Work perspective...

Callatoroy said:
Maybe asked and answered already but is the buyout a take it / leave it situation? Would it be an option say a year from now? If so I would lean toward staying and seeing how the new role goes. If not, it makes it tougher to decide. Think Peppers has given pretty sound advice.
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Yes, it's only available until January 16th.
 
Based on what you've said, it sounds like the situation with your wife has made your financial situation somewhat precarious and so taking the buyout now would be a risky idea.

I think my advice would be to use the next few months to initiate the conversation with your wife about figuring out where your marriage is going and making real decisions about your future. While I understand you're trying to support your wife in a major life transition, you owe it to yourself to not spend forever in a limbo period where you can't plan your future, including situations like this.

Even if this buyout isn't the opportunity for you, I'd suggest taking real steps forward so that you're ready for the next opportunity when it presents itself...whatever that may be.
 
dcf2 said:
If you were to retire after a few months of unwinding what would you do all day? That's a question I ask myself anyway.
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I think knowing the answer to this question is extremely important for a successful retirement. Maybe even more important than being sure that you have enough wealth to retire. I know 2-3 guys, relatively active and healthy, that retired and promptly died, likely from boredom or a sense of inadequacy/despair within a couple years.
I’m planning on phased retirement just to ease myself into a different pattern and sense of purpose. As much as I look forward to it, it’s really rather terrifying.
 
BlooVooDoo said:
I think knowing the answer to this question is extremely important for a successful retirement. Maybe even more important than being sure that you have enough wealth to retire. I know 2-3 guys, relatively active and healthy, that retired and promptly died, likely from boredom or a sense of inadequacy/despair within a couple years.
I’m planning on phased retirement just to ease myself into a different pattern and sense of purpose. As much as I look forward to it, it’s really rather terrifying.
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I've had the opposite feed back from the people I've talked to about retirement. They seem younger, have more energy, and rave about the freedom. It may depend on what you are retiring from.
 
UNCatTech said:
If not for the marriage situation I would say yes. Currently I'm not confident...

I believe without a recession or some other negative, I should be in 3-4 years.
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Ok. So then I would say stick where you are. Agree discrimination is real in business. And some places look at 33 years in one place as a liability (bullshit I know). They think OMG he doesn't know anything about any other company! Just ridiculousness that companies use for any excuse.

I would stick it out until you are ever let go or until you are ready to retire. It's a blessing to have been at one place that long
 
Bigs23 said:
I've had the opposite feed back from the people I've talked to about retirement. They seem younger, have more energy, and rave about the freedom. It may depend on what you are retiring from.
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Yeah I've got a hard time feeling that Gen Xers will be holding onto the "my job is my whole identity and life" that plagued/s Boomers ... And I think it will be even less likely for Millennials.

I, for one, lost every bit of the work=who I am feeling after my first layoff 13 years ago
 
UNCatTech said:
If not for the marriage situation I would say yes. Currently I'm not confident...

I believe without a recession or some other negative, I should be in 3-4 years.
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If the marriage situation is a factor, I'd get some resolution on that first if I could. Seems like there's more mystery there than about work. If you have a better grasp of where that's going, I think you could be more comfortable with the rest of your decisions.

Let me add the proforma denial of knowing what I'm actually talking about.
 
Was the buyout offered to a lot of people, or are you in a select group chosen for it? It seems incongruous to me that they would be seriously considering you for a promotion yet simultaneously offering you a buyout. I guess what prompts this question is I have a friend who had been with his company for 26 years. His company was acquired early in 2025 and he was offered a buyout back in June, which he declined. At the beginning of December he was informed he would be “laid off” effective Dec 31 with no further compensation.

Given that your personal life is currently unsettled and you are unsure of the financial ramifications, I would recommend taking the promotion if offered and getting those finances stabilized so you have a greater degree of financial certainty surrounding your retirement. Good luck, and I’m sure you will figure it out whatever you decide. There is rarely a single correct answer so you can probably make any situation work, but the prospect of losing half your retirement savings at this age would move the needle into the “keep working” direction for me.
 
Bigs23 said:
I've had the opposite feed back from the people I've talked to about retirement. They seem younger, have more energy, and rave about the freedom. It may depend on what you are retiring from.
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Yeah, there have been some recent studies correlating earlier retirement with a longer life.

My dad didn’t really retire early, but he just hit 10 years of being retired (he’s 77). He was a workaholic back in his working days. He slowed down a little bit in his 60s, but still worked more than the average person. He loved the work he did. He’s loved retirement even more.

For me personally, I cannot imagine not being completely happy in retirement. I have no concerns about getting bored or feeling like I have no sense of purpose. I look forward to having time to do the things that mean the most to me, and not having the black cloud of having to do so many things I don’t want to do or getting in the way of the things I want to do hanging over my head.
 
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BlooVooDoo said:
I think knowing the answer to this question is extremely important for a successful retirement. Maybe even more important than being sure that you have enough wealth to retire. I know 2-3 guys, relatively active and healthy, that retired and promptly died, likely from boredom or a sense of inadequacy/despair within a couple years.
I’m planning on phased retirement just to ease myself into a different pattern and sense of purpose. As much as I look forward to it, it’s really rather terrifying.
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The only folks I know of who died soon after retirement were those who just couldn’t bring themselves to walk away from their jobs and kept working well past when they could have retired. The folks I know who retired as soon as they could and embraced it are doing great.
 
finesse said:
If the marriage situation is a factor, I'd get some resolution on that first if I could. Seems like there's more mystery there than about work. If you have a better grasp of where that's going, I think you could be more comfortable with the rest of your decisions.

Let me add the proforma denial of knowing what I'm actually talking about.
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True, if not for the marriage situation I'm pretty sure I would take the risk and take the package.

Being that I could be divorced in the next few years and having to split the retirement money is concerning.
 
farce© said:
Was the buyout offered to a lot of people, or are you in a select group chosen for it? It seems incongruous to me that they would be seriously considering you for a promotion yet simultaneously offering you a buyout. I guess what prompts this question is I have a friend who had been with his company for 26 years. His company was acquired early in 2025 and he was offered a buyout back in June, which he declined. At the beginning of December he was informed he would be “laid off” effective Dec 31 with no further compensation.

Given that your personal life is currently unsettled and you are unsure of the financial ramifications, I would recommend taking the promotion if offered and getting those finances stabilized so you have a greater degree of financial certainty surrounding your retirement. Good luck, and I’m sure you will figure it out whatever you decide. There is rarely a single correct answer so you can probably make any situation work, but the prospect of losing half your retirement savings at this age would move the needle into the “keep working” direction for me.
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It is not specifically for me, I am just in the group that qualifies for the offer. The offer is global, but it has a limited criteria for those who qualify.

One can also apply and be denied. I'm concerned that if I were to apply and be denied, then it would be a consideration for the promotion.

The promotion hasn't yet been offered, but heavily suggested in the conversations with my manager and the next manager up, since my manager is changing positions.

Due to my situation and concern with retirement funding, I'm leaning toward not pursuing the package.
 
Icky Mettle said:
The only folks I know of who died soon after retirement were those who just couldn’t bring themselves to walk away from their jobs and kept working well past when they could have retired. The folks I know who retired as soon as they could and embraced it are doing great.
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I know several people that their job was their life and identity, so they worked as long as they physically could, then when they retired they died within a year.

I'm not in this situation. I've got so many interest and things I want to do and the time I spend at work really just gets in the way, but I need the money. 😁
 
UNCatTech said:
True, if not for the marriage situation I'm pretty sure I would take the risk and take the package.

Being that I could be divorced in the next few years and having to split the retirement money is concerning.
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I think retirement isn't considered marital property.... May be wrong but I think your IRA can't be touched
 
Icky Mettle said:
Yeah, there have been some recent studies correlating earlier retirement with a longer life.

My dad didn’t really retire early, but he just hit 10 years of being retired (he’s 77). He was a workaholic back in his working days. He slowed down a little bit in his 60s, but still worked more than the average person. He loved the work he did. He’s loved retirement even more.

For me personally, I cannot imagine not being completely happy in retirement. I have no concerns about getting bored or feeling like I have no sense of purpose. I look forward to having time to do the things that mean the most to me, and not having the black cloud of having to do so many things I don’t want to do or getting in the way of the things I want to do hanging over my head.
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That's exactly how I feel.
 
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