Retirement?

[Imurg]

Although I'm in no position to retire any time soon I have made the decision to go part time...
Thanks to Mum we're comfortable financially, mortgage gone and debt free.
Priorities have changed in the last 6 months to a year.
The realisation that, even at 57, I'm well into the back 9 has hit.
So I want more me time and me and the Mrs time while we can.
In theory I can keep working well into my 70s doing a few hours a week to keep things ticking over and stop me going doolally....although some might say this has already happened

 

[clubchamp98]

I retired at 55 but I had a very physical job and the body was starting to complain.
Apart from your bills there is nothing to spend your money on. Except shinies.
I have not wanted to work since but you need things to do, especially in winter.
You can only play so much golf so you need things you enjoy to spend time.
It’s a balancing act and a part time job that included little travel would be good.
I may look for some work this winter maybe volunteer somewhere ,give something back.
My wife still works so I am home alone most days.

 

[williamalex1]

I retired from a local authority age 52 with 30 years service they added another 10 years, giving me the maximum final salary pension I also received a lump sum, the best decision I've ever made
First thing i did was dig out my old bass guitar and amp, start up a 60s group with a few old band mates . I hadn't played for donkeys years but after a few weeks we really enjoyed play gigs and getting paid.
Played a lot of golf during the day, but after a year or so I started doing the odd electrical job. This slowly escalated to bigger longer jobs for a few years, it was too much so I retired again only doing small jobs for family.
Sadly over the years 3 of my original band mates passed away , getting new players in.
The new guys were alright but it wasn't the same, so after 13 years I retired from the band as well.
Fighting with the wife over the TV remote that she had to herself every weekend for 13 years.

I now have my own man cave TV and remote , And we lived happily ever after ha ha.

If you can afford to retire RETIRE , get your handicap down, do what you need to do when you want to, work to live don't live to work.
best of luck

 

[Deleted member 16999]

I retired at 55 but I had a very physical job and the body was starting to complain.
Apart from your bills there is nothing to spend your money on. Except shinies.
I have not wanted to work since but you need things to do, especially in winter.
You can only play so much golf so you need things you enjoy to spend time.
It’s a balancing act and a part time job that included little travel would be good.
I may look for some work this winter maybe volunteer somewhere ,give something back.
My wife still works so I am home alone most days.

One of the biggest issues to consider imo.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

If you can afford to do so then retire. You will enjoy life to the full retiring younger .. my uncle retired in the mid 90s aged 55 and was 25 years retired before health issues started which was nicer for him as he had enjoyed life before that

Also on the flip side that's one more job available for someone else. We have a load of people hanging onto jobs because they simple can't afford to retire where as if we could get people in a position to afford retirement that's jobs for the next generation

Good luck in your decision

I touched on this in another thread so let's not go into the politics of it here. But I was specifically thinking of the large percentage of the 3.8million women who could have retired on the state pension at 60, but who are now stuck working until 67 (the WASPIs). How many hundreds of thousands of 60+ yr old women would retire tomorrow if they could - freeing up a lot of jobs for those of the younger generation for whom getting a job is going to become every harder. And for so many of the WASPIs - unable to provide their children with the childcare they need for the grandchildren.

 

[IanM]

Really helpful to see peoples' perspectives. So thanks for the thoughts...

Ideally, I would drop to 3 days a week for the year, I might ask for that! My old man died at 59, and this makes me think about longevity, or lack it! My boss is a workaholic who is mortgaged up to his ear-holes who cannot understand why I would want to stop work!

I worked 25 years in FS, so I have a good handle on the planning side... just me potentially overthinking my options!

 

[IanG]

My old man died at 59, and this makes me think about longevity, or lack it!

I'm the same and and that fact has certainly shaped my priorities.

 

[jim8flog]

Retirement is the wrong word for me.

Due to exceptional family circumstances I stopped working at 38. I had always intended to retire at 55 and had made the appropriate financial arrangements

Working in the life insurance business I had seen too many men not reach retirement age.

Sadly for me the financial crash of 2008 had a major impact on my finances but luckily my needs are few these days.

Always remember if you own your own house in the later years of life you will always have an asset to cash in ( Equity Release) if the other investments are not producing the income for your needs.

PS In the first few years I wondered how I ever had the time for work as there was so much to do.

 

[PJ87]

Really helpful to see peoples' perspectives. So thanks for the thoughts...

Ideally, I would drop to 3 days a week for the year, I might ask for that! My old man died at 59, and this makes me think about longevity, or lack it! My boss is a workaholic who is mortgaged up to his ear-holes who cannot understand why I would want to stop work!

I worked 25 years in FS, so I have a good handle on the planning side... just me potentially overthinking my options!

My mum semi retired at 58 she never been happier

3 days a week she works

Now she dropped every other Tuesday so 2 days and 3 days a week

She enjoys the extra rest and her colleague done same so they hired another teacher to replace their other hours

 

[User62651]

Cripes what a depressing read....for me, I'm 51 and have a mortgage until I'm 67 although a little family inheritance might help see that off earlier in due course, depending on a number of factors including the taxman.
Not working properly currently, just odd jobbing, so my income is low, Mrs is full time luckily but things are very tight presently, could move again for work but mrs's business is here and kids are settled here, I've moved them around too much already, grass is not always greener.
Father in law retired at 52 and never looked back, now 77 and lives a full life whereas my poor old man died at 63 having had no retirement at all before cancer got him.
Have a few pensions via different jobs but never been a high earner so they are modest but better than nowt. We have another house which is ours legally but held by our inlaws until they're no longer fit to use it for their holidays, isn't rented out but can be in future, might be a lifesaver. Frustrating for us though as it sits empty most of the year.
No retirement any time soon unless my numbers come up. Not ready to properly retire yet as the kids are school age so too young for me to go off travelling etc but a decent job on a 4 day week would be good.

 

[SaintHacker]

Without a lottery win or a rich aunt somewhere I don't know about I'll proably have to work until lunchtime the day of my funeral, and even then they probably won't give me the afternoon off...

 

[chrisd]

I sold the assets of my business when I was 62 and retired. My wife was still working and it was late in the year, I had never had a day unemployed, so other than sick or holidays I got up and went to work and was suddenly alone, at home, it was winter, I barely saw anyone, didnt know whether to put the heating on or watch TV or do the housework and couldn't play golf every day . I decided to find work for a few hours a week doing a social clubs accounts etc and it was great to have something to do again, some money to pay for an extra couple of holidays a year etc only thing is now I'm doing a construction job on their site, looking to have to work until I'm 70+ .

I'd look at all the pros and cons if I were the OP and not rush a decision

 

[Mandofred]

Retired a couple weeks before turning 54 from teaching. I didn't get married until I was 49 and didn't have kids to feed so I saved pretty decently. I was offered early retirement which I didn't hesitate very long thinking about. That last year before quitting I kept track of every bit of money I spent to make sure I knew what I could live off of......I still keep track and I'm 63 now.

 

[SatchFan]

I took a redundancy package at the age of 50. My wife was lucky enough to get a similar deal from her business at about the same time. Having been fairly sensible with our money and being child free it was no particular hardship to economise a bit and live off our savings until my pension kicked in at 55. Four years on and we are as happy as anyone could be and don't seem to have enough time to do all the things we would like. Health wise, we don't take anything for granted and it's nice to think we have already had nine good years with the hope of many more to come.

 

[clubchamp98]

One of the biggest issues to consider imo.

She loves her job so we talked about it.
I do everything in the house .
Housework, washing ,cooking etc.
So she comes home and there’s nothing for her to do.
This means I can basically do what I want once the chores are done.
It works great for us .
But as said in the poor weather or winter it can get boring .
I just go out on my bike if I can’t play golf.

 

[Hobbit]

Mmm, my original intention was to retire at Christmas 2015 at the tender age of 58. The job was intense - you can only sit in so many Coroner's inquests and sackings, let alone hitting double digit growth expectations in an industry that was struggling. I fought every offer for 6 months until they offered something very interesting and challenging - turning around an oil and gas division up in Aberdeen when the price of oil had dropped to $27 a barrel.

It was a great job. Very challenging and, most of the time, very rewarding mentally. I was asked to do 5 years but offered 2. As much as I loved the job, well most of it, I wish I'd retired when I originally intended. Why?? I was within months of retiring in 2018 when cancer got in the way - its inclined to make you reassess your options. But the maths weren't great. Doing those 2 extra years increased my monthly pension by £60. Did I really need that extra £60 on top of a decent pension, especially when the job was stressful?

Only you can answer the question of when to retire but I will relate a question, and answer, that our pension adviser asked of us. "How much money will you need at 80 when most of what you do is sit in front of the TV?" And he went on to say, "you will need money to tour the world in your 60's, and you will need money to amble down the club in your 80's."

You choose the life style that you want, but bear in mind the majority of your expenditure will be in you 60's and early 70's. Your state pension and whatever your private pension is worth in your 80's will pay for your TV licence.

Quick edit; you can't buy back time, whatever your pension is worth.

 

[Canfordhacker]

I went part time on my 55th birthday last year, started drawing down my pension to make up the difference. Started playing seniors golf (55 at my club) on a Monday, spent the Friday doing stuff with the wife. my aim is to build up ways to fill the time as I create new networks, with a view to full retirement next year. Had a four month career break pre corona and travelled in Oz and NZ, just trying to break the mindset that work is essential. Discovered I didn't miss it, but there are elements that need to be considered - the social contact of work (though WFH has killed that), the structure (ditto)and the intellectual challenge. I have friends who do volunteer work which has been a boon to them and something I will investigate. One other thing to consider is health insurance - comes as part of my work package and needs to be factored into the finance side of things when I finish.

One other thing - surely you have a notice period too? Take the yea, work the winter, give the relevant notice so as not to leave them in the lurch. I learnt when I got made redundant after 22 years in previous role that you have to look out for yourself, but don't diss the people doing it. Life is too short - do what makes you happy and feels right. Good luck!

 

[jim8flog]

She loves her job so we talked about it.
I do everything in the house .

I too do everything in the house
Leave the washing up to pile up for several days , remember to dust about twice a year, hoover occasionally etc etc

 

[backwoodsman]

Having seen what my dad did - stopped work at 58 and enjoyed life to the full with mum, having finished the financial burdens of offspring - I always planned to follow suit. I aimed at 60 but a couple project extensions made it run over slightly. I was a couple of years short of "full work pension" but as close as dammit. Gross pension is about half my former gross salary - but after you adjust for the tax, national insurance, pension contibutions that you no longer pay etc it turns out that real net income is not that much down on what it used to be. And knock off all the work related costs (travel, clothes etc) one finds that life is much cheaper to run than it used to be.

I used to enjoy my work and did about 2-3 more hours per day than I was contracted/paid for. Do I miss it? Not really. I missed the people a bit, but in reality, most of my close work colleagues have now either moved on, or retired themselves. And those you want to stay in touch with - you will anyway.

In short, retire because you want to - not when you're forced to. Do the sums, & if you can afford it, do it! There's too much to enjoy in life than to spend all your time working

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

My plan in retirement was - and still is - to do volunteering in our Church Cafe a couple of days a week - plus helping out on the Fabric Committee...doing the odds jobs around the place that cost money that the church could do with spending on something else. Gives me flexibility rest of the working week for whatever (which would include weekday golf for first time in my life - so reciprocals etc) if Mrs SILH is still doing her P/T job.

I'd have no problems filling my time