of Type A young and middle-agers. You'll only have time to sleep on the couch, not sit on it.

Now that is funny! Actually in a less extreme vein, I wanted to do a sprint tri-athlon for my 50th birthday - I spent 6 months training for it...not trivial. Need to work out at least 6 days a week with two days for each sport and then nearer the date of the race, practice two sports in a day.

Was actually great fun - I enjoyed it....but have not pursued it anymore.

And I was semi-retired at the time, so had the blocks of time to do the training.

[fishnhunt]

My uncle retired and found part time consulting work (10-25 hrs/ wk). At first he liked it, mainly because it was winter and not much to do outdoors. By spring/ summer it started to become like work again but he kept chugging along to keep busy. Then he was diagnosed with a severe medical condition and quit the next day so he could fully enjoy every day since the future was not certain.

Since we do not know what the future brings my advice would be this - if you were diagnosed with something and given a year to live would you continue to work or would you quit to do something else? If this part time work is your passion and you would continue to work there because you truly enjoy it by all means do it. If you would quit the next day and decide to enjoy your hobbies then don't take on this work and instead enjoy your retirement that you've earned.

[visualguy]

My uncle retired and found part time consulting work (10-25 hrs/ wk). At first he liked it, mainly because it was winter and not much to do outdoors. By spring/ summer it started to become like work again but he kept chugging along to keep busy. Then he was diagnosed with a severe medical condition and quit the next day so he could fully enjoy every day since the future was not certain.

Since we do not know what the future brings my advice would be this - if you were diagnosed with something and given a year to live would you continue to work or would you quit to do something else? If this part time work is your passion and you would continue to work there because you truly enjoy it by all means do it. If you would quit the next day and decide to enjoy your hobbies then don't take on this work and instead enjoy your retirement that you've earned.

I don't think this test works. The likelihood of having just a year left to live at that age (59.5) is low. It's much more likely to be a couple of decades or more, which is a long time. Having said that, I think it's reasonable to retire at that age, and, if financially secure, I would try to find other work only if there was hope for finding something that was reasonably enjoyable and not stressful.

[bloom2708]

Buy a new bicycle. Walk. Get outside for periods.

Read and prep healthy meals. Tinker.

It will sort itself out.

[fishnhunt]

My uncle retired and found part time consulting work (10-25 hrs/ wk). At first he liked it, mainly because it was winter and not much to do outdoors. By spring/ summer it started to become like work again but he kept chugging along to keep busy. Then he was diagnosed with a severe medical condition and quit the next day so he could fully enjoy every day since the future was not certain.

Since we do not know what the future brings my advice would be this - if you were diagnosed with something and given a year to live would you continue to work or would you quit to do something else? If this part time work is your passion and you would continue to work there because you truly enjoy it by all means do it. If you would quit the next day and decide to enjoy your hobbies then don't take on this work and instead enjoy your retirement that you've earned.

I don't think this test works. The likelihood of having just a year left to live at that age (59.5) is low. It's much more likely to be a couple of decades or more, which is a long time. Having said that, I think it's reasonable to retire at that age, and, if financially secure, I would try to find other work only if there was hope for finding something that was reasonably enjoyable and not stressful.

Of course the test works. OP does not need to work anymore to financially provide for themselves. Satisfaction will likely not come in the form of punching the clock for someone else. Most people do not look back and are happy they continued to work part time after retirement just to fill the time.

[BarbBrooklyn]

Happy last day of work! Is there a Zoom party?

[tennisplyr]

Congrats, enjoy it, you deserve it life seems to be picking up speed (retired 9 years).

[Blackbird79]

This is a very timely thread for me. I'm looking to retire next June, and am in a very similar situation (age, health care, no real hobbies). The responses here have given me a lot to think about. The one "upside" from Covid has been since I've been working from home for the last six months, my wife and I realize we can co-exist with me at home all the time!

Congrats on the retirement!

[pennywise]

As others have said, retirement worries are very common and as others have said, once you jump in the water is fine. More than fine actually.

I found that my worries about feeling marginalized, no longer needed, not useful etc were unfounded. I took up volunteer projects that have replaced the sense of satisfaction my work gave me and I'm also helping aging parents more.

Retirement has given me the gift of unstructured time and the freedom to allocate it into those activities. That's one of the biggest blessings about retirement: whatever YOU decide to do is your new normal. For me, using as a north star 'how can I help someone else' yields the most spiritual bang for the buck. But it doesn't have to be frantically finding organizations to join. It could be helping family, and it could mean getting your own mental and physical health in order so you function best in your world. It's entirely your choice.

Then too, life free of the constraints imposed by all the non-rewarding things that went along with a paying job, well that simply is priceless. It's wonderful to be able to schedule commitments so that I am fully 'there' for whatever I'm doing. If I have to take my dad for a dr's appointment it is lovely to be able to schedule so that is my entire day's plan. I'm not rushing out of the office, dashing to/from the doctor, and fretting if we need to stop at the pharmacy because I have to get back to work.

I get to set up my life to balance having days with commitments interspersed with days that have none. I get the psychic rewards of feeling useful along with the relaxation of a vacation day whenever I declare one for myself! Until I retired I truly couldn't have foreseen or appreciated the enormous sense of relaxation and ease that comes with no longer being employed, of having the freedom, as my father once said, to wake up knowing that every day is mine to live as I choose.

As with many profoundly life altering changes, retirement has to be experienced to be understood. Getting married, having children, retiring--no matter how many people you talk to and no matter what they say, you cannot really understand what it is until you are doing it yourself, for yourself. Your retirement is uniquely your own and you can make it the best stage of your life if you so choose.

Good luck and please check back in to one of the life-after-retirement topics in a few months or a year to let us know how it's going for you!

[Nowizard]

A simple phrase my wife and I constructed helped initially. Most of us have devoted very long periods of time to our work, and it has been an integral part of our identity. "Retirement" discussions historically focus on relaxation, putting feet on a porch railing, etc. In other words, ending a life that is useful to others and focusing on self. That has positive aspects, of course, but leaves out things such as our vocational fulfillment also included important psychological aspects such as benefitting others, supporting family, basically having a purpose. Those desires remain, just in a new form. It helped us to essentially ban the "retirement" word. We are a decade or nearly one beyond "retirement," but have not retired yet. Our phrase is that "Retirement is nothing more than a changing of priorities." What those are evolves just like we evolvein vocational expectations, the evolution differing from one person to another.

Tim

[squirm]

my cousin retired from megacorp years ago, he was up there on the corp ladder. he said he had to get used to being a nobody afterwards and people don't care about who you were or what you did, but he enjoys it.

[LadyGeek]

(2 posts up) Nowizard, Your post hit home for me. This is your post broken into separate paragraphs. I underlined the salient points that I identified with.

A simple phrase my wife and I constructed helped initially. Most of us have devoted very long periods of time to our work, and it has been an integral part of our identity.

"Retirement" discussions historically focus on relaxation, putting feet on a porch railing, etc. In other words, ending a life that is useful to others and focusing on self.

That has positive aspects, of course, but leaves out things such as our vocational fulfillment also included important psychological aspects such as benefitting others, supporting family, basically having a purpose. Those desires remain, just in a new form.

It helped us to essentially ban the "retirement" word. We are a decade or nearly one beyond "retirement," but have not retired yet.

Our phrase is that "Retirement is nothing more than a changing of priorities." What those are evolves just like we evolve in vocational expectations, the evolution differing from one person to another.

[joe8d]

Uber on Monday.

[beyou]

So do you feel different now ?

[CardinalRule]

Interesting thread, including the insightful responses from Tim and others.

I am almost the same age as the OP and and am leaning strongly toward retiring in early 2021. And yet, I continue to look at LinkedIn job postings for similar roles at other megacorps. I've even spoken recently to a couple of recruiters who reached out to me. Aside from curiosity, none of this makes sense other than some need for "validation" and sense of self-identity. I could see myself doing some contracting, as part of my own transition, but I'm glad I have six months or so to get my head in the right place.

Congrats to the OP.

I retired at about your age and had similar feelings. Even got to the point of searching for and receiving a job offer soon after with similar pay but in a better environment. But what swayed me to turn it down was the realization that the chase to validate that I was still marketable was more important to me than actually working. Since you have worked a long time to get to this point, I would suggest giving "full retirement" a chance (at least a couple of months) before deciding on a course of action (or inaction). If you are truly marketable now, chances are you will be in a few months as well. Good luck!

[flyingaway]

If you are looking for a job, why bother retiring in the first place?

Unless it is an involuntary retirement. That is a different story.

[tealeaves]

I used to facilitate a group for recent retirees and found that these types of feelings are very normal. Beyond the objectives you stated, many are wary of losing the positive reinforcement they experienced while working and the recognition of having "competency", especially if they are moving from a job with specialized skills that would be difficult to replicate in a volunteer position. More likely it will just entail a period of adjustment; some have wondered a few weeks later "what was I thinking?" (in terms of whether to go back to work). Others experience regret months later and attempt to move back to a similar position (often as a contractor); some with success and some not. You have nothing to lose by going through the job search process now; this actually might be helpful in giving you some clarity.

Thank you it's great to have the perspective of others

[tealeaves]

My last day is August 14th, as I retire at age 59 1/2. No regrets on the decision - financially OK (including health insurance until 65), and excited (for several reasons) to leave my current employer after nearly 2 decades. Have thought about all the advice to retire "to" something, but I am not; few hobbies, we aren't travelers, and in general we're pretty happy "sitting around" (though this has not been "tested" in an unemployed scenario).

Still, I find myself looking at online job ads and updating my outdated resume. Why? What if I am unable to find enough purpose/structure in my retired life? What if I miss too much interacting with younger folks (most easily accessible via work)? And if I'm out of the workforce for any length of time (which I have fortunately never been), re-entering will be that much harder (it will be hard enough at my age). Also, although DW and I won't need the additional income, more will always be welcome to be able to help my children (who could use it).

I'm curious about the experience of other retirees here who went though similar adjustment periods, especially those that have tried to re-enter the work force with finances not being the number one consideration.

I retired at a similar age, six years ago, and also looked into returning to part time work for a time; ultimately, after one year without working, I did work again 1/4 time for 18 months. But that was not really enough to stay at the top of my game so I stopped.

Financially it was helpful but in retrospect it would probably have been better to move on sooner - it was really 2.5 years in limbo.

Since then, I *did* move on and am much happier. Also much healthier. I had a really interesting job but retirement can be even more interesting! Have met a lot of great people too.

Thanks great to hear that new interests are likely in my future. Not sure what they will be but I'm only 1 day into it!

[tealeaves]

My last day is August 14th, as I retire at age 59 1/2. No regrets on the decision - financially OK (including health insurance until 65), and excited (for several reasons) to leave my current employer after nearly 2 decades. Have thought about all the advice to retire "to" something, but I am not; few hobbies, we aren't travelers, and in general we're pretty happy "sitting around" (though this has not been "tested" in an unemployed scenario).

Still, I find myself looking at online job ads and updating my outdated resume. Why? What if I am unable to find enough purpose/structure in my retired life? What if I miss too much interacting with younger folks (most easily accessible via work)? And if I'm out of the workforce for any length of time (which I have fortunately never been), re-entering will be that much harder (it will be hard enough at my age). Also, although DW and I won't need the additional income, more will always be welcome to be able to help my children (who could use it).

I'm curious about the experience of other retirees here who went though similar adjustment periods, especially those that have tried to re-enter the work force with finances not being the number one consideration.

Go on social media and create a new community

That’s what I did in retirement. 45k followers. You can contribute by helping the younger crowd live a better life

I would not know how to go about that (not a social media person myself really), but a very interesting outlet.

[tealeaves]

Find an outlet that will benefit both you AND others - food pantry, mentoring, whatever. Since income generation isn't an issue, something personally satisfying is in order.

Best of luck in retirement!

Thank you! Agree that this would be a worthwhile goal