60 APRIL 2024 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL I was fortunate to be in a relatively good nancial position, and I could a ord to retire early. With the help of career colleagues on the Seventh Floor, I was able to recommend a good o cer to replace me. After taking the retirement course and settling my a airs, I moved to London to start my second career. Advice: Plan for retirement early by investing in the rift Savings Plan and other retirement plans. Take the retirement course while you are still employed. assessment of stabilization funding for Iraq and Syria. It was a new experience to be on the consulting side. Most of the sta were younger than I was, and we worked in an open o ce space. While the sta were great and the co ee excellent, it did take adjustment on my part. A few months later, I moved to Chemonics, which was setting up a London o ce, and did similar work. I also joined a friend who started a boutique consulting rm, Brooch Associates. When my husband returned from Iraq, he was assigned to Qatar as U.K. ambassador. We left for Doha in March 2020. Advice: Be exible, be realistic, and give yourself time to adjust. When I left government, I was told I would have no I was hired by AKTIS, a U.K. consulting rm specializing in con ict stabilization. I led the con ict practice and worked on the peace building component of the United Nations Development Programme’s Stabilization Facility for Libya and for the Dutch government. I also worked on a European Union– funded project to reduce tensions between Lebanese residents and Syrian refugees. I was team leader for the Danish International Development Agency’s Stay current on the places you served, and stay connected with former colleagues to see if there might be a role for you. RETIREMENT SUPPLEMENT
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