Retirement

[Banchory Buddha]

I'm into week 4 of my "work through the winter " after 14 months off....

....quite frankly, even though the course is closed due to the freeze, I'd rather not be sat at a laptop working. I am sure I could be doing something more fun!

Lesson learned.

Hmmm, work through winter was my "part-time" plan as I put the clubs away in October usually. Maybe not so good then

 

[IanM]

Hmmm, work through winter was my "part-time" plan as I put the clubs away in October usually. Maybe not so good then

I think the main issue is "loss of freedom!"

Also this is a salaried "proper job" with same stress as my previous contracts, just not a big fat day rate, so I'm feeling like I am short changing myself.

If I do something next winter, it'll be part time only!

 

[Crazyface]

Note about a pension pot of £350k. It might sound a lot (and compared with that of many, it is), but an IFA will suggest that to maintain a steady income from it for ‘as long as’, and maintain the pot (markets permitting) a monthly drawdown of about £1400 (4%), would be appropriate. About £400 would be taxed so the pot would provide a monthly income of about £1320…not exactly a huge amount.

Of course you can take a higher % until the state pension kicks in then cut the drawdown to less than 4%. And for ‘living in the now‘ I suspect a fair few plan to do that.

It all depends on what you think you need. He drives a big Audi, and wants to continue to, but really does he need to? No he does not. His house is the size of two semi detatched, does he need it? no. But it's his, and his wifes, familly home so thats where he will be staying. See, it's where you place yourself with the finances available. The wife has sacked it off with a pension pot of 100K. This is to last until 65 when the next pot will be taken. £150k. So miles behind my mates £350k and he;s 67!!!!! Oh and his wife still works part time too. All kids long gone. He had no real bonkers spending habits, that I know of. Just takes a cruise holiday each year. So not a mega spender, neither is his wife. Just don't get it. I think he's a worrier.

 

[Mandofred]

A lady I worked with just couldn't save. She was on a fair bit higher salary than me. When I told her that I was saving at least $30K a year (this was around 2007), she couldn't understand how I could do it. After talking to her for a while....I knew. She ate out all the time. She never did her laundry, paid somebody else to do it. Went on trips to London at least once a month...and stayed in nice places. Lots of new clothes. Constant drain of money....just how she wanted to live.

 

[Kennysarmy]

I've had a private pension that I've been paying in to since I was 25 (soon to be 53) - only a small amount - but built up around 30k - the idea is that this tops up my work pension if I go early!

I work (IT Support) in a school, and have been in the Local Government pension scheme since 1999, believe this is a decent scheme!

When the mortgage got paid off last year I started to put £200 a month in to a work organised Prudential AVC.

I'm also saving hard and hope to have around £80 too £100k in savings by the time I'm 62 - that's the date I've provisionally got in mind to fully retire.

I've dropped from 5 days to 4.5 recently, but probably can't do my job on less than that sadly

So, 9 years and 8 days to go.......

I don't have an extravagant lifestyle so who knows, may be able to go even earlier than 62!

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I don't understand why anyone who could live a comfortable life not working would continue to work. Not considering those who's life and joy comes from their work, like professional golfers say. For them I only have envy.

A think a little caveat would have you envying the life of successful, or even relatively successful, professional golfers.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

It all depends on what you think you need. He drives a big Audi, and wants to continue to, but really does he need to? No he does not. His house is the size of two semi detatched, does he need it? no. But it's his, and his wifes, familly home so thats where he will be staying. See, it's where you place yourself with the finances available. The wife has sacked it off with a pension pot of 100K. This is to last until 65 when the next pot will be taken. £150k. So miles behind my mates £350k and he;s 67!!!!! Oh and his wife still works part time too. All kids long gone. He had no real bonkers spending habits, that I know of. Just takes a cruise holiday each year. So not a mega spender, neither is his wife. Just don't get it. I think he's a worrier.

Remember that he doesn’t spend his pension pot as if it was a pile of capital in the bank. He has to make it last until he is in his dotage, and the IFA advice is pretty standard…your monthly drawdown should be about 4% of your pot. Of course you can drawdown larger lump sums if you want but you pay tax on it as if it were normal earned income - so it’s best not to if you can help it, unless needs absolutely must. Depends also on the savings you have in addition to your pension fund. So,the wife’s pension pot of £100k would see her with a typical drawdown income of £400/month.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I don't understand why anyone who could live a comfortable life not working would continue to work

My FiL falls into this category. He worked way past his time, didn't want to retire. Hated retirement for years, now is down to simply disliking it. It's wasted on him ?.

He judges people by their job, their salary. If you aren't working what are you? He thinks people look down on him for not working because that's how he views things ??‍.

It blows his mind that I'd retire tomorrow if I could. I enjoy that conversation when we have it, watching his eyes spin around ?. It's a certain strange way to look at things, imo

 

[RichA]

Dad took early retirement at 59. He's now approaching his 91st birthday, so he's done OK.
His father retired at 65, got bored after a week and went back to work. I've got the Sheffield steel teapot his colleagues gave him on his 80th birthday when he was still working at Drax power station as the tea boy. ?

 

[clubchamp98]

My regular pp of 10 yrs is an absolute work aholic.
He’s just been told today he’s got a spinal / brain tumour, after waiting for a diagnosis.
So he can’t work any more.
He’s very worried it will put him in a wheelchair.
Been trying to cheer him up but it’s very hard to understand what’s going through his head.
He’s been saying for years he would retire but just one more job.

To many people don’t make retirement so if you can afford it do it imo.

 

[Tashyboy]

I don't understand why anyone who could live a comfortable life not working would continue to work. Not considering those who's life and joy comes from their work, like professional golfers say. For them I only have envy.

There was a lorry driver at the last pit I worked at. He was well into his 70’s when he was compulsory retired through medical reasons. I asked him year after year why he still worked. He loved having companionship. He once said “ if you woke up in a morning and looked at what I had to look at, you would go to work as well”. He was on about his wife.
Ironically when he retired he and his wife spent hours and hours at his allotment. He said “ I wish I had done it years ago, but I dare not make the decision”.

 

[ADB]

Unfortunately, wanting to retire to smell the roses and being able to retire are two very different things - the boiler plate final salary pensions are long gone and now many see (myself included) selling up and downsizing as the only viable way of generating enough money to not work. With the cost of houses we'll be paying the mortgage off until close to retirement and with no obvious inheritance coming our way, i see a flexible working situation into my 70's being the only way we can have the lifestyle we want and also live in an area that we want to. I've resigned myself to this and amongst my friendship group, this is the common consensus - still working later in life but not as many hours. I see this as being the new normal.

 

[Swinglowandslow]

The big statement in Hogie’s post is “we can’t buy time…” Having a big pension pot isn’t much use if your body is shot to bits and sitting around is all you’re good for. Retire whilst you’re still fit enough to do the things you want to do - this very much ties in with what the Independent Financial Advisor said to me 25yrs ago. “Do you think you’ll be walking the Fells at 80? Jetting off to China? By the time you reach 80, all you will need is enough money to pay for your TV licence.” A bit simplistic but you get the gist.

Mrs Hobbit is 62, I’m 64. The road trips, with shared driving, take some planning as failing eyesight means she can’t drive anymore. Days are limited to 2-3 hours driving, not 5-6. Thank God we retired 5 years ago.

I’ve been lucky, I am there very soon, but still fishing and golfing.
But the advice is sound.
No good being well off and crocked. Go as soon as you can afford it.
Very few have jobs that are their hobbies too .

 

[Billysboots]

I retired from the police in 2021 aged 54. As many will know, the first year was a bit stressful, as I have been treated for prostate cancer, but things are pretty good now.

Medical issues aside, it’s taking some time to settle into retired life. 54 is young, too young to be doing nothing. So I have a nice little part time job delivering cars two days a week. It doesn’t tax the brain, but I don’t want it to. It gets me out of the house, I enjoy seeing the countryside, and I don’t rely on the income from it. It goes straight in a savings account and, once I’ve paid my dues to the taxman, the net proceeds are used for family holidays, golf trips and away days and so on.

People think I’m mad not taking a second career given my age. But I never wanted one. I simply wanted a stress free pension top up. I have money in the bank, a very comfortable monthly pension and a mortgage free home. If there is one thing life has taught me, certainly these last twelve months, it’s that there is more to life than work.

I will say that my decision to carry on doing some part time work has been influenced by the fact my wife still works, as do most of my golf partners. So winter, in particular, needs something to fill the days. I could never be a stay at home type - that would drive me potty.

Every one of us will have a different take on retirement. I have mates who retired from the cops and went straight back as civilian employees. No thanks, but it suits them. Some of them went back to their previous roles in a civilian capacity, meaning they still work shifts and on call duties. Definitely no thanks but, again, it suits them. Many took full time second careers doing something completely different.

It may be in a year or so I have a different view on my lifestyle. But the biggest plus for me is that, after a working life during which every aspect of my life was controlled, including what I did and said away from work to a large extent, I now have the freedom to choose. And that freedom is worth so much.

 

[Billysboots]

The big statement in Hogie’s post is “we can’t buy time…” Having a big pension pot isn’t much use if your body is shot to bits and sitting around is all you’re good for. Retire whilst you’re still fit enough to do the things you want to do

Very true. I know me and my ilk are very fortunate to have retired on final salary pensions, but I do still vividly recall the advice of a retired chief inspector I played golf with a few years ago.

He finished at 54, and despite having a wealth of opportunities career wise, including some very lucrative offers, he turned them all down. His view was that he was going to play golf, cycle, walk, travel and try as many new hobbies as he could whilst his body still allows. He says when the aches and pains get too much for him to be able to do that, hopefully when he is into his late 60’s or beyond, only then will he start to think about part time work.

His view was that his late 50’s into his 60’s was his time, for him to do all the things he had always wanted to do. If finances allow it, what a great outlook to have.

 

[stefanovic]

Coming up to 73, I have just one message.
What you need is not wealth. It's health.
If you have all the money you ever wanted it's useless if your health breaks down.
I can still jog, bike ride, play golf.
The reason we age is the same as why the universe ages.
It's called entropy - everything goes from a state of order to disorder.
Keep it in mind and consider not what to do but what not to do.

 

[IanM]

Ongoing saga of my retirement... I got another job, which I started on 23rd November (3 days after 59th birthday) having had 14 months off...

Smashing organisation, decent(ish) salary and interesting project! I'm thinking "I don't want to be chained to a desk when the Spring arrives!" (which was the original plan)

I am going to resign week 2 of the New Year so I can leave mid Feb. There's Opens in the diary and golf to be played. If you can afford to not work, or go part time I'd do it.

I might do the same next Dec/Jan.. kept me busy while the weather is at its worse!

BUT, if you need to work and are, celebrate the fact you are. Many are less fortunate.

 

[clubchamp98]

I retired from the police in 2021 aged 54. As many will know, the first year was a bit stressful, as I have been treated for prostate cancer, but things are pretty good now.

Medical issues aside, it’s taking some time to settle into retired life. 54 is young, too young to be doing nothing. So I have a nice little part time job delivering cars two days a week. It doesn’t tax the brain, but I don’t want it to. It gets me out of the house, I enjoy seeing the countryside, and I don’t rely on the income from it. It goes straight in a savings account and, once I’ve paid my dues to the taxman, the net proceeds are used for family holidays, golf trips and away days and so on.

People think I’m mad not taking a second career given my age. But I never wanted one. I simply wanted a stress free pension top up. I have money in the bank, a very comfortable monthly pension and a mortgage free home. If there is one thing life has taught me, certainly these last twelve months, it’s that there is more to life than work.

I will say that my decision to carry on doing some part time work has been influenced by the fact my wife still works, as do most of my golf partners. So winter, in particular, needs something to fill the days. I could never be a stay at home type - that would drive me potty.

Every one of us will have a different take on retirement. I have mates who retired from the cops and went straight back as civilian employees. No thanks, but it suits them. Some of them went back to their previous roles in a civilian capacity, meaning they still work shifts and on call duties. Definitely no thanks but, again, it suits them. Many took full time second careers doing something completely different.

It may be in a year or so I have a different view on my lifestyle. But the biggest plus for me is that, after a working life during which every aspect of my life was controlled, including what I did and said away from work to a large extent, I now have the freedom to choose. And that freedom is worth so much.

Great post very similar to myself.
40 yrs of shift work takes it out of you.
I have a part time GK job and I love it ,I have learned so much and appreciate what our GKs do more.
Some people just love work ,I never did like shifts .
But we need something to do apart from golf.

 

[Swinglowandslow]

Yes, I retired early, but unlike BB I didn’t take a “little earner”. I had a load of hobbies, which looking back , might have well have got in the way of my career.?…but I ..couldn’t wait for the days off to go doing one or the other of the hobbies. Financially I was able to tick over, no big house or fancy hols, but figured I needed to do what I did while the body held out. Even found myself playing squash early sixties, but that’s gone now.
I never had the slightest fear of being bored, certainly not as I neared retirement.
I knew some who dreaded retirement. But then , people are different.
I couldn’t understand guys who retired one job and went straight into another, even though they had excellent pensions…..well, maybe not true.. they were guys who did nothing but work. Hobbies or pastimes they had none. Truth was, they didn’t know what to do with themselves. Mind, they couldn’t understand me, one or two even thought I was shirking my work because I wasn’t like them,!
The body’s not built to last forever, however you take care of it. So, as has been said, do it while you can.
If you don’t ,but instead accumulate money, you’ll still finish up giving someone £5k-£6k a month for a room.
If you’re lucky, the nurse will be pretty?

 

[IanM]

But we need something to do apart from golf.

.....anything "fun !" Depending on your definition of fun. Most of my career was fun, but it took up too much time!