Should I stay or should I go? (early retirement)

I will be 62 in October, almost 4 months to this day. I had always planned on retiring in my mid-60's, 65-66 or as long as I cared to work. And then things changed.

I currently work for a state university as a Boiler Operator. I have also been a Pipe Fitter, WWTP and Powerhouse Operator. I chose Boiler Operator as the best way to slide into retirement. IOW, the easy button. Nobody busts their ass here. Better than slinging lengths of pipe up in the trusses all day long.

I have worked for two global corporations, one municipality and one federal site (contractor). The state is a whole new ball game. Rant coming...

Campus buildings look immaculate inside and out, lawns are manicured, shrubs and flowers, banners etc. Don't look in the Mechanical Rooms or the Boiler House tho, like an afterthought. We just don't get the money. Tools and parts, go see if another department has it, cause we don't. Upgrades are a wish list. We do get what we need to operate at minimum but not what we want. Our three water tube NG fired boilers in operation since 1975 aren't huge at 430 BHP, controls are outdated though. One boiler has a bad O2 analyzer which can only be run in Manual now, not a big deal tho. Another analyzer can drop out in Auto and ramp the gas valve up balls to the wall. It has popped the Safety Valve twice after the High Pressure Cut Out didn't trip and shut the boiler down in the two years I have been there. Third boiler has a good analyzer but leaking tubes and is out of commission for now. The Safety Valves have not been pulled and sent out for inspection/ testing/ rebuild since I have been there. One co-worker says they haven't been pulled in five or more years, FWIW. Ugh. Don't skimp on the boiler house!

As if the budget wasn't tight enough before, COVID has canceled classes, summer band and sports camps, and conventions in the arena and auditoriums. They were a real money maker so one could expect the budget to be tighter now. In-person classes are set to resume in August w/ all the precautions. Dorms will occupy also.

We were fortunate to keep working as 'essential employees' during the shutdown. Now I wonder if opening campus will increase the risk of COVID. Other than my age as a risk factor I have no major medical conditions that should make me more at risk. I could lose 30 lbs and exercise more fwiw, no time for that now as I'm on steady afternoon shift through the summer for 'social distancing' purposes. Afternoon shift kills my productivity at home, I get 1/4 the work done at home compared to other shifts. Projects are backlogged. 

Job search hasn't returned much in the last few years. Several recruiters have contacted me for jobs in Pittsburgh, central heating plants there pay $30-35/ hour w/ a steady turnover w/ boomers retiring. I can do a midnight shift commute of about one hour but daylight / afternoon shift turns into 1.5 hours on a good day, add construction, snow and ice, accidents etc. and I can't get there from here. I would chase that money all day long when in my 30's-40's, not now though. I currently make $18/ hour w/ a 16 mile/ 25 minute commute. I am on pension w/ medical bennies from another job, current job is just icing but still I wonder why I'm doing this. 

Dad will be 97 in a few weeks, he is still capable and drives. He helps me more than I help him but I see the day when I will have to step up (he's obstinate and independent)... so we'll play it that way. I'm the only kid in town so I'll probably have my hands full. I only see him on weekends now since I'm on afternoon shift. I really should spend more time w/ him, job be damned.

Besides the pension, I have been enrolled in personal savings plans since the mid-eighties. Recently met w/ a financial planner through work and he considered my plan more than ample. House and vehicles are paid off, nothing fancy but PIF. My long term plan had always been bag the big dough till I'm 65 or so and call it good, last job paid $36/ hour w/o breaking a sweat but that went away. $18/ hour currently plus all the aggravation I wonder what I'm still doing this for. 

So, resign my position, take the summer off, catch up on work here, hang out w/ Dad. See if any jobs come along. Evaluate SS in October when I turn 62. My last SS statement says I'll miss out on $750/ month filing at 62 vs 66.8 for better results. Dunno if I really wanna do that. Have not talked to SS yet tho. 

I'm burned out w/ the current job, I have never 'bonded' w/ this campus like I have at other facilities, even the worst. My work is important to me, always has been. I get no satisfaction here. Add COVID, backlog of projects, unrest in the country, political climate and an aging father that all cause stresses and w/ all things considered I am getting overwhelmed.

Looking forward to advice or comments.

TIA

Quit, don't need to tell you why because you told us.

As I've gotten older and watched friends who are my age (I turn 50 in a few weeks) or close to it die or have near death episodes like the heart attack I posted about a few weeks ago, the more I want to make sure I'm done with work and can enjoy life ASAP.  

No reason to stay somewhere you don't need to. 

My buddy asked me in about 1998 if he should take the 30-and-out being offered to the Baby Boomer teachers.  I told him (since I was only 26 at the time) that I couldn't offer advice in the financial sense but I advised him that you always hear those stories about people who keep working and don't retire, then when they do retire they have some heart attack or they feel like they're too old and creaky to enjoy what they wanted to do in retirement.

He ended up not taking my advice and he taught another 5 years - partly because of the better retirement and partly because he loved those kids.  Sure enough, one month after he finally retired, massive heart attack and the doctor said he was dead before he hit the floor of that Lowes.  That is not advice, and I realize that is one single coincidence that has no real bearing in the average world, I just miss my buddy.

If you're ready, take the out.  Live your life.  You've earned it.  I'm 46 and I work for a non-profit arts organization.  My retirement will probably be working at a Starbucks until I'm dust.  I'll probably have to request time off for my own funeral.

If the financials are straight, and you will have enough money to be very happy with, why keep working?  Unless it makes you really happy to work, I think you already have your plan.

Can I say that it's interesting that 62 is early retirement, as I'm planning on retiring at 55.

In reply to fasted58 :

I'm 72.  My pension and social security makes my house payments and I work near full time to pay for hobbies. 
 The reason I keep working is it helps me live a longer healthier life.  
If you retire now for 5-6 months you'll get a sense of relief and pleasure not to have to fight the commute. Then you'll start getting bored, but have no money to play. Or spend money you shouldn't.   
 If you hate your job find another one. School bus drivers make $20 an hour. They will train you and pay you to be trained. Pay for your license and the medical inspection to make sure you won't die soon. 

I didn't like it at first.  It was nothing more than a paycheck. ( Tiny, considering I'd been earning well into 6 figures a year previously) Then the kids grew on me.  They actually liked me. I found value in helping them. Being someone they could trust.  

If you don't like it. Find something else. there are plenty of jobs. Might not need your skills but your work ethic and knowledge are valuable to some more than your current pay indicates.  
  
 

Just leave. Spend the time you can with the old man and do some stuff you enjoy with your time.  Come waste some time up here even. 

If you don't need the money and don't love the work the answer seems evident.

I was fortunate to be able to retire at 55 after over 30 years with one employer.  I could have stayed in my position for many more years, but i thought i was dying a slow death behind that desk.  So i bailed.   Definitely wasn't into golf.  Had expensive hobbies.  Very shortly i was picking up odd jobs without a horrible commute.  Next thing i knew I had a one man business that has kept me busy for 16 years now.  I did the math on the social security draw equation.  My break even point was 78 1/2 years.  So, i started the draw at 62.  

I'm leaning towards you quiting sooner than later.  You have talents.  Stay busy.  I think you can turn your skills into enough spare cash to be comfortable.  Nothing worse than having lots of time and no funds to do anything with it.  With the safety net you have built up, i say jump into the gig economy.   62 is the new 40.

If I was in your position, I'd leave. Why work somewhere you hate if you don't need the income? Open that position up for someone that needs it (or more likely, the cheapskates running the place will just not fill it and make the other employees do more work until they quit too). Universities seem to be notorious for bad mechanicals/infrastructure. I briefly worked at one and was shocked at the pure stupidity displayed by the decision-makers there.

If the financial planner is telling you you can live like you are now for another 35 years, man, RETIRE.  I'm planning to be out in the next 2 years, maybe 18 months (I'll be 57).  I've got no worries about how we'll fill the days. 
 

Bail soon, spend time working on what you feel like when you feel like it, and hang out with your dad. 
 

When I was 30, I hoped to retire at 55.  After a couple of situations, at 59 I hope I stay healthy enough to work full time until I'm 70.

I have no idea at all what would get me out of the house if I retired.

To all the stories of people retiring, then dying, I always wonder whether the underlying cause of the death wasn't what made them retire, even if they had no idea about it.  "I'm tired.  I just can't find the motivation anymore" could easily translate to "I have no energy because my coronary arteries are plugged quite badly."

If you can afford to retire, quit the job you hate, but keep your certification current.  You never know when a friendly brewery might need a part time dude with a steam ticket...or how long it will take you to get bored.

At 30 I don’t think I was ever thinking about retirement, but by the time I was in my late 40’s I was all set to go at 55. I’m 58 now, can afford to retire but still fighting it.  In my situation I don’t hate work or my job, and though I don’t particularly enjoy either,  I’m afraid of walking  away from the money. I think when  the time is right, you’ll know. When it’s time you won’t have to ask. 

Im working on plan B at the moment. Work til 60, walk away in the spring, enjoy the summer off and look for a 6 month job in the fall - if I still want to work. Repeat as required in spring.  

I have a friend who’s about 65 now. He got screwed in a divorce and that destroyed his retirement plans, but he took a chance, made a few bold moves and has been comfortably retired for 3 years now. He was not a guy that hated his job or work, but money was always the issue. When I ask him how he’s making out he tells me he’s never been happier and he should have done it years ago. Something to think about. 

As I've heard before: On your last days on this earth your not going to say " Damn, I should have worked more".

Quit yesterday. Take a breather for the summer. If in the fall you think your bored and want to work do what Frenchy said or something else that you'll enjoy.

I have never talked to anyone who took early retirement and said that they regretted doing so.

Another vote for retire. Although my answer is partly based on what you posted and partly based on how I feel about my own life.

My father died 3 months ago at the age of 94. 
 

You will never get that time back. 

SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:

My father died 3 months ago at the age of 94. 
 

You will never get that time back. 

My father died at 46.  Take the opportunity to hang with your dad.  And if you haven't already, learn your family history from him.  

Streetwiseguy said:

To all the stories of people retiring, then dying, I always wonder whether the underlying cause of the death wasn't what made them retire, even if they had no idea about it.  "I'm tired.  I just can't find the motivation anymore" could easily translate to "I have no energy because my coronary arteries are plugged quite badly."

There is likely a correlation.  I think my point was more from the standpoint of "youth is wasted on the young" mentality.  Retire before your body is completely spent doing the work that is causing its demise.  That way when you retire and want to go ziplining in the rainforest or restore that 48 Ford you're not too crotchety to enjoy it.

At 46, I'm already on my third set of lumbar injections and I'm scheduled for a nerve block at the end of the month. My mother and grandfather both had awful back problems so I have a glimpse into my possible future.  There are days at my "young" age that I can't even get out of bed, let alone walk.  Maybe my advice comes from my own personal pain saga.

Thanks for the comments guys, they are much appreciated. 

Got something to do this week, will report back later.

This has been playing in my head: 

Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go, there will be trouble
And if I stay it will be double

Thanks again.

In reply to fasted58 :

Almost posted that at the beginning of my answer last night.

I was at work and thought about my retirement (plans) all night

My dad spent two years in an assisted home that he loved - I visited but not enough.  Now that he's gone I have a lot of questions about the family and his life living in Chicago.  He also was sort of construction related in his job and probably was in a ton of buildings I want to talk about.   

I had my chance.   Retire, live on what you can, hold off SS, spend every day with him.  

You can go back to work if you want later in life.  Shoot - my grandmother went back to work at 53 in a bakery and stayed til she was 80 (cause she loved it)

"They" say (pundits, I guess) you know when it's time to retire. And you probably know that. For me, that was true more than six years ago. Even though I got great satisfaction out of what I did, the stress level was continually rising, and I didn't have control of my responsibilities. I'd had enough, so I went out at 65. I was well-prepared. Best decision.

Do what you think is best for you (considering finances) and if you can do it, be happy ... and thankful.

Talk to your financial guy again.  Ask him if you have enough to retire now but not start social security until 66.8 when you get more $$.