If you can start collecting retirement DO IT and ‘double dip’ by becoming a contractor.
Do you really want to retire when the idiot in the White house and democrats are leading the fight against inflation? They’re talking about student debt forgiveness and printing more money, which will only exacerbate inflation. Retiring when expenses are rising dramatically and may increase at a greater extent is a tough pill to swallow, regardless of the woke corporates political indoctrination all around. Might be best to hunker down and tap that retirement nest egg and fixed income when sanity returns.
Retirement income from SS and pension. Lucky for me I learned that military time could be added to civilian pension if you work at a federal agency for at least five years. Caveat, it's not that much, but it's better than nothing (added up, it totaled 16 years).
Went back to work last July, as well. Honeydos were getting old, and we're helping my son's family, as my granddaughter has been in NICU since birth last October. She was 14 weeks premie, weighed 17 ounces at birth. Thank God, she's over ten pounds now, with a long way to go before she can go home.