Today, I hit a fairly small, but still important, milestone. It’s been 16 months since the crash that permanently changed my life. It’s not worth dwelling on this, other than to note its coming and going. My monthly crashiversaries were a big deal to me for a while with milestones coming fast and furious for several months, but as I’ve settled into my new reality and continue to give thanks for still being here, it becomes a little more SNAFU with each passing month.
The far bigger milestone is tomorrow, when I’ll officially retire after nearly 18 years at BCIT. I’ve known I’d be retiring on August 15th for a couple months now, since I accepted a modest buyout of 80% of my annual salary as part of cost-cutting measures (most notably due to a drop in immigration targets and foreign student applications). In effect it’s like getting paid until spring of 2026 when I’d have been 61.5, and probably eyeing early retirement anyway. Once I receive my lump sum payment, my LTD and ICBC income top-up supplement will also be done.
I suspect I may have opted to remain on LTD/ICBC until 65 if I had known about BCIT’s budget troubles prior to us getting approval for remote work, but remaining on LTD would also have put me under increased scrutiny to continually prove my disabilities. Truth be told, I’m just happy to be rid of all of it.
My approved graduated return to work plan was almost entirely an experiment to see how using my brain in a work setting would go. Now I’ll never find out, and I’m OK with that. I have a number of ideas for remaining engaged and busy, but haven’t made any decisions, beyond maintaining my fitness, reading and journaling habits, and pursuing more photography. We’ll also be continuing to travel as budget allows, but only after we’ve bought and settled into a new place late this year, or early next. I’m also considering volunteering and eyeing a couple things I’m interested in. Being immunocompromised now does add a challenge or two, particularly where being indoors in crowds is concerned.
The only thing left is for BCIT to send my final documentation to the Pension Corporation of BC for processing, so I can begin collecting. As we’ll still need a mortgage, I opted for a temporary full annuity until I turn 65, which will reduce my payments after 65 by a couple hundred a month, in exchange for a significant monthly increase until then. With our investments beginning to pay me RIF income next year, and CPP/OAS kicking in after 65 as well, we should be in good shape going forward.