Your Federal Retirement Benefits

We moved to DC almost ten years ago and when we did, I restarted my career at the Library of Congress after thirty years in health care. It was a very different experience from what I was used to in so many ways. In February I decided it was time to quit - I just didn't want to work anymore and be on someone else's schedule. We planned for this day to make it possible, and I worked part time for the last two years so the idea became even more appealing. But since that day, it hadn't felt real because all the paperwork was in limbo - until this week. I received my official booklet with all the details and phone numbers. Luckily most of the transactions can be done on line. But now it feels like it is really real! I'm supposed to get my first pension check next month. One of the biggest, and frankly unplanned benefits, is healthcare coverage. If nothing else, working the last ten years in the federal government was worth it just for that. You don't get any special healthcare deal in the private sector even after working in healthcare most of my working years. Even with insurance any medical visit or emergency is expensive. So in the end, it was a good move for a lot of reasons. And getting the official booklet was a great reminder. 

OPM Case Closed!

It's official! The paperwork for my retirement is completed and the case is closed! I retired in early February from the Library of Congress. I never quite felt legitimate until all the paperwork was squared away. I just received my unused vacation pay a couple weeks ago. I read mailed a password to access the OPM (Office of Personnel Management) website, but did not have a case number. So I couldn't use the website to find out anything, which I would obviously prefer! Everyone said it takes a few months, and they were right. I did contact our HR office to find out why the vacaction wasn't paid out, but they never responded - surprise! I tried calling OPM at the time they said was best, and the line was always busy. When I finally got through, it was a forty minute wait. They weren't of any help either. I emailed OPM to get a status and they said they could not help me without my claim number - which was what I was asking them about. Thank goodness my career was not all government based, and we are not depending on this pension to survive. It's about enough to cover my health insurance premiums, which is no small thing indeed. So now I'm waiting to see the first deposit of blood sweat and tear money that I worked so hard for over the last ten years to show up in my bank account. Let's hope it goes smoothly - but I have my doubts. 

Retirement Perks After One Month

It's been exactly one month since I retired after over forty years of working in both health care in the Midwest and ten years of federal service at the Library of Congress. Just saying it sounds strange. We stayed up until almost two AM watching a movie last night. I wake up when I want to and then we go for a walk in the morning when we want to. I still have this nagging feeling in the back of my head that I still need to go to work, and then pinch myself. But that doesn't stop the dreams I have about getting assignments about things I know nothing about. Someone told me it will take about six months to adjust from the working mindset. There are definite perks! I don't have to buy any more stockings or sort them separately in the delicate wash cycle; I don't have to ask for vacation time or sick time off; I don't have to schedule well in advance a hair cut appointment - I can call and ask for next available time; the alarm clock no longer exists; I don't have to walk in bad weather unless I feel like it; I don't have to wait in line and walk through a metal detector to just get in to work; spreadsheets are a thing of the past unless I need one for my digital art business; the OPM alerts are checked just out of curiosity; I can control the temperature in my room - freezing is not an option; and I no longer set out my clothes for the next day. The best thing about it? I love doing absolutely nothing. I highly recommend it, and hope to have another forty years of it!