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Unexpected Retirement, How The Hell Do You Do It?

SHOOTER12

By SHOOTER12
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SHOOTER12

SHOOTER12 8787

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Unexpectedly got laid off in March after 40+ years at the same place (3 different owners)and besides it screwing up my retirement plans 2 years from no, I'm lost.

Got the call at 3:00pm on a Friday going home for the weekend. I was told it was due to a cut back in the workforce due to work being horribly slow. The work slowing up was avoidable IMO, but whatever.

I was told I was an easy target due to being highly paid and getting a lot of benefits no one else got due to my longevity. I can see that to a point but know (can't prove) other things were taken into consideration.  My age and the fact I was going to retire soon I feel played a part in it. This in the midst of their youth movement of hiring younger, cheaper employees with absolutely zero experience in the field.

I had a modest 401k going, and am now collecting unemployment,  which I've never done, but how in the hell do I reset myself mentally and emotionally to the situation before I lose my mind?

/End rant 

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AUS-97HORN

AUS-97HORN 11654

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unless you signed a ridiculous settlement package, at the very least you might be get a settlement bite for an age discrimination lawsuit threat and/or filing. 

pretty traditional for companies to pay either 1 or 2 weeks for every year on the job, plus unused timeoff, and and paid medical for at least a month or 2.

 

if they gave you an 80 week settlement offer, thats is pretty fair and no lawsuit needed. 

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Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9083

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51 minutes ago, SHOOTER12 said:

Unexpectedly got laid off in March after 40+ years at the same place (3 different owners)and besides it screwing up my retirement plans 2 years from no, I'm lost.

Got the call at 3:00pm on a Friday going home for the weekend. I was told it was due to a cut back in the workforce due to work being horribly slow. The work slowing up was avoidable IMO, but whatever.

I was told I was an easy target due to being highly paid and getting a lot of benefits no one else got due to my longevity. I can see that to a point but know (can't prove) other things were taken into consideration.  My age and the fact I was going to retire soon I feel played a part in it. This in the midst of their youth movement of hiring younger, cheaper employees with absolutely zero experience in the field.

I had a modest 401k going, and am now collecting unemployment,  which I've never done, but how in the hell do I reset myself mentally and emotionally to the situation before I lose my mind?

/End rant 

THAT is some seriously fucked up shit.  What company in this country is slow right now ?  The economy while seeing inflation has been going strong. I'd be lawyerdogging up.

Whatever you do, don't be complacent, find something to keep you busy in the mean time.

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SHOOTER12

SHOOTER12 8787

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18 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

THAT is some seriously fucked up shit.  What company in this country is slow right now ?  The economy while seeing inflation has been going strong. I'd be lawyerdogging up.

Whatever you do, don't be complacent, find something to keep you busy in the mean time.

Honestly, the industry I work in is horribly slow.  I reached out to one of our competitors inquiring a job, and while ever hopeful, he told me that they had cut down from 173 employees this time last year,  to 17 now.

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SHOOTER12

SHOOTER12 8787

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4 minutes ago, Nolacycling said:

What had you planned for two years down the road?

Get the lawyer. Don't they only get paid if they win?

You'll start thinking more clearly over time and make good decisions.

Sorry.

Plans?  That's when some  bonds and investments mature and are available for withdrawal,  along with maximum SS benefits. 

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SHOOTER12

SHOOTER12 8787

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18 minutes ago, cactusflinthead said:

You probably have all kinds of connections. Talk to them. A quick online search will give you an idea of what the market is like. If you see something fire off the resume.

 

Busting my  balls on it now.

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TexArcher

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32 minutes ago, futureman said:

just go ahead and retire. be frugal. read a lot. get a dog. relax. cook steaks on the grill. enjoy it. 

Ya know, my dad coudn't wait to retire.  All he wanted to do was work in his vegetable garden, watch English football, and read novels.

That lasted about two months, then he took a job working for one of his former grad students.

It's hard to just stop after 40+ years of 40+ hours a week.

Hell, I started getting antsy by the end of a two-week break at Christmas.

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SHOOTER12

SHOOTER12 8787

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1 minute ago, TexArcher said:

Ya know, my dad coudn't wait to retire.  All he wanted to do was work in his vegetable garden, watch English football, and read novels.

That lasted about two months, then he took a job working for one of his former grad students.

It's hard to just stop after 40+ years of 40+ hours a week.

Hell, I started getting antsy by the end of a two-week break at Christmas.

This right mother fucking here. Close to being ready to retire...but ON MY MOTHER FUCKING TERMS.

Yeh I know,  life ain't fair...

 

 

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Superhero

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44 minutes ago, SHOOTER12 said:

Honestly, the industry I work in is horribly slow.  I reached out to one of our competitors inquiring a job, and while ever hopeful, he told me that they had cut down from 173 employees this time last year,  to 17 now.

Aren't / weren't you in construction?

Construction is anything but slow right now.

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CooterBrown

CooterBrown 17875

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Absolutely no way to prove it. 

Yes there is. They flat out told you. The reason your salary and benefits cost so much is because of your tenure and your age. Replacing senior staff with junior staff is also a red flag. Doesn’t matter how they massage their words. Talk to a lawyer.

My grandfather had the same kind of thing happen back in the early 80s. He was laid off from Southern Union Railroad after 41 years. One of the other lay offs sued and my grandpa threw his hat in the ring for grins and they ended up cutting him a check for $800K.
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TKthunder2

TKthunder2 4975

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46 minutes ago, SHOOTER12 said:

Plans?  That's when some  bonds and investments mature and are available for withdrawal,  along with maximum SS benefits. 

Get another job even if it lower than you were wanting.  Hell work as a teller at a bank or something for the benefits.  Insurance is normally the big pain in the ass. If you can make it to maximum SS that way then cool but statistically I wouldn’t worry about that.

Knock out some chores/projects in the house/yard/garage, find a hobby or two (something you can do with friends/neighbors/family is a plus), watch more baseball or basketball, pick up some books you’ve always wanted to read but never had time, start going through the list of academy award winners and watch anything you haven’t seen, starting exercising or at least walking around your neighborhood and listen to some old albums or audiobooks, basically keep busy.  Decompress for a few weeks but try to have something to look forward to or a goal in mind so you don’t get complacent.

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Brothahorn

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I feel for you.

 

But what were you going to do in two years that you can't get a jump start on now? Or is it because of the finances? Think about it.

Missed your earlier post. But like TK said find you another job. All that experience will help you find something.

 

But still go get your money. Make them pay what they owe you.

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SHOOTER12

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2 minutes ago, TKthunder2 said:

Get another job even if it lower than you were wanting.  Hell work as a teller at a bank or something for the benefits.  Insurance is normally the big pain in the ass. If you can make it to maximum SS that way then cool but statistically I wouldn’t worry about that.

Knock out some chores/projects in the house/yard/garage, find a hobby or two (something you can do with friends/neighbors/family is a plus), watch more baseball or basketball, pick up some books you’ve always wanted to read but never had time, start going through the list of academy award winners and watch anything you haven’t seen, starting exercising or at least walking around your neighborhood and listen to some old albums or audiobooks, basically keep busy.  Decompress for a few weeks but try to have something to look forward to or a goal in mind so you don’t get complacent.

I want to do that, and that is the biggest problem,  mentally,  emotionally,  etc.  I can't quit shaking or level out since I got THE phone call. 

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Incredulity

Incredulity 11532

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43 minutes ago, TexArcher said:

Ya know, my dad coudn't wait to retire.  All he wanted to do was work in his vegetable garden, watch English football, and read novels.

That lasted about two months, then he took a job working for one of his former grad students.

It's hard to just stop after 40+ years of 40+ hours a week.

Hell, I started getting antsy by the end of a two-week break at Christmas.

X1000

 

I’ve said it before here.  I’m now at the phase where people who were the experienced tranche when I was a newbie are retiring.  I’ve watched a few essentially kill themselves by drinking all day out of complete boredom when they retired. 

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TKthunder2

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Just now, SHOOTER12 said:

I want to do that, and that is the biggest problem,  mentally,  emotionally,  etc.  I can't quit shaking or level out since I got THE phone call. 

I know it sucks, got the call myself a few year ago myself.  How long do you have Cobra insurance coverage for.  It’ll mellow out in a few weeks and you’ll go from shocked to pissed.

Your next step will be whether to retire or find a stop gap for the next year or two.  Don’t rush it, take the unemployment/Cobra for a while until your head is in a good space.  (Tip use zip recruiter for their one click apply to satisfy your job application requirement, it’s easy to apply for a few and keeps good track of them if they want to see your apps).

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CoTex

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I believe you will find that, if over 40 and the recipient of adverse action, and then replaced by someone under 40, there arises a presumption of age discrimination.

 

good employment lawyers may get you farther down the track than you anticipate. There are real tight timelines so don’t wait.

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TwiceHorn

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10 minutes ago, CoTex said:

I believe you will find that, if over 40 and the recipient of adverse action, and then replaced by someone under 40, there arises a presumption of age discrimination.

 

good employment lawyers may get you farther down the track than you anticipate. There are real tight timelines so don’t wait.

Yep, and even if the evidence isn't or may not there, they either know what they did or just feel guilty about it.  Get a lawyer in there to make some credible threats and you may get something worth your while.

You have six months to file an EEOC complaint.

Edited by TwiceHorn
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nnm

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Some good advice in here.  

I left 25 years in the energy industry right before the pandemic.  I knew it was time to go.  I didn't have my next gig lined up, but knew it was time to do something different.  I'm now making less than a fifth of what I used to, but it's my choice, and it absolutely, 100% is the right choice.  

It sounds like you knew it was time to do something different anyway.  It's a matter of getting over that psychological hurdle of it not being your idea.  OK, so it's not the news you wanted, when you wanted it, but it's the news you got.  It probably lines up with what you wanted to do anyway (something different), so don't focus on the negative that it wasn't your choice, and start figuring out what you DO want to do.  Get busy livin' or get busy dyin' (sorry Red).

While you figure that out, as others have said, stay busy.  I had ten months.  I planted a garden, worked out, read a lot of books, did some volunteering.  Your path probably looks different.  We were not made to "retire" and sit around watching History Channel. We were made to work.  That's why you see so many guys drop dead, add 50 pounds, get depressed, or get divorced when they stop working.  So stay busy until you can find something else.  If nothing else, volunteer somewhere while you work the interwebz and connections for jobs.

And talk to a lawyer.  You don't have to prove that they discriminated.  As an over-40 one-legged dude, you have some significant factors in your favor.  They actually have to prove they didn't discriminate on those bases.  Don't not talk to a lawyer out of loyalty to the company.  They burned that card already.  It's not personal, it's business to talk to a lawyer.  

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TKthunder2

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13 minutes ago, futureman said:

oh. I’ll be damned. I’ve never been on employment but I swear I had a friend who seemed like he was on it for two years. 

They’ve special extensions from the fed during recessions or Covid like events, but most of the time it’s just that.

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blacklab

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Guess I'm weird that I can't wait to retire.

So many golf courses to play, slopes to ski, places to travel to. What I really am looking forward to is spending 3 months in NYC, SF, Chicago and going to see every museum, sporting event and festival I can. The day the youngest graduates high school the house is getting sold and we're going on the road.

If that isn't your cup of tea that's ok. Find a job or volunteer place that you can make a difference in others lives. Deliver meals on wheels, tutor kids in math at an inter city school, feed homeless people at caratas. My wife has been substitute teaching and working with special needs kids and absolutely loves it. Comes home every day with huge smile on her face. Probably makes 25% of what she does compared to her other part time job but can't wait to di it full time. 

Want to make a huge impact in a child's life?

Become a volunteer at casa:
https://texascasa.org/how-to-help/become-a-casa/

You help kids whose parents are in jail or abusive, and help their lives become whole again. My sister runs a casa in a county in north Texas and the stories she tells will break your heart, but the satisfaction of helping those kids is like nothing else.

 Or fuck it, you're old and have lived a good life, grab your 30-06 and head over to Ukrane.

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statsman

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Contract employment. Hourly rates can be surprisingly high. When do you qualify for Medicare?

Also, my employer has laid a lot of people off the last few years. The way it works is that they give you a sheet (no names) of all laid off, noting ages and gender (to demonstrate no groups treated unfairly), a paper to sign where you promise not to sue, and a severance package to serve as an incentive to sign that noted promise to not sue. 

Edited by statsman
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SHOOTER12

SHOOTER12 8787

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Appreciate the feedback on this.  If anyone has any lawyer recommendations in the Houston area DM me.

Had to leave the thread last night when I started getting too upset again.   I'm just glad the panic attacks aren't nearly as bad as they were. 

Thanks again. 

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Pig Bellmont

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10 minutes ago, SHOOTER12 said:

Appreciate the feedback on this.  If anyone has any lawyer recommendations in the Houston area DM me.

Had to leave the thread last night when I started getting too upset again.   I'm just glad the panic attacks aren't nearly as bad as they were. 

Thanks again. 

Did they give you a severance when you left or were you just walked? Often companies will throw a waiver in a severance agreement to protect against a lawsuit 

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Al_4_ISU

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My thought is go find a fun job rather than try to sue your former employer if you don't think you can prove it.

Unless you really need the money you could get out of that suit, that process of fighting them, especially when you were that close to going out on your own terms, is going to wreak havoc on your mental health and lower your quality of life.

Go do something you enjoy, get paid at least something to do it, and spend more time on your hobbies and the things you love.

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Prepuce of Doom

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4 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

My thought is go find a fun job rather than try to sue your former employer if you don't think you can prove it.

Unless you really need the money you could get out of that suit, that process of fighting them, especially when you were that close to going out on your own terms, is going to wreak havoc on your mental health and lower your quality of life.

Go do something you enjoy, get paid at least something to do it, and spend more time on your hobbies and the things you love.

Why not both? 

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