Retirement

[The Chlamydia Kid]

Anything you pay in is un-taxed meaning you only need to put in £600 to get £1000 credited to your scheme - assuming you're a 40% tax-payer.  Your employer may only match a part of that but you get the tax back on your whole contribution.  You'll never get 40% interest on any other savings scheme.
If anyone official told you there was no point contributing more, sue the b*****d.

Cheers.


Nah was my gaffer but he’s no interest in it financially and it was just a general discussion.

I am on a career average pension, rather than a final salary.

I seriously need to look into this stuff properly.

Part of my thinks why bother? As my old dear paid into a pension and never lived long enough to draw it. But my old boys has been retired for 15 years now probably, retiring early on a healthy pension.

It’s peace of mind as well.

[chomp my root]

6 minutes ago, The Chlamydia Kid said:

Cheers.


Nah was my gaffer but he’s no interest in it financially and it was just a general discussion.

I am on a career average pension, rather than a final salary.

I seriously need to look into this stuff properly.

Part of my thinks why bother? As my old dear paid into a pension and never lived long enough to draw it. But my old boys has been retired for 15 years now probably, retiring early on a healthy pension.

It’s peace of mind as well.

There's no guarantees but you could be retired for quite a long time, maybe even a third of your life. Why do it frugally, when you're 65 (or 67 or whatever) you're going to be pretty active and want to go on holidays, 20 years later, maybe not so much but it would be better to be able to heat the house AND eat what you fancy. 

[The DA]

I've reached a bit of a cross-roads myself.  If I keep working for another 4 years, I'll be able to retire on the equivalent of full salary - no NI and the mortgage finishing helps.  If my company offers voluntary redundancy any time before then, I can afford to retire straight away.  Just finished doing the sums with a financial adviser and it came as a pleasant surprise.  Came at some expense though - £15,000 to get some pension transfers done!  Still, definitely feeling like a #smugtosser right now.

I used to be worried about redundancy - where would I get a similar job at my age - but now I'm begging them to bring it on while, at the same time, not looking too keen in case they try to negotiate some kind of 'amicable' settlement instead.  At the same time, I like my job and I like the folk I work with so there's no pressing need to get out.

Off the back of the news, I started looking around last week at some of the folk I know that retired 'early' and I'm not so sure I want to join them.  For every pensioner that packs his day full, there seems to be another half-dozen who don't know what to do with themselves - and that's the ones with the cash that allows them some choice.  I'm just finding it hard to imagine myself retired - I don't feel like a pensioner in the making.

For those of you already retired, what do you do with your days?  Do they just fritter themselves away - not that there's anything wrong with that?  Do you still have the same sense of purpose and self-worth?  I'm not intending to be insulting - I've just always defined myself mainly through my job and my family. 

I don't do much outside the house at the moment - working too long and too hard - but I've got a fair number of interests and hobbies I'd like to get back to.  Do hobbies still feel as entertaining when you can do them as often and as much as you want to?

 

[LondonHMFC]

My Dad retired at 50, worked in the Civil Service for 30 years before 10 odd years at the post office. He was going to stop at 55, but they stopped the whole clocking off when you finished your round. So he finished at 50. 

He never had a well paid job as such, but was incredibly frugal through his life (tight fucker basically), but his life for the past ten years is wake up about 5AM, go for a walk for an hour. Eat a bowl of porridge around 7, and then sit on Amazon all bloody day tracking the prices of different watches and jackets. He has become a hoarder of epic proportions. Him and my Mum have just moved homes, and I went up to help him, he was renting out a storage unit, at the back he had over 500 tins of fruit cocktail, because of course you need 500 tins of fruit cocktail.

He hasn't got a particularly big friendship group, and those he is mates with all work. Still goes to the football, and comes South every other month for a catch up and takes in a game. 

The main thing though, he enjoys his life. Never seems bored. Not for me though. 

[hk blues]

It's all about horses for courses regarding early retirement, but I always remember the old saying that very few people on their deathbed would say they wished they had worked longer and retired later.

[chomp my root]

1 hour ago, The DA said:

I've reached a bit of a cross-roads myself.  If I keep working for another 4 years, I'll be able to retire on the equivalent of full salary - no NI and the mortgage finishing helps.  If my company offers voluntary redundancy any time before then, I can afford to retire straight away.  Just finished doing the sums with a financial adviser and it came as a pleasant surprise.  Came at some expense though - £15,000 to get some pension transfers done!  Still, definitely feeling like a #smugtosser right now.

I used to be worried about redundancy - where would I get a similar job at my age - but now I'm begging them to bring it on while, at the same time, not looking too keen in case they try to negotiate some kind of 'amicable' settlement instead.  At the same time, I like my job and I like the folk I work with so there's no pressing need to get out.

Off the back of the news, I started looking around last week at some of the folk I know that retired 'early' and I'm not so sure I want to join them.  For every pensioner that packs his day full, there seems to be another half-dozen who don't know what to do with themselves - and that's the ones with the cash that allows them some choice.  I'm just finding it hard to imagine myself retired - I don't feel like a pensioner in the making.

For those of you already retired, what do you do with your days?  Do they just fritter themselves away - not that there's anything wrong with that?  Do you still have the same sense of purpose and self-worth?  I'm not intending to be insulting - I've just always defined myself mainly through my job and my family. 

I don't do much outside the house at the moment - working too long and too hard - but I've got a fair number of interests and hobbies I'd like to get back to.  Do hobbies still feel as entertaining when you can do them as often and as much as you want to?

 

I don't think there's a right and wrong here, there's a right for YOU though. As I posted earlier, a mate of mine retired about the same time as me, lives 5 minutes away and managed a year doing hee haw before getting bored and going back to work doing a job he moans about. I have no problem filling my day, walk the dogs 3 times a day, watch a bit of TV in between and get the occasional snooze in. The dog walking is quite sociable where I am so have met a lot of people. I make the tea for the missus coming home and a bit of housework too. I get away hill walking and camping, go to football etc although until the mortgage is paid off I have to be careful with my spending. I've always been quite self contained though, whatever works for you really, most of us will retire at some point so its something to think about.

[hk blues]

14 minutes ago, chomp my root said:

I don't think there's a right and wrong here, there's a right for YOU though. As I posted earlier, a mate of mine retired about the same time as me, lives 5 minutes away and managed a year doing hee haw before getting bored and going back to work doing a job he moans about. I have no problem filling my day, walk the dogs 3 times a day, watch a bit of TV in between and get the occasional snooze in. The dog walking is quite sociable where I am so have met a lot of people. I make the tea for the missus coming home and a bit of housework too. I get away hill walking and camping, go to football etc although until the mortgage is paid off I have to be careful with my spending. I've always been quite self contained though, whatever works for you really, most of us will retire at some point so its something to think about.

For me, I held out for 2 years when I 'retired' at 50.   A combination of boredom and Brexit screwing the exchange rate forced me back to work.  I planned part-time only, but couldn't make enough so am at it full-time +.  a few of my neighbours spend their days passing time until it gets dark enough to start drinking again.  I was falling into that habit so kinda happy (and unhappy) to be out of that routine.  

[sureiknow]

Here's one folks.

I've got one of those Drawdown pensions, apart from my main one.

I was in a scheme for few years 35 years ago. I checked it out and last year got £15,000 lump sum. 

Now getting about £2, 600 per year from it.

More or less forgot about it.

Didn't think it would be worth much.

Nice wee bonus.  Blew the lot on updating my car, holiday and getting my back garden done.

Worth looking at if you have ever had a previous pension with a firm.

Over 55's.

 

[chomp my root]

6 hours ago, sureiknow said:

Here's one folks.

I've got one of those Drawdown pensions, apart from my main one.

I was in a scheme for few years 35 years ago. I checked it out and last year got £15,000 lump sum. 

Now getting about £2, 600 per year from it.

More or less forgot about it.

Didn't think it would be worth much.

Nice wee bonus.  Blew the lot on updating my car, holiday and getting my back garden done.

Worth looking at if you have ever had a previous pension with a firm.

Over 55's.

 

A good point, maybe doesn't apply to many on here but if you're ex forces (and were on pay/pension 75) you only had to do 2 years to qualify for a pension. 

[Jacksgranda]

On ‎25‎/‎06‎/‎2018 at 20:18, chomp my root said:

Good luck with it mate, it wasn't the work that got to me, it was the politics of work. My blood pressure went from the high end of 'normal' to 'I quote' "the blood pressure of a young man". We're all in different situations though and we only get the one shot at it  (unless your a Buddhist) so go with what works for you, not whats expected.

It's the work that's getting to me - more specifically the speed at which you're expected to get things done and the time frames allowed to do it.

When I started off there were no computers, photo copiers, mobile phones or e-mails, we weren't able to receive direct phone calls, all those were routed through the secretaries - we had 3 in my first work place and they weren't idle, let me tell you, nowadays a similar sized office wouldn't even have one. Two of those secretaries are still working - part time - primarily because their employers cannot afford to pay the redundancy to which they would be entitled, as they have circa 40 years service.

You had perhaps a week or more to answer a query, nowadays you get an e-mail and then 5 minutes later another one asking have you dealt with the first one yet!

Back then you had 6 weeks/8 weeks to price a job, and getting an extension to the tender date wasn't often a problem.

Now you have 3/4weeks with inadequate drawings - often updated a day or so before the tender date and no extension contemplated - and very often highly specialised components required, so if you take a flier at a price it can have disastrous consequences.

We are currently pricing a job tender date 9th July. Nothing is going to happen until August as that date is just prior to the traditional builders' holidays here, so why not make the tender date the end of July?

Similarly at Christmas, tenders in on (say)  21st December, which lie in an architect's office until January. Unnecessary pressure imo, and as I haven't the energy levels anymore - I've emphysema - I just want finished so I can basically relax at home.

ETA: Just had 3 texts from work - (I'm not in yet, have to put out the 2 young adults we care for, and my wife is away for a hospital appointment for her broken toe, so I can't get away until 9.45 ish when their taxis come) - and there is a tender going in today (I didn't price it) at 12 and the boss wants me to look at it. Why get somebody - a very competent somebody I might add - to price it and then get me to second guess it. If the BoQ has to be inked in and returned with the tender there isn't a hope of it being ready for 12, although if you're the lowest they'll hardly throw you out for not returning the BoQ. There was a tender a fortnight ago and it took 2 hours inking in the BoQ - we haven't got 2 hours. Rang the boss, he hasn't a clue about (a) whether BoQ has to be returned or not (b) size of BoQ (c) outstanding quote required for tiles (He doesn't know what sort of tiles). FFS it's his firm!!!  Why should myself and the office manager get stressed when he doesn't seem to care??

I'm seriously contemplating finishing after the twelfth holidays when that other tender I mentioned above goes in, I've had 2 years of stress and strain, sleepless nights, missing meals and I've nearly come to the end of the road.

 

[Granny Danger]

22 hours ago, chomp my root said:

I don't think there's a right and wrong here, there's a right for YOU though. 

I think that’s spot on.  I don’t feel ready to retire yet and that is the main driver, but the financial side is important.  I could retire now and be very comfortable financially or wait for three years and be very, very comfortable.

That means I have more options to do what I want and therefore have less chance of getting bored.  The downside is I could die before I get a chance to enjoy my retirement, but that can happen at any time.

 

[doulikefish]

You don’t need to go off the beaten track for KL to get seedy. Head down to the beach club where it’s wall to wall packed with hookers, and has the added bonus of a giant shark tank behind the bar.

I loved that place.

The new beach club is a poor imitation of the old one [emoji6]