I'm done

[creaker]

A while back I mentioned in another thread I was given a termination date for my work. Since then my employer offered a pretty generous voluntary buyout package company wide to us "old" people and I was able to "upgrade" to that. Friday was my last day and for the first time in almost 40 years I am unemployed.

I'd like to say thanks to the folks here - staying mindful on finances over the past few years has put me in a much better position for this. I'm still a few years shy of being able to retire, but even if the future goes badly employment-wise, I have the means to get by. Anything I make going forward will just improve that situation.

I'll have severance checks coming through next May, health insurance at my current rates until the end of 2018, with the ability to extend that at a higher cost until I'm 65 if needed. Plus some additional monies coming from the buyout. So I'm going to be taking the summer off and tightening up my skill set before looking for employment in the fall. I'm hoping I can get a good overlap of severance and employment checks, it would help setting aside more money for retirement.

If anyone has advice or recommendations it would be highly appreciated.

[BikingLady]

Enjoy your time off first time in 40 years!

[Yppej]

With your health insurance covered you'll have the option to take contract to hire roles and decide if you like the company before committing to permanent employment. Good luck!

[SteveinMN]

By the standards of the day, you got a very nice severance package! It should ease your mind considerably as you ease into the next chapter.

Be aware (as I'm guessing you probably are) that being that close to retirement age and taking a few months off could present a bit of a speed bump to prospective employers once you start looking. You might want to burnish an "elevator speech" which describes the circumstances of your termination (i.e., not fired for cause) and what you did during the time you took off (besides slow down a little).

Otherwise, stay the course!

[Teacher Terry]

Enjoy your time off!

[Lainey]

Congratulations creaker. Four decades of work means you are certainly due for a break, so please relax and have fun this summer. I agree with SteveinMN that you've received a very generous buyout package.
Also agree that when you do start job-hunting you can explain that your position was eliminated and you took time to travel, or something similar. Maybe you can downshift to part-time work/semi-retirement? Good luck to you.

[creaker]

I've considered this - one issue I have right now is over time I was consolidated into a large support group - as such what I worked on narrowed considerably, and a lot of what I worked was technology they were retiring, so we weren't staying current. So my resume is a bit iffy at this point. I've lined up some at home coursework, to hopefully be followed up with certifications. But at 58, I expect I'm looking at a speed bump no matter what - and I need some time to decompress :-)

We were told employment verification will say we took a voluntary buyout, which is much better than the layoff I was looking at previously, so that's good.

[Tybee]

I am glad you got a good severance package. I semi-retired as an unexpected putsch came through and went to part time about 18 months ago. It has been a rocky adjustment for me. I was 59, almost 60 when I went to pt. No severance package, so it has been tough.
I feel it has taken me this long just to start to get my bearings, odd as that sounds. For about 6 months I was giddy; I felt great, then I started to feel not so great.
But maybe you will find a new job by 6 months.
Anyway, I hope you can decompress!

[JaneV2.0]

I landed two jobs in my mid-fifties, years after I retired. For the second one, I pursued an intensive certification in a field only slightly related to my previous career. I was sailing right along until IT crashed and I retired for good. I heartily recommend going back to school for coursework or certification in an in-demand field. I also recommend looking for the flexibility to work part-time if that is something that appeals to you. And congratulations on your soft landing! Enjoy your summer.

[iris lilies]

Creaker, wishing you good thoughts as you find your way in this new paradigm.

[flowerseverywhere]

Glad mindfulness and simple living helped. It is amazing how much money you can spend when you don't think about it. Congrats on not panicking and going forward, good luck. We retired at age 55 and employer health insurance has helped tremendously. We lose it at age 65 but purchasing a supplemental policy with Medicare should mimic the costs of what we have been paying.

in your time off what do you plan to do?

[creaker]

Glad mindfulness and simple living helped. It is amazing how much money you can spend when you don't think about it. Congrats on not panicking and going forward, good luck. We retired at age 55 and employer health insurance has helped tremendously. We lose it at age 65 but purchasing a supplemental policy with Medicare should mimic the costs of what we have been paying.

in your time off what do you plan to do?

I was planning on working on the house a bit. Short trip to the Cape this weekend. I've lined up some online classes and will start going through those next week. I'm going to up my volunteer hours. I lined up a trip to New Orleans, volunteering to build houses for a week (scored free airline tickets for that :-), but that's not until October.

Right now I'm sitting at my desk - I primarily worked from home, often during off hours, right now it just feels like there is a big hole here. I'm going to figure out how to fill it :-)

[Teacher Terry]

Would you be able to just work p.t. so you can slowly ease into retirement when you are ready?