Bold leap into retirement

Smudgeismydog

MetaPhysical said:

Done.  Finito.  I have finished today I feel fine, a bit sad to say goodbye to colleagues and my client base but it was my time.  Reading my farewell card and receiving my gift made me well up a bit.  The people I'd like to keep in touch with I will do. 

They've already got my replacement lined up to start in mid-January, as of course I'd have expected them to do; my function still has to be done and the client base served.  But doesn't it just go to show, we're all just an expendable number, never be in any doubt.

Well done, I’m so pleased for you
please stay in touch and post to let us know how you are settling into your retirement 

katejo

MetaPhysical said:

Done.  Finito.  I have finished today I feel fine, a bit sad to say goodbye to colleagues and my client base but it was my time.  Reading my farewell card and receiving my gift made me well up a bit.  The people I'd like to keep in touch with I will do. 

They've already got my replacement lined up to start in mid-January, as of course I'd have expected them to do; my function still has to be done and the client base served.  But doesn't it just go to show, we're all just an expendable number, never be in any doubt.

Congratulations! I have wondered many times about what I would say at a farewell do. Two of my colleagues are retiring in January and I will be curious to hear them. I may still stay on and do a few casual hours to keep in touch.

GazHol

Best time to leave: 1-2 days after payday (in case HR mess-up the redundancy and/or pension payments, you want to be able to phone someone in order to sort it out!)
Best notice period: hint to manager you want to leave due to pension changes/workload/lack of recruitment, if you are told to “wait a few months”, then you know another re-org is coming (with likely VR)
I did all the above and still had a nightmare sorting out my TFLS as it was 1% over the 25%, took six months before the 25% was paid (FTSE 20 company). Haven’t look back since and don’t miss work one bit (34 years with same FTSE 20 company).

FIREDreamer

Retired 18 months ago. Those 18 months have flown much faster than any other 18 month period that I can remember.

MetaPhysical

Smudgeismydog said:

MetaPhysical said:

Done.  Finito.  I have finished today I feel fine, a bit sad to say goodbye to colleagues and my client base but it was my time.  Reading my farewell card and receiving my gift made me well up a bit.  The people I'd like to keep in touch with I will do. 

They've already got my replacement lined up to start in mid-January, as of course I'd have expected them to do; my function still has to be done and the client base served.  But doesn't it just go to show, we're all just an expendable number, never be in any doubt.

Well done, I’m so pleased for you
please stay in touch and post to let us know how you are settling into your retirement 

Many thanks for your kind words.

I worked eighteen years at the company in various positions before I retired and all-in-all received good treatment from them - an IT multinational.  I'd handed over my customer base to my peers in the weeks leading up to last week whilst they get my early-in-career replacement up to speed (aka cost cutting and not wanting to pay the salary experienced people like me were earning).  I was professional enough to still be dealing with a customer query and goodbye call at 17:00 on Friday, my last day, when I promptly lost all access to work systems.  I'd have expected to lose access that day for compliance and security reasons but the cold, hard and brutal nature of the sudden cut off surprised me.  I'd had no off-boarding emails or meetings in the weeks prior to my last day.

Be in no doubt that as employees our knowledge and labours are nothing but part of a transaction; your time and labour in exchange for salary.  All the talk of the "company family" that HR departments trot out is, I'm afraid to say, BS and baloney.  I've always been realistic enough to understand this.  But it even further hammered the point home to me; you are a cost line on a spreadsheet and nothing more.  I (and we) are nothing more than that.

As for me, this is my first day retired Having a steady day today. My company car is being collected as well as my work laptop, my ID badge, mobile phone and a few other things.  At work we would be on a wind down to Christmas this week even if I was still employed so I'll start to think I'm "really" retired at the start of January when everyone goes back after the festive season and business as usual would have resumed.

Smudgeismydog

During my career I was made redundant twice. It really showed me that no matter how well my team and colleagues were doing, how hard we tried, all the extra hours we put in to make a difference, someone much further up the food chain could make a decision without even really knowing us.
You are so right, it made me realise I was just a payroll number.

That never stopped me from being conscientious and thorough, never taking sick days and being committed to the role, because that is who I am. However, it did prove to me that outside my immediate team or department, there is no ‘family loyalty’. You are paid for your time to do a job, and you are replaceable. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m very proud of what I achieved in my career, but I am more than that, and it’s more important for me to now own my time, and be with with my actual family.

MetaPhysical

An update on my private medical medical insurance situation.  I had BUPA with my employer prior to me retiring last week.  With my employer I had a zero excess policy including all cancer drugs.

This year I had a hip consultation and MRI in March and, on a different issue, I had an operation under General Anaesthetic as an outpatient in November on a benign abdominal cyst.  So, two distinct medical matters.

I am 58, 6" tall and generally healthy albeit with the issues I mentioned above and there's no doubt that this hip will eventually go and will need a replacement.  That could be in six months or ten years, it depends so my consultant says.  Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised at the quote I received.  It is a "continuation" policy of my employer's policy so that my medical history remains covered.  I had to have this in place inside four weeks of leaving my employer or else I'd have to get a "new" policy that would then not cover my existing conditions.

I have a yearly excess of £1000 to keep the premium down.  This means that the first £1000 of any private medical bills incurred I will need to cover.  So if I have a £250 initial consultation I will have to pay that, leaving £750 excess remaining.  if I then had a MRI that was then £750, say, then I'd also need to pay that as well.  However if I then needed a £20000 Hip operation that would then be fully covered because it's above my excess.

No cancer drugs cover since I figure the NHS is pretty good with this anyway.   There is stuff and drugs the NHS won't do as well but I'll take a risk on that bit.

The cost? £78 per month for me alone.  Needless to say, I think that is a good price and I have taken over the policy.  I have the excess put to one side already in an ISA I have started for this purpose and will throw £250 a month into that to give me future options. I accept that this price will only go up as I get older but with this policy now in place gives me time to think what I'll do in future years whilst being covered in the here and now.

MallyGirl

Seems like a good deal in the circumstances- it is the big stuff that you want covered after all.

Smudgeismydog

That does seem very reasonable for some peace of mind

pterri

MetaPhysical said:

Done.  Finito.  I have finished today I feel fine, a bit sad to say goodbye to colleagues and my client base but it was my time.  Reading my farewell card and receiving my gift made me well up a bit.  The people I'd like to keep in touch with I will do. 

They've already got my replacement lined up to start in mid-January, as of course I'd have expected them to do; my function still has to be done and the client base served.  But doesn't it just go to show, we're all just an expendable number, never be in any doubt.

well done, im 8 months in, all good so far