Do you think you'll be able to work till you're 68?

new_leaf_6

I'm visualising me working till I'm 68 - not a cheery picture. Will I have a hearing aid, walking stick and a crabby nature :mad: or will I be one of the ones who look 38, go jogging and zip through Mensa puzzles? Who knows?

Jays

I'm a nurse.

I have a vision of 'geriatric' nurses with bad backs, possibly limping with their bad hips; looking after their 'geriatric' patients who may be younger than themselves!

new_leaf_6

Just got the picture...laughed out loud.

Debt_Free_Chick

Let's get this into perspective ... the press are to blame for suggesting that we all have to work until age 68. The actual position is that you won't be able to draw your State Pension until 68. But there is nothing to stop you saving or putting money aside in a private pension, which then enables you retire at an earlier age.

My belief is that you should ignore the date on which State Pensions are payable. You decide when you want to stop work and then save so that you can afford to do so. When you get your State Pension, it's simply an added bonus.

Given the rate of the basic state pension - about £85 a week or £4,400 p.a. we shall all need other pensions or savings anyway.

I intend not be working after age 55 - I planned that when my state pension age was 65 so the move to age 68 makes no difference to me.

Free yourself from reliance on the State pension - especially if you don't want to be forced to work until age 68!

Having said all the above, some people will simply want to continue to work. My mum carried working until age 74 simply because she was bored not doing so! I hope I've not inherited that particular trait

margaretclare

I agree with Debt_Free_Chick. The whole discussion needs to be put into perspective.

FWIW I'll be 71 come August. DH is already 71. We both worked until we were 67. But....we neither of us did the work that we'd done in the main part of our careers.

DH is an apprentice-trained mechanical engineer, held some senior positions in engineering sales and management and at one stage was MD of his own company. He was 62 when he came here, and as he said, had 'no job, no prospects, no money'. He wouldn't have wanted to carry on in his former career which involved a lot of driving, being away from home a lot, walking long distances through factories etc. From age 63 to 67 he was a Customer Services Advisor for an ISP, working in a call-centre.

My main career was in nursing and midwifery, again in several senior positions until I was made redundant in 1992. You are right, Jays, there was no way I could have done 'geriatric' nursing and I couldn't afford to keep up my midwifery registration. For the last few years at work, 1998 to 2002, I worked part-time for an office agency, audio-typing, those kind of things.

I strongly agree that the whole idea of 'drawing your pension and retiring on a patricular date on the calendar' should disappear. It should be much more flexible. Many of us do not want to adopt the 'elderly retired' lifestyle and outlook. I know of many people who have continued to work into their 70s, and good luck to them. I can think of 3 women who continued in nursing until their mid-70s - one of them could leave me behind, the way she bounded up the stairs in a nursing-home!

I also agree that everyone should have some other savings/investments other than relying solely on the state pension.

Margaret Clare

EdInvestor

It's also sensible to bear in mind the fact that large numbers of people ( even those who have been highly successful in their careers) are made redundant in their 50s and suffer forced early retirment.

They can't get another job because they're regarded as "too old" and the pressure from younger people who want their existing job just becomes impossible for their company to resist.

There then ensues a mad scramble to find other sources of income until their pensions kick in, not perhaps for another 10 years.

It should be considered very likely that everyone will need another source of income on top of benefits/part time work/ redundancy pay/ new career (if lucky) from the mid 50s until their main pension(s) kick in.

So it's very wise to accumulate additional assets,and they need to be flexible, not attached to a specific retirement date. A BTL which could be sold or provide additional income, an ISA portfolio where you could take income out tax free, an additional (flexible) pension, or just a large cash pile will do.

NAR

I had a flight in a glider for my 50th birthday. It has inspired me to become an airline pilot. With the flying hours required to gain my licence I reckon I could be a major airline pilot by the time I am 60. Gosh that will give me 8 years in the sky!
Anyone care to fly with me? :beer:

EdInvestor

Debt_Free_Chick wrote:

Free yourself from reliance on the State pension - especially if you don't want to be forced to work until age 68!

It's a nice idea, but it's asking a lot of many people. Do you realise how much you would need to save to buy a pension income equivalent to the (index linked) basic state pension as an annuity these days?

It's about 100,000 pounds.:eek:

It will take most people a long time to save that much.

dunstonh

£100k isnt enough. You are looking closer to £150,000 to £200,000 after tax free lump sum to give you 10k private pension income in retirement (from 65).

EdInvestor

£100k isnt enough.

Quite so. 100k will give you an equivalent amount of money to the state pension, 85 quid a week, index-linked. Another 100k will give you the equivalent of S2P (the state second pension) for someone with a full record.

Don't knock the state pensions: they are worth a lot of money these days.

dunstonh

I dont knock state pensions. However, I dont think you should plan on the second state pension being there. If the Govt do abolish it in the future, which is likely at some point, then you havent relied on it. If they dont abolish it and you get something out of it, then it helps make up for the fact that you probably didnt save enough for your retirement.

You also have to remember that self employed dont get the second state pension and are in line for the basic only. Hopefully no self employed people are planning on S2P paying them anything.