# 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:** 55
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2026, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/1081 "2026-07-16T18:36:50Z")
I made one on Excel ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2026, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/1082 "2026-07-16T18:45:22Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > but I suggest that you countdown by quarters for the first year, monthly with one year to go, and then daily for the last three months I’ve been counting down by monthly meetings. Two each month, and now it’s extra sweet whenever one is cancelled. ---
**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:** [July 16, 2026, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/1083 "2026-07-16T19:22:56Z")
I never needed or had use for a visual reminder myself. My retirement was based essentially on time served (i.e. a defined benefit pension). But it also was impacted by on-going contract negotiations that lasted almost a year and impacted future non-retroactive retirement medical benefit increases - I needed to retire after a specific date after the contract was signed for them to apply. Meanwhile I had to calculate how much vacation time I’d have on the book and plan when best to burn it. Vacation was more useful taken as actual vacation paid w/ a shift differential and slightly extending my retirement credits than it was paid out as a heavily-taxed lump sum at base rate after I retired. Also had to factor in my steadily ticking sick leave accumulation which could be used as retirement service extension credits if not taken as sick leave. All this plus my retirement date “had” to be on the first of whatever month so I got my first check at the end of that month, otherwise I’d have to wait until the end of the following month to get paid, which would be…annoying. With all of that I was absolutely gnat’s ass about my retirement date. Calculating and re-calculating constantly as contract negotiations dragged on and all of those little factors shifted minutely over time. Sure I needed the best fiscal decision, but fraying workplace sanity was also a factor 😉. A visual counter wouldn’t work because the day kept shifting. But more importantly it wouldn’t have mattered anyway because I was so laser-focused on getting the fuck out that the prime candidate dates were seared into my very soul 😀. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2026, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/1084 "2026-07-16T19:33:10Z")
For me, it’s a countdown to my 30th anniversary. Not an as-yet-undetermined last day of work. ---
**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:** [July 16, 2026, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/1085 "2026-07-16T19:34:36Z")
My date was 12/31/2019, so there wasn’t much tracking necessary…just the approach of the holidays was the reminder. ---
**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:** [July 16, 2026, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/1086 "2026-07-16T22:17:02Z")
Mine was tied to a birthday. In some sense I knew it in kindergarten. But all the rest of your variables applied. Including ongoing contract negotiations that could materially alter the terms of the rest of my life. If, and only if, a process that cared nothing of me came to a climax before my own magic day. Worked out ok, not incredible. Like so much else of life. Good enough and no (or not much) whining from here. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2026, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/1087 "2026-07-16T23:07:26Z")
My actual first day of retirement was April 1. Before announcing it to my co-workers, the thought crossed my mind that nobody would believe me, given the date. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2026, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/1088 "2026-07-20T15:02:39Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Mine was tied to a birthday. In some sense I knew it in kindergarten. I knew my 30 year date for almost 30 years. I started working in February, and at that time, we got a “pension statement” at the beginning of the fiscal year in March. So that had the specific date of when I’d qualify for a 30 year pension, and, more amusingly, what pension I could get at that time if I had to retire due to disability. Since I’d only worked about a month, that was something silly like $200/year 😃 So that made an impression on me. Of course, with the slightly early retirement I’ve signed up for, I won’t quite get to that date. But I’ve just started the fourth-to-last week of work! Got an e-mail today from the pay center that they’ve entered more of my data, so everything is still on track. ---
**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:** [July 20, 2026, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/1089 "2026-07-20T15:03:57Z")
Hooray! ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2026, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/1090 "2026-07-20T19:04:06Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > What was everyone’s first post-retirement project, big or small? > > Mine was cleaning out a file cabinet of decades of old, unneeded documents; tax forms, receipts, owner’s manuals to long gone items, bank statements, etc. Mine was kinda big. I downsized a lot of stuff. A LOT of stuff. But if felt good. Stuff keeps creeping in, though, so I have to eternally vigilent. > [@Tamerlane](#): > > The last several months I worked I adopted a ‘no more Tuesdays’ policy and took a three-day weekend every single week. The last few years before I retired, I had so much vacation time (and too much work) so I took every other Friday off. It helped a little. ---
**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:** [July 24, 2026, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/1091 "2026-07-24T11:48:44Z")
Today I’m traveling. So back at the oh so familiar airport. Haven’t seen anyone I know, but saw a lot of workers with that zombie stare, mind miles away from where their feet were. BTDT glad I’m done. Then came the kicker. I see a balding late 60s guy coming towards me with a dark blue T-shirt covered with white & gold writing I can’t yet make out. As he gets close I see it says > RETIRED > Navy Chief > ----------- > Same As A > Navy Chief > ----------- > But Much Much > Happier! Good thing he was tall; that many lines of text wouldn’t fit on a short guy’s shirt. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2026, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/1092 "2026-07-24T12:11:33Z")
Three weeks to go today, and I realized yesterday I may run out of work before I run out of job. In my job, we process applications, which is sometimes a multi-year process. And most of the time, we keep possession of the same task until it’s finally allowed or rejected. I’d pick up a new case, most of the time write a first report on its deficiencies, then wait 6 to 18 months for a response. Wash, rinse, repeat until everything is in order, or they drop their application. When I decided to retire, my boss stopped assigning me new cases, and I’ve been plowing through my old cases that received responses and amendments, so that they won’t have to be reassigned to someone else when I leave (it’s just more efficient that way, for everybody). So I’ve been plowing through the backlog, and quite quickly, because evaluating a response is usually a lot easier than the initial evaluation. I did the math on how many cases I currently have in my queue vs. days left, and I think I’ll run out by next Thursday or Friday. There may be a few more that show up before I’m done, but not at a rate that will keep me busy every day for another two weeks… ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2026, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/1093 "2026-07-24T12:24:42Z")
The same thing happened to me. I gave them a six month notice. A large part of my job was heading up or being on project teams. I stopped being assigned to new teams and the other projects would complete. Another part of my job was maintenance and regular reporting. I slowly trained my replacement on those things and handed them off to them. Finally there was dealing with problems that would invariably show up so there was always that. By the last three weeks or so I was working half time at best. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2026, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/1094 "2026-07-24T12:42:28Z")
Same story here. I gave 6 months notice, and my replacements stepped up and took responsibility as we moved to new projects. There wasn’t much for me to do at the end, except try to stay busy – which was perfect. I had my last day on Friday and am just finishing my first week of retirement. Feels great. I should have retired 30 years ago! ---
**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:** [July 24, 2026, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/1095 "2026-07-24T13:02:59Z")
It’ll only feel better every week until eventually age / health starts getting in the way. So yeah, 30 years sooner would have been much better. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2026, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/1096 "2026-07-24T13:40:22Z")
Y’all need less structure in your lives than i need. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2026, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/1097 "2026-07-24T16:11:01Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > There may be a few more that show up before I’m done, but not at a rate that will keep me busy every day for another two weeks… In the navy we had a phrase, “Retire in place,” for those who just weren’t putting any effort in for their final months (or years!). It was a riff on, “Survey in place,” navalese for writing off a piece of equipment that’s broken beyond repair and abandoning it where it is. ---
**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:** [July 24, 2026, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/1098 "2026-07-24T19:52:11Z")
I told them in January I was retiring at the latest Oct 1 (planning kicked off in October and I wanted no part of it), but they talked me into staying until the end of the year, saying I could wfh the last quarter and help my successor transition. Since she’d worked for me for years that wasn’t really necessary, and I ran out of things to do in early November…so I stopped working, more or less. But I was on call! I felt a little guilty about it, but not much. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2026, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/1099 "2026-08-13T21:09:34Z")
Happy Retirement Eve to all who celebrate! That’s me. I’m celebrating. Drop off stuff at work tomorrow, and then I’m done! ---
**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:** [August 13, 2026, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countdown-to-retirement/981653/1100 "2026-08-13T21:14:37Z")
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