Leaning into Retirement Details

     

Planning for calm waters and smooth sailing ahead. 

     So many of you have interesting retirement post headers. Mines just boring, but descriptive. I've been learning things with my poking, emailing, and looking things up. I'm signing up for a two day retirement seminar through my work held in May. It's highly suggested to do this if you're within five years of retirement. Some information will be remedial as I've been in a planning to plan phase since before my husband died while figuring out his timing. I'm hoping that seminar closes the loop on any unanswered questions I still have. I'll start this summer working with financial planning guidance, the timing on drawing down my other retirement pots. 

     Based on what I learned, the best financial move (other than to keep working, but that's not the point) is to set July 8, 2025 as my official retirement date. There's a variety of reasons for this date. 

• I'll be past 59 1/2 so no penalty for tapping into my 401K.
• Stretching to July 8 gives me two more paid holidays before retirement than doing so at the end of May.
• It also gives me another month of health insurance for myself and daughter, since it'll be through an additional pay period end, should she not have her own yet by then. This is a massive out of pocket savings.
• Contract negotiations, should there be a pay increase, salary change would start July 1. This brings my high five a bit higher and adds a few dollars each month to my pension, which I'll be deferring until I turn 66. I learned there's no financial gain extending past the full retirement age like there may be with social security.
• This also changes, slight increase, the accrual balance payout that would get converted to my Health Savings Account (HSA).

     On the non-fiscal side, using a July retirement date provides me an "ease into retirement" without a full summer of nothing on the calendar. That might sound weird, but from learning from others, too much time all at once when others are still working could be a hard adjustment. Waiting until July  should feel more like extended vacation. I typically take both time off in July and usually two weeks in August so it seems like this will be a good timing transition. 

     Once I make it official, on the record, I'll start doing more concrete planning with work colleagues. While tentative dates have floated, likely I'll say nothing official until after the new year.

     There's side gig actions I'll want to figure out as well.The point of retiring early is to have more time to call my own, for hobbies, family, friends, and pets. I don't want to just change jobs, but being selective with what I do and how much I do. Earning a bit of retirement supplemental income is another ease into retirement strategy, while stretching my cash flow until my pension starts. 

• Reinstating my teacher license for substitute teaching.
• Post retirement, register as a vendor with my employer to be able to take on limited contracted work. Technically I can also be hired back for up to 45 work days as a retiree with no impact on my retirement status. I'll explore both options as no doubt there will be opportunities. 
• Update my resume. Once retired, I will float it out to organizations I'd be interested in for short term project work. I've already been approached as to if and when I might consider this. This includes a few national organizations. I'm particularly interested in maybe combining earning opportunities with travel. 
• To self employment, learn how I both include self employed income and business expenses, on taxes. This will be entirely foreign territory to me, so that research and planning will keep me busy in the early months of retirement. 
• Double check maximum earning before other passive income streams are impacted. 

     That's where I'm at or where I'll be at in my planning. I've no doubt I can fill my days, but taking advice from so many who've made the retirement leap before me, I want a plan not just for money but meaningful time.