Retirement age poll

[kizhawk721]

bailing at the end of the year. will have my career 20 this year and that is quite enough, thankyouverymuch.

i still love my customers, but our insect overlords have sucked all the joy out of this job and have made the best position in the PO into the worst.

mulling over a couple of options, as i do not want to vegetate.

I agree, I'm outta here Dec 1st . I would not recommend working in our office. It's gone downhill over the years. The Poom and Postmaster are buddies , could care less about the office . Both show up when they feel like it . Supervisors try and hold everything together, sometimes alone . 28 city, 10 rurals , not enough clerks and rcas and ccas.........The future does not look promising. The upcoming full time employees complain when they work all week long a former supervisor, now Postmaster was in , she asked if we have kids looking for a job , I would not recommend this sh#* show .

 

[Old Fart]

wow, 21 years not credited towards retirement. what a screw-over. I was rcr/RCA for 15 years, was able to buy back 1 and a half years, retired 2 years ago at 66th birthday. Could have gone at 64 with pretty good pension and ss but made a lot of money those last 2 years. sure would like to see backpay for the last 4 or so years I was paid at 48k rate but was really about 5 hours higher but we didn't have mail counts because new system wasn't ready. I know it wont happen but they sure do owe a bunch of us a boatload of money.

The cost to the post office for credit for non career years is far too great for them to ever pay, especially under current circumstances where we can't afford copy paper or rubber bands at our local offices.

Because of wage and hiring freezes long ago many in our offices are over 10 years as RCA, even though most worked 5-6 day weeks with plenty of overtime.

 

[DB.Cooper]

I agree, I'm outta here Dec 1st . I would not recommend working in our office. It's gone downhill over the years. The Poom and Postmaster are buddies , could care less about the office . Both show up when they feel like it . Supervisors try and hold everything together, sometimes alone . 28 city, 10 rurals , not enough clerks and rcas and ccas.........The future does not look promising. The upcoming full time employees complain when they work all week long a former supervisor, now Postmaster was in , she asked if we have kids looking for a job , I would not recommend this sh#* show .

I doubt I could recommend working at the PO to an enemy, let alone a friend or family... I've never regretted leaving even once.... I've stayed plenty busy without working for pay a single day since retiring... I've got a good bit of real estate tho, and that keeps me pretty busy...

 

[Worve]

I doubt I could recommend working at the PO to an enemy, let alone a friend or family... I've never regretted leaving even once.... I've stayed plenty busy without working for pay a single day since retiring... I've got a good bit of real estate tho, and that keeps me pretty busy...

With current management I actually do recommend it when people ask. I do let them know basic info on what job actually entails and pros cons. Currently not a single sub is over 23 in office, they realize it’s a 20+ year wait. No I am not telling anyone anything, I will just not be on the schedule when I am done.

 

[jaymacgthree]

For now it seems many go at 62 or 65+... just based on the numbers in this survey...

It surprises me

 

[jaymacgthree]

I doubt I could recommend working at the PO to an enemy, let alone a friend or family... I've never regretted leaving even once.... I've stayed plenty busy without working for pay a single day since retiring... I've got a good bit of real estate tho, and that keeps me pretty busy...

I recommend working at the PO to my enemies that I want to see suffer
I would never recommend it to people I like

 

[DB.Cooper]

With current management I actually do recommend it when people ask. I do let them know basic info on what job actually entails and pros cons. Currently not a single sub is over 23 in office, they realize it’s a 20+ year wait. No I am not telling anyone anything, I will just not be on the schedule when I am done.

I didn't make any big deal about leaving... I just left.... nobody in my office even knew I was going until about 3 days before my last day, the little "we appreciate your service" certificate (lie) showed up in the mail from District, and they were all like, hey, wth is this???? LOL... oh yeah, I'm getting to hail outa here...

 

[DB.Cooper]

It surprises me

Over half say 62 or later....

I wonder who is who... I mean, how many really went at those ages, and how many are planning something down the road... One guy said he's going 30 some years from now.. nice to try planning ahead, but nobody really knows what they're gonna be doing in 30 years from now, or if we'll even still be here...

 

[Old Fart]

Over half say 62 or later....

I wonder who is who... I mean, how many really went at those ages, and how many are planning something down the road... One guy said he's going 30 some years from now.. nice to try planning ahead, but nobody really knows what they're gonna be doing in 30 years from now, or if we'll even still be here...

I'm not certain that anyone should have as primary objective 30 more years anywhere, even at a great gig. Times change rapidly and situations do too. Most don't "retire" completely (don't work at anything) but move to a job that's more conducive to what they want out of a personal life. Develop or hone a skill that you can move to if things turn bad. Two 15 year pensions are usually about the same as one 30 year pension. There are tons of government jobs (state, local, district, education etc) that your skills are transferable. Keep options open. Every job has it's bad days, or weeks, but if you're rationally and reasonably unhappy, identify what's causing that and find another position elsewhere that doesn't have that huge negative. I know it's not easy, but neither is most of life. Especially pay attention to the physical part f this job. If it gets to you, look around.

One example that I can share -- one of our regular rural carriers found a position with school district maintenance, and after a year's probation was making more than as a carrier, with no worry about re-evaluation every six months. Another took classes and studied to be a school bus driver, and now is successful and happy at that job.

 

[jaymacgthree]

Over half say 62 or later....

I wonder who is who... I mean, how many really went at those ages, and how many are planning something down the road... One guy said he's going 30 some years from now.. nice to try planning ahead, but nobody really knows what they're gonna be doing in 30 years from now, or if we'll even still be here...

Exactly and that is also why I am a proponent of retiring as early as possible. You aren't promised tomorrow and neither are your loved ones. Take your money and run! Don't let that dangling carrot of a few bucks or percentage points hold you back from enjoying life with loved ones as much as possible. You can't get that time back if it is wasted.

 

[DB.Cooper]

Especially nowadays, staying at the same job for 30+ years is likely going to be rare... But, it may happen for some... I guess everyone needs to try to do what works best for their own situation... I worked for some of the largest employers in the country... the US Military, Lockheed Martin, USPS, and a couple of other fortune 500 companies... LOL.... maybe I should go for Walmart as a greeter... I hear they're a large employer... LOL...

 

[Gotrope]

It surprises me

It shouldn't. Since rrecs was implemented, the average separation age has been lowering significantly. No one should plan to stay until 67. No one. Have an exit strategy.

 

[Gotrope]

I doubt I could recommend working at the PO to an enemy, let alone a friend or family... I've never regretted leaving even once.... I've stayed plenty busy without working for pay a single day since retiring... I've got a good bit of real estate tho, and that keeps me pretty busy...

I want to recommend them but, it's really hard to do so with so many other options for people. It's not the best of environments and can really mess with people's minds if you aren't strong.

I want USPS to survive and persist. It's just really hard to recommend them having seen some horrible issues over the years.
All jobs have problems. USPS seems to focus on the negative and really wallow in it more than most employers.

 

[Gotrope]

The cost to the post office for credit for non career years is far too great for them to ever pay, especially under current circumstances where we can't afford copy paper or rubber bands at our local offices.

Because of wage and hiring freezes long ago many in our offices are over 10 years as RCA, even though most worked 5-6 day weeks with plenty of overtime.

It's not as expensive as you might think. Most who would qualify to add to pension time are not that long in service. Majority of them bail within 5 years of hire. There are a few old-timers but, most would have less than 4 years of service to add according to audits.

 

[mail1000]

I'm not certain that anyone should have as primary objective 30 more years anywhere, even at a great gig. Times change rapidly and situations do too. Most don't "retire" completely (don't work at anything) but move to a job that's more conducive to what they want out of a personal life. Develop or hone a skill that you can move to if things turn bad. Two 15 year pensions are usually about the same as one 30 year pension. There are tons of government jobs (state, local, district, education etc) that your skills are transferable. Keep options open. Every job has it's bad days, or weeks, but if you're rationally and reasonably unhappy, identify what's causing that and find another position elsewhere that doesn't have that huge negative. I know it's not easy, but neither is most of life. Especially pay attention to the physical part f this job. If it gets to you, look around.

One example that I can share -- one of our regular rural carriers found a position with school district maintenance, and after a year's probation was making more than as a carrier, with no worry about re-evaluation every six months. Another took classes and studied to be a school bus driver, and now is successful and happy at that job.

Yes- the stress of the every 6mth evaluations is a biggie!

 

[DB.Cooper]

One accomplishment I can claim since retiring is, I've not been inside a PO, and actually, I don't think I've even bought a postage stamp...

 

[Gotrope]

One accomplishment I can claim since retiring is, I've not been inside a PO, and actually, I don't think I've even bought a postage stamp...

I've been in several times. Mostly because the cbu at one house has been broken for 15 months. And if you fwd the mail, it just gets killed because current staff are cr@p.
I did premium forwarding for 4 months. I received a refund for all but, 3 weeks because they never honored the service and returned all mail.

 

[DB.Cooper]

I've mailed a few parcels, but I just request parcel pickups online... a little RRECS boost for my carrier... and I just get my mail from the mailbox at my house... I really have no reason to go to PO....

 

[Haygrrl]

There are plenty of other jobs and careers out there.....don't feel bound to the post office until you're 80....just start another pension or retirement at your next job.....

Agreed!. My city carrier friend retired before me, 5 years ago..works pt as custodian and contributes to their 401k..he has 10k invested in just 5 years!

 

[Haygrrl]

I've mailed a few parcels, but I just request parcel pickups online... a little RRECS boost for my carrier... and I just get my mail from the mailbox at my house... I really have no reason to go to PO....

Lmbo
I didnt check my mail box for 4 days.. when I did, I just started laughing ..I thought to my self, ohhhhh...im one of THOSE customers now ..im loving retirement in soooo many ways