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18/31 Sometimes I Still Do
20/10/13 13:16Ugh! Paperwork. Actual pieces-of-paper paperwork.
The time has come when I can no longer postpone it: actually filing for the retirement I'm going to embark on in...let's see...72 days. Thanks to my good pal Todd, who is unafraid of red tape (and who still owns a printer), I have a sheaf of papers half an inch thick containing documents with words like "trustee" and "lump sum payout" and "beneficiary" and "withholding status" on them.
*shudder* You'd think that after 25 years in the public sector I'd be immune to it. Or maybe I mean "inured." But really, it's more like "allergic."
My sister came over this morning to help me get through it all. I traded my point-and-shoot camera, a pot of coffee, and a plate of oatcakes for her services. I think I now have a handle on it. I'm pretty confident that I can stop working on December 31 and not die of starvation or cold in the up-to-three-months bureaucratic delay between my final paycheck and my first retirement disbursement.
In fact, I think I'm in a better financial position than I let myself believe.
It seems that laziness pays off: automatic deductions that I couldn't be bothered to revisit, and a stock position that I was too lily-livered to review or try to monkey with (or even understand)...well, that, plus the good fortune to have kept my job and avoided catastrophic life events, and bingo. Retirement at 58.
So really, this paperwork falls into the category of "I can't complain, but sometimes I still do. Life's been good to me so far."
The time has come when I can no longer postpone it: actually filing for the retirement I'm going to embark on in...let's see...72 days. Thanks to my good pal Todd, who is unafraid of red tape (and who still owns a printer), I have a sheaf of papers half an inch thick containing documents with words like "trustee" and "lump sum payout" and "beneficiary" and "withholding status" on them.
*shudder* You'd think that after 25 years in the public sector I'd be immune to it. Or maybe I mean "inured." But really, it's more like "allergic."
My sister came over this morning to help me get through it all. I traded my point-and-shoot camera, a pot of coffee, and a plate of oatcakes for her services. I think I now have a handle on it. I'm pretty confident that I can stop working on December 31 and not die of starvation or cold in the up-to-three-months bureaucratic delay between my final paycheck and my first retirement disbursement.
In fact, I think I'm in a better financial position than I let myself believe.
It seems that laziness pays off: automatic deductions that I couldn't be bothered to revisit, and a stock position that I was too lily-livered to review or try to monkey with (or even understand)...well, that, plus the good fortune to have kept my job and avoided catastrophic life events, and bingo. Retirement at 58.
So really, this paperwork falls into the category of "I can't complain, but sometimes I still do. Life's been good to me so far."
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