Drivers who pass away shortly after retirement
- Thread starter ITwannabe
- Start date
Tired Driver
Sisyphus had it easy.
The second driver to retire from my center died 3 weeks after retirement.
clean hairy
Well-Known Member
I know of one person who retired some years ago, and has health issues since retiring.
SmithBarney
Well-Known Member
Happens a lot more than you think, and not just in this industry. People's Biological clocks are complex, sort of like when
married couples of many many years will die just hours or days apart.
married couples of many many years will die just hours or days apart.
ManInBrown
Well-Known Member
Many people die within a few years after retiring. If you don't have a hobby or something to occupy your time, life can be very difficult to adjust to
My dad was a driver. Been retired many years and no health issues. He works on hobby construction projects, designs architectural crap for people in town so he pretty much works not part time but "some time" as he calls it, basically his schedule. He rides bicycle alot too. Rode to the ocean and back two years ago (500+ miles!)
Not sure about drivers, but read a stat a while back that said the avg life expectancy of a UPS management person post retirement is less than 5 yrs. Had a manager die of a massive heart attack 2 months after retirement. Also know of a feeder driver that retired in great physical health, only to be struck by a Semi truck while riding his Harley the next day. Sucks, we all deserve to have some nice golden years after all we give to the shield.
dookie stain
Cornfed whiteboy
When I was a cop I always heard that the life expectancy after retirement was less than five years...ups is high stress but for different reasons so I'd imagine it's similar...so drink your beers now gentleman
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
The difference between you and other retirees is that you will have activities to choose from to fill your day. You have mentioned in the past that you and your wife are very active in your church and that you both like to volunteer your time and services to help those less fortunate. Charities love it when a UPSer volunteers as we tend to more organized than most.
We had a driver die within 6 months of retirement.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
Tragically ironic.
MyTripisCut
Never bought my own handtruck
We had two die within a year of retirement recently. One wasn't even 9 months retired before he expired.
Indecisi0n
Well-Known Member
Isnt Feeder driver and great physical shape an oxymoron?
dudebro
Well-Known Member
This might be corny, but I think there are a lot of people who define themselves as a UPSer mentally. Like, "I'm a driver" or "I'm a center manager". And when they don't have to do those things anymore, they lose their sense of identity and seem to give up.
I think you have to guard against that and change your mentality if you think this way. "I'm a grandfather" or "I'm the mayor of the local place where I go get the newspaper" or "I'm the Meals on Wheels director" so that you don't feel like your purpose is gone when you retire. I think that's what the doctor means when he tells people to "find something to do". You need to find a purpose that was just as strong as getting up at 6am to go to work.
I think you have to guard against that and change your mentality if you think this way. "I'm a grandfather" or "I'm the mayor of the local place where I go get the newspaper" or "I'm the Meals on Wheels director" so that you don't feel like your purpose is gone when you retire. I think that's what the doctor means when he tells people to "find something to do". You need to find a purpose that was just as strong as getting up at 6am to go to work.
Billy Ray
God, help us all.....
Excellent point. I have never considered myself "a ups driver".
Of course, I do drive, and it happens to be for ups.
My purpose in retirement, is to take camping to a higher level than most mortals can even imagine.
It makes me wonder about all these young employees who just starting driving. They have much heavier days, longer days, and a lot heavier box s compared to the guys who started 30 years ago. And the guys(some of them) who started 30 years ago are passing away soon after retirement. I would imagine to see this trend more and more? Just goes to show you how stressful and physical UPS driving is. Maybe coorporate should look at that statistic since they seem to like stats so much ...
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
Could it be that they (corporate) have increased the workload to the point where they know that this is no longer a 30 year job?
