Retirement...when, how old and how much??

Last full day at work tomorrow, been part time for a few years, but then end is nigh (63 years old, same company for 46 years and 15 days).
Congratulations mate…

One of my favourite subjects ‘retirement’…can’t wait.

I think I have 3 to 4 years left unless my current job really pisses me off, but dreaming of all the travel, golf, late nights and late mornings….
 
Something about getting up at 5:45am to shovel a foot of snow off my truck in -20 weather. In the dark that didn’t appeal for very long.
that's a good reason, mine was because I couldn't face dealing with all the fuckwits again
 
I retired a month ago aged 60. I’ve been very lucky to be able to do so early. I just want to spend as much time the rest of my life doing new things and the things I love. At age 60 I just today got my first tattoo with my 19 year-old daughter which was really neat, and my wife is teaching me all the secrets of cooking she knows and a kitchen klutz like me does not. After nearly 40 years working and 25 years waking at 4 am, I am finding 8 hours of sleep, the ability to exercise when I want and no business travel has been an absolute godsend health- and stress-wise. I will eventually do something part-time but for now just enjoying not having to call ten clients or write some report or attend some “all hands” meeting. My wife and I are already spending lots more time with our friends whose kids have also flown the coop and my dog is much happier too. The last month has been a joy — and that’s with only two rounds of golf!
 
Congratulations mate…

One of my favourite subjects ‘retirement’…can’t wait.

I think I have 3 to 4 years left unless my current job really pisses me off, but dreaming of all the travel, golf, late nights and late mornings….
After 46+ years of shift work, I've been doing late night, and late mornings for quite a while.
 
I retired a month ago aged 60. I’ve been very lucky to be able to do so early. I just want to spend as much time the rest of my life doing new things and the things I love. At age 60 I just today got my first tattoo with my 19 year-old daughter which was really neat, and my wife is teaching me all the secrets of cooking she knows and a kitchen klutz like me does not. After nearly 40 years working and 25 years waking at 4 am, I am finding 8 hours of sleep, the ability to exercise when I want and no business travel has been an absolute godsend health- and stress-wise. I will eventually do something part-time but for now just enjoying not having to call ten clients or write some report or attend some “all hands” meeting. My wife and I are already spending lots more time with our friends whose kids have also flown the coop and my dog is much happier too. The last month has been a joy — and that’s with only two rounds of golf!
Congratulations mate, may you have many years of retirement with plenty of Nookie :)
 
I retired a month ago aged 60. I’ve been very lucky to be able to do so early. I just want to spend as much time the rest of my life doing new things and the things I love. At age 60 I just today got my first tattoo with my 19 year-old daughter which was really neat, and my wife is teaching me all the secrets of cooking she knows and a kitchen klutz like me does not. After nearly 40 years working and 25 years waking at 4 am, I am finding 8 hours of sleep, the ability to exercise when I want and no business travel has been an absolute godsend health- and stress-wise. I will eventually do something part-time but for now just enjoying not having to call ten clients or write some report or attend some “all hands” meeting. My wife and I are already spending lots more time with our friends whose kids have also flown the coop and my dog is much happier too. The last month has been a joy — and that’s with only two rounds of golf!
Congrats. My last day is this coming Monday
Am feeling both liberated but also nervous about money. But at 61 with the best pay out I conceivably could get and early pension I actually should consider myself lucky. Especially compared to lots of other people
 
The simple ish calculations are
At the moment how much pay a month do you take home!
Then out of that are there any expenses such as personal pension, mortgage, endowments that you won't need to pay in three years time!
With what you have left, does it furnish you with a comfortable lifestyle?

Thinking about you future needs when you retire
Would your personal pension and any other income, such as the cottage rental, give you more or less money than you are currently benefiting from after those expenses?

And also take into account that when you reach official retirement age you are drawing a further £9k per year

I'm trying to amass a pension pot of £320k and retire when I'm 62
A simple drawdown calculator says that if I take the 25% tax free lump (£80k) and drawdown the pot at £12k per year, it should last 25 years
So my plan is to take £12k a year tax free, top this up with some of my tax free lump for the first five years, then I'll have my state pension of £9k (obviously this will be taxed) to add to the 12k personal pension when I'm aged 67

Pretty much after council tax, utility bills, car expenses etc, I'll be left with £15k a year to spend however I like

https://www.which.co.uk/money/pensi...alculator-making-your-money-last-awvp49g8uq6l

Looking at my own post and plan. What a load of shite!
Five years later and the plan has changed to retirement at 64, eighteen months from now, with a very different drawdown
 
Looking at my own post and plan. What a load of shite!
Five years later and the plan has changed to retirement at 64, eighteen months from now, with a very different drawdown
What's the very different drawdown? More or less than you predicted five years ago?
 
I am now 67, semi retired at 50 and sold the rest of the business when I was 62.
I had worked from home for many years so initially very little changed so didn’t seem drastic. If you have enough assets to give you a comfortable living, bearing in mind your wants decline with age just keep you eye on a fag packet budget of ingoings and outgoings. Have a hobby and try and avoid a life at the pub or in front of the TV all day.
 
What's the very different drawdown? More or less than you predicted five years ago?
If I took everything out in one go, the tax bill!

I've also revised that I want to give my kids a leg up when they buy their first properties, either with a bung or paying for improvements to that property, which is really why I'm working the extra two years

I have three personal pension plans, plus a smallish amount in a company pension
The first two years of retirement, I intend to draw far more than I personally need, but keep well within the 20% tax bracket and that's where the kids money will be, as I also have some savings. I'll also continue to contribute a nominal amount to one of the plans, probably a grand a year
Year three, draw out a good sum, which takes me up to 67, when the state pension of £12k kicks in and then revise my financial situation and what I need

When I've actually sat down and looked properly, I should be £12k a year better off, with the time to spend it

Wifey has just gone through a cancer scare so that's also at the back of my mind that unforeseen health issues can fuck everything up
A couple of months ago a friend who had only just retired died suddenly which was a real shock and I also think of Bill (DeNiro) quite often and how he'd turned his life around from rags to a comfortable lifestyle, had all those retirement plans and then was struck down with that terrible illness

I'm in for a knee replacement in a couple of months and I can hardly wait because my 2026 goal is to recover my fitness for when I retire.
I intend to do so much walking!
 
If I took everything out in one go, the tax bill!

I've also revised that I want to give my kids a leg up when they buy their first properties, either with a bung or paying for improvements to that property, which is really why I'm working the extra two years

I have three personal pension plans, plus a smallish amount in a company pension
The first two years of retirement, I intend to draw far more than I personally need, but keep well within the 20% tax bracket and that's where the kids money will be, as I also have some savings. I'll also continue to contribute a nominal amount to one of the plans, probably a grand a year
Year three, draw out a good sum, which takes me up to 67, when the state pension of £12k kicks in and then revise my financial situation and what I need

When I've actually sat down and looked properly, I should be £12k a year better off, with the time to spend it

Wifey has just gone through a cancer scare so that's also at the back of my mind that unforeseen health issues can fuck everything up
A couple of months ago a friend who had only just retired died suddenly which was a real shock and I also think of Bill (DeNiro) quite often and how he'd turned his life around from rags to a comfortable lifestyle, had all those retirement plans and then was struck down with that terrible illness

I'm in for a knee replacement in a couple of months and I can hardly wait because my 2026 goal is to recover my fitness for when I retire.
I intend to do so much walking!
Sounds sensible.

I think it's always a case of thinking up plans, different ways of managing retirement and being prepared to change as and when necessary.

I'm 57 so won't be doing any form of retirement any time soon. Despite my own cancer (prostate, which was caught early and is well under control), my main aim is always to have enough money to enjoy life. I work full time but still manage 8-10 foreign holidays a year and plenty of UK breaks - retiring with enough money to enjoy holidays is my #1 goal. But as I'm effectively enjoying each year now by doing loads of stuff whilst I'm still healthy enough to appreciate it (and afford it), keeping on working seems the sensible thing.

I've always got the option of dropping to four or even three days a week in a few years which gives me some free time whilst still keeping a decent amount coming in.

Hope your wife if OK and is getting any treatment needed.
 
It's well worth remembering the savings you make.

1. No NI.
2. No travel-to-work costs.
3. No lunch costs - a butty at home is much cheaper.
4. No clothes bought mainly or wholly for work.
5. No more pension contributions - except by choice as an investment.

This adds up to quite a lot of £s. Of course, you might find yourself going out with your wife/husband/significant other instead, but that expenditure is discretionary, not compulsory so you can tailor it to available income. The chances are you won't be doing it every day.
 
Sounds sensible.

I think it's always a case of thinking up plans, different ways of managing retirement and being prepared to change as and when necessary.

I'm 57 so won't be doing any form of retirement any time soon. Despite my own cancer (prostate, which was caught early and is well under control), my main aim is always to have enough money to enjoy life. I work full time but still manage 8-10 foreign holidays a year and plenty of UK breaks - retiring with enough money to enjoy holidays is my #1 goal. But as I'm effectively enjoying each year now by doing loads of stuff whilst I'm still healthy enough to appreciate it (and afford it), keeping on working seems the sensible thing.

I've always got the option of dropping to four or even three days a week in a few years which gives me some free time whilst still keeping a decent amount coming in.

Hope your wife if OK and is getting any treatment needed.
It sounds like you've got the balance about right. I retired at 55 after losing a kidney to cancer-all good now I hope. But a friend of mine retired at 58 a couple of years ago, got bored, went back to work part time, and has just been diagnosed with stage 3 at 60. He's regretting ever going back to work. My advice, if you can afford it-get out.
 
Decided to retire at 60 (April 2027), however, having drawn the line in the sand not sure I can wait that long. Was hoping for redundancy but looks unlikely so I'll have to fall on my sword & trigger my own exit stage left. Seen too many ppl I know get ill or worse recently so I'm damned if I'm going to waste any more time looking at a computer screen all day.
 
Decided to retire at 60 (April 2027), however, having drawn the line in the sand not sure I can wait that long. Was hoping for redundancy but looks unlikely so I'll have to fall on my sword & trigger my own exit stage left. Seen too many ppl I know get ill or worse recently so I'm damned if I'm going to waste any more time looking at a computer screen all day.
Easy money that mate . Warm ,dry and probably got a free coffee machine. Stick it out as long as possible. Better than being at home with wife and kid's. You lucky lucky bastard :<)
 

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