Enjoying Retirement
Discussion
FWIW I’m checking into this post every couple of days and all the various views and comments are great for helping me formulate my approach . 50 this year and ideally start ramping down hours from now for the next couple of years till zero . 55 at latest pending whether work actually want me to go back into office . ( which is deal breaker for me now ! )
GT3Manthey said:
Don’t worry I will do .
It’s just interesting hearing others experiences and view points .
It’s the reason I started this thread.
I’m confident it’ll all work & reading the posts helps fine tune the plan .
I have found it a very interesting and valuable thread too so thanks for starting it. It’s just interesting hearing others experiences and view points .
It’s the reason I started this thread.
I’m confident it’ll all work & reading the posts helps fine tune the plan .
James6112 said:
Recently turned 60
Still working, aim to retire at say 63. Paid well & 36 days leave. Run 5 miles a day & walk the dogs, finished by 4!
Still run under 20 mins for a 5k on a good day/race.
No mortgage, 800k house & direct debits trimmed to undef £500 a month (just cancelled Sky! , energy fixed last year until June 23). Not taking on any new debts & not wasting money on new cars. May buy one more when other pension pot matures.
A pension tax free lump sum, from a job 1996-2003, is funding current extension/new kitchen/new boiler/updates, to see us right for the next 10 years. Or the kids if I keel over.
State pension maxed out & £189 a week for me @67, wife a bit less.
Could retire now tbh but no point. Unless I have to go to the office more than once a week, will call it a day then.
A couple of final salary pensions & a couple of drawdown pots, still adding to the current one.
Why? I really can’t understand this mentality. Surely you have more plans than just working until you drop? Still working, aim to retire at say 63. Paid well & 36 days leave. Run 5 miles a day & walk the dogs, finished by 4!
Still run under 20 mins for a 5k on a good day/race.
No mortgage, 800k house & direct debits trimmed to undef £500 a month (just cancelled Sky! , energy fixed last year until June 23). Not taking on any new debts & not wasting money on new cars. May buy one more when other pension pot matures.
A pension tax free lump sum, from a job 1996-2003, is funding current extension/new kitchen/new boiler/updates, to see us right for the next 10 years. Or the kids if I keel over.
State pension maxed out & £189 a week for me @67, wife a bit less.
Could retire now tbh but no point. Unless I have to go to the office more than once a week, will call it a day then.
A couple of final salary pensions & a couple of drawdown pots, still adding to the current one.
Grandad (Dad’s side) died at 72
Grandad (Mum’s side) died at 70
MIL diagnosed with cancer at 59 (completely out of the blue, stage 3/3b) following treatment her mobility has reduced to almost being housebound.
FIL, now about 60, an old forces injury flaring up means all his retirement plans are essentially out of the window.
A good friend passed away just after Christmas at 52, surprise cancer diagnosis and dead within 8 weeks.
You are in a position at 60 that the vast majority of people will never be in.
Enjoy your health whilst you have it and enjoy your life whilst you can, you never know what tomorrow will bring.
Han Solo said:
James6112 said:
Recently turned 60
Still working, aim to retire at say 63. Paid well & 36 days leave. Run 5 miles a day & walk the dogs, finished by 4!
Still run under 20 mins for a 5k on a good day/race.
No mortgage, 800k house & direct debits trimmed to undef £500 a month (just cancelled Sky! , energy fixed last year until June 23). Not taking on any new debts & not wasting money on new cars. May buy one more when other pension pot matures.
A pension tax free lump sum, from a job 1996-2003, is funding current extension/new kitchen/new boiler/updates, to see us right for the next 10 years. Or the kids if I keel over.
State pension maxed out & £189 a week for me @67, wife a bit less.
Could retire now tbh but no point. Unless I have to go to the office more than once a week, will call it a day then.
A couple of final salary pensions & a couple of drawdown pots, still adding to the current one.
You are in a position at 60 that the vast majority of people will never be in. Still working, aim to retire at say 63. Paid well & 36 days leave. Run 5 miles a day & walk the dogs, finished by 4!
Still run under 20 mins for a 5k on a good day/race.
No mortgage, 800k house & direct debits trimmed to undef £500 a month (just cancelled Sky! , energy fixed last year until June 23). Not taking on any new debts & not wasting money on new cars. May buy one more when other pension pot matures.
A pension tax free lump sum, from a job 1996-2003, is funding current extension/new kitchen/new boiler/updates, to see us right for the next 10 years. Or the kids if I keel over.
State pension maxed out & £189 a week for me @67, wife a bit less.
Could retire now tbh but no point. Unless I have to go to the office more than once a week, will call it a day then.
A couple of final salary pensions & a couple of drawdown pots, still adding to the current one.
Han Solo said:
James6112 said:
Recently turned 60
Still working, aim to retire at say 63. Paid well & 36 days leave. Run 5 miles a day & walk the dogs, finished by 4!
Still run under 20 mins for a 5k on a good day/race.
No mortgage, 800k house & direct debits trimmed to undef £500 a month (just cancelled Sky! , energy fixed last year until June 23). Not taking on any new debts & not wasting money on new cars. May buy one more when other pension pot matures.
A pension tax free lump sum, from a job 1996-2003, is funding current extension/new kitchen/new boiler/updates, to see us right for the next 10 years. Or the kids if I keel over.
State pension maxed out & £189 a week for me @67, wife a bit less.
Could retire now tbh but no point. Unless I have to go to the office more than once a week, will call it a day then.
A couple of final salary pensions & a couple of drawdown pots, still adding to the current one.
Why? I really can’t understand this mentality. Surely you have more plans than just working until you drop? Still working, aim to retire at say 63. Paid well & 36 days leave. Run 5 miles a day & walk the dogs, finished by 4!
Still run under 20 mins for a 5k on a good day/race.
No mortgage, 800k house & direct debits trimmed to undef £500 a month (just cancelled Sky! , energy fixed last year until June 23). Not taking on any new debts & not wasting money on new cars. May buy one more when other pension pot matures.
A pension tax free lump sum, from a job 1996-2003, is funding current extension/new kitchen/new boiler/updates, to see us right for the next 10 years. Or the kids if I keel over.
State pension maxed out & £189 a week for me @67, wife a bit less.
Could retire now tbh but no point. Unless I have to go to the office more than once a week, will call it a day then.
A couple of final salary pensions & a couple of drawdown pots, still adding to the current one.
Grandad (Dad’s side) died at 72
Grandad (Mum’s side) died at 70
MIL diagnosed with cancer at 59 (completely out of the blue, stage 3/3b) following treatment her mobility has reduced to almost being housebound.
FIL, now about 60, an old forces injury flaring up means all his retirement plans are essentially out of the window.
A good friend passed away just after Christmas at 52, surprise cancer diagnosis and dead within 8 weeks.
You are in a position at 60 that the vast majority of people will never be in.
Enjoy your health whilst you have it and enjoy your life whilst you can, you never know what tomorrow will bring.
The statement “Could retire now tbh but no point” just feels odd/sad to me.
I’m more in the “if you could retire now, then why the hell wouldn’t you?” camp…...
Since I left (less than a year ago), no less than three former workmates passed away. Two of them a similar age to me.
If you love your work and colleagues, & that work broadly defines your life and fills your time, fair enough….but if you have outside interests and ambitions, then why carry on working? It makes little sense to me.
We all have a finite time on this planet….
Another super PH thread. Wise words all over the place.
I am early 50s and just starting to line up the ducks for retirement.
A few years to go but you gotta have a plan right.
My dad passed last year and that been v difficult . Still trying to get over it.
Its all a balance .
My main hobby is cycling .
I hope mybody will allow this in a few years ha ha.
My kids are still young so i think this will keep me active.
I am early 50s and just starting to line up the ducks for retirement.
A few years to go but you gotta have a plan right.
My dad passed last year and that been v difficult . Still trying to get over it.
Its all a balance .
My main hobby is cycling .
I hope mybody will allow this in a few years ha ha.
My kids are still young so i think this will keep me active.
Work until you drop works for some. For instance my very good friend now a multi millionaire who started with no qualifications and not much else. The Founder and Chairman of an international company who just loves doing business. Late 50s like me but he'll never stop. Enjoys nice things, lives abroad for tax, but unreliable as he'll always put business first. To him what he does I don't think he sees it as work, it's his life and I expect him to be the same until he drops or illness takes hold. I don't think he's ever thought about a pension plan.
As a somewhat normal Joe I'm happy taking early retirement (because the pension numbers worked for me) and although we can all make plans into our 80s I find planning the next 5-10yrs a benchmark. I've known several ex-work colleagues who've died unexpectedly in their late 50s or developed illness thats limited any long term enjoyment. I'm now 9yrs away state pension but I've not given it any thought as it's somewhere in the long grass. I've even got my FA telling me to spend more money on holidays now as they'll naturally taper off as I get older!
If you can afford to retire early (and a lot can if they're realistic) to do the things you want without being tied to work then I say do it. If you put it off into your 70s/80s you might not get there and if you do might not have the health to do it.
As a somewhat normal Joe I'm happy taking early retirement (because the pension numbers worked for me) and although we can all make plans into our 80s I find planning the next 5-10yrs a benchmark. I've known several ex-work colleagues who've died unexpectedly in their late 50s or developed illness thats limited any long term enjoyment. I'm now 9yrs away state pension but I've not given it any thought as it's somewhere in the long grass. I've even got my FA telling me to spend more money on holidays now as they'll naturally taper off as I get older!
If you can afford to retire early (and a lot can if they're realistic) to do the things you want without being tied to work then I say do it. If you put it off into your 70s/80s you might not get there and if you do might not have the health to do it.
davidc1 said:
Another super PH thread. Wise words all over the place.
I am early 50s and just starting to line up the ducks for retirement.
A few years to go but you gotta have a plan right.
My dad passed last year and that been v difficult . Still trying to get over it.
Its all a balance .
My main hobby is cycling .
I hope mybody will allow this in a few years ha ha.
My kids are still young so i think this will keep me active.
Tks. I am early 50s and just starting to line up the ducks for retirement.
A few years to go but you gotta have a plan right.
My dad passed last year and that been v difficult . Still trying to get over it.
Its all a balance .
My main hobby is cycling .
I hope mybody will allow this in a few years ha ha.
My kids are still young so i think this will keep me active.
As mentioned I started the thread as we spend so many years working and not really giving too much thought to actually retiring then suddenly it comes into focus and you wonder if you’ve thought of everything.
It’s sometimes not just the financial side but also the emotional aspect.
That said throughout this thread I’ve picked up on lots of financial pointers which have proved enormously helpful so hopefully it’s helped others too .
A wise old saying goes, ‘if you do something you enjoy, you’ll never work a day in your life’.
And for people who love their jobs, I can quite see why they’d want to carry in for as long as possible.
Indeed, those people may be the ones to suffer most when they finally retire.
But for many more people, their work is just something they have to do to get money.
And life is much better when they stop.
And for people who love their jobs, I can quite see why they’d want to carry in for as long as possible.
Indeed, those people may be the ones to suffer most when they finally retire.
But for many more people, their work is just something they have to do to get money.
And life is much better when they stop.
swisstoni said:
A wise old saying goes, ‘if you do something you enjoy, you’ll never work a day in your life’.
And for people who love their jobs, I can quite see why they’d want to carry in for as long as possible.
Indeed, those people may be the ones to suffer most when they finally retire.
But for many more people, their work is just something they have to do to get money.
And life is much better when they stop.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I am disappointed that your post didn’t start with “Retirement is like making love to a beautiful woman…”And for people who love their jobs, I can quite see why they’d want to carry in for as long as possible.
Indeed, those people may be the ones to suffer most when they finally retire.
But for many more people, their work is just something they have to do to get money.
And life is much better when they stop.
I'm thinking of going back to uni next year when I retire "properly" at the age of 60. Would that be a waste of our country's educational resources? Taking a place from a youngster? Or a nice way to keep a little bit of structure in my life?
I suppose it won't be the same as 40 years ago though...no drunken parties, lazing in bed all day, or lusting after female students?
I suppose it won't be the same as 40 years ago though...no drunken parties, lazing in bed all day, or lusting after female students?
CharlesdeGaulle said:
Desiderata said:
I suppose it won't be the same as 40 years ago though...no drunken parties, lazing in bed all day, or lusting after female students?
Don't see why not. You're probably better at all of those things at 60 than you were at 20. Checking my state pension.
66 retirement age, this September
I have several uncompleted years.
So my current expected weekly is £182.92
And it says my maximum is £187.25
The difference is £4.33 per week, = £225.16 per year so after 81 weeks, this £354.20 (below) would even out after 81 weeks.
My question, if answerable is.
How many unfilled years would I need to fill in, to hit the MAX £187.25
Currently.
34 years of full contributions
1 year to contribute before 5 April 2022
11 years when you did not contribute enough
Is is worth me filling up the missed years ?
To fill 1 year would cost me £354.20
Or just wait until 1 year to contribute before 5 April 2022 ?
66 retirement age, this September
I have several uncompleted years.
So my current expected weekly is £182.92
And it says my maximum is £187.25
The difference is £4.33 per week, = £225.16 per year so after 81 weeks, this £354.20 (below) would even out after 81 weeks.
My question, if answerable is.
How many unfilled years would I need to fill in, to hit the MAX £187.25
Currently.
34 years of full contributions
1 year to contribute before 5 April 2022
11 years when you did not contribute enough
Is is worth me filling up the missed years ?
To fill 1 year would cost me £354.20
Or just wait until 1 year to contribute before 5 April 2022 ?
Register1 said:
Checking my state pension.
66 retirement age, this September
I have several uncompleted years.
So my current expected weekly is £182.92
And it says my maximum is £187.25
The difference is £4.33 per week, = £225.16 per year so after 81 weeks, this £354.20 (below) would even out after 81 weeks.
My question, if answerable is.
How many unfilled years would I need to fill in, to hit the MAX £187.25
Currently.
34 years of full contributions
1 year to contribute before 5 April 2022
11 years when you did not contribute enough
Is is worth me filling up the missed years ?
To fill 1 year would cost me £354.20
Or just wait until 1 year to contribute before 5 April 2022 ?
I think you only need 35 years to get the maximum, so that ought to be this year (2021-22) finishing next week.66 retirement age, this September
I have several uncompleted years.
So my current expected weekly is £182.92
And it says my maximum is £187.25
The difference is £4.33 per week, = £225.16 per year so after 81 weeks, this £354.20 (below) would even out after 81 weeks.
My question, if answerable is.
How many unfilled years would I need to fill in, to hit the MAX £187.25
Currently.
34 years of full contributions
1 year to contribute before 5 April 2022
11 years when you did not contribute enough
Is is worth me filling up the missed years ?
To fill 1 year would cost me £354.20
Or just wait until 1 year to contribute before 5 April 2022 ?
Plus if you are working until Sept, that might be enough to get another year added.
Edited by tertius on Wednesday 30th March 18:18
Re retirement planning:
Here is Switzerland there is a somewhat irritating rule that says all additional pension contributions (to an occupational DC scheme) made within 3 years of retiring, then become *non* tax-deductible if one takes any part of the resulting pension pot in the form of capital[1] rather than annuity.
Therefore you have to think ahead as to when is the earliest you might wish to retire, and make sure to load up as much as possible before that 3 year limit, and then just make the regular employer/employee contributions for the last 36 months before retiring. Or be willing to be forgo the tax credits of previous years and be fiscally rogered the year you finally retire.
It reminds me of that really useful traffic direction "Turn left 3 miles before the church"
[1] No-one here in their right mind would take the entirety of a substantial DC pot as an annuity; the usual split is 50/50, if only to ensure the insurance company doesn't take it all if you croak at age 66, and that there is something for your spouse/children. Also capital drawdowns are taxed very lightly (<10%) compared to most other countries.
Here is Switzerland there is a somewhat irritating rule that says all additional pension contributions (to an occupational DC scheme) made within 3 years of retiring, then become *non* tax-deductible if one takes any part of the resulting pension pot in the form of capital[1] rather than annuity.
Therefore you have to think ahead as to when is the earliest you might wish to retire, and make sure to load up as much as possible before that 3 year limit, and then just make the regular employer/employee contributions for the last 36 months before retiring. Or be willing to be forgo the tax credits of previous years and be fiscally rogered the year you finally retire.
It reminds me of that really useful traffic direction "Turn left 3 miles before the church"
[1] No-one here in their right mind would take the entirety of a substantial DC pot as an annuity; the usual split is 50/50, if only to ensure the insurance company doesn't take it all if you croak at age 66, and that there is something for your spouse/children. Also capital drawdowns are taxed very lightly (<10%) compared to most other countries.
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