Retirement

Hobbit

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This is something is approaching for me now. Just turned 65 and so a year to my official retirement age. Considering all my options really as I do enjoy the role but I have been working since I was 16 so a long time. I do have decent pensions and some investments so keep asking myself do I....
  • Just retire at 66, collect my pension and then work with less money coming in.
  • Off to go on to a reduced 2-3 day week.
  • Offer consultancy if they want it.
My knowledge in the business is very strong. My plan is to ensure that isn't lost when I retire. I know there is no such thing as irreplaceable, and if I dropped dead tomorrow then the world and work would continue, but I've worked hard in my role and I want to ensure that it continues to run smoothly when I've gone.

I retired a few days over 6 years ago. Did the business suffer? No, someone else stepped up. Were my skills lost? No, someone else stepped up, and I also received weekly then occasional calls asking for help. Do I miss it? Yes, but I then ask myself whether I would want to do it for 40-50-60 hours a week again. I still do a little bit of support occasionally and that does enough to scratch the itch.

If you’re happy doing what you do, keep on doing it. If you want to dip your toe in the (retirement) water, go part time. And if you have a bucket list of things you want to do, do them whilst you’re still fit enough. I’ve kept myself as active as I can but there’s things I can’t do now that I could 5 years ago.

Good luck, and enjoy whatever you decide.
 

HomerJSimpson

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Finally got the latest pension statements from my main employers since the Treasury where I started in 1983. We have a financial advisor who does free surgeries at the club every third Thursday of the month so need to sit down with him now and see my options. Hopefully there is a pathway to retiring at least a few years early
 

Robster59

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I retired a few days over 6 years ago. Did the business suffer? No, someone else stepped up. Were my skills lost? No, someone else stepped up, and I also received weekly then occasional calls asking for help. Do I miss it? Yes, but I then ask myself whether I would want to do it for 40-50-60 hours a week again. I still do a little bit of support occasionally and that does enough to scratch the itch.

If you’re happy doing what you do, keep on doing it. If you want to dip your toe in the (retirement) water, go part time. And if you have a bucket list of things you want to do, do them whilst you’re still fit enough. I’ve kept myself as active as I can but there’s things I can’t do now that I could 5 years ago.

Good luck, and enjoy whatever you decide.
Agreed, the business will go on. I know my knowledge is good, but nobody is irreplaceable. I just want to try and make the transition as smooth as possible so I want to give my manager notice enough to get someone in my place and trained up.
 

jim8flog

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Additional thought.... must be a winter thing. Unless someone specific happening, I'm getting up later and later. Its like being a student again!

Although my 10.25 breakfast this morning is a couple of hours ahead of your average teenager 😀

Next week will reinstate the alarm clock

The trouble is long before you reach retirement age you find you do not need 8 hours sleep a night, your bladder cannot last 8 hours anyway and you cannot stay on the settee late at night watching TV without falling asleep.
 

Hobbit

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The trouble is long before you reach retirement age you find you do not need 8 hours sleep a night, your bladder cannot last 8 hours anyway and you cannot stay on the settee late at night watching TV without falling asleep.

My lullaby is the the music that opens the 6 o’clock news, 7pm here. However, I wish I had a euro for every visit to the bathroom between midnight and 7am, and I’m usually finishing a film at 7am.
 

SwingsitlikeHogan

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Got a couple of mates who over the last couple of years were reaching retirement age (I.e. the age you can afford to retire with a lifestyle that is suitably adequate)…one has tried cutting his hours down and doing a bit of consultancy, but family and life stuff started to take on an importance that justified him spending more time on it…so last week he hung his boots up.

The other lad is determined to keep going because he has some big project he wants to finish. I’ve asked him why the project is so important to him that it needs finishing before he’ll consider retirement, and when he tells me it’s pretty apparent to me that it’s simply his ego and somewhat inflated sense of importance - forever telling us the next country he’s flying out to to do this, that and the other, that’s keeping him going.

Well of course that’s absolutely up to him…of course it is…but I can honestly say that there was nothing about my work and the projects I was doing that gave me any pause for thought when voluntary exit was offered two years ago. I absolutely took much pride and duty of care to colleagues when prep‘ing and doing the handovers…and there were many nice words from senior folks wondering why on earth they were encouraging me to go…me of all people 🙄😄. But hey…it was nice to hear that I’d been appreciated and had done a good job on a variety of types of project across multiple sectors. And so I took the words of thanks with gratitude; pocketed the golden cheerio, and walked out of the door, pausing only to turn and give everyone a cheery wave.

And that I did that those 2yrs ago has been extremely important to myself and my wife as we have struggled, and continue to struggle, to support her brother through two separate cancers, and her mother as age and frailty take their toll. Life is for living, loving and caring for others…a bit of money is nice…and we are fortunate to have a little more than just sufficient. And that’s fine. I’ll have a chat with my working mate tomorrow - see how life is treating him.😍

And it is mighty odd to think that the state pension will be dropping into my bank account in not much over 7 months time 😳
 

clubchamp98

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I retired at 58 after 40 yrs of shift work. I’m 66 now.
Dont miss it at all. But I do miss the lads great bunch.

After a few years I went part time with a Sports turf maintenance company.
I love it I have learned so much.

At first it’s a lovely thing having so much time.
But I got bored ,you need something to do .
You can only play so much golf!!!
 

Hobbit

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Not retiring yet (I'm 58) but just got agreement to reduce my work to 4 days from August.
Really looking forward to that.

I think a staged reduction is a good idea, especially for those that don’t do much outside of work. We both had a plan to retire to Spain and a bucket list of things to do. The decision to retire was firmed up by a cancer diagnosis, and I certainly needed the year after the op to recover. A clean break worked for me.
 

Crazyface

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The other lad is determined to keep going because he has some big project he wants to finish. I’ve asked him why the project is so important to him that it needs finishing before he’ll consider retirement, and when he tells me it’s pretty apparent to me that it’s simply his ego and somewhat inflated sense of importance - forever telling us the next country he’s flying out to
to do this, that and the other, that’s keeping him going.

I have a mate that was like this. One minute he was retired, after being slowly demoted and stabbed in the back, and we joined the same club together, with the intention of playing every Monday together. THat soon stopped when he was given the opportunity to go back doing what he used to do at his old level. He was 66 yo at this point. He's 68 now and I got sick of him telling me how much money the bloke has that set the new business up (import export) and how much he's pays for bottles of wine and food when he turns up to take them out for a slap up meal (there is only two blokes doing this job). Yawn......... He loves it. It's like a drug to him. I have to keep rolling my eyes "back into the forward position" (whats that quote from?) when we do meet up for a game. Sad really. I think.
 

PJ87

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That's a nice way to do things, wind down a little. 4 days sounds like a good stepping stone.

Wish my mum would retire lol she can't let go

She is 64

Dropped to 3 days 5 years ago

Then 2 days

Finally retired 2 years ago

Like heck . She goes into school at least once a week. Too good to turn down she says (supply is £300 a day) but we all know teachers are a different breed

The money is nice but we know it's cuz she can't let go. Like there staffing issues are her fault so insists on helping

She's always the same. She looked after the twins and now my niece

I told her last year before you have my niece just take a holiday in terms time. Cheap and enjoy it . I'll book holiday and look after them

Did she? Nope went away in holidays didn't want to put us out
 

Lord Tyrion

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@pauljames87 it's a psychological thing, your own make up. My mum, ex teacher, was ready to retire and took early retirement at 60. Loved it, never missed it. Still meets up with ex colleagues, all retired as well now, but never felt the urge to teach again.

My FiL was dragged kicking and screaming into retirement. Fought it, kept 'dropping in'. He is 86, would still work now if he could.

I think some people judge themselves by their work and if they don't work then what are they? Personally, I doff my cap to anyone who tells me they are retired, I admire them 😆. You won't change your mums thought process I suspect, it's ingrained 🤷🏻‍♂️
 

GreiginFife

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I’m still on track to retire in 5 years. Been the plan since I started contracting 14 years ago, hit 50 and the daily grind goes.

Not to say I won’t keep the woodworking going but then it’s 100% on my terms.
Take the jobs I want, when I want.
 
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