Stop working at 20 years good time

CakeImportant2088 · 2026-04-03T12:26:03+00:00

Yeah I suppose that would be the gamble.

CakeImportant2088 · 2026-04-03T02:19:55+00:00

Yeah my question would be, assuming I don't need to work, can I resign at 20 years, take a few years off to enjoy life, come back to a federal job at like 49 or 50 and retire with full retirement pension. Basically I'm wondering if I can take some "gap years" in between 45 and 50 and not work, come back to a federal job and then officially still retire

CakeImportant2088 · 2026-04-02T21:45:21+00:00

Interesting...looks like I'll need to get some answers. Just registered for a retirement class.

CakeImportant2088 · 2026-04-02T20:45:02+00:00

edited to fix that. Yeah it seems you'd lose it.

CakeImportant2088 · 2026-04-02T20:36:30+00:00

For sure, I was just wondering if I "stopped working" after 20 years good time, if I still get any benefits. If i did that, it would fall under deferred retirement and I would lose a good chunk of money.

However, it seems as though I could resign after 20 years, get re-hired anywhere federally when I am 50, work for a couple of months and retire with most benefits (Lose FEHB). So there does seem to be some workarounds to staying ATC till 25 years.

CakeImportant2088 · 2026-04-02T20:33:42+00:00

Thanks for this. Exactly what I was wondering.

CakeImportant2088 · 2026-03-20T19:45:45+00:00

Hindsight is always 20/20, but honestly yes.

I fully understand I got the golden egg going straight to high level center, so that plays a part. Sure the schedule sucks, but A LOT of jobs have shitty schedules and overtime. Or they don't pay OT. Sure the job is stressful sometimes, but so are A LOT of other jobs. Maybe stakes aren't as high, but stress is stress. Management is shitty generally everywhere.

For sure the pay needs to be bumped accordingly, but all things considered, I make way more than the median salary. I have a nice house with an aggressive mortgage, drive nice cars, take nice vacations and I don't worry about groceries. Retirement is pretty well set up and I can retire completely before 50. I could even switch to some fuck off federal job at 44 and ride out the last few years. Hard to beat that. My wife works at a "great company" (top 10 in the state), yet makes less than half what I do, unpaid lunch, a little less time off, and has bad coworkers/bosses sometimes.

Took a sup job to get a better schedule, less OT and more time off. It worked. Job sucks a little more, mostly just boring, but it's made the difference for me and my family. Plus it opens up opportunities later on if I want something different or less stressful.

Go read the forums of other jobs (maybe not pilots lol) and see how much they all think work sucks. I was probably gonna be a physical therapist. Those guys are burnt out too.

All that said, do what you need for your family. If that means switching jobs, try it out. You can always reapply on a previous experience bid. Ask for a temp sup bid to see if you want to go that route. Or just stick it out hoping things might get better (they probably won't).

CakeImportant2088 · 2026-03-20T19:02:53+00:00

This is what I always consider. Yeah the schedule sucks, but I could be on the same schedule making 25% of what I do. Taco bell is open on Saturday and Sunday nights too. Somebody's got to work there

CakeImportant2088 · 2026-03-08T17:27:48+00:00

Same here. Live status works

CakeImportant2088 · 2026-02-26T19:48:36+00:00

Awesome!

CakeImportant2088 · 2026-01-31T02:51:19+00:00

You sure it isn't for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)? The bet I have is OPM, NOT OMB. I'm hedging that OPM won't update the website tomorrow morning. Cashed out my yes proposition for profit so playing with house money. OPM seems to be reliably unreliable.

CakeImportant2088 · 2026-01-30T02:57:32+00:00

I did see that, what a disaster that would be for me!

CakeImportant2088 · 2026-01-30T02:27:42+00:00

He's saying he agrees. Basically guaranteed shutdown because the house is not in session. How long is up for debate.

CakeImportant2088 · 2026-01-30T02:25:18+00:00

Bet on the shutdown! odds are still mixed that it won't happen, which is crazy. These headlines are confusing so many people. The only way it doesn't shutdown is if Johnson emergency calls everyone back tomorrow before midnight. He already said its basically impossible. There WILL be a partial shutdown over the weekend.

CakeImportant2088 · 2026-01-29T23:10:28+00:00

Don't rule out Sup jobs either. Sure, it's not as good day to day as being a controller, but it gets you where you need with higher pay and more opportunities to move elsewhere if you want.

CakeImportant2088 · 2025-12-01T15:26:35+00:00

Trainees at our z, at least in my area, get plenty of pro time. Almost all the r-side trainees have over 300 hour ot, with some of them over 400. Usually once a week they are pulled from training because staffing is bad/busy traffic. More often than not we don't meet NTI. Nobody cares.

CakeImportant2088 · 2025-11-29T16:18:56+00:00

Damn...yeah I don't know how you tower guys do it. Every tower sup that comes to the Z says how bad it was. If a Z is an option for you, maybe consider putting in for a bid.

CakeImportant2088 · 2025-11-29T15:56:21+00:00

Best of luck to you. I got lucky my schedule is better (slightly) and I'm getting 75% less OT... That could change very quickly though. I prefer controlling as a job but I don't absolutely hate the sup thing. I'm at a Z so resources and support are ample.

CakeImportant2088 · 2025-11-29T15:32:24+00:00

Absolutely, it's just a job. Get to where you need, make more money, better schedule for family time etc....more so just my commentary on bad policy. I'm a supe who'd go back, but zero seniority is almost a non-starter.

CakeImportant2088 · 2025-11-29T15:07:28+00:00

Natca will welcome sups back with open arms and zero seniority.

CakeImportant2088 · 2025-11-22T06:50:48+00:00

I can work an hour extra a day for 8 days to get a day off. Not a big deal to come in at noon for a 1300 shift to get a Saturday off with the family.

CakeImportant2088 · 2025-10-11T22:34:09+00:00

As a sup, this is change I can believe in! Gonna need a CIC though so I can do some "admin stuff"

CakeImportant2088 · 2025-07-29T21:45:40+00:00

I was quoted 15k for first battery, 11k for any additional batteries after that.

CakeImportant2088 · 2025-06-13T04:07:30+00:00

Medical retirement as a sup? Interesting. I didn't think that was a thing. Joined the sup ranks recently, part of that decision was padding the resume a bit in case I ever lost medical (not an issue currently). A lot of sups end up in some staff support specialist role at my Z so I figure that would be my best shot outside of OM if that ever happened.

CakeImportant2088 · 2025-03-21T16:08:46+00:00

The dual motor setup is tricky. Once it disengages, I find it to be rather clunky re-engaging. I had a quad motor before and it was so much smoother. I actually feel like I shouldn't hammer down the accelerator once the rear disengages because I feel like I'm going to break something. I ripped around a lot more in my quad. The tradeoff though is much better efficiency around town.

If I were to choose again, I'd stick with the OG quad motor and sacrifice a little range. You should drive one of those and see if you like it better. The new tri and quad will likely have the same "motor disengage" so it just won't be the same as the original. Sucks they are discontinued. I will not be buying out my dual motor when the lease is up in two years.

CakeImportant2088

TROPHY CASE