Forced to Retire Early

[blugill]

Hello My Asylum Brothers,

While I'm not financially independent I got caught in a situation in which I can either retire now at 51 with a pension or wait until I'm 65 to collect a dime. The union changed the pension rules and I qualified by the skin of my teeth. One of my friends was hired three months after me and he didn't qualify.

I'm confident in my decision to leave after 30 years and worked two jobs to be able to live on my pension alone if I have to. I'm also a grad student and I'm three courses away from graduating with a masters in marketing so I'm not retiring so much as I'm giving myself options to do something I want to do and not have to do like work jobs I would hate.

I've found a good niche for my geographic area and would have no problems putting my education to work and paying off what I do owe within two years but here is the rub....I'm dealing with a lot of anxiety about this. Everyone that I work with would trade places with me in a heartbeat. I know it's just the fear of the unknown but I feel I've planned really well. We all know what happens when "life happens" and your plans are altered dramatically but as October gets closer I'm not sleeping, maybe three or four hours a night. I'm eating less.

It's a stressful situation because I've held this job since I was 22 and now that idea of a secure job is going away. I know I can't be the only one that's dealt with this before a huge chapter in my life closes and another begins.

Any advice from my inmate brothers other than enjoy a cigar today and let tomorrow take care of itself
I am not as active here as I need to be, but to be fair I'm not active anywhere online other than schoolwork right now.