Should I Stay or Should I Retire?

By Jim Stevenson

“How much longer is that dinosaur staying?” “Is that person going to retire soon?” “What is that person waiting for?” “If it was me, I would be gone!” In the background, these questions start as a whisper and continue to grow louder as a person gets closer to becoming eligible to retire.

I have heard these questions asked as members of the fire service got close to or passed the 25 years of service needed to start collecting a pension with benefits. They were only looking at the situation from their perspective. They may have seen it as a chance to climb up one rung on the seniority-based promotion ladder. They may have seen it as a chance for the person they know to get hired off the eligibility list. Maybe they saw it as time for their friend to get promoted due to the retirement opening an officer position. The one thing they did not see was the chance to retire from that person’s perspective. For those asking the above questions, as the idiom says, “Don’t judge a person until you have walked a mile in their shoes.” For most people who are eligible to retire, the answer to the question of retiring is much more complex than a simple yes or no.

As my time for becoming eligible to retire is fast approaching, I have a much better perspective why some may retire as soon as they are eligible and why others stay longer. Some may stay because they want to work a 30-year career. Others may stay until their kids are out of school.  Others may retire as soon as they are eligible because they have been working on their life after the fire service for quite some time. Everyone has their own reason as to why to stay or to retire.  For myself, several questions now come into play that I never bothered to ask myself. These questions won’t be the same for everyone. Others might have a completely different set of questions they ask themselves. Some may have a short list of questions while others have a long list of questions to answer for themselves before deciding on retiring or staying. Here are mine.

Do I still love the job? 

For numerous members of the fire service and myself, the answer will always be yes, even long after they are retired. If the answer was “no,” that would nullify a lot of the following questions.  Still loving the job makes it harder to retire. Is every day at work all unicorns and rainbows? No, but the good days far outnumber the bad days. There were the fire calls when my crew made a great stop and everyone returning to the station stood tall and proud of the results they achieved on that call. There were also times the mood was deflated due to a call earlier in the shift.  Despite every medical intervention they performed, the undesirable outcome was unpreventable and out of their control.

Can I still do the job?

For the past three years, I have been part of the department’s administrative team. As the chief of training, my job duties are mostly mental–conducting an annual needs assessment, putting together the yearly training schedule, contacting the appropriate people to schedule and conduct the training. I am the only person assigned to the training division. Under me, I have several unit trainers. These folks are assigned to the 56-hour division but can be called on to conduct departmentwide or position-specific training. Some of these unit trainers could take over my position and do a great job at it.

Over the past 25 years, I have been fortunate enough to build an extensive contact list. When I am asked to conduct training on a specific topic, I pride myself on being able to get it done in a way that exceeds expectations. It is always a good feeling after a training session when a student approaches you to thank you for putting on the training. Instead of giving you the customary hollow “thank you” as they walk out, you receive a different response. In a sincere tone, the students stop and tell you the training was very informative, or it was the first time they got to experience that training in a realistic setting during their career.

Being from the Detroit area, I had the opportunity to watch Barry Sanders, arguably one of the best running backs in the history of the NFL. Like many Detroit Lions fans, I was disappointed to see him retire when he was in his prime. Barry was the exception to the rule when it comes to professional athletes. It seems most professional athletes retire due to several factors. They may retire because of injuries, the diminishment of their skills, or forced retirement when they are released by their team and no other team will sign them. Some of us have seen these athletes still playing, but they are a shell of the player they used to be. For myself, that could occur when a large percentage of my network have retired and I have difficulty conducting quality training. I would rather go out when I am on top of my game and can be remembered for the quality training I conducted.

Did I achieve all the goals in my career that I wanted to achieve? 

My career has far exceeded anything I could have imagined. Initially when I graduated from the fire academy, my short-term and long-term goals were to be hired by a career department and get through a 25-year career. During my career, I added things to my list of personal goals and accomplishments. As I would accomplish one personal goal, I would create a new one. The only goal I set for myself that I was unable to achieve was getting accepted into and completing the Executive Fire Officer program through the National Fire Academy. As I prepare to possibly retire, I have no regrets. Are there things I wish I didn’t do or would have done differently? Yes, but I consider them learning moments.

Could staying longer help or hurt me because of the union contract?

In the past, if our union contract was expiring, there was usually a mass exodus of people that were eligible to retire. It was better to retire than risk losing something in the new contract. Our current union contract does not expire until June 30, 2024. If I stay, per the contract, our union will be receiving a pay increase effective July 01, 2023. On the other side of the coin, when people retire from the department, if they take their annuities from the city, their pension is reduced by a multiplier set every month by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) and an actuary for the city. Last month, this multiplier was 2.5%. This month, it increased to 6%. Based on that increase, my pension could be further reduced if I stayed longer.  It has never been about the money for me, and I won’t let it start now. I will not let gaining or losing a few dollars per month on my pension heavily influence my decision.

Am I prepared for retirement?

This requires more than just a yes or no answer. With retirement comes a decrease in my level of pay. Do I have the finances set aside to be able to afford this? Have I paid off most, if not all, of my bills to adjust for my lower income level? Am I prepared for the life-changing event that will create a void in my life?  There will be no more solving the world’s problems at the kitchen table, no more creating nicknames for department members, no more Monday through Friday 6:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. days in the office followed by rushing home to get either my son to his soccer practice or my daughter to her music lessons. For the past quarter of a century, everyone who knows me knows I am a firefighter. What will it be like to no longer wear that title across my chest? 

I feel I have built a network of friends, instructors, and mentors to be proud of. It includes several instructors who are always in demand to conduct classes. I consider these instructors colleagues and friends but also mentors. If I have a question, the answer is usually a phone call or two away. I have mentored several training officers in the county. I am always willing to share my knowledge and experience with somebody who asks for it. I view it as helping move the fire service forward. When I retire, I will still have the network of friends from the fire service. The relationships with all the fire chiefs and training officers in the county will be different since I am a retiree, on the outside looking in, not dealing with the same issues they are dealing with. 

What are my post-retirement job options? 

Working every day is in my blood. Either going to the fire department, teaching a class somewhere, or doing a project around the house, I have a tough time sitting still. I know another job is in my future. I think I have done a nice job of setting myself up for a future in the fire service. I would be a retired chief from a very well-respected fire department. Whether the new job is with a few of the local fire academies, several different fire training organizations, or various county fire chiefs’ associations, I can continue to instruct classes. I can look at openings for Fire Chief positions, which would be a different role than I am used to. Instead of focusing on delivering quality monthly trainings, I would now be taking on issues dealing with recruitment and retention of staff, apparatus, budgets, dealing with the different personalities at city hall, and employee discipline, to name just a few. I could keep an eye out for instructor openings at the Emergency Management Institute (EMI). I have options. Picking one of those jobs could be as difficult as deciding whether to retire or not. I have more than 25 years of fire service knowledge and would love to give back to the fire service, sharing my knowledge and experiences. There is an old African proverb, “When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground.” To me, the same thing occurs when a seasoned fire service veteran retires. All the training and experience that person has can be lost if it isn’t shared.

Will I miss my fire department family? Yes, I will. While my routine has changed over the past few years being part of the administrative team instead of being in the firehouse, I will still miss it–starting the morning at headquarters around 6:30 a.m.; opening my office and hanging up my coat; then going to the office next to mine and having the morning talks with the chief of EMS, the deputy fire chief, and one of the battalion chiefs. We share some laughs, solve the problems of the world, then go about our day at headquarters. I have worked side-by-side with firefighters who were considered by many to be firefighters’ firefighters, who were so well respected that if they asked somebody to run through a wall for them, people would line up to do it. I have worked with officers who knew when it was time to be just one of the crew and when it was time to be the leader of the crew. There were the members who played the role of prankster perfectly.  You always had to be on your toes when you worked with them. Being retired, I will always have my fire department family; I just won’t be seeing them every day.

What does my family think about my possible retirement? 

I met my wife when I had only a few years on the job. She comes from a family with cousins who are firefighters and police officers. How will she feel working full-time in the private sector while I am retired? Both of my kids like to tell their friends that their dad is a firefighter. How will they feel when dad is retired? This question needs to be discussed and answered as a family.

As I sit and compose this article, I am waiting for my son’s goalkeeping practice to start. The junior goalkeeping coach is Jordan. He is going to paramedic school and works for a private ambulance company. He has already attended and passed the local fire academy. His goal is to work for a career department. I have tried to give him some tips and suggestions to help him out in his future fire service career. It seems like in a blink of the eye when I was in his shoes with an entire career in front of me. Now, the sun is setting on my time in a career department. 

When I tell people I am thinking about retirement, I get a mixed bag of answers. Those who know me well try to talk me into staying. They tell me that I am quitting, not retiring. Others congratulate me and tell me they look forward to the day when they can retire too. Those people telling me to stay make the decision to stay or go much harder. For those saying they look forward to the day when they retire, they might be in for a shock when they go through their own list of questions about retiring. Choosing to retire is not as easy a decision as you may think it is. 

Lastly, for those wanting the dinosaurs on their department to retire, a friend of mine likes to remind people that even though dinosaurs have been deceased for millions of years, scientists are still studying them!

BIO:

Jim Stevenson is an adjunct instructor at the Macomb Community College Fire Academy and a 25-year veteran of the fire service. Previously he served with the Warren (MI) Fire Department, retiring as the chief of training. He is a certified Instructor 2 with a bachelor’s degree in public affairs management from Michigan State University and a master’s degree in public administration from Central Michigan University. Stevenson is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University’s School of Fire Staff and Command Executive Leadership Program Class 23.

Photo by mohamed_hassan from PxHere

Most NY First Responders Experience Mental Health Challenges, Survey Finds

A survey of more than 6,000 first responders in New York found most experience stress, while others have dealt with anxiety and burnout due to their professions.

Tailboard Misfits: Jesse and Micah Horton

Host John Velez sits down with Jesse and Micah Horton of Hortons and Hunt to discuss fire service leadership, mentorship, and training.