At almost age 76, I just announced my retirement.

[MineralMan]

I've been down to just one regular client for my writing and editorial services now for 12 years. Today, I emailed him and explained that I was no longer going to be writing for him. I put him on hold not long after my parents died on January 6, but didn't actually quit. He was not surprised at the news. He's moving in new directions anyhow, which don't interest me all that much, so I don't have to learn a new field to write about.

My wife and I are on Social Security, and she's still working at age 65. I inherited some money from my parents' estate and we have paid off all of our debts in full, with a good amount of assets still left. We're also selling our previous home after buying a different one and paying cash for it. Proceeds from that sale will add to our available assets, as well.

So, we did the math. Our monthly expenses are way now that the debts are gone. With only a small amount needed from our other assets each month, those funds will outlast us, almost certainly. So, why not take a permanent break from working for someone else on my part?

I have a couple of book projects that need finishing, but those are on subjects of my choosing, not someone else's, so I'll continue to work at writing, but not for an income. It will be nice to have time to devote to my own projects, despite little chance that they'll produce much income, even when finished.

I did not think I'd ever be able to retire, so: Thanks Mom and Dad for your hard work and thrift!

[Archetypist]

1. Congratulations!

Do you collect minerals, perchance? Maybe you can engage in your hobbies more now.

[MineralMan]

5. Not any longer. My screen name came from a side business I had,

selling mineral specimens to collectors on the Internet. I closed that business down in 2007 and sold my remaining stock of specimens to another internet dealer.

[Archetypist]

48. Ah OK

Neat

[SheilaAnn]

2. Congratulations MM, you will enjoy retirement. A lazy bone you do not possess so life will always

be interesting and challenging for you. A book you say? Sounds good.

[MineralMan]

7. Who knows what I'll do next? Not me.

Aside from those two book projects, I do have other things that I do, as well. I won't run out of ideas, either.

Staying busy has never been a problem for me, so I have no concerns about that. It's just that I'll only do thing things I want to do.

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

3. Congratulations!

It's nice to hear success stories from time to time, what with all of the horror out there these days.

Enjoy!

[MineralMan]

8. Thanks!

[underpants]

4. WooHooo!

[MineralMan]

10. Indeed!

[viva la]

6. Sounds like you're embarking on a new era in life!

I hope wife can retire soon too, so that you can be together.

And yay on new projects regardless of profit! My projects are supposed to make a profit, and seldom do, and I feel like a failure. Maybe if I thought finishing and publishing were the goal, not $, I'd be happier?
It's hard to let go of the ambition though. I respect your decision!

[MineralMan]

9. Well, she likes the work she does, so she's not

eager to stop doing it. I have been writing for so long that I think my fingers are attached to my keyboard. So, I'll keep writing for sure. I'll still be in my office at my desk most of the day, so I'll have to write something. It might as well be one of the things I've started but not completed. Should be fun.

Then again, I may start another small side business, like I have done so many times during my life. There are some possible candidates for that, too.

[3catwoman3]

11. I retired at the end of March, after 48 years in nursing, 45...

...of which was spent as a pediatric nurse practitioner. Turned 70 in April, and filed for Social Security.

So far, I mostly don't miss it. So much has changed in health care that is just wasn't much fun anymore. If I could have done only well baby care, I would have stayed longer. Helping new parents get off to a good start and watching them fall in love with their babies was always my favorite thing.

[MineralMan]

12. Yay You!

[3catwoman3]

20. Oops. I completely forgot to...

...add - Heartiest Congratulations!!!

[Doodley]

13. I'm in same situation. Writing for myself, finishing book projects, rather than writing for others.

Time to leave a legacy.

[MineralMan]

18. Go for it!

I'm not sure about a legacy. I just hope to make some people laugh.

[malaise]

14. Enjoy it my brother

[MineralMan]

19. Thanks, malaise!

I plan to, for sure.

[Kahuna]

15. Happy Retirement!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

16. Congratulations

[panader0]

17. It's about time!

[MineralMan]

22. Yup. I think so too.

[live love laugh]

21. Congratulations!

[spooky3]

23. Congrats and best wishes! Nt

[NBachers]

24. Thank you for passing the good news on to us here at Democratic Underground.

[Siwsan]

25. Good for you!!!

I had no immediate plans to retire, but when my sister and mom died in less than a month from each other, I did some serious re-evaluating and decided life is too short to keep subjecting myself to a toxic departmental environment.

I had saved money my whole life, had my 401K, and then came in to some inheritance so I wrote my intent to retire letter, sent it to HR, and then actually left my job a good 2 months ahead of my retirement date by utilizing the vacation time I had accrued. My company, fully understanding what I had been going through, had no problem in approving my plan. I still had my 98 year old aunt to look after and wanted what energy I had to be focus on helping her through her last days. My sister and mom's terminal illnesses gave me a lot of practical experience in that particular skill.

In retrospect, it was the smartest thing I ever did.

[Permanut]

26. Congrats, MineralMan!

I've been retired for a while, and I recognize my good fortune every day for being able to do so.

DO NOT retire from posting here, though. I always look for your posts, and I always enjoy learning from an older person. (I'm just 75)

[Evolve Dammit]

27. Congrats MM!

[Maeve]

28. Enjoy!

[Throck]

29. Salute!

[SergeStorms]

30. Congrats, MM, and retirement is great.

All that stuff people tell you about, "you won't know what to do with yourself", is bull-squat. It seems as if I'm busier now than I was when I was working, but it's stuff I choose to do, not stuff I have to do.

Good luck to you, and enjoy yourself.

[Sucha NastyWoman]

31. What are your book projects about?

[AllaN01Bear]

32. yay. be prepaired to have hobbies and different outlets . your wife included .:)

[Mme. Defarge]

33. Creative writing is a much cheaper hobby

than knitting! (Now if I could just figure out how to create better characters.)

Congratulations, and enjoy your well earned freedom!

[Demovictory9]

34. 🎈👍

Congrats

[NoSheep]

35. I'm starting to think about these things. Enjoy your life!!!

[demtenjeep]

36. congratulations-I will be 55 in November and not in good health

I can go in 4.

actually 2 if I wanted to buy my 2 years in Arkansas

[SeattleVet]

37. Welcome to retirement!

It's a nice place to be.

[iluvtennis]

38. So happy for you - congratulations!! n/t

[catbyte]

39. Congratulations! You're going to love it.

[Ferrets are Cool]

40. Congrats MM

[Devil Child]

41. Congratulations MineralMan.

Cheers to you and wishing many happy days ahead to you and your family.

[SWBTATTReg]

42. Congrats! I am fond of telling others that I don't like to use the word 'retirement' but instead,

I am moving into another area of interest that I've always been interested in. Seems like when people hear the word 'retirement', that they think you're going out to pasture, etc., which isn't what I'm (and you) are doing.

We're simply going on to bigger and better things in our lives. Good luck on your future endeavors and enjoy what life has to offer in its fullest.

[SheltieLover]

43. Congrats!

[3Hotdogs]

44. I have a T-shirt --

"I don't want to.

I don't have to.

You can't make me.

I'M RETIRED."

[FakeNoose]

45. You haven't retired, you're a full-time volunteer now

I've been enjoying your posts for these last several years on DU. Thanks so much Mineral Man!
And congratulations on joining the "leisure class."

[rwheeler31]

46. Congratulations

[chocolatpi]

47. Congratulations, wishing

the best of days for you and the Mrs. With your knowledge of languages (is it 4 or 7) both of you should have a wonderful time exploring the world when it is safe from this miserable pandemic.

[Hekate]

49. Marvellous. May you have much enjoyment of it.

[crickets]

50. Congratulations!

I'm glad to hear you are able to retire comfortably. Enjoy! I'm glad you're still writing here, as I look forward to your posts. They are always interesting and thought-provoking.

[KentuckyWoman]

51. The honeydo list awaits.

Haha.

[MineralMan]

53. Indeed.

[Nevilledog]

52. Congrats!

[Retired Engineer Bob]

54. Good for you MineralMan

From what I have read of your content here you will keep yourself busy retired or not.

My husband is now covering my insurance. Thanks to Obama Care any insurance offered by an employer has to “be real”. His insurance from Meijer is as good as what my employer offered. Paid off car loan, and I will soon pay off the mortgage. At 57 I’m pretty confident dinners of Kibbles and Bits won’t be on the menu.

I’m still working part time for my employer, anywhere from 2 to 20 hours per week. I hope it keeps my brain from becoming atrophied.

Again, congratulations to you. Make sure you and your wife take time to enjoy life.

[Blue_true]

55. What happened to your parent's orchard in California? nt

[MineralMan]

57. It was under contract to a buyer when they died.

My first job as trustee of the family trust was to shepherd that sale through to closing, which happened three months after they died. It wasn't easy. The buyer and the buyer's broker had just about given up on completing the sale. I carefully worked with them to make it happen, with the help of the trust's attorney.

I learned a great deal about trusts and estate matters during that process. The attorney warned me that the sale might not happen and the orchard might have to be relisted to try again. I wasn't having any of that, and managed to keep everyone happy and complete the sale. The proceeds have now been distributed to the trust's beneficiaries. Very complicated, especially when done from 2500 miles away.

The last of their assets will be collected and distributed next week, ending most of the responsibility I had as trustee and executor. The attorney said that it was all done in record time, based on his long experience as an estate attorney. I did much of the legwork and research for him, once he understood that I was capable of doing it. That saved tons of money in attorney fees.

[Blue_true]

76. Being an executor of parents' estate is not easy.

I went through that process with my parents. Before he suffered many strokes that eventually took his life, my Dad had talked to my Mom about me being the executor of their estate, eventhough I was one of the young kids. After my Dad passed, my Mom talked to me and told me that she had put my name on every property document. It was a very difficult process once my Mom passed, to be grieving and have pretty large responsibilities, not to mention siblings that were fighting over money. You are lucky in one way, your sister didn’t cause grief for you and you did what was right by her. I hope that you see your way out of the grieving period at this time, but that journey can take a while.

I don’t have children and in some ways I am glad about that, there won’t be fights over any material things among any progeny of mine. But my siblings’ descendants are a different matter entirely. I would not want to give all assets away to charities at death and ignore the financial benefit of my own blood relatives. The way that I see to avoid that will be to establish a Trust and several ironclad rules that will survive my death, as well as chose a relative of integrity as the executor once I am either mentally incompetent to perform that function, or dead. But one thing that I learned the hard way when my Mom passed is that a person has NO idea of how lousy people that were once seen as ethical can be when money is involved (also sex too, although that didn’t come into play with my parents’ estate).

[MineralMan]

77. You're right about that.

Fortunately, my family is not one that has many disputes. I'm the eldest son, and there's only my sister and I and four grandchildren who were beneficiaries of the estate, which was protected by a family trust.

The trust's attorney warned me that there might be disputes. I told him, "Nope. Not happening." The grandchildren had fixed sums spelled out in the distribution, so that was simple. My sister has Alzheimer's, so no dispute there. Her husband doesn't have the experience or patience to handle such a complex issue, so he didn't object to what I did.

Bottom line was that I communicated every week with everyone involved, providing a progress report. Nobody argued about anything, and everything just went smoothly and without conflict. I'm very meticulous and efficient about handling such things, and everyone got what was due to them promptly and simply. The process is all but complete at this point, "in record time," according to the attorney.

[Blue_true]

78. It is good to see that the estate resolution went smoothly.

That HAD to remove a huge amount of potential mental stress for you. It looks like your parents had pre-planned somewhat, that had to help you in the roll that you were entrusted with.

Take care. Some of the mental well-being issues likely still have to be resolved. You will only start experiencing them now that things have slowed down some. Don’t worry, those feelings are normal. Give yourself some space and spend time doing things that you love to do, that will be healing.

I know for me, it took almost two years to become mentally whole after my Mom passed. I had the estate stuff and I plunged back into my career work immediately after her death. I did not give myself time to heal fully and the issues with the estate debates only made matters worse. It got so bad that I worked out a deal to take a leave from work and just vanish, fortunately my boss understood and worked as best possible to have my roles filled until I returned.

My advice to all parents is to set up a well defined will and how their assets will be distributed after the last parent passes. That just makes things far easier for the person who has to handle their estate, that person very likely being a child who is going to have his or her own emotions to deal with.

[MineralMan]

79. Thanks! Good advice, too.

[oasis]

56. No more "Monday Blues". Congrats

[MineralMan]

58. Well, since I always worked from a home office,

there really weren't any Mondays. Every day was a work day. That's how it goes.

[Richluu]

59. Congrats!

We did the same thing, and found our living expenses do not eat into assets. So now we are just building portfolios to leave to our kids. Even our yearly minimum distributions go into a taxable account rather than being cashed out. Hopefully no health problems in old (wait--we are already old!) age will eat into that! So far so good. Keeping up our healthy exercises.

[MineralMan]

60. Thanks!

Glad to hear you're not having any problems. Having no credit card or other debt really helps. Right now, we're spending quite a bit on fixing up our previous home for resale, but that will end soon.

[Richluu]

75. Finishing Up!

It feels good to complete old business!

[CaptainTruth]

61. Congratulations! I understand the hard work & thrift part.

After my dad recently passed I saw how much money he had in his trust & it really surprised me, it was triple what I thought he had. To the end he wore old work clothes & an old worn hat, never wasted a penny on anything he didn't absolutely need, but he certainly could have afforded new clothes & a new hat, & a lot more.

Thanks to his thrift I've already paid off all the debt I accrued after my divorce 10 years ago, & my wife & I can be much more comfortable in our remaining years.

[MineralMan]

65. Our parents' generation saved and spent wisely.

In my parents' case, they grew up during the Great Depression. That solidified those characteristics in a lot of people.

Over the years, inflation magnified their savings, so what is left is often more than they might ever have imagined. For example, my father bought a $5000 life insurance policy in 1944, when he was in the USAAF. He paid its small annual premium steadily for 20 years, the term for the insurance to be fully vested. When I called the VA Insurance number after finding the original policy, as issued, I was surprised to learn that the benefits of that policy to be distributed to his two surviving beneficiaries was over $78,000.

He could have cashed that policy in many times, but did not.

He and my mother, who died on the same day in January, bought a 15-acre citrus orchard back in 1968 for $49,000. A couple of years later, they built a new house there to replace the 1890s house that was original to the property. that cost them about $35,000. Just before their deaths, they sold the property, which was still in escrow when they died. When the sale closed, it sold for more than $1 million. It would have been more, but citrus farming in that area is no longer profitable.

My father knew the value of all of his assets, even at age 96. He also knew that putting all of those assets into a family trust would ensure that his heirs would not see the value diminished much by taxes. He never talked much about any of that. I never saw the trust documents, but he did tell me the name of his attorney. He was very closed-mouth about such things. It wasn't until I became the trustee of that family trust that I learned what assets there were, and where.

Thanks Mom and Dad! I have no words other than those.

[seta1950]

62. Congratulations

Enjoy your retirement in good health

[MineralMan]

66. That is my hope.

[ancianita]

63. Hearty congratulations to you.

A no-deadlines life opens up more learning space, for sure.

[Phentex]

64. Enjoy!

May you have many years of bliss!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

67. So glad things are working so well for you.

Personally, I've never had a job that was better than not working. I'm 72, have modest but decent assets. Bought my current home eleven years ago, and yes, I still have a mortgage. Which is not a disaster, despite all those who piously say it's imperative to enter retirement without one. What if, like me, you get divorced at age 60 and absolutely don't have the cash to pay outright for even a hovel? Anyway, I constantly say the payment is affordable for me, which is the important thing.

Like you, my current life is one that suits me just fine.

[MineralMan]

68. Thanks.

I've liked all of my jobs, and there were many, many of them. Most were my own idea and I worked for myself after 1974, writing articles for magazines and running my own small side businesses. I opted out of W-2 jobs entirely for most of my adult life, and I'm glad of it, even though I could have earned much more had I worked for some corporation.

[tavernier]

69. At age 75 I just got a call from our high school

asking if I could sub again this year starting August 12. I was tickled pink because I’ve done that for the past six or seven years now and just enjoy the heck out of the kids and staying active. I’m a retired nurse and being around healthy kids makes my heart smile. I have attempted retirement six times now and it just doesn’t seem to stick. They even put a picture of Cher on my locker at school.

Having said that, I am very happy for you. Most of my friends really love their retirements and enjoy their time to the max. I do enjoy the breaks and of course vacation is all summer long in the school system, but I look forward to returning to school and work every year and I’m always thrilled when they call me back.

I hope you have a fantastic ride!!

[MineralMan]

71. Good for you! It's wonderful when the work you do

is rewarding on a personal level. Mine has always been, as well, but I do have some work I want to do for myself, so retiring will let me do that without interruption.

[Old Crank]

70. Good for you

Great to hear that. But tell your wife to bail while you can still enjoy doing things together.

[ProfessorGAC]

72. Congrats & Enjoy

You stuck it out much longer than I did.
I retired at 62. Since I graduated college at 19, it was 43 years, so about the normal career span.
Our asset base is quite strong so no worries.
My dad retired at 67 & died at 69. His last 6 months were weak.
I was bound & determined, I we could afford it, to have a much longer retirement than he got to enjoy.
I'm sure you'll find fun & productive ways to use the time.
It's why I started substitute teaching. The money is piddly, but it's useful.

[MineralMan]

73. Well, I started taking Social Security at 62 due to the poor economy.

I slowed down my work to stay under the SS income limit at all times after that. By the time I reached full retirement age, I had no interest in taking on more work, either.

[ProfessorGAC]

74. Got Ya

I took SS at 62, also.
The math made sense to take the reduced amount for that 63 month, because I'd have to live to be 82 to break even. Given my family history, 82 is hardly guaranteed.
I'm still not at FRA so I'm limited as to wage income. But, I don't want to sub so often that I'd hit the limit.
Like you, I'm not interested in taking on more work. To hit the limit, I'd nearly need to double it. No way.