Retirement - is it over-rated?

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Retirement - is it over-rated?

I'm retired. I'm glad. I'll never work again.
98
38%
I'm retired. I'm glad, I'm working to make ends meet.
4
2%
I'm retired. I'm glad. I'm working because I choose to.
30
12%
I'm retired. I'm sorry. I would have kept on working.
5
2%
I'm working. When I retire I'll never work again.
44
17%
I'm working. When I retire I'll need another job
5
2%
I'm working. When I retire I'll do something else.
54
21%
I'm working. I'll never retire.
8
3%
I don't work. I'm a gentleman (lady) of leisure.
8
3%
 
Total votes: 256

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AltaRed
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Re: Retirement - is it over-rated?

Post by AltaRed »

I rarely mention(ed) my work position 'status' in conversation post-retirement. It just has no relevance to most conversations. Exceptions were applications to volunteer Boards and that sort of thing. What mattered more were some of the work experiences, i.e. what kind of work one was doing and where. Most 'regular' folk these days don't think much of people who work/have worked in industries like banking and oil anyway.
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SQRT
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Re: Retirement - is it over-rated?

Post by SQRT »

kcowan wrote:
Often I will say that I was a CEO twice but then quickly move on to what I did. Other times I just focus on the many types of experiences I had without naming positions.
Well, in my case it is sometimes difficult not to mention my actual position. Don't mention it unless asked. If asked what I did for a living,I simply say "I worked in finance for a big bank" If they accept that, fine. Almost always they go on to ask which bank and what did you do in finance. There is no honest way to answer that question without saying CFO and naming the bank.
Last edited by SQRT on 10 Dec 2016 13:00, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Retirement - is it over-rated?

Post by SQRT »

AltaRed wrote:Most 'regular' folk these days don't think much of people who work/have worked in industries like banking and oil anyway.
Maybe so, but if so, most people I know keep this view to themselves, at least when I'm around. They certainly don't mind the Banks as investments.
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Re: Retirement - is it over-rated?

Post by deaddog »

kcowan wrote:I think "nothing" is an extreme, almost insulting answer.
Gosh I hope not as that is my standard answer. I usually add that I’m very good at it and that not many people are. I can’t recall anyone being insulted or ending the conversation because of that reply. We usually find common ground with some other subject.
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Re: Retirement - is it over-rated?

Post by ghariton »

Like SQRT I don't volunteer that I'm a lawyer, but I will say so if asked directly what I do. Most people simply assume I'm fully retired and the subject rarely comes up. My wife say that people at the dog park, whom I've known for some years, were quite surprised when they learned what I do.

I originally went to law school at age 53 with the intention of doing pro bono work. Turned out that I needed to earn money after the stock market events of 2000 - 2001 and I did telecommunications law most of the time. But I always did some pro bono work and expect to continue as long as my health permits. Among other things I notarize documents for free in my neighbourhood. The offer is extended to members of FWF who want to drop by my house.

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Re: Retirement - is it over-rated?

Post by pmj »

Slightly off-topic - what do those who are exercising professional judgment in their pro bono work do about liability insurance?
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Re: Retirement - is it over-rated?

Post by kcowan »

deaddog wrote:
kcowan wrote:I think "nothing" is an extreme, almost insulting answer.
Gosh I hope not as that is my standard answer. I usually add that I’m very good at it and that not many people are. I can’t recall anyone being insulted or ending the conversation because of that reply. We usually find common ground with some other subject.
I have heard people that get away with "whatever the hell I want" rather than nothing. But whatever works for you!
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Re: Retirement - is it over-rated?

Post by kcowan »

SQRT wrote:
kcowan wrote:Often I will say that I was a CEO twice but then quickly move on to what I did. Other times I just focus on the many types of experiences I had without naming positions.
Well, in my case it is sometimes difficult not to mention my actual position. Don't mention it unless asked. If asked what I did for a living,I simply say "I worked in finance for a big bank" If they accept that, fine. Almost always they go on to ask which bank and what did you do in finance. There is no honest way to answer that question without saying CFO and naming the bank.
Well I think there is nothing wrong with saying you were CFO of TD Bank (except maybe in Arizona where the Americans have not heard of it). In my case, most people have never heard of it. So I end up describing what business it was.

Even when I tell them I worked at IBM for 25 years, they have no idea what I was doing because I did so many diverse jobs. And most are pretty dense when described. Usually I just dismiss the 25 years as marketing.

If people are really interested, I will tell them I started by automating two refineries in Sarnia for IOEL. Took 3 years. Made them many millions. Got me a couple of corporate awards. But mostly people yawn.
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Re: Retirement - is it over-rated?

Post by BRIAN5000 »

Among other things I notarize documents for free in my neighbourhood. The offer is extended to members of FWF who want to drop by my house.
What's the going rate to notarize a loan between my wife and I, just curious, I live a little too far away to just drop in. The lawyer at the last presentation I was at thought $350 was a bargain.

I think a nice bottle of your favorite bubbly or some nice steaks or both would be a minimum.
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Re: Retirement - is it over-rated?

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pmj wrote:Slightly off-topic - what do those who are exercising professional judgment in their pro bono work do about liability insurance?
Good question. I just checked my insurance policy and it says that coverage is for all legal services I render. Although there is a list of exceptions, none of them are applicable to what I do. The policy does not say that I have to be paid for rendering legal services. I deduce that my pro bono work is covered. But I will check with them on Monday, just to be sure.

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ghariton
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Re: Retirement - is it over-rated?

Post by ghariton »

BRIAN5000 wrote:What's the going rate to notarize a loan between my wife and I, just curious, I live a little too far away to just drop in. The lawyer at the last presentation I was at thought $350 was a bargain.
Depends on just exactly what is involved. Does it include drawing up some complicated loan documents? Other stuff? Generally, however, that sounds very steep for just the notarization. For very simple situations you might be looking at $25 to $50.

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Re: Retirement - is it over-rated?

Post by ockham »

ghariton wrote:
pmj wrote:Slightly off-topic - what do those who are exercising professional judgment in their pro bono work do about liability insurance?
Good question. I just checked my insurance policy and it says that coverage is for all legal services I render. Although there is a list of exceptions, none of them are applicable to what I do. The policy does not say that I have to be paid for rendering legal services. I deduce that my pro bono work is covered. But I will check with them on Monday, just to be sure.

George
When I retired, I changed my status from practicing to non-practicing. This change relieved me from paying the annual practicing fee and my annual insurance premium. The trade-off is that I cannot provide legal advice or services -- either for a fee or without one.
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Re: Retirement - is it over-rated?

Post by pmj »

ockham wrote:
ghariton wrote:
pmj wrote:Slightly off-topic - what do those who are exercising professional judgment in their pro bono work do about liability insurance?
Good question. I just checked my insurance policy and it says that coverage is for all legal services I render. Although there is a list of exceptions, none of them are applicable to what I do. The policy does not say that I have to be paid for rendering legal services. I deduce that my pro bono work is covered. But I will check with them on Monday, just to be sure.

George
When I retired, I changed my status from practicing to non-practicing. This change relieved me from paying the annual practicing fee and my annual insurance premium. The trade-off is that I cannot provide legal advice or services -- either for a fee or without one.
My Q was directed at those who are retired - although I see now it could be read either way. When I retire I would be in the same position as ockham.
ghariton makes an interesting point about pro bono work when still working, and thus (hopefully) covered for liability. As an employee I don't wish to compromise my employer's policy (or place myself at risk) and thus I don't do pro bono work for relatives, friends, etc.
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Re: Retirement - is it over-rated?

Post by ghariton »

pmj wrote:My Q was directed at those who are retired - although I see now it could be read either way. When I retire I would be in the same position as ockham.
Sorry, I had misunderstood.

Ockham is quite right, of course. If you have stopped your insurance policy, you are no longer covered. I note in passing that you can usually get "run-off" insurance, that covers new claims arising from work you had performed while you were still active.

My understanding is that professionals doing pro-bono work seldom get sued, and that any such claims are very unlikely to be successful. I remember a few years back telling an old friend what I was up to, including serving pro-bono as Director of a couple of non-profits. He asked whether I had Directors' liability insurance (something not covered by my law insurance). I didn't. After some discussion he agreed that it was unnecessary. I took his advice seriously as he was head of the Nova Scotia bar at the time, and presumably was familiar with a variety of disciplinary and related actions.

All this is a bit of a digression, but it may be suggestive for those wondering what to do after retirement, and whether they might get into trouble doing it.

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Re: Retirement - is it over-rated?

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BRIAN5000 wrote:What's the going rate to notarize a loan between my wife and I, just curious, I live a little too far away to just drop in. The lawyer at the last presentation I was at thought $350 was a bargain.
I've used them once and they were good and thorough with their services.

http://www.axesslaw.com/services/notary
Notary Stamp

$25 + $19 each additional

We offer a full range of inexpensive Notary services from all of our convenient retail locations. With long opening hours throughout the week and at the weekend, we’re always able to help, even when the matter is urgent.

Many official signed documents need to be notarized to be valid. Examples include real estate transactions, birth, adoption, marriage or divorce certificates, government documents and more.

Our service is organized, efficient and quick. We can often notarize a document in just 5 to 10 minutes, even without an appointment (although we always recommend calling us to book time, to ensure a lawyer will be available for you). We conduct notarizations daily, and we pass the efficiencies onto you, alongside the savings!

Some documents may only need to be Commissioned.
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Re: Retirement - is it over-rated?

Post by Flaccidsteele »

BRIAN5000 wrote:What's the going rate to notarize a loan between my wife and I, just curious, I live a little too far away to just drop in. The lawyer at the last presentation I was at thought $350 was a bargain.
As others have mentioned, it should cost 1/10 of this. Kudos to the lawyer who can sell notarizing loan docs for $350 as a bargain.
kcowan wrote:Well I think there is nothing wrong with saying you were CFO of TD Bank
I just want to clarify. There's nothing wrong with it. I just agree with the previously linked article that it's status driven. 99% of individuals derive status and pride from their careers. There's nothing wrong with it. It just is. I just don't.

I have a friend who says that he "works at the bank" (I only found out from a 3rd party that he was a VP because the 3rd party does business with my friend on a regular basis). If a person really wants to dig into that, I'm sure they could. I just haven't really met too many people who want to spend too much time in an deep conversation about banking. And even if someone did want to discuss this, it's pretty easy to avoid status dropping the titles of "VP", "Director" or "CFO/COO/CEO".

The only reason a title is mentioned is because the person mentioning it wants it mentioned.
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Re: Retirement - is it over-rated?

Post by cannew »

Really enjoyed my work, self employed computer accountant consulting, and did not plan to retire at 65. But did and provided part time service for another five year. Retirement is what you make of it, assuming you have sufficient income to do mostly what you would like. We are financially secure because we discovered the Connolly Report, after many years of spinning our wheels trying to build a pile. Once we focused on generating income from our investments, we achieved and surpassed our expectations. Yes, we enjoy retirement and don't feel it's overrated.
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Re: Retirement - is it over-rated?

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ghariton wrote: I originally went to law school at age 53 with the intention of doing pro bono work. Turned out that I needed to earn money after the stock market events of 2000 - 2001 and I did telecommunications law most of the time. But I always did some pro bono work and expect to continue as long as my health permits. Among other things I notarize documents for free in my neighbourhood. The offer is extended to members of FWF who want to drop by my house.

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Re: Retirement - is it over-rated?

Post by FinancialDave »

pmj wrote:Slightly off-topic - what do those who are exercising professional judgment in their pro bono work do about liability insurance?
It's never a bad idea to have some kind of "umbrella policy."

Some of my pro bono work (I live in USA) such as doing tax returns for free, is handled by the sponsor of the program, which in this case is the IRS and a Tax-Aide group.

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Re: Retirement - is it over-rated?

Post by Spidey »

I'm currently working but one thing I found being off over the holidays is how unproductive my day is. Often I would look at the clock and it was 3:00 PM and I hadn't accomplished much of anything. By that time in a typical work day I would have put in a full day work and hopefully made my contribution to society and likely improved some client's lives (at least that's what some of them tell me). I didn't even work out (exercise) as much as I do in a typical week when I'm working.

Any solutions for this or do you just accept taking it easy in retirement?
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Re: Retirement - is it over-rated?

Post by AltaRed »

Spidey wrote:Any solutions for this or do you just accept taking it easy in retirement?
Yes :D
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Re: Retirement - is it over-rated?

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Don't do anything today that you can put off until tomorrow. :wink:
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Re: Retirement - is it over-rated?

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Spidey wrote:I'm currently working but one thing I found being off over the holidays is how unproductive my day is. Often I would look at the clock and it was 3:00 PM and I hadn't accomplished much of anything. By that time in a typical work day I would have put in a full day work and hopefully made my contribution to society and likely improved some client's lives (at least that's what some of them tell me). I didn't even work out (exercise) as much as I do in a typical week when I'm working.

Any solutions for this or do you just accept taking it easy in retirement?
Join a golf club/curling club. Play every day of the work week. You get your exercise. You get your social network. You get to contribute to society by contributing to the local economy and hopefully not using limited healthcare resources because you're healthier than you would be if just sitting around.

Still unfulfilled? Volunteer with a local charity like Meals on Wheels, Helping Hands or the like. Find a local seniors centre and teach your peer group some skillset that you happen to have.

Most of the seniors that I hang with are so busy they wonder aloud how they ever had time for work! Retirement is the best job they/I ever had!
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Re: Retirement - is it over-rated?

Post by deaddog »

Spidey wrote:
Any solutions for this or do you just accept taking it easy in retirement?
That is the main problem with doing nothing, you never know when you are done.
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Re: Retirement - is it over-rated?

Post by steves »

I'm 75. Tell you what...... I'll let you know after I retire.
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