I begin a series as I observe retiring. Maybe I’ll use this table for the long summer afternoons.
I never lived counting down the days to retirement. When asked I gave my standard line, "I will share my son’s Graduation Party from high school as my Retirement Party. I dutifully set money aside in a retirement account which accumulated along with my Public Employees Retirement Association of Minnesota (PERA) benefits
Of course beyond High School for my son was college. As most people, we didn't have that much money set aide, so work seemed to extend beyond age 66. The current financial melt-down means we have even less.
I attended my 45th high school reunion in the summer of 2006. I was 63 that summer and surprised at the large number of my former classmates who had retired. Only a few continued working. Never before this gathering had I really appreciated the number of folks retiring before the 'official' age.
My father retired early when his the place of employment the Universal Atlas Cement Plant closed its doors. He retired many months before he was eligible for Social Security. He got his pension, but waited for Social Security retirement benefits.
So I must prepare to go where my father had gone … retirement. The realization marked Step #1.
