Facing retirement.

[Hasbeen]

I retired at 58, [had no choice actually], 17 years ago.

Restored a couple of cars, & take the odd 2/3 day trip.

It's a great life, but getting into a low coupe is getting harder. I might get a 4X4, as they are easier to get into, & go do some off roading. About time to develop a new skill.

[foxsasha]

I'm 40 and have done near as dammit no work over the past 14 months. Deliberately made myself 95% redundant from my own company. I've sufficient income and am absolutely loving being out of the daily grind. Spend my time enjoying life.

There is a high chance I'll get dragged back to work at some point but Id be more than happy to have seen the back of it for good.

[AmiableChimp]

Chunkymonkey71 said:

I understand what you're saying.

I haven't really thought about retirement; but that's mostly down to being a short, overweight Glaswegian who will likely die in my mid 60s.

You've obviously looked after yourself to live that long in the Weeg

[mph1977]

Fittster said:

Useful to who?

given thenumber of dads/ grandads who seem to spend most of their early to mid retirment buidling treehouses / painting nurseries / looking after grandkids that's a very good question

[pilchardthecat]

I'm starting to look at retirement differently the more real it gets.

At 40, i'm thinking i can probably do another 8-10 years of this salary-slave crap, and then have enough in the pot to work another 10-15 years doing something less dreary, for less money/benefits and preferably self-employed, before actually taking the pension and living a life of leisure

[Adenauer]

Where's KH gone since starting this thread, has he nodded off again in a puddle of his own piss?

[Jasandjules]

Surely it is just the opportunity to start up your own business of some kind?

I am guessing the OP is (like me and many others) a bit concerned that not having work will be like a death sentence - boring etc.. Better to have some level of activity and keep the mind and body going...

[Emeye]

My dad retired at 60, but not so long after discovered he had MS and had to give up on all his retirement plans.

Another guy I worked with retired at 60 and weeks later discovered he had cancer.

Sorry to be so depressing, but if you can retire early then enjoy it while you can as you never know what's around the corner

[johnxjsc1985]

Bother in law died at 56 2 months before he was due to take early retirement.

[Flip Martian]

If you enjoy working/your job - fine, keep working. If you have other things you want to do in life, I reckon try and get into a position where you can do it as soon as possible.

As shown in the last couple of posts - you never ever know what's around the corner.

[Monkeythree]

Emeye said:

My dad retired at 60, but not so long after discovered he had MS and had to give up on all his retirement plans.

Another guy I worked with retired at 60 and weeks later discovered he had cancer.

Sorry to be so depressing, but if you can retire early then enjoy it while you can as you never know what's around the corner

A guy I worked with retired at 60 and dropped dead the very next day! He was a mad keen fisherman and was looking forward to whiling away his years endulging himself in his hobby.

It really motivated me towards retiring as early as possible.

[King Herald]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

King Herald said:

12 years ago I joined a company that actually had a pension scheme, but for the small amount I can pay in I knew it could never amount to much, come the big day.



I finally decided to look into the figures I could expect were I to stop working at 55, which is in two months. I was pleasantly surprised to find I would take just a 50% drop in income,

So you've paid in a small amount for just 12 yrs, and they are going to pay you 50% of finally salary from 55 until death.

3 possibilities. Either you've misunderstood, or they've got it wrong, or you currently earn £10 a week.

Seriously, check this out and get it in writing. When things sound too good to be true, they usually are.

It's not so simple, I have a couple of other lump sums I have accrued, profit sharing, extra payments etc, that roll over into the pension if I choose, which is what takes it up to the 50% ish figure. I have 22 years in altogether, but half is grandfathered in from a previous company, so it changes the game.

Lots of good advice here, but many people still seem to dwell on the 'find a hobby or you'll get bored ' theme. I have hobbies, I build cars, built our house, build furniture, just seem to keep making stuff, I'm busy busy busy all the time when off work, for six months a year.

The real issue is the psychological 'crash' that seems to have sprung into place suddenly, now retirement become a viable option.

I'm actually very surprised I have survived so many years, when clever guys all around have been laid off during oil crashes. I'm not dumb, but I don't see myself as having any particularly outstanding abilities. Maybe I just smile a lot whenever the right managers are around.

Sat in Houston airport, sucking down a few cold ones in the Qatar business lounge right now, in case my English is a bit blurred.

[Flip Martian]

King Herald said:

The real issue is the psychological 'crash' that seems to have sprung into place suddenly, now retirement become a viable option.

You need to reprogramme your brain then - perhaps at the moment you're thinking "paid job = useful place in society vs hobbies+not working = no useful place in society". We are programmed from an early age that to work is the right thing to do - and I think it IS, of course. But retiring just means you've finished your stint at the wheel and its time to reap the rewards of that and pass on the baton.

And if I can think of any other metaphors to mix and mangle in there, I will resist the urge...!

But the point is - you need to find satisfaction in a job well done and think of retirement as your reward for that. My opinion, anyway.

[King Herald]

Well, I passed the big 55 a week or two ago, and nothing really changed. I was at home at the time, had a small party, got a bit drunk.

I had 8 weeks off work altogether, with a bit of sick leave in the middle, and I must admit it felt pretty good after the first month had passed. We got into a routine, I sort of lost interest in drinking as much as I usually do, but then eventually the call to work came in and I got all tensed up about leaving for the last week.

What usually happens is I am rushing around, trying to keep productive, scared of 'wasting' any of my precious days off. This time I was on the PS4 all day a couple of days with no guilt trips.

Yes, I know now I can do the retirement thing now without too much trouble, without going stir crazy at the wife etc.

Every extra year I work means more money in the pot though, but it is so tempting to call it a day now and just kick back.

Is it being lazy, or just doing the natural thing? Should we feel guilt for not wanting to work?

I remember packing in everything, selling my house, and leaving England back in 1990, to backpack round the world, and was never sure if it was a genuine sense of adventure and discovery, or just laziness.

[red_slr]

Think it comes down to your own circs really but for me, unless something changes, I want to retire as close to 55 as possible. I would retire tomorrow if I could.

Having seen various members of my family retire at different age ranges I can say for sure the younger you can retire the better your general health and fitness is.

[King Herald]

Even though I was off work, I was still up at 6am nearly every morning, wake up the daughter for school, open the house, curtains, windows, get the dogs food cooking. (They eat rice, believe it or not)

I love that time of day, sun is already shining, sky is blue, (most of the year round anyway) air is still cool, it is fairly quiet outside, wife is still snoring upstairs.....

[Adam B]

Is it the Philippines you are based? Will you stay there for the rest of your days (presumably expensive to move back and money won't go as far)

[Wacky Racer]

I'm nearly 62, I could retire now if I wanted to, but actually enjoy going to work, (Self employed own successful business), however I usually take five-six holidays a year...(Not expensive, only in the UK)I may do another five years yet, (Health permitting)

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.....

[KFC]

Any time topics like this come up I always get the impression that the people saying "I'd retire tomorrow if I could" (when they're in their 20's or early 30's currently) are always going to be the guys that will never need to worry about it, as there is no chance it'll ever apply to them.

I think most people who've put themselves in a position to retire early through their own hard work / skills etc aren't going to want to. Sure they may step back a bit, or they may have a try at another line of work, but they'll be back at something or other.

I can't think wtf i'd do with myself if I retired at 40. I know someone will be along to say 'lack of imagination' but there is no real purpose to just endlessly going on holidays is there?

[Asterix]

KH - Nah mate - you're looking at this from completely the wrong perspective.

The is the beginning of the rest of your life, the bit where you are in total control. Look at this as the time that is the pay off for all the graft and crap you've gone through for the last 30 odd years.

Too old? Pah! Many could say that at 55 you're too young to be in such an enviable position.