General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: At almost age 76, I just announced my retirement. [View all]Siwsan
(26,256 posts)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.