Why work so long?

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

30 year pension is quite a bit more than 5K here. You lose 4% per year before 30. Ultimatley though, it's not about the money.

I used those figures to make the math easier. He will only be 46 when he gets his 25. 5 more years puts him at 51, which is still a fairly young age to retire. While I do agree that it is not just about the money, if it were me I would work the 5 years and start my retirement at 51 with an extra $1K/month in my pocket.

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

25 --out and not a second more. I know they say don't burn bridges but on my last day I am taking a dump under the desk of whomever is my current center manager. Now I have 20 years to decide what that meal should be the day before.

Hot sausage and baked beans

 

[oldupsman]

I can't believe some of the generous pension packages you folks are still able to receive.
Here nobody can retire full time until they are at least 55 and have in 30.

 

[Mugarolla]

If you can retire and sit at home and collect $50,000, why continue to bust your butt at ups for the difference between your salary and what you'd get from your pension. For most guys it's like $40,000.

Because 30 years in the Central will only get you $3200 a month right now. Even if your old enough to get medical, that is $400 right now. That leaves you $35000 per year before taxes. Isn't that close to the poverty level?

 

[bleedinbrown58]

One of my drivers is 64....has 35 years in...34 on the truck. and is retiring in 3 years he says. He moves faster than some 19 year old loaders....I give him a lot of credit.

 

[Brownslave688]

Because 30 years in the Central will only get you $3200 a month right now. Even if your old enough to get medical, that is $400 right now. That leaves you $35000 per year before taxes. Isn't that close to the poverty level?

No

 

[rod]

What ever floats your boat. Retired at 53 with 30 years in worked for me. I have 3 friends who are pushing up roses now who I bet wished they would have retired when they had time to enjoy it. The older I get the more glad I am that I made the decision to retire early.

 

[Babagounj]

Staying until I hit 35 full pension credit years , already at 33.5 yrs .
Ok to be sure I have the 35 , I'll have to stay an extra month or 2 due to the month long delay of when my hours gets posted .
I could leave today and have a pension equal to my yearly income . But for an extra 700 a month , it's worth it to stay .

 

[Brownslave688]

Staying until I hit 35 full pension credit years , already at 33.5 yrs .
Ok to be sure I have the 35 , I'll have to stay an extra month or 2 due to the month long delay of when my hours gets posted .
I could leave today and have a pension equal to my yearly income . But for an extra 700 a month , it's worth it to stay .

If it stays the way it is. My pension never tops out. That'll make the decision a little more interesting for me.

 

[mikewelch8484]

I'm workin till I'm 50 no if ands buts about it

 

[Brownslave688]

I'm workin till I'm 50 no if ands buts about it

You're how old?

 

[andrsnbkj]

8 more years I can walk out with a 25 year pension and do something different I do have a 401 k and a Ira and stock so
I'll be good I can't stand the treatment and I'm only 40

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

8 more years I can walk out with a 25 year pension and do something different I do have a 401 k and a Ira and stock so
I'll be good I can't stand the treatment and I'm only 40

A lot can change in 8 years, including the elimination of the 25 and out.

 

[Brownslave688]

8 more years I can walk out with a 25 year pension and do something different I do have a 401 k and a Ira and stock so
I'll be good I can't stand the treatment and I'm only 40

See though I think I'll be the opposite. Once you get to the point that you can retire and don't actually need the job anymore. That's when they can just piss off and the job will be enjoyable. At that point there's no stress in being fired because you're ready to retire anyway.

 

[bddaddy]

What does anyone know about the age plus years of service equaling 80? I've seen mentions of this on several posts. If so, I'm closer to my final day than i thought!

 

[oldngray]

Peer 80 isn't everywhere. Not in Central States. Maybe only in Western.

 

[Jones]

What does anyone know about the age plus years of service equaling 80? I've seen mentions of this on several posts. If so, I'm closer to my final day than i thought!

It's called Peer 80, as far as I know it's a feature of the Western Conference pension.

 

[Coldworld]

I believe you have to be 21 before you start collecting pension credits.

Can anyone in the western conference pension confirm this...Part timers and full timers are both in the same pension so I think you start collecting credits at 18 if you start that early

 

[realbrown1]

I had to laugh after reading some of the younger guys bitchin about guys who won't retire "when they are supposed to" so that spots will open up. Not saying they are right but I often wonder why people don't retire if they have the time in. Reminded me of the story UPS did about that package driver who put in 50 years.

There is no way in hell I would do that much time. I know everyone has their own personal reasons for continuing to work like not being financially secure, fear of doing nothing, having a place to go to escape from issues or spouses / kids, loneliness, etc; the list could go on and on but those were just some examples. I work to provide for my family and have money to enjoy the things I want to do or buy that's all.

No matter what luxuries or things I enjoy now, I have also made a decision NOT to put work before any of that and I also decided long ago that I am not going to work so long that I will be too old or broken down to enjoy the last part of my life, the part where I should be able to not have to get up at a certain time or be held to constraints or schedules (other than the ones I make for myself).

Not saying a certain age is the appropriate age to retire but there are alot of people who die before 60 and there are alot who continue to have a great time long after 60. There are also alot of people who pass shortly after retirement and then there are those who don't. Anyways, I figure for me 60 is the age I will be done with any work no matter what. I have savings and 401k and try to plan for the future and hope that I made good decisions financially.

So I ask, why would anyone want to work for so much of their precious and short life. I'm working to live, not living to work. Anyone else feel that way?

To each his own. Nobody else will tell me when to retire. That is for me and my wife to decide.
As for the younger workers waiting on spots to open up, too bad. If you really want someone to blame for the long waiting time to go full time, blame UPS. UPS has increased the workload of each driver by 20% to 40% over the last 20 years. That has eliminated a lot of routes, making the wait time to go full time a lot longer.

 

[scooby0048]

Life change as well as goals do. Sometimes when you've been doing the same thing for 42 years people get scared about what they will do when they retire. Or the got divorced a while back and their wife get a lot of years of there pension.

I think a lot of people are scared they can't afford to retire. I understand. It's a huge step and once you take it there's no going back. You don't know if you'll live 4 more years or 40.

I plan on putting in my 35 and being gone. There's things that could change that like landing a sweet article 22.3 job.

I hope this doesn't change but for the wife and I we truely enjoy being alone together. We spend our weekends together most of the time and when we get week days off together we go do things together.

I know this isn't the case for many married couples. We just had friends with two young kids call us to do something last weekend. We went out with them that night all had a few and the wife and I both told them separately. We totally understand if you guys want some alone time. Don't feel like you have to ask us out everytime you get rid of the kids for a day or weekend. They both had the exact same reply. "The truth is we don't like each other all that much and it's terrible just being alone together."

For someone like them (if they stay married) retirement will be miserable. I'm sure as it gets closer to retirement the excuses will start flowing for both of them.

You gentlemen make excellent statements, very thought provoking. I agree with Upstate's comment about retiring being a very personal choice and those two examples you gentlemen gave are probably spot on as the contributing factors why people don't retire along with financial reasons.

I am still amazed though reading through all the replies just how many people will put in so many years of their lives towards working. I wonder if the trade off of making money and being secure financially is worth what was missed in life over the years. That's always been something that I swore wouldn't let happen to me yet, it has, and still does. God willing if I am healthy and not in dire straits, I will be out of the workforce as soon as I can.