Retirement, would you if you could?

[stephec]

Not thinking of it until I start failing medical. Love the job, love my colleagues, love the scenery. Would do it for free.

That's the true test of what someone really thinks of their job.

How many people could honestly say that given the choice between carrying on working in their current job, or being given the same amount of money but not having a job, would still go to work?

 

[bagpuss]

Chap once said to me many years ago "man wasn't born to work he invented it"
Anyway 5 years ago I jumped ship, following the missus who had already gone over board .No issues so far .
People tend to spent to the limit of their income and more . Its is surprising what junk you can do without buying .
My old man once told me ,there are no pockets in a shroud,and you don't know how long you have got!
If you can go for it .
You need three things out of any job imho .
To feel valued .
Enjoy what you do.
Sufficient remuneration .
all three great,two is ok,one time to go.

 

[Slick]

The sad thing is that people in their 50s may have an option to retire early.
People in their 30s are very unlikely to have the same choice. The cost of housing, poor pension provision and lower job security means the people born in the 1960s are probably the last generation to have early retirement as an option.

I've obviously got loads to ponder with all the replies on this thread but I did have to disagree with your point as I feel younger people had lots more opportunities than I ever had if they could just lift their head long enough to see them. I took care of my own finances after finally understanding what endowments actually were and having 2 of them was never going to be the best idea. I don't have a pension either, despite my best friend being a pension advisor as I never ever trusted them or a number of institutions selling them.

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

I gave up my job 18 months ago, aged 55. It had got too stressful and I felt I had no choice but to hand in my notice. It didn’t feel like I was retiring, it just felt like I was leaving.
The day after I left came the big shock that for the first time in my life I had nothing in front of me. All through school, through college, and into work, I’d always been working towards something, the next year at school, the next exam, my first job, the next job, the next assignment. All of a sudden I had and still have absolutely nothing in front of me and it takes some getting used to. 18 months on and I’m still trying to adjust to it. Of course the pandemic hasn’t helped, everything that I was starting to think about or to put into practice all got put on hold. Now I’m just marking time until it’s all over and hopefully I can start again at this retirement thing and make some sense of it and hopefully get some enjoyment, possibly even some sense of achievement, from it.

 

[Beebo]

I've obviously got loads to ponder with all the replies on this thread but I did have to disagree with your point as I feel younger people had lots more opportunities than I ever had if they could just lift their head long enough to see them. I took care of my own finances after finally understanding what endowments actually were and having 2 of them was never going to be the best idea. I don't have a pension either, despite my best friend being a pension advisor as I never ever trusted them or a number of institutions selling them.

You can’t realistically retire until you are mortgage free
The current average age of a first time buyer is 34. They are often taking mortgages with 30 or 35 year periods. This was unheard of previously.

 

[Oldhippy]

Newly retired/semi retirement thread with plans and ideas anyone? Cycling related and other bits perhaps.

 

[Deleted User]

I went p/t as both Mrs B and I thought I couldn't cope with the sudden stop. I think I will retire completely this year, but must admit I am conflicted. I generally enjoy the work, but the workload regularly means hours much longer than I am contracted for. Sure in theory, I can take time off, but it becomes meaningless when I currently have recorded the equivalent of over 6 working weeks as surplus.
I suspect my time will be taken up with Mrs B, the garden, carving and my bike.
When Mrs B retired she took up painting and almost daily practice of being a social butterfly.
Coincidentally, when I was speaking with my boss last week, this topic came up. He has another couple of years to go and wants to spend a year touring Europe, seeing heavy metal bands. - Which would be interspersed with his other normal activity of watching Manchester City wherever they play.

Your boss has the right idea, however the type of job is important.

My missus went through a phase of uncertainty before she decided as jobs like Nursing, Teaching etc are clearly very emotional vocations and the people you leave behind are important.

Once gone she didn't regret it once and with what's going on now she's even more convinced she did the right thing.

 

[Slick]

You can’t realistically retire until you are mortgage free
The current average age of a first time buyer is 34. They are often taking mortgages with 30 or 35 year periods. This was unheard of previously.

That's a choice though.

Myself and Mrs Slick went without for a number of years and bought our first endowment a full year before we bought a house when I was 21. We were mortgage free at 36 but feel that was our reward for making sacrifices when we were at an age we were more able to do without which is something I have always thought younger ones have never learned to do.

Anyway, probably in danger of patting myself on the back just a bit too much. Sorry

 

[Oldhippy]

If I do it right another four or five years I should be able to get a small narrow boat then sailing, cycling, foraging and writing for me full time. He said hopefully.

 

[Rusty Nails]

I retired at the age of of 50 as the company I worked for had a great voluntary redundancy scheme. Good immediate pension, savings and house paid for. Two kids to put through university but that was do-able.

I was fit and healthy, enjoyed travel and sport.....but after six months was bored out of my mind. I decided to contact a couple of companies I had worked with while in employment and started doing some work for them freelance. Started working 3 to 4 days a week as a consultant and by the time I finally finished at 65 had reduced that to 2 days a week.

In hindsight my mistake was to retire too young, when I wasn’t ready for it, and I would probably have been better to leave it for another 6/7 years.

Another mistake was retiring in January, with a long winter ahead. Best to retire in the spring.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

I retired at the age of of 50 as the company I worked for had a great voluntary redundancy scheme. Good immediate pension, savings and house paid for. Two kids to put through university but that was do-able.

I was fit and healthy, enjoyed travel and sport.....but after six months was bored out of my mind. I decided to contact a couple of companies I had worked with while in employment and started doing some work for them freelance. Started working 3 to 4 days a week as a consultant and by the time I finally finished at 65 had reduced that to 2 days a week.

In hindsight my mistake was to retire too young, when I wasn’t ready for it, and I would probably have been better to leave it for another 6/7 years.

Another mistake was retiring in January, with a long winter ahead. Best to retire in the spring.

Similar here:

(48) me and 41 (she) - both too young tbh. Fortunately we had lifestyle options to restore our sanity.

Bit older now, 64/57, and our big learned lesson that we have noticed is that some people age bloody fast when they retire.

 

[gavroche]

I took my state pension at 65 but carried on working part time as a supply teacher. I enjoyed the work although sometimes the kids drove me mad until I became more careful about which schools to go to.
I have finally retired fully now, after my wife's heart attack and daughter's cancer. It made me realise how fragile health can be and beside, the money I was earning as a supply teacher was going on little luxuries we can do without.
We are going down to one car as two is not necessary anymore , no mortgage and the usual living bills to cover so we can live on two state pensions and a small private one.
Retirement is great and if you can, go for it. Health and contentment is more important than making money that one spends on trivial things most of the time.

 

[srw]

That's a choice though.

Not entirely.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...yerhousingaffordabilityinenglandandwales/2017

That's London, but there's a similar chart in the same publication for the North-East of England. Objectively, it's far more difficult to buy your first house than it was 20 years ago.

I'm lucky - I can afford to retire now (albeit with a lower standard of living) but want to get a few more things done first, and when I do retire from full-time permanent work I'm likely to be able to carry on being well paid for what I'm good at and also have time over for what I enjoy.

That's a combination of a lot of luck, some hard work and some lifestyle choices.

 

[postman]

Got the opportunity in August 2006.Mrs P looked at the figures and said I would benefit from leaving,I was 56.It was made easier because she had a better paid job,and could go back full time so she could retire earlier also.Mind you when she did,she took part time jobs,because she got bored.Then last year she packed in completely.On my own I would not have left.Mrs P's wage made it possible.Never been bored till covid,and even that's not too bad.

 

[Deleted User]

Not entirely.

View attachment 568269
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...yerhousingaffordabilityinenglandandwales/2017

Objectively, it's far more difficult to buy your first house than it was 20 years ago.

Absolutely, like most people in their 50's property seemed quite affordable when we were buying, 30yrs ago, wheres now it's simply not comparable.

My first house was 19,000 in '87 and I was earning 12k per Yr as a Decorator , that house is worth just over 100k now so I would need to be on about 60 odd grand per year for it to be the same.