I retired in 2005. My last day of work was a Friday, the boss let me go an hour early as a final gift. Went home and felt nothing different on Saturday morning. I still had to run errands, clean house, and do everything else as usual. I was the first of "my crowd" to retire, so I had to find activities to keep busy- adult ed classes, sewing, visits to parks and beaches. One thing that never changed is, I still get up early, always before 7 am, like when I was working. I go out for breakfast coffee at a diner that opens at 7, I tend to get all my errands and shopping and housework done before noon, so my afternoons are pretty much free. My husband is severly disabled with MS (multiple sclerosis) so he needs a caretaker and chauffeur and that takes up a lot of my time. And the best thing is, I worked for 31 years in a busy public-contact government office and there was always a problem scheduling vacations and getting off work the Friday after US Thanksgiving, around Christmas,etc. Now I never have to ask for time off and risk getting turned down. It's all good.

Greetings Philip, Some proofreading in order, I think. You might like to amend your survey, as in one location it uses the word "perceived" and, right beside it, "preceived". Many people will be reading that message. I'd have contacted you directly, but when you signed on a Gardenweb you didn't give me the option. ole joyful

I see my post caused a bit of a stir. First, we live in Canada so the benefits of an LLC are not applicable here. In Canada, we can set up a business as a sole proprietorship, partnership, or incorporation. With both sole and partner, the individual(s) personal income and assets are liable if the business goes south. In incorporating, personal is separate from business. Ultimately, incorporating is most beneficial. However, we decided to go for a partnership and for a couple of reasons. One, we don't foresee making oodles of money in our first year. Secondly, we will invest our own money into the business. And because our income and business are interlinked in a partnership, any moneys we use (income and profits) will help lower our tax (that's the general idea). Our plan is to throw all profits right back into the business. Doing this will show we are actually "losing" money and so the amount of taxes we will pay will be lower. Once enough money is made so that we can let go of our 9-to-5 jobs and focus solely on our business, we will then switch from partnership to incorporation. First thing we did when dreaming up this concept was to secure an accountant and have been following his advice.

Jakkam said, "It should be noted that Lindsay's experience with CA state pensions is only relevant between her employer and her specific union. Different unions/employer agencies negotiate contracts that are usually similar, but NOT identical." Gee, my very first comment was, "In California State Service, the terms of the retirement pension can vary according to which bargaining unit covers your position, when you were hired, and what "Tier" you are in." (emphasis added) Did you somehow miss that? Jak went on to say, "Union workers should be aware that at least in CA, CalPERS does not fund any health benefits. All retiree healthcare is funded directly by the agency involved. If your employer has not bothered to set up a separate funding for retiree healthcare, you should contact your union rep and make this an issue - a BIG issue." Incorrect, or at the very least, incomplete. The funds for State employee and CSU employee retiree health care benefits come from the State's General Fund, as allocated by the Governor's Budget each year. Perhaps you are thinking of other public agencies such as city and county government agencies and School employees. In fact, the CalPERS site for Health Plans & Rates for retirees says on the link for Public Agency and School Retirees, "Contributions vary by employer. Contact your employer's personnel office to find out how much they contribute toward your health premium." Click on the link for State & CSU Retirees and you will see the following: "The state employer contribution amounts for 2017 are: "One-Party: $707 "Two-Party: $1,349 "Family: $1,727 " The only difference in the amount that State retirees receive towards their health insurance costs is governed by the length of time of their service. Different "hired by" dates have different vesting requirements to receive the full amount of the State's contribution: (1) If you were hired before January 1, 1985, you are entitled to 100% of the State's contribution; (2) If you were hired between January 1, 1985, and January 1, 1989, there is a 10-year vesting requirement. If you have 10 years of service when you retire, you will receive 100% of the State's health care contribution. For less than 10 years of service, the State's contribution is reduced by approximately 10% for each year of service less than the required 10; and (3) If you were hired after January 1, 1989, the length of time of your service determines what percentage you will receive of the State's contribution. Less than 10 years, you get 0%; at 10 years, you will receive 50%; with 11-19 years of service you will receive 50% of the State's contribution plus an additional 5% for each year over 10 years. If you have at least 20 years of service when you retire, you will receive 100% of the State's contribution. Four (4) bargaining units (6, 9. 10, and 12) now have a 25-year vesting requirement, with different hire dates. My husband and I both had well over the required number of years of service when we retired, so we do receive the full benefit. The amount is more than enough to cover our Medicare Plan B premiums, Medicare Plan B IRMAA premiums, and our PERSCare Blue Cross PPO Medicare Supplement Plan premiums. There is more than enough left over to also cover the cost of our Medicare Plan D IRMAA premiums (our Medicare Plan D is included in the PERSCare Medicare Supplement Plan), but California law does not provide for the reimbursement of Medicare Plan D IRMAA premiums. But the $26.60 per month is the only health care cost we have.