Federal retirement is not what it used to be

I am a retiree.

As a reader might recall, I am what is officially called a federal 'annuitant.' This means I retired as a federal civil service and I am receiving a fixed-benefit pension. My federal civil service plus my military service buy-back gives me a pension that, combined with my Social Security benefit is ample enough for me to live "carefully comfortably."

[Note: the current federal retirement benefit is made up of three parts -- payment for length of service; Social Security benefit; and self-savings from the government's Thrift Savings Plan, similar to the civilian "401K" plans.]

I also pay to belong to a federal employee/retiree-oriented group called the National Active and Retired Federal Employees, NARFE. Each month, I receive their magazine and, each month for the past year or two, I have become less and less comfortable reading it. Why, you might ask? Let me explain simply.

As the recent issue says, the current administration and "some members of Congress are quick to see Feds as a piggy bank when it comes time to set the budget, despite the fact employees already contorted over $120 billion in deficit reduction..." These members of Congress and the current White House do not regard employees and retirees in the Executive Branch at the same level as previous members and administrations; combine that with the significant loss of federal revenue from the recent massive tax cut [which, by the way, largely benefited the group of people least needing tax relief, while almost totally ignoring the groups that did] means that the FY 2020 budget will have to be draconian in the cuts.

And it will be.

Through the budget reconciliation process, five Senate committees are required to combine $94 billion in cuts over a five-year span from programs under their jurisdictions. One of them is the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which is required to cut $15 billion from mandatory spending programs, mainly federal benefits.

Reading these words makes my blood pressure either go up or drop. In either case, it is difficult to understand why the head of the Executive Branch would treat his own employees and retirees with such disrespect, especially when they - we - have already given up so much...that is, until I consider the incompetent, selfish, extremist administration currently holding the White House. They came in hoping to unravel the administrative order and are well on their way to doing so.

I am glad I retired in 2011. According to a former colleague of mine still working, looking back, daily life has gotten much, much worse and looking forward, the future is much less appealing. I believe him when he says he will have difficulty finding anyone willing to go into federal service, especially considering changes to the federal pay, compensation, and benefits plans and the recent painful furlough, which I would bet will happen next time, too.

That is not at all what I experienced through most of my career.

I guess I should stop reading that magazine.

What do I do in retirement?

I read an online question on social media today that triggered a thought. The writer, a young person really not even in the so-called "working world" asked someone else (not me), "What do you do in retirement? I mean, you've worked so long and now, nothing!"

So, what do I do in retirement?

Definitely not 'nothing.' In fact, avoiding that was originally part of my pre-retirement consideration. Too many people I knew approached retirement as "quitting their job," not as "starting a new chapter in life," as I did. Many of them died soon after stopping work and I have to believe there is a connection.

Much of what I do is read. Right now, in fact, here is the list of current books I am reading:

• Loose Lips, Claire Berlinski (again; I have read this several times and enjoy it);
• Roads to Quoz, William Least Heat-Moon, my favorite author;
• Celestial Mechanics, William Least Heat-Moon;
• River Horse, William Least Heat-Moon;
• Research Like a Pro - A Genealogical Guide, Diana Elder, AG;
• Mrs. Sherlock Holmes: The True Story of New York City's Greatest Female Detective and the 1917 Missing Girl Case That Captivated a Nation, Brad Ricca;
• AWOL On the Appalachian Trail, David Miller

I read a few pages of this or many pages of that. Interspersed, I might read some Baha'i Writings or even something online. I do not watch much television, though I have been a Netflix subscriber since I lived in Alaska and the movies came in the mail in red sleeves.

I chat with my daughters, play online checkers with my grandson, and listen to a whole lot of music streaming on one of my two Alexa Echos. And I work on my genealogy and write.

Retirement can be fun as long as one plans ahead. I did and I am reaping the benefits of that planning

Good freaking bye, miserable, stinking 2011

Today is January 3, 2012, and I am among those who are very happy that 2011 is now what we will call "history."

A year ago, my professional career choices were very different than they were in December and in April, the elected idiots we have refused to discuss, negotiate, and bend at all, so the federal government, of which I was an employee, came to the brink of shut-down once again. I lived through the two FAA shutdowns in 1995 but this one felt different. In fact, in April, I was driving back to my Michigan home from a temporary detail in Springfield, Illinois. The drive is only 8 hours but I left Springfield not knowing if I was going to have a job waiting for me when I arrived in Michigan or if I was going to be furloughed.

Things did not improve after April, so I very quickly came to the decision, which happened on December 31, 2011. I had planned on three more years of working but I just could not stomach the thought of that much more stress in the Executive Branch of government. So, after 27 years, I've terminated my "full-time" employment in favor of my "bucket list" employment, which is what this blog is all about. I will take my federal pension into a new civilian life as a rookie truck driver.

After lots of telephone calls to the recruiting staff, a cursory background check (made much easier because of having had only one employer, the federal government, for more than 25 years) I will be leaving Michigan on Saturday, January 7, for Dallas, where I will begin training at Stevens Transport to become an over-the-road truck driver, a training process that takes about 5 months or so, depending on all kinds of external factors and one internal factor---my own ability to learn what has to be learned.

For the past week, I have packed, unpacked, repacked, and repacked the one duffel bag I will take. I am an experienced traveler, but I tend to overpack, something that cannot happen now. I will be sharing a very small, two-bunk truck sleeper with another human being for 13 or more weeks, and carrying "too much stuff" just isn't a good thing. But I have only a couple more days before I toss that duffel bag and my one carryon bag into the belly of a Greyhound Bus and head south for what I hope will be a long time away from home.

I plan to keep you up-to-date as much as I can, considering that learning to drive a truck is a pretty big jump from what I've done for decades and I must pay attention to the details. Failure is not an option. I will be using my iPad which is a very nice balance between this Mac laptop and my iPhone, so what you see should at least be readable.

So, once again, dear reader, it is off to unpack and ponder.

Thursday night quickie

It's Thursday, 12/29/2011, and I am unofficially a former FAA employee. I worked for the best manager in the agency and today, after giving me my final performance appraisal, he took my ID card, keys, cell phone, computer and sundry other FAA-owned tidbits and sent me home early. With tomorrow off, too.

Nice way to start retirement!

12/24/2011

Today is Saturday, December 24, 2011. Christmas Eve Day, and the last Saturday I have as an FAA employee. This past week has been miserable in that it has been extremely slow and boring for me. The last couple of weeks in December are always slow, what with government employees on what is called "use or lose" leave and the stakeholders we serve - the aviation community in Western Michigan - is preparing for bad weather and the holidays themselves.

Of course, for me, this particular week has been even worse because of my imminent retirement plans. I have completed all the projects I have and am left with managing whatever day-to-day activity or fire pops up. And there aren't many of them because most of the workforce is on holiday leave. My desk drawers are cleaned out, the paperwork properly filed, and so I sit. I did get confirmation from both our Human Resources department and the Office of Personnel Management, the dreaded OPM, that everything is moving forward at the proper pace. My retirement will happen less than one week from today.

Next week, however, the last week of what I call my "full-time" employment, will be even worse than this past one was. Almost nobody will be in the office and whatever piddly things I had to do are already done. So I will have to sit for eight hours a day, four remaining workdays. On the bright side, however, I do have to make two calls to the Stevens Transport recruiter with whom I have been working, Wendy. She promises to send me many pre-hire questions to answer and to bring with me when I start on January 9. I am looking forward to all that; hopefully, it will keep me somewhat busy.

So, Dear Reader, take solace in knowing that I am ending one career and starting what I have begun to call my "bucket list" employment. Driving a truck over the road has been on my bucket list since long before that movie made that phrase popular.

One more boring week then it's up to my ears in an entirely different language. I am excited! In the meantime, Dear Reader - not to be confused with Dear Leader, please! - have yourselves a very Merry Christmas and a safe and enjoyable Happy New Year.

Less than two weeks more

Today is December 17, 2011. As of yesterday, I have two weeks of full-time federal employment remaining and I am as happy as I hoped I would be. Seeing the end of a pretty long career, with all the stability such a condition holds, could have been stressful and filled with negative anticipation and worry. But my decision to retire from federal employment was conscious and made with the right thoughts in mind.

Besides, very soon after retirement from one career, I will hopefully start on the last one of my life. I have been accepted into the Stevens Transport Driver Academy and will being training as the driver of an 18-wheeler on January 9, 2012. Becoming a truck driver is one of those "bucket list" items that I've had for a long time and am happy to begin the process soon. Of course, there are some worries, not the least of which is my blood pressure. The Department of Transportation'a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations state a maximum BP for a full 2-year medical card and Stevens Transport uses that maximum as a hard standard. So if when I get there my BP exceeds 140/90, I will be returning home until it is at or below the max. I have been working on it since July by eating right, watching my sodium intake, and walking 30 minutes each day. I hope my "numbers" play out right.

I plan to keep this blog active so a reader will get a picture of what I am doing as I transition from full-time "career" employment to full-time "bucket list" employment. The nice thing about this is I will have a pretty good pension to pay for the mortgage and other expenses, so my trucking income doesn't have to be the same as others for whom it will be their primary income.

It will be tough and stressful. An over-the-road driver's life is not easy and is definitely not one of a set schedule. I have been doing that for the 45 years of my previous work life and I know the transition will not be all fun all the time. But it is a conscious choice and I do have a pretty good cushion, so I hope those factors will make the journey a bit easier.

Stay with me, readers. I promise you open, honest thoughts and words. I might - no, probably will - miss days or even weeks at first, so don't expect daily updates. I do promise you enough to have the picture of my journey into the last part of my life. I hope you enjoy reading.

Decision made!

Since the information is now known by people who did not know it before, it is fair to write of my retirement from federal service at the end of this month. As of December 30, 2011, I will be a non-employed civilian for a while. I say "non-employed" to differentiate from "unemployed" because that connotes something bad. After 27 years in service to the flying public, I will call it quits and become what is called an "annuitant," meaning I will be drawing my retirement pay for the rest of my life.

But I am not finished working. In fact, at age 62, I am 3 years away from being eligible for Social Security and my plan is to work at least until I am 65, perhaps even 67. But I will not be doing what I have done for the past 40+ years, aviation. No, I will not be doing anything related to aircraft at all. I am going to do something I have wanted to do for a very long time, something that many men want to do.

I am going to drive a big rig.

Yes, after retirement, I will enter a local commercial driving license, CDL, training school. After three weeks of training, I will take a road test here in Michigan and receive the CDL. After that, I will use it. In fact, I have already been accepted as a prewire with Stevens Transportation, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and will begin training with them probably early in February.

I want to use this blog as the vehicle to share my thoughts and progress as I move into retirement and my new career. Well, actually, I should probably call what I will start on December 31, 2011, "semi-retirement," since I will really go from one job to another and will stay as long as I want to.

The only negative in my future relates to that person to whom I alluded in the first paragraph. I hope I can put all that in the "right" place so I am not too distracted or stressed. I do have to pass a DOT physical to drive a truck, after all.