Having reached the ripe old age of 51 last year I am starting to get more and more stuff sent to me, via email and in the post, about older people’s stuff and retirement in particular. You probably know the sort of thing; Saga/insurance/comfortable trousers and footwear etc. Now I’ll have the targeted advert senders know that I’m still a Docs and Levi’s wearing kind of chap thank you very much. But it does make you think. Last month, having recently inherited some money, I brought a very nice camper van, no, not the old VW type, a much newer Peugeot Boxer Van model, and quite frankly I’d like the time to start using it more than just at weekends. It’s not really a typical mid-life crisis, as Mrs NL was right behind the idea being a stalwart camper herself. That’s my justification anyway… I suppose I am quite lucky in that I don’t actively hate my job, although I am becoming more convinced that I’d like to go part time at some point in the next few years. The kids are in compulsory education for another couple of years, and we will move somewhere much cheaper at that point. I believe “downsize” could be the type of thing I mean. However, proper, legit retirement is clearly still some time away really. Anyone else thought anything similar?
Any comments much appreciated, for info and inspiration!
Retirement?
Funny you should mention that – I just last week took the retrenchment package after 18+ years of work.
I’m just turned 52 and with a package 18 months salary, which is tax free and so pushes up by another 3 months or so, I’m not looking at many years of work left. The retirement age here in Singapore is 62 – although after that by law companies have to offer a yearly renewable contract if you are still capable.
I am fortunate that I am financially stable at the present and the kids education should be taken care of through some investment funds (assuming it doesn’t crash). They are now 16 and 18 years old and with 2 years National service here in Singapore, I am looking at them being done with university and not reliant on us in 8 years time.
I am now planning on taking 3 – 6 months off to enjoy life, listen to music, catch up on reading etc. After that I will think about what to do next. Total retirement could be an option – we have calculated with our current funds at a ‘normal’ monthly outgoing, we should be okay until our mid 80s. However, at the moment, I still feel I will go back to some sort of work – although it will be on my terms with no consideration for career etc.
Until then, a few months of arsing about beckons……
Chris, I was in almost the exact same position at the end of 2017. I left a company after 18 years with a similar package and then had a few months break before starting new work. I was in a Scientific R&D role and moved into a government research agency (you can probably guess which one) where I’ve found my industry experience to be an asset. My point is I’m sure someone with your significant industrial experience would also be welcome in such a public sector role. I’m enjoying my new job a lot more than the last few years of my old one.
Must be something about being 50 something…..
I’m 54, kids 18 & 15. I often muse about winding down but not just yet. I’m planning on seeing the kids through Uni, by which time I’ll be about 60, that’s as long as our micro company keeps going until then. We may have our hand forced by losing one or both of our main clients, who knows? In that case, I’d be looking for a job in my field, office or home based but not on site, unloading/loading trucks at unsociable times of day and night. At the moment, I’m happy to keep working (just not chasing every job) plus I’m trying to make up for neither of us really getting a proper pension early enough. I’m also realistic enough to recognise that I still need something to do during the day although I’m getting better at filling my time with things other than TV and the internet. I didn’t have time for hobbies when the kids were young but I’m slowly getting a bit of my life back.
A mate of mine retired at Christmas. Same age as me but no kids or debt and his wife already quit work due to ill health. He says he’s got a long list of jobs to do, places to go etc plus he’s a man who likes tinkering with old cars and things in sheds so hopefully he’ll be ok. They certainly should be ok financially, which is a good start.
I envy those of you who are thinking about retirement in your 50s. I am 56 and through a combination of moving around a lot, long periods of unemployment, reckless lack of forward planning and a failed marriage I am going to have to keep going until I drop (or best case mid to late 60s).
Having said that my dad died at 59, and as soon as my mother retired in her 60s she developed a serious illness that eventually killed her. Maybe it’s better to keep working and reduce hours if at all possible?
I’m 60 at the end of this year and I’ll actually start receiving a smallish pension from a job I had years back. It’s prompted me to think about how I’d make the change from a life dominated by work to one that isn’t.
There was a time when you retired whether you wanted to or not. Now it’s more a question of whether you can afford to. I think I can afford to more or less as of now – the trade off is the longer I work, the more reserves I can build up. A free fall Brexit could knock a Boris size hole in my finances so there’s an element of wait and see. I don’t hate my job but I’m bored and jaded – but the money comes in rather handy.
It’s not just finances either. For some retirment is a welcome release from the drudgery of work and they never look back. For a few others, they really struggled without the structure and direction work life provided / forced upon them. One ex colleague – who is now ecstatically retired – said the first 6 months were the worst of her life. She jumped to take an early retirment offer from work and wasn’t ready. Like a lot of people, work had driven away all the time for hobbies and interests and they prove tricky to just turn back on. She had no plan and went into a flat spin.
I’m starting to plan for it. I’m seeking out some voluntary work and I’ve drawn up a plan to sell to my boss that will see me step down from work across a period of year or maybe more, moving to 4 days a week, then 3. By easing myself into it I’m hoping the transition will be easier. I’ve got a Waitrose card, so a free coffee and newspaper each day beckons….
Interesting. I’ve been thinking about a thread like this. The last few years I’ve been trying to work half the year, which I’ve done, but I’m well over the 6 months off now and pondering whether to actually pull the trigger on retiring properly. I just went through the exercise of setting up a SIPP, consolidating my various pension pots so at least I know where I am, what I’ve got etc. I have a plan and things are all covered, but, but, I’m hesitating simply because I think I ought to add a bit more dosh to the pot. I’m not traumatised by the idea of giving up work – quite the opposite – but I sort of think I am not quite ready. So the solution is to dither about and do nothing in either direction. Dithering about isn’t my style, so I feel the need to make a decision about it. He says, dithering about.
Out of interest, how old are you Twang? Don’t think anyone could blame you for dithering, after all it’s a pretty big decision.
61 on Saturday!
Premature Happy Birthday! (In case I forget.)
Yes indeed, have a fab day!
As usual with the Afterword, some fascinating comments already. Thanks all.
Hmmm, lots of food for thought there. We’ve saved a fair bit to see both the kids (daughter of 18 and son of 16) through their higher education or apprenticeships (either way as long as they’re happy and are on a good pathway I won’t mind) so they won’t end up in too much debt, which is a good thing. Our mortgage is almost (but not quite) gone, and is not enough to really worry too much about. Mrs L however is 6 years younger than me and absolutely adores her job, so much so that it provides her social life as well, which is great but means she is mentally even further away from retirement than I might be. I on the other hand am very much ready to cut down work, going part time in my current role might well be an option, and we have just inherited a share of my dear old Grandparents house, the remainder of which will be a fantastic amount to keep in the bank and use to top up any pension, when it becomes payable. Downsizing our house in a couple of years time will also give us a tidy sum to add to this.
We speak about the future all the time and want to cut down eventually, but I suspect I am much more likely to be able to cope with less routine than she will be, and I am also likely to be happier than her with living on less income. To make it clear we’re both public sector workers, both in middle management so to speak, so we’ve never been really cash rich, just very careful and good at saving.
Maybe I need to carry on dreaming for a while yet though!
Retirement is definitely occupying my thoughts more and more. After dithering for ages I took advice from a very good pensions adviser late last year which was a massive relief and something I wish I had done sooner. I won’t be rolling in spare cash, but it’s a weight off to know that we should be ok financially. The mortgage is finishing in a couple of months, the children are almost off our hands so all in all it’s an exciting time chez Lemon.
I don’t hate my job,, but it is physically taxing and becoming ever more demanding as I get older. If I won the lottery I would retire tomorrow, but my short term goal is to stick with this job for another 5/6 years and then transition to a part time job that I find more interesting than what I currently do.
I seem to be the polar opposite of most commenters here so far. I really like my job. I get to talk about technical stuff with colleagues, solve problems, troubleshoot when necessary and spend ages developing software. I work for a large company with a lot of great colleagues some of whom I’ve known for 30-40 years. Yes there are hassles sometimes but it’s no fluke that the company is in the Sunday Times best big companies list.
A couple of my colleagues of 35 years have just taken early retirement but at 60, the prospect appals me. I don’t think it’s just the salary that keeps me here (taking my pension early would involve a significant hit) but it’s great to be able to just be able to spend the money I earn without much thought. If we want to buy something nice, we buy it knowing the minor dent in the funds will soon be made up.
Obviously things (especially health) can change but I’m kind of expecting to steam past the 66 that I’m supposed to retire at.
I understand that I’ll slow down at some stage (although some might suggest that would involve going backwards!) but not yet.
I’m with you. I was out last night with contemporaries who have both retired in their mid-fifties, and others around me are doing the same. Just earlier in the day, I had been contemplating how I will feel when I can no longer be in the cab of a train, and I put the thought well to the 10-years-away back of my mind. It’s not like I have no life outside of work, quite the opposite, but I do identify myself by my occupation, and I’m in no hurry to let that go. I’m in the very fortunate position of getting paid good money for doing a job I love for less than half the days of the year. Why stop?
It’s a weird one. I always set my heart on a retirement at 60, until the date began to loom. In fact I did retire, but only from full-time, business ownership/partnership/responsibility and the accompanying commute. I took a part time salaried post just down the road from where I live and am enjoying the reduced stress enormously. I am drawing my NHS pension and earning, which seems a bonus under that consideration, but, seeing as I have now the once unassailable of paying off the mortgage in my sights, I see no reason why I can’t carry on till old age pension, at 67. (5 years time, health willing.) Frankly I think I am not ready yet retirement and worry I would be bored silly.
62 and I live in walking distance of @retropath2. My daughter is nearing the end of her first year at Uni and I cant contemplate retirement until she has completed her course.
In reality it will be 4 years time when I am 66 – although the hope is for the last year to be a 3 day week to ease me into a life of indolence.
Remarried later in life means a large mortgage that we are unlikely to pay off although we have sufficient equity to buy a decent property outright although would be smaller and likely in a less agreeable area. Since my wife is 8 years younger than me we can defer that decision for the foreseeable future.
I am lucky that I still enjoy my job most of the time and am not counting down the months but I do kind of look forward to the day when I do things by choice rather than by necessity. That has to be liberating.
Wow, when my daughter will finishes university I will be the same age as when yours does (she’s 12 now). I need to really cut down on my spending I think …
Over the past few years I suspect Ive spent more time thinking about retiring and getting old etc than is really healthy. Im 65 in May and have been working part time for a few years now which I can thoroughly recommend by the way. I still enjoy my job but had decided last year that i would definitely retire by the time I was 65. As this looms ever closer Ive now decided that I simply don’t want to – maybe its just the negative connotations of ‘retirement’ ie one step closer to ‘the end’
However working 3 days a week (at least half of which is from home) is a really nice compromise – still some decent income coming and I do feel that it helps keep the old marbles rolling.
So my final decision now is that Ill definitely retire before 66 – definitely no doubt whatsoever….
A retired person writes….
Interesting to read the thoughts and quandaries above. Maybe this will help….or not!
1. Unless you are rolling in the stuff or your situation is very clear, get some financial advice. I had several pension pots, some defined benefit and some defined contribution (if you don’t know the difference, then get the advice!), and I had a mortgage that went on until 66. My wife was redundant with a small pension. I had no idea what our financial situation was, but they analyse your spending and come up with a projection. Worth every penny.
2. The above is complicated by Brexit. Have you looked at your pension pots and investments lately? They are probably dropping like a stone (example – one investment I have fell from £43k to £40k in the last 6 months).
3. Kids leaving home? Think you’ll be rid of them..? Mine are in their 30s, have reasonable jobs, but still need support and help from time to time. You are never rid of them!
4. I thought I would miss the challenge that work brings…decision making, problem solving, the structure that work life brings. Nope….a cliche, but it is the people. With just the two of us at home and only one person to talk to I sometimes feel cut off from life. Suddenly you find you have never heard of ‘famous’ people, or events pass you by as you don’t have that work chatter.
5. Get another job. Not ‘work’, but maybe that hobby you’ve always wanted to do. I busy myself doing two radio shows a week and am learning to play the guitar. I do a bit of volunteering etc. I actaully sit around far less than when I was working.
6. Days fly by surprisingly quickly. I don’t get up particularly early now, but it’s amazing how much shorter days are. Funny that.
That’s very true about the kids Nigel. The way things are for young adults these days it’s really tough for them so I don’t think we will be “free” of them for a long while yet. I will always be mindful that if we do downsize to a different house there will be a room for them if they need one. Downsizing for me means moving somewhere much cheaper and having a nice profit in the bank, not necessarily to something smaller . The kids may have to compromise where they live (we live in north west Surrey at the moment and intend to move to the west country, ie Wiltshire or Somerset) but they will always be welcome if they need somewhere.
Do you know anyone in Wiltshire or Somerset? We moved from Surrey to Sussex when my son was a baby and we didn’t know anyone. Not only that but I was freelance, working almost anywhere except Sussex and my wife worked from home. It was very isolating and took us years to re establish our social life, if we ever did. Of course, some people fall in with new friends and activities easily but leaving an established group of friends behind can be difficult.
That’s a really good point. We have downsizing the house at some point as part of the plan, and as we live in an expensive part of the country it would make sense to move, though the starting again thing is definitely a problem.
Kind of, we know a few people to visit and have spent a lot of time there in recent years. I’d like to think joining in with local community things would help to some extent but I completely take your point about how friendship groups can be a difficult thing to re-establish.
As if on cue..!
Get a text from my son….’Er, can I borrow a car this week?..my MOT has run out and I forgot’.
You’re never shot of the buggers!
I was thinking about that when Nick mentioned in the OP about downsizing once the young had flown the nest. If you’re UK-based it could be a long wait before you can do that, what with their £9K/year student loans and the way house prices currently are.
Unless you just evict them once their schooling’s finished, of course.
I heard a story somewhere, a good few years back, of a young chap who was heavily encouraged by his parents to join the Navy. After doing his basic training he set off on his first long sea voyage and was surprised, on his return, to find that his parents had sold up and emigrated, leaving no forwarding address.
Ha! Well I don’t think we’d ever be so harsh as to simply evict them or move with no forwarding address, (although as they have displayed certain teenage behaviours a couple of times in the last few years there have been a couple of occasions where we may have been momentarily tempted!) but we have saved enough to cover pretty much all their loans, and as for house prices being what they are, well that’s why we’d always offer them a roof wherever we were. They will know they could feel they’d be fine to stay for as long as they wanted.
Fortuneight said: “For some retirment is a welcome release from the drudgery of work and they never look back. ”
Yep, that’s me. I’m 66, in good health, still run every week (tho’ these days will end very soon I fear…) and I worked for 46+ years, never unemployed, never taken one single penny in benefits in my entire life, how would I cope?
Very easy.
As long as you have some money, a private pension(s), then go for it. I regret nothing.
My daughter in law said this to me : “Why wait until you are too old or too unhealthy to enjoy retirement, what’s the point in that? Enjoy while you are young enough to do that”
I walk, I run, I read, I listen to music, I’m building a model town, I write I do what the fuck I want.
And this is true… I have not worn a watch since the day I retired.
It’s interesting that you should associate wearing a watch with going to work. I haven’t worn a watch at all for about 20 years. All that time I’ve had a phone in my pocket (nothing to do with work) with a clock on it so I don’t see I would need another one. Even when I’m at work I rarely need to know the time to withing ten minutes and it doesn’t take me that long to get my phone out.
I retired last year, at 55. My public sector employer kindly gave me a package that meant I left with the pension I would have got at normal retirement age, 60 (thank you taxpayers!)
What I’ve done is go back to university, to train as a counsellor. I’m not mad keen on the written assignments but the the background reading is fascinating and I love working with clients. I can see myself working – part-time anyway – into my 70s.
I know that I am lucky to have had the chance for this second Act of my adult life and am enjoying it very much.