Well, I am serving my last 5 months of the CAF after a 20 year career. The past year or so has been nothing but anxiety, emotions and full of uncertainty. The biggest struggle was getting the support from my previous Chain of Command. They made me felt I was useless, unable to look after my daughter, thinking It was not worth waking up in the mornings anymore. It is a long story with a winding road that I will share once all my to do list is completed.
My Career
- Thread starter Mediman14
- Start date
Colin Parkinson
Army.ca Myth
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Just retired from the Public Service on Friday, it's an odd feeling knowing i won't be there on Monday. However I put in a full day of volunteering at my daughters Cadets. Make sure you have something to do afterwards that makes you feel good and valued.
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I'm on my way out. I was a teenager when I joined and now my 30's are here, spouse, mortgage etc. I'm starting to wonder how my last day will feel. I'm assuming it will be mixed feelings. My immediate retirement plan is to become a stay at home husband. I can make a bigger impact at home than I ever could in the military.
I will miss some aspects of operations, and some of the people. I won't miss the BS though. Hang in there Mediman14, and congrats on your retirement, Colin.
I will miss some aspects of operations, and some of the people. I won't miss the BS though. Hang in there Mediman14, and congrats on your retirement, Colin.
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mariomike said:
Funny that you mention that. I recently CT'd to the regular force after a reserve career of 30 years, with about 26 years of full time service. The majority of the 26 years have been on a ship. I'm on a 4 yrs IE which means at 30 years pensionable time I'll be 53. The CM expects me to stay until i'm 60. I really don't know if I have another 10 years in me, we'll see and i'll take it one year at a time. I was just posted to another ship as well.
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If you can get an equivalent salary after you are pensionnable, there is no point in staying past the time you can withdraw immediate annuity. Draw your pension, collect the paycheck you used to make while contributing to another pension plan. You’ll make at least 150% of your CAF salary until you retire from your second job and if you did 20 years at the other joint (assuming 2% a year for pension), you’ll make 90% of your CAF salary at retirement (more than the 70% you’d make in the CAF). Of course, if you become a GO, this goes out the window but those jobs also come at a great personnal price.
- Reaction score
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Let's be honest here. Look around your unit(s)...does everyone really deserve to make it to 35 YOS?
Dimsum said:
I joined as a Reservist (T Company 4 RCR) on my seventeenth birthday. I got punted when I hit my sixtieth.
Were I able to revert to seventeen again, I would do it all over.
I refuse to use the term "ret**ed". It sounds so... "voluntary", ... "pleasant", ... "peaceful", ... "boring", ...
Screw that.
But for those who like it, I truly hope that you enjoy it.
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Whoa, that’s a long career. BZ! I’m secretly hoping CRA for ARes changes to 65 before I hit 60. If not may switch to CIC.Loachman said:
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It may sound long, but it seems to have just whizzed by.
Once upon a time, it felt like it would last forever, and then, all of a sudden, one finds oneself sitting at a desk across from a release clerk wondering where it all went.
Once upon a time, it felt like it would last forever, and then, all of a sudden, one finds oneself sitting at a desk across from a release clerk wondering where it all went.
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Dimsum said:
My sister stayed in the RCAF. Her husband took early retirement for another job.
The guys I hired on with stayed on till we maxed-out ( 70% ). Then GTFO. I retired that very same day.
No way I was breaking my back for the extra 30%.
Generally, most on the city police and fire departments also stay on the job.
- Reaction score
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mariomike said:My sister stayed in the RCAF. Her husband took early retirement for another job.
The guys I hired on with stayed on till we maxed-out ( 70% ). Then GTFO. I retired that very same day.
No way I was breaking my back for the extra 30%.
Generally, most on the city police and fire departments also stay on the job.
Did you guys accrue pension at 2%, or 2.33% ?
- Reaction score
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standingdown said:
It's 2.33% now. It was 2% when I was on the job.
OMERS Supplemental Pension Plan for Police, Firefighters and Paramedics
https://www.omers.com/Employers/Administering-the-Plan/Supplemental-Plan
stoker dave
Member
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SupersonicMax said:
Just for reference, outside of government and quasi-government organizations, there are very, very few businesses that still offer a pension. Since I left DND, I have worked at a bunch of places. Not one of them had a pension plan. All of them will make contributions to your RSP (some fraction of salary) and may have some type of ownership / stock purchase plan. But if you want to work in industry forget about having a pension.
When I joined, my plan was to serve 10-15 years.
Now it's 33 years and some later, and I'm still serving. I've been Regular, Reserve, and am Regular again and looking to jump back to the Reserves as an annuitant.
I always said I would stay in as long as I was having fun. Yet oddly, career-wise the last few years have been disappointing and disillusioning and I'm still here. (The wonderful people I work with keep me sane.) I have come to the conclusion that I have too much of my identity tied up in my uniform.
So hopefully I'll have one last interesting and fulfilling chapter in my career as I adapt to the idea of being a civilian. I never dreamed that I would find the concept of this transition so intimidating.
Now it's 33 years and some later, and I'm still serving. I've been Regular, Reserve, and am Regular again and looking to jump back to the Reserves as an annuitant.
I always said I would stay in as long as I was having fun. Yet oddly, career-wise the last few years have been disappointing and disillusioning and I'm still here. (The wonderful people I work with keep me sane.) I have come to the conclusion that I have too much of my identity tied up in my uniform.
So hopefully I'll have one last interesting and fulfilling chapter in my career as I adapt to the idea of being a civilian. I never dreamed that I would find the concept of this transition so intimidating.
mariomike said:
That's not applied across the board. OMERS Primary is still 2% per year; the Special Forces Pension Plan is an option that the employer can sign up for. Some do, some don't. I don't know if Toronto paramedics have signed up for it. I know Ottawa Police have not. I've not checked any others.
Pusser
Army.ca Veteran
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mariomike said:
Not that anyone's counting, but in 219 days, I hit the equivalent of 35 years. One of the smartest things I did was to buy back my Reserve service (298 day's worth), which means I can retire with a maximum pension about ten months earlier than I otherwise could have. I'm looking forward to collecting my pension and never working full time again.
One of the services that SISIP offers is financial counseling and one of the things they can do is a comparative analysis of disposable income before and after retirement. In my case, the difference will be about $200-$300 per month. "Would you like fries with that?" My point being is that I should have no trouble finding a part time job that will make up that difference. In fact, my intent is to transfer to the Primary Reserve and one or two evenings per week, will more than make up for the difference between my current salary and my future pension benefits. Add in a little Class B in the summer and I'll be ahead of the game (funding my workshop and travel habits). Although I can't claim that the past 35 years have been absolute bliss, there have been some outstanding moments and only once did it become bad enough that I sought employment elsewhere. Luckily I didn't do that.
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