Retire early (living off savings)

[Greg_D]

tankplanker said:

You'd be making a sizable bet that you could euthanasia much easier in the future than you can now.

Dignitas make you go through a number of interviews over a sizable time period before they will accept you as they want to weed out those who just want to die rather than those who want to die because of a physical condition. Also the guy who runs Dignitas is getting on now and the Swiss government is waiting for him to die as they are hoping Dignitas will wind up when he dies.

Assuming you could just take the easy way out at the end on a fixed date, what would stop you from taking out a large life insurance policy just before you died?

that's not actually true, i had the rather harrowing responsibility of acting on my mother's behalf to organise her assisted death via dignitas.

they do assess whether it is a temporary mental health issue driving your decision or a long-standing debilitating illness or terminal diagnosis.
you have to 'join the club' for a couple of hundred quid and then pay for the procedure. they will not 'refuse service' to a physically healthy person with ongoing mental health problems who genuinely wants to end it all.

you have to write a cv of your life and times and a letter clearly stating what you want them to assist you with and why. that is it...

regarding the 'suicide booth', the problem with "when my life is too bad, i'll just top myself" is that the day never comes as the will to live beats everything else. When you finally accept that the time has come, you've left it too long and your physical capacity to travel to switzerland is passed... (that's what happened to my mom, she died in england).

[Robbo 27]

garyhun said:

I'm amazed that a mortgage ending on an 89th birthday was given.

Especially an interest only mortgage.

[anonymous-user]

Robbo 27 said:

I dont know the rules on this but I would have thought that the buuilding society could come to the executors for any shortfall.

The building society could come to the executors to get the debt repaid from the estate. If there is not enough then there isn't a great deal more that they can do.

Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 15th January 17:08

[CaptainSlow]

Robbo 27 said:

Dunno, not a legal expert but perhaps I will need to be.

The person in question bought an apartment in a converted textile mill in Elland, West Yorkshire. She was 64 at the time and went to a well known building society and asked for a mortgage. At the time she had a business and told the building society that the capital on the flat would be repaid when she sold the business. The business went bust. She continued with the Interest only mortgage and has no prospect of being able to pay the amount owed at the end of the term.

She paid £220000, the flats are selling for around £130000 (not hers but very similar.)

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prope...

I dont know the rules on this but I would have thought that the buuilding society could come to the executors for any shortfall.

Looks quite nice, bet the service charges are quite chunky.

[red_slr]

Flats have not done well in the north. We bought new in 03 and sold in 05 and made a little but after that the values fell off a cliff and our old place is now probably worth about 60% of what we paid. Values seem flat. Must be painful.

[Robbo 27]

red_slr said:

Flats have not done well in the north. We bought new in 03 and sold in 05 and made a little but after that the values fell off a cliff and our old place is now probably worth about 60% of what we paid. Values seem flat. Must be painful.

I am living in Dundee Wharf in Canary Wharf and that was £185,000 when I bought it 20 ago, now worth about £900,000, this flat in Elland was £220,000 around 10/12 years ago, it would struggle to reach £150,000 for a larger flat.

[Armitage.Shanks]

Having read all this I've pulled the pin at 54 and just signed the pension forms! I'm lucky to be on a FS scheme and having taken financial advice it makes sense to go now............Brave new world coming up.

[BeeJayAre]

I finished at 52 yrs of age and it felt good. Trouble is I missed my work colleagues and playing golf five times a week soon got boring.You however sound as if you have a good life at the moment only working six months of the year. I wish I had found a small job to occupy some of my free time. As a golfer bad weather is a killer. My advice is, keep your options open as boredom is a killer, believe me. Remember that if you work in an office or such then heating and lighting is yours for free if you are at home most of the time then winter costs.

[RadP]

I retired early-ish ( at 50). My partner is 13 years younger than me and she didn't want to give up work as she enjoys both her work and being with people who have become her friends over the years. She also has a horse which adds a bit of a strain to anyone's finances if you don't keep it on your own property!

Anyway, after 4 years I've gone back to part-time work because I was missing the social aspects of working with like-minded people - I work in software development and basically I felt I had more to give and wanted to be "back in the game". It can also be a little lonely if your partner isn't around much, you live in a small village, your friends haven't retired yet and your neighbours all still work. I went on a few Alpine cycling, driving and motorcycling holidays and I cycled a lot at home too but ultimately I was doing a lot of this on my own. (I should also add I live in the South East of England so striking up a conversation or smiling at anyone you don't know is regarded as a hostile act).

Financially I had enough to retire on as I'd sold a software business 10 years before I retired and carried on working for the new owners (even though they were muppets!) up to the point I retired. In retrospect the new owners were very much a major part of my decision to retire.

So my point is really that there is more to giving up work than just having enough money. For anyone who has the option it could be worth dipping a toe in the water by going part-time before just jacking it all in.

PS Sorry if I'm restating what others have said - haven't had time to read the whole thread (or the other threads!)

[Shnozz]

RadP said:

I retired early-ish ( at 50).

haven't had time to read the whole thread

[baliongo]

RadP said:

Sorry if I'm restating what others have said - haven't had time to read the whole thread (or the other threads!)

You should go back and read it as its a cracker...

I went to work today and it was a good day (new plantroom in kensington town hall) and i will probably be there till mid spring which would give me whats left of spring and all of the summer off again....5 years in a row working just 6mths of the year for those who have not read the whole thread

Pat on the back guys for all your comments,great stuff..

[grade2]

Interesting thread this, as I done it when 50, 15yrs ago. Sick of working due to crap employers, when I was self employed as a contractor less and less opportunities available. I was lucky to have the resources to enable me to do it, though. Best thing I ever used as well as taking professional advice was to use a spread sheet and list every single thing spent, plus, various incomes from savings, pensions, etc. As long as you can keep occupied and interested in things, then great.

[Easternlight]

RadP said:

I should also add I live in the South East of England so striking up a conversation or smiling at anyone you don't know is regarded as a hostile act.

Aint that the truth!

I've lived in my village for 30 years and there's only about a dozen people that will make eye contact

[Badda]

Easternlight said:

RadP said:

I should also add I live in the South East of England so striking up a conversation or smiling at anyone you don't know is regarded as a hostile act.

Aint that the truth!

I've lived in my village for 30 years and there's only about a dozen people that will make eye contact

I too live in the SE, Surrey but close to London. Lived here for 7 years now and know 10s and 10s of couples and have made many new friends. People I don't know generally say 'morning'/'afternoon' as they walk past.

Where do you live??

[Johner]

baliongo said:

I have just turned 50 yrs old and i have had enough with the rat race for good,i am sick of travelling to work and would like to sit back and enjoy what the future holds.
I have a few hobbies incl cycling,walking,jogging and motorcycles which keep me busy and being self employed/semi-retired i have tested the water working approx 6 mths of the year for the last 5 years and enjoying the other 6 months off work.

I have set aside £120k to live on and i usually spend approx £7k per year topping up my wife`s part time earnings,so i have 17 years of savings to live on taking me up to 67yrs (if i make it) when my pension starts giving me around £20k per year to live on until death.
I have no mortgage and our home is valued at £550k so it could be sold and we could move somewhere cheaper if need be and both my sons have had some money from me to start on the property ladder themselves.

Has anyone here done/doing this??

How mad am i,yes maybe a little.....(just to add we own a new car that should last a few years and i have a few bob set aside for emergencies..)

If you can . . .do it.
I retired early, at 62.
We lived off savings for 2 years, to ensure my private pensions would cope.

Believe me, you will be bussier once you are retired, than you ever were working.

We have downsized in the past week, not because we needed to, but in preparation for the time we may have to.
I now have a 3 year project, that my wife says will be completed in 9 months, oh for the lazy, hazy days of employment!

A statistic fof you;
According to my neurologist, the average UK male has 17.5 years retired.
Do your own maths and decide whether you want to work longer, or retire longer.

[OddCat]

Robbo 27 said:

She was 64 at the time and went to a well known building society and asked for a mortgage. At the time she had a business and told the building society that the capital on the flat would be repaid when she sold the business. The business went bust. She continued with the Interest only mortgage and has no prospect of being able to pay the amount owed at the end of the term.

But...but...but...she went into the building society with a plan and made a conscious decision to go 'interest only' intending to clear the loan by selling her business. That is surely more like "miss buying" than miss selling? The fact that her plan failed isn't the societies fault. Neither is the fact that the property price has fallen. Although it will be the societies problem if the property, plus other assets, are insufficient to cover the debt. I doubt anyone would be suggesting problems with the mortgage if the property price had doubled rather than halved....

[Easternlight]

Badda said:

Easternlight said:

RadP said:

I should also add I live in the South East of England so striking up a conversation or smiling at anyone you don't know is regarded as a hostile act.

Aint that the truth!

I've lived in my village for 30 years and there's only about a dozen people that will make eye contact

I too live in the SE, Surrey but close to London. Lived here for 7 years now and know 10s and 10s of couples and have made many new friends. People I don't know generally say 'morning'/'afternoon' as they walk past.

Where do you live??

I'm right out in the wilds, as far east as you can get, near Lowestoft.
Fortunately we get a lot of holiday makers here and they are usually far more chatty.

[Snapper Rock]

Hi I did the same at 52 and haven’t looked back since you have to be smart with your savings trying to maximise your income. It’s been 12 years now and still managed to buy a 440i convertible a few months ago. So good if you do it.

[FocusRS3]

Snapper Rock said:

Hi I did the same at 52 and haven’t looked back since you have to be smart with your savings trying to maximise your income. It’s been 12 years now and still managed to buy a 440i convertible a few months ago. So good if you do it.

Nice one . Do you find you spend less the older you get? Apart from shipping in a new Beamer of course :-)

[Plinth]

Johner said:

According to my neurologist, the average UK male has 17.5 years retired.

That's me dead at 54, then