Federal Employee Retired, Works at TJ Maxx; Feels Happy, Less Stress

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Karime Masson, 59, who lives in Indiana. Masson was a federal employee with the Social Security Administration for over 20 years before retiring. She now works part-time in a retail role at TJ Maxx. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I was with the Social Security Administration for about 24 ½ years. I was a claims representative and a bilingual translator because I’m also fluent in Spanish.

The last part of my career was more difficult because we had fewer staff, but the volume of work didn’t change.

2025 was really hard with the new regime. The Trump administration took away telework for federal workers. For me personally, telework really prolonged my career, especially during COVID.

It wasn’t just the stress of the job itself; it was also constantly feeling demeaned by the Trump administration as being lazy and a drain on the American system.

This attitude would then trickle down to the public because in the area where I live, they’re very supportive of the president.

I retired in December 2025 and now work a part-time retail job at TJ Maxx. I’m happy — the happiest I’ve been in a while.

Our office was small, and we had to juggle many tasks

My day-to-day routine varied. Our office was small, so a typical day could involve answering phones, working the front desk, helping people with replacement Social Security cards, scheduling appointments, answering questions, and working on my regular workload at my desk.

The last few years of my career, I was a generalist technical expert. I would mentor, train, and handle the more complicated, complex cases.

I was always a high producer and would often take on additional work. During COVID, when I was working from home, I was a lot more productive. The quiet at home allowed me to really read through the policy, digest it, think about it, and make decisions. I would volunteer to take on extra work all the time.

Then, that was taken away with the return-to-office mandate.

Wait times started to go through the roof, and work wasn’t being processed in as timely a manner. The public became more belligerent and would blame us, with little understanding of the fact that we were understaffed. But there wasn’t a ton that we could do.

My goal had been to work at least until 62, possibly 65

With telework being taken away, people in the agency being pushed out, workers being constantly demeaned by the administration, having to send weekly emails with five bullet points about what we did, and missing paychecks during the government shutdown, my desire to retire solidified.

I was already on some anti-anxiety medication, and I supplemented that with Xanax, and I have an autoimmune disease that stress makes worse. The more I thought about it, the more I thought, I cannot continue like this.

There was talk that the “One Big Beautiful Bill” was potentially going to affect our pensions, medical coverage, and retirement.

Initially, I was going to retire in June 2025 because I was afraid that it would become law and I’d be negatively impacted. When those provisions were taken out of the final bill, I decided I was still going to retire, but that I’d stay until December. Financially, it made more sense.

I haven’t regretted for one single second that I retired

I no longer have to take Xanax. My stress is pretty much gone. I’m not having the negative side effects from my health condition.

I started my retail job in November, as I was finishing up at the Social Security Administration.

I typically work 15 hours a week at a TJ Maxx not far from my house, and they’re super flexible with my schedule. I really enjoy it because I don’t have the stress of my old job. It’s been a nice change of pace.

I make $12.50 an hour. A lot of my paychecks go right back to TJ Maxx because I like to shop there.

On more than one occasion, they’ve asked if I wanted to work more hours or take on more responsibility. I’m like, “Nope, no thank you. I’m happy just being a worker bee. That’s all I want to do.” It’s been a really good fit for me.

Every day feels like a weekend because I can get up and take my time. I’m not rushing, other than the mornings when I go to my part-time job. I’ve been able to spend time around the house and with our animals.

My time is actually my own. If I want to go take a yoga class, or go check out a Pilates studio, or just want to work out at 10 o’clock in the morning, I can.

Leaving my 20-plus-year career at the agency was sad

For the most part, I enjoyed the work I did at the Social Security Administration.

It was challenging, but you got to help people, like a widow who had been getting the runaround, was down to one income, and didn’t know when she was going to get paid. You could put in a little extra effort and say, “Hey, I got this taken care of for you. You’re going to be getting your husband’s last check. Your widow’s benefits are going to start on this date, and this is what you’re going to get.” People were so thankful and appreciative.

Those kinds of things stay with you.

If we hadn’t lost the ability to telework, and if people weren’t being pushed out of the agency, I potentially would’ve stayed longer.

I’m sad for my former coworkers, and the amount of stress they must be under with fewer people.

My goal is to start my own consulting business. I’ve found people are ill-informed about Social Security, so I want to assist people with how to deal with the agency.

In a statement, a Social Security Administration spokesperson told Business Insider the following:

“Sixty-five percent more calls were answered in FY 2025 compared to FY 2024, with average wait times in the single digits. The average wait time for visitors at field offices decreased by nearly 30 percent from FY 2024 to FY 2025, and those with an appointment wait on average just six minutes to be helped. The dedicated SSA workforce is delivering better and faster service to the over 330 million Americans with Social Security Numbers.”

Do you have a story to share about making a career pivot from the federal government? Contact this reporter at [email protected].