# Countdown to retirement **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 25, 2023, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653 "2023-03-25T17:37:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 29
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2023, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/561 "2023-12-12T21:34:17Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > this is the Federal government after all. Lol, good thing I worked for a state government! ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2023, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/562 "2023-12-12T21:46:54Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > It’s been 7 1/2 years for me, and it’s still fine. I kind of wonder how I ever shlepped to work every day At the end of this month, it will be 7 years for me. I also cannot believe I commuted 40 minutes each way to work 5 days a week. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/563 "2023-12-13T00:39:54Z")
Coming up on 5½ for me. 'Twasn’t the commute so much as being on call 24/7/365 (366 in leap years). Plus the occasional 36+ hour days during major rollouts. On a more positive note, I’m now getting to the point where I can sleep in till 06:30. ETA: Welcome to the club, @RTFirefly ! ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/564 "2023-12-13T00:54:49Z")
I’m 7-14 months away (and really I could walk now if I really needed to). The battle between my prudent and impatient sides is heating up by the minute 😆. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/565 "2023-12-13T01:17:45Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > But they’ll still want it and my badge back, this is the Federal government after all. I never turned in my badge, even though I was supposed to. But no one asked for it. Actually, my supervisor was supposed to debrief me and give me a checklist of what I was supposed to do to out-process, but since he was a crap supervisor he never did. Of course, I was also a supervisor so I knew the drill, but if my boss didn’t give a damn then neither did I. Depending on your payroll office, know that you likely need to ensure that you can log in to the payroll system with a username and password, and not your badge credentials/PIN. In my case, DFAS doesn’t send hardcopies of W-2s, so I need online access through early 2024 so I can download my W-2 for my 2023 earnings. And if your annual leave is paid out in 2024, you’ll need to maintain access until 2025. Keep up with the password change requirements if this applies to you. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/566 "2023-12-13T01:44:52Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > But they’ll still want it and my badge back, this is the Federal government after all. Why wouldn’t they want them back? All the private companies I left wanted them back also. When I left Bell Labs I gave them back my badge, a new one I got after losing my old one. A month later I found it in a bunch of music on the piano. Turned out to be handy, since back then AT&T badges got you into lots of museums in NJ for free. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/567 "2023-12-13T02:29:02Z")
Coming up on four years for me, and it’s been delightful. So glad I did it while I still have the ability to travel & do other fun stuff. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/568 "2023-12-13T02:38:42Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Depending on your payroll office, know that you likely need to ensure that you can log in to the payroll system with a username and password, and not your badge credentials/PIN Yeah, I’ve been wondering how I’ll get my tax docs for 2023, since I no longer have access to their payroll system. I guess I’ll wait until January and call them. The HR office has actually been pretty responsive when I’ve needed them, but Payroll itself is its own thing. 🤞 ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/569 "2023-12-13T03:26:54Z")
As a former paperboy myself, do you still (or have you ever had) the nightmare where you forgot to throw your route? I’m 1 year, 1 month and 25 days from retirement. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/570 "2023-12-13T12:30:41Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Depending on your payroll office, know that you likely need to ensure that you can log in to the payroll system with a username and password, and not your badge credentials/PIN. The National Finance Center, which handles payroll for most of the government, has an Employee Personal Page that has all that info. It had been a while since I’d logged in, so I did that just now. My penultimate work day! ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/571 "2023-12-13T20:31:36Z")
Right now, I am about 13 months from my currently planned retirement date. As a Federal employee, I want to wait until (a) I have 40 years of service, which happens around Halloween, and (b) the early 2025 annual salary increase kicks in, as my pension is based on the average of my three highest annual salaries. I may defer that slightly, as I am still trying to work out where I would live after I retire; where I live now (the San Francisco Bay Area, in a townhouse with a HOA fee that keeps going up - note that the property is paid for) does not seem to be a good place for someone on a Federal pension - and I have a feeling one of my brothers is pretty much going to demand that I move to Colorado to live near his sons, who could keep an eye on me. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/572 "2023-12-13T21:54:43Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > who could keep an eye on me. Looking at your avatar, I’d say _somebody_ ought to be keeping an eye on you; that’s just a shifty menacing looking pic. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2023, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/573 "2023-12-14T02:24:29Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Coming up on four years for me, and it’s been delightful. So glad I did it while I still have the ability to travel & do other fun stuff. This was a major factor in deciding when I would retire - my husband is 7 years older than me and we didn’t want to wait any longer, lest one or both of us become unable to travel and see some of the things we wanted to see. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2023, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/574 "2023-12-14T02:35:45Z")
I didn’t know my last day before retirement would be my last day. Not quite three years ago I broke my hip, and since I worked on my feet I needed time off. PT didn’t go as planned, and healing was slow. I’d been thinking about retirement and just decided my hip had made the choice for me. For me the best part of retirement is setting my own schedule and getting up whenever I please. I am not naturally a morning person I like to stay up late and then get up late. This used to conflict with my job as a baker. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2023, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/575 "2023-12-14T06:04:05Z")
[quote=“RTFirefly, post:560, topic:981653”] my agency would have replaced my laptop a few months back, but I told them, “why bother?” given how little time I had left. But they’ll still want it [/quote]My understanding is that in the U.S. federal government there are designated property managers, who are personally financially responsible for assets at their original (not depreciated) valuations. So ancient computers are valued at their original cost, and the property managers need to maintain physical control. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2023, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/576 "2023-12-14T18:20:29Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > My understanding is that in the U.S. federal government there are designated property managers, who are personally financially responsible for assets at their original (not depreciated) valuations. Who would take a job like that? I’d have to be paid a **lot** to open myself up to that sort of vulnerability. Certainly way more than Federal employee money. So I’m a bit dubious. Anyway, they expect the laptop back tomorrow, and I’m happy to oblige. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2023, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/577 "2023-12-14T18:26:23Z")
I really doubt that - it doesn’t make any sense . Why would the “property manager” be financially responsible rather than the person the laptop, phone ,etc was issued to. I worked for a state agency , not the Feds but if I didn’t return something that was issued to me, I would have had to pay for it , not the person I was supposed to return it to. That person may have gotten into some trouble if they forgot to get it from me, or told me I could keep it but that’s different from being finnacially responsible. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2023, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/578 "2023-12-14T19:33:48Z")
No, it’s true. It’s not a responsibility that you sign up for, it’s assigned to you, usually as a supervisor. In the Army it is called a hand receipt, and the individual can be held responsible if the item goes missing. The items are inventoried periodically, usually every quarter or six months. And I have seen a hand receipt holder pay for a missing laptop computer. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2023, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/579 "2023-12-14T20:09:28Z")
Are you sure it works that way outside the military? I was a supervisor for several years before they reclassified my position as nonsupervisory. And I never had to deal with anything like that. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2023, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/580 "2023-12-14T20:35:15Z")
I suppose every Agency has it’s own property accountability program, so I don’t know how it is done other than how the Army does it. Since the equipment is purchased with appropriated funds, I suppose ultimate accountability is to Congress. I can’t imagine that any Agency wants a Congressional inquiry into why such equipment isn’t accounted for. Now the Army is huge and has an entire logistics system for just about everything that it needs to track. A smaller Agency may not have such a system like the Army, but it still is accountable, so someone was tracking it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653.md?page=28) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653.md?page=30)