I am thinking about pulling the plug on my career. I was planning to hold out a few more years to hit 25 years with Chevron (and full health care coverage points), but this never ending “transition” has sapped my enthusiasm and I have all the money I really need to live happily ever after. Anyone out there who has already crossed this bridge willing to share advice? That is, things to do before one files retirement papers with HR and any timing considerations (I am now planning to wait for the new year to capture this years bonus, but other than that have no firm target date).
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@5ryc, Agree, I've been doing most those things my entire life a lot and pretty much as much as I want, never felt that I was deprived or missed out on anything just for having a job. I never understand how the entitled kids these days got to the point where they are all deprived of doing anything just for having a job. Maybe if they would get off the electronics, social media 24-7, etc., and actually DO some of these outdoor activities that they all whine about being deprived of then they wouldn't be so pathetic? Or perhaps it's just another lame excuse and they really mean I sooooo wish I could stay home and play X-box all day because, like, you know, work, just, you know, is not for me, you like, know.......
Uhh, did someone skip "adulting" at the public school they attended? lol.
Grow up.
“hike, sail, surf, bike, run, swim”… oh f### that, I much prefer work pace breaks ;-)
It's easy enough to input different retirement years in the pension estimator tool and see the difference. It will always pay significantly more to work longer plus salary and bonus and stock options, if applicable. But at some point you get enough and are ready to go. Most are risk-averse and go too late. Retiring at 50 instead of 60 will give the average employee about 50% more years (30 vs 20) of retired life enjoying the spoils, carefree and the huge advantage of doing it while still young and healthy enough to hike, sail, surf, bike, run, swim, etc. You only get one life to live and you never get a day back once you burn it. Do you really like spending it on zoom calls and diversity moments?
The reduction in value is more than 5% per year for early retirement. Your monthly annuity is based on years of service times 1.6%. As an example if you had 25 years of service and retired at 58 your annuity would be 36% (1.6% X 25 X 0.9). At 59 it would be 39.52 ( 1.6 X 26 X 0.95). The percentage difference is 9.8%. 3.52/36. Depending on your highest average 36 month salary and bonus the difference in the lump sum isn’t insignificant.
5% is not a bad guaranteed return this days, but yes historically the market has done better if you are willing to accept risk. If one retires pre-60 then yes they can take the guaranteed 5% by not cashing in the pension. After 60 there is no benefit to hold it any longer, so everyone should cash it in at that point unless they are still working for Chevron.
Isn’t it 5% if you draw early. But who wouldn’t like what was said before your better off in the market then with waiting for 5% a year when you can get 10-15
Staying for the 5% is nuts. Cash out and invest. Keep working if you want the paycheck. The stock market overall has averaged almost 14% CAGR the last decade, nearly triple the pathetic return by grinding it out at your desk hoping to get your pension at 60 when you are nearly dead.
@1acw: The 5% per year cut in pension calculation should you retire before 60 is clearly stated in the company pension benefits documents. I'm retired, so I can't link you to the exact location, but just look up 'pension calculation' in an internal search and it won't take long to find it.
As for "points", they impact your retiree medical benefits. Full 90 points gets you full benefit, proportionately less for fewer points. When Chevron changed (around 2010?) from providing the insurance to just reimbursing you for it, the value of the benefit decreased about 50%.
@2zlt, No, we're nothing alike, but I can recognize the sarcasm from a pathetic millennial loser though, easily. I have all the time in the world to spend with loved ones and a lot of dough to spend on them too, I enjoy it all, thanks! It's called being able to do more than one thing with your life. You should try it!
How can you find time to spend at the off campus site with the boys if you are just working?
We are very alike! Work and gettin' that job done are all that matters. Forget having time with family or for things you enjoy. Let's give it all to the company who in the end doesn't care about you at all. We are peas in a pod it looks like!
@2qki, Thanks. Nice to hear from someone likes me who doesn't mind work and likes to get things done and add value to an organization. Life is too short to sit around and watch the daisies grow or worry if you have achieved the perfect "work-life" balance, or whatever the slackers call it, lmao. Let the millennial pa----s stew in their pathetic misery. Doers will do, and Slackers will slack. Life will go on........
The price of oil is rebounding at last, which means there will be plenty of capital to spend in the not too distant future. Projects will get ramped up that will be interesting to work on. In addition, the investments that you will rely on in retirement are entering a more risky environment and returns will be diminished. If you like working on technical projects and adding value I would hang on and ride the oil price wave. Let your investments continue to grow, if they can.
don't feed the troll.....
@1laa, who are the "butthurt losers" still working like us and don't have a social life online or otherwise so we troll the layoff's boards in lieu of it. I would rather be the one who got laid off with the lucrative package and laughing all the way to the bank everyday and looking and chuckling at the losers on this site with no life, but that's just me, lol.
“Points” is age plus years of service. At 75 points you will get last years bonus even if you terminate before it is paid in April (less than 75 points and you lose the bonus). At 90 points you get the full contribution to Chevron retirement health plan, but the amount of full coverage is only about $100/mo. (So basically about that needed for a Medicare ad on plan). If you take your pension before age 60 it is reduced by a prorated amount, but you can retire before age 60 and leave your pension to mature until age 60 (although then you will obviously lose any potential market gains on your lump during that time).
You need to read the retirement plan docs. 75 points is the only meaningful threshold. Do not work until 60 unless you are really pathetic.
"It's best to hold out until at least 60, your pension (or lump sum) calculation is reduced ~ 5%/yr if you retire before 60." Is this true? Is it written somewhere?
What do retirement points mean? If I get 90 points then what? What if retire with say 65 points?
1dpI2Ias: Who are these butthutt losers laid off a year ago who have nothing better to do than try to enforce topic purity on an anonymous posting site … like they are just too busy to read off topic posts. Get a life guys: you might try reading the want ads instead.
As to the OP: good luck, it sounds to me like you earned it.
@iik, Exactly, I was thinking the same thing, what the heck is this a retiree's site? Plenty of places online with these discussions ad nauseam.
OP, There are many Chevron folks who I personally know that kept slogging till their late 60s and dropped dead <6 months after retirement. All that money you made, is worth nothing once you are in the graveyard.
Don’t tell your boss until after your performance evaluation (might impact your bonus).
When you retire (as opposed to quit) you get your bonus payout for all quarters that you worked (even if you leave before that bonus is paid), but such bonus payments are not credited to your retirement savings plan.
If PSG 26+ and you leave before February 1 you lose a LTIP payment (or at least the vesting part thereof: 1/3 of this one and 1/3 of the previous one).
If you were an academic or had a similar low paying job for a decade or more it is very likely that Chevron will overestimate your social security offset (you can prevent this by sharing your real numbers with Chevron before you retire).
You will forfeit any vacation carried over from the previous year and might be able to keep vacation allotted this year and taken, but not yet earned. They will buy out vacation earned this year but not taken.
Think you missed the point and being a jerk about is makes you the bad person.
OP. You sound like you have enough. If not what is enough?
The big things are
- get medical plan in order or idea of what to do
- make sure to submit your SS earnings for pension
- decide on annuity or lump sum (I advise lump as it stays with you if you or spouse dies one month later)
- figure out where you want to retire
- list house early and stay on extended stay or rental
- enjoy life, travel, love your loved ones, share your blessings with your loved ones, remember and make sure your remember for who you want to be remembered for.
- safe travels and enjoy the future
Sounds like you’re already dead, no goals, no aspirations, no drive. Yes you have enough money for that. Next…
You shouldn't need a tax or financial advisor if you have basic sense about these matters. I jumped on the fantastic package and ultra-low interest rates last year with less than 25 years. I probably should have done it five years sooner but was chicken. We have way more than we need despite spending around $20k/mo (including all taxes). We left Houston last summer to what turned out to be a very hot real estate market and already made 7 figures (on paper) and a similar amount on paper stock gains. Don't miss the job a bit, especially with all the transformation and Zoom nonsense. Go for it!
OP here. My decision to retire is not as flippant as it may have come across, even if driven by my weariness of this never-ending transition. My 23 years with Chevron was preceded by about 5 with another company, and before that a Ph.D. and two years post-doc, so I am not as young as it may have appeared. That plus having been an expat for about half my time at Chevron (much of that in “undesirable” locations) and a general life style that raised only a little since my post-doc days gives me a net worth with a buffer (not high seven figures, but getting towards that). At any rate, I was just fishing for any useful lessons learned from those who have gone through the retirement process at Chevron (even if involuntarily).
My wife and I retired at ~58 both of us. We left the Houston area due to property taxes. We live in a more rural area where we grew up at. We are debt free with ~$4M new worth. Some in 401k. We have plenty of money but are spend is no where near 10-15k a month.
Not sure what your spending 10-15k on a month if you don’t have any loans. You may want to look at your cash flow out
@iik+1dpI2Ias: Yes wrong site, so move on. No reason the repeat the same comment on every post. If you were laid off a year ago it’s time to move on. Life continues!
OP, the Great Resignation will turn out be be a ‘Flash in the Pan’ current news event. Don’t get swallowed up by it. Most of those people supposedly involved in this movement are of lower salary grade or hourly paid jobs. I really don’t think it should be anything worthwhile for you as a Chevron employee to be considering. You are someone coming up on 25 years with Chevron, count your blessings and persevere through any short term adversities. Go as far as you can take your career, pay longevity and 401k growth and pension. You’ll be happier for not paying attention to the crowd and forging your own path. I did. I retired from Chevron last year with 34 years of service. I’m living the grand life now.
I was laid off and was looking for info on that because I thought that this was the layoff forum. I guess this is the wrong site for that. There are about 10,000 retirement sites and forums on the internet. Ever heard of the internet?
Not trying to call out OP or any of the other but what is plenty enough. I have heard numbers all over the map. So assuming everything is paid for and you spend around ~$10k-$15k month.
Can you do this on $3M pre 65
Or do you need more like $5M
Or do you need more like $10M
I know people who have $10M and they said they have more money then they know what to do.
I retired last year given the lucrative severance package. I was close (enough) to normal retirement age, and had my medical points already. Agreed, I didn't mind at all exiting the "Transformation" nonsense that the know-it-all millennials were forcing on the Company. Be very careful with this decision, it's irreversible: 1) Double- and triple-check with your financial advisor that you have the financial wherewithal to be well funded to a ripe old age. 2) It's best to hold out until at least 60, your pension (or lump sum) calculation is reduced ~ 5%/yr if you retire before 60. 3) The retirement medical benefit is not as good as it used to be, if you're at least 50% of your points the rest is not worth holding out for. 4) If you retire right now, you're already entitled to 75% of the 2021 bonus. The only key date for the bonus is to be on the payroll on April 2 in order to collect a portion (25%) of the previous year's bonus. That % increases the longer you continue working each year.
Really the best advice I can give is, depending on your age, grin and bear it as long as you can. In particular, your pension increases dramatically the longer you work beyond 60. If you're close to 25 years, that means you have the pre-2008 pension calculation, which is quite generous, especially the longer your service years.
You will enjoy a sense of freedom that is difficult to explain, but it’s great. Adjust your cost of living downwards prior to retiring. Get used to your retirement income before actually retiring. Ensure that you have consulted both a financial and tax advisor in advance to walk you through the numbers and your options. Start your hobbies and activities now, ensure you are fit. It’s not so much about getting away from work and Chevron, it should be more about anticipation and excitement for your next phase of life and all it entails!
"all the money I really need to live happily ever after." is quite a bit. I take it you have high 7 figures or more at that age (less than 25 in, assume pretty young). I retired with less than "all the money I really need to live happily ever after." but I have plenty enough for most circumstances. You need less the older you get.
You won’t regret it.
I feel you, wish I could do the same.