Early-retirement wannabe

OldMusicGuy

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

Sounds exciting Oldmusicguy and yes moving to a cheaper part of the country sounds like a good idea. We already live in the South West where many retire to anyway and cannot see us moving elsewhere especially as both our daughters have remained in the area, one in the same town.

Cotswolds/South West is our target area. Places like Stroud, North Somerset, Frome, Cirencester are all potentials for us. We like the lifestyle in that area and it's a beautiful part of the country.

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

I have just written my retirement speech for my party tomorrow which is nostalgic but still not doubting I am doing the right thing by going early. My organisation has changed so much over recent years and only today we were mulling over the latest stupid decision the powers that be have made.

Same for me. I don't enjoy working at my place any more, they are gearing it around lower-skilled younger people rather than experienced oldies like me. How did the speech go?

gadgetmind

I expected my last few weeks/months to involve structured hand overs and drinks with old mates rather than lawyers at dawn and tribunals. Silly me.

jamesperrett

gadgetmind wrote: »

I expected my last few weeks/months to involve structured hand overs and drinks with old mates rather than lawyers at dawn and tribunals. Silly me.

Sounds a bit ominous :eek:

As I mentioned before, I found that I was less tolerant of certain management ideas once I'd decided to retire and had some 'robust' discussions with management although it stopped short of anything formal. Interestingly enough, there's now only one person left from a team of 6 two years ago.

enthusiasticsaver

OldMusicGuy wrote: »

Cotswolds/South West is our target area. Places like Stroud, North Somerset, Frome, Cirencester are all potentials for us. We like the lifestyle in that area and it's a beautiful part of the country.


Same for me. I don't enjoy working at my place any more, they are gearing it around lower-skilled younger people rather than experienced oldies like me. How did the speech go?

Those places you mention are indeed beautiful. We are just over the Devon border in Cornwall and it is lovely but miles from anywhere so getting planes abroad etc always involve a 2 hour drive. Somerset is more central as closer to A303/M4 corridor.

The speech went well thanks and there were so many former employees there so it was lovely to catch up with those already retired and given some hints on how to make the best of retirement. A recurring theme was don't rush to volunteer to do stuff until taken stock. My colleagues said some lovely things about me so it was nice to be appreciated.

atush

gadgetmind wrote: »

I expected my last few weeks/months to involve structured hand overs and drinks with old mates rather than lawyers at dawn and tribunals. Silly me.

Cant say I like the idea of that. Can you just up and go?

gadgetmind

atush wrote: »

Cant say I like the idea of that. Can you just up and go?

That's exactly what will happen if they negotiate an agreement to that effect in good faith. That hasn't happened to date, but I've just laid down my second card, which is rather strong, and the rest of my hand is even better but will hopefully remain unplayed and unseen.

crv1963

gadgetmind wrote: »

I expected my last few weeks/months to involve structured hand overs and drinks with old mates rather than lawyers at dawn and tribunals. Silly me.

It does seem odd as you head towards the date they seem to pile the pressure on. My Manager knows I intend going next year- date to be set once my pension forecast arrives in January, net result I get 5 complex cases needing months of work allocated in the run up to Christmas!


I innocently thought that the New Year would bring like gadgetmind a smooth transitional handover of what I already was managing! Silly me!

gadgetmind

It's all going to work out better for me financially, but I feel like I'm being required to rip to bits something I've been constructing for decades, and this involves people who've worked with me for decades. The stress and unpleasantness makes me want to run away and hide, but there's a job to do, and I'm the person who can do it the most compassionately and deliver the best end result.

enthusiasticsaver

I have worked for the most incredibly supportive managers over the years and I gave a years notice of my early retirement date but they freely admitted the closer the date got the more they started panicking about who was going to do the things I have been doing for almost the last 20 years. The powers that be were warned I was retiring December 2017 back in July but funding for replacement was only agreed in November which means the job has only just been advertised. Disorganised chaos springs to mind but I had to resist the urge to say I would stay on until the replacement appointed but I feel sorry for my immediate managers as it is not their fault but they are the ones who will have to pick up the slack.

gadgetmind

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

I feel sorry for my immediate managers as it is not their fault but they are the ones who will have to pick up the slack.

My immediate manager and myself have been advised not to talk to each other until this is sorted! I feel sorry for the layer of managers beneath me who'll now be reporting direct.