Pensions Planning: The NUMBER

justme111

you have not accounted for a State pension or have I missed it ?
even without accounting for it you have enough , you seem to need 8 k from 3OO k pot- more than enough if you ask me and you ma6 run out of years sooner than you run out of money.
disagree with one needing work to have a sense of purpose, it is unfortunate that people tend to think about their life and purpose so little they have a hole they plug with working for wages.
I am 44 ,I love my job . last year I had a year off work for health reasons - it was very stressful of course but I loved free time.
One can spend time with family members , friends, hobbies , enhancing one's day to day life - decorating, cooking, gardening. What about entertainment- movies , card games , reading - all that we postpone till we have more time - if not retoring early there will be no time for it ...
I do not even mention fitness - ideally humans should engage in some kind of muscular activity gor a few hours daily, not a measly half an hour 3 times weekly while feeling proud of it and believing one is a super fit due to it.

rebuswad

justme111 wrote: »

you have not accounted for a State pension or have I missed it ?

Thanks for the feedback. Yes good point over state pensions, I should have mentioned. The risk averse in me took the worst case scenario of the SP being means tested by the time we are there.

Will update post.

justme111

you have to be realistic in your "worst case scenarios" .
otherwise planning is not going to be possible as you would have to plan for tins and rifle scenario.

OldMusicGuy

OK, retirement is now just over 6 weeks away, so doing lots of planning and spreadsheets! Based on my work so far, we will need around £20,000 per annum to cover all living costs for 2 of us before any discretionary spending.

We live in a 5 bedroomed house in the South of England, so things like council tax (currently £2,690 per annum) are high and utility costs are around £2,700. These will come down when we downsize and relocate to a cheaper part of the country. That number also includes nearly £1,900 on pet food and pet insurance.

So our target annual income after tax (the "number") will be £32,000. I think allowing 12,000 on top of the 20,000 for discretionary spending should be plenty for the kind of lifestyle we want to lead. Of course, the £20,000 should go down a bit once we downsize so I think 32K should be adequate.

AnotherJoe

Good for you !!! Enjoy. Your number isn't much different to mine, and so far its proving to be too much if anything, I'm not finding the need or wish to spend as much as I thought though to be fair I'm only 6 months in, which has flown by.

Mnd

Hi oldmusic guy. Your figure is a bit higher than ours, but we don't have pets and we are working on 2k a month.
We live in Wiltshire near to where I seem to remember you are thinking about moving to.
We got 3 bedroom semi in Corsham., and our council tax is 1550 approx but probably going up soon.
Our experiment for 2k a month is based on the fact that I have given up work, but my wife works and with my pension we bring in 2100...6 months in so far so good

OldMusicGuy

Mnd wrote: »

We live in Wiltshire near to where I seem to remember you are thinking about moving to. We got 3 bedroom semi in Corsham., and our council tax is 1550 approx but probably going up soon.
Our experiment for 2k a month is based on the fact that I have given up work, but my wife works and with my pension we bring in 2100...6 months in so far so good

Thanks for the info. We are planning on moving to Gloucestershire/North Somerset region most likely but maybe other areas around there. We'll be aiming to get a smaller house to reduce the council tax and utility costs, so it's good to hear the kind of level you are paying. We'll also downsize the dog once it comes time for replacement (sadly the current one is 13 this year) so that will save a bit on food and insurance.

MallyGirl

OldMusicGuy wrote: »

We'll also downsize the dog once it comes time for replacement (sadly the current one is 13 this year) so that will save a bit on food and insurance.

We have big and expensive dogs too. I think I might like to foster when they go as the costs get covered (if you want to pass them on). Insurance alone is £110 pcm for 2 dogs and a cat. Throw in the amount of food that two 35kg dogs can eat - and a car big enough to carry them, and a van kitted out for them - and they are an expensive hobby. Wouldn't be without them right now though.

Gatser

justme111 wrote: »

disagree with one needing work to have a sense of purpose, it is unfortunate that people tend to think about their life and purpose so little they have a hole they plug with working for wages.
One can spend time with family members , friends, hobbies , enhancing one's day to day life - decorating, cooking, gardening. What about entertainment- movies , card games , reading - all that we postpone till we have more time - if not retiring early there will be no time for it ...
I do not even mention fitness - ideally humans should engage in some kind of muscular activity gor a few hours daily, not a measly half an hour 3 times weekly while feeling proud of it and believing one is a super fit due to it.

I am with you, JustMe111 !
Somewhat older, but I moved to part time at 55 (only 7days/month) and have found a positive cycle....
It allows me to meet more people and from them comes more ideas for hobbies, interests and mini-adventures.
Now I am about to fully retire and have no doubt I will fill the time. I do not need a job as a purpose in life, I suppose I have a job though, "Retirement Organiser/Planner"


You are also spot on regarding fitness.
Finding an hour most days to "walk somewhere" is no problem.
We will walk to the supermarket (1.5 miles) now, instead of using the car ... but not for the BIG shop!

justme111

besides how often does it happen when one works that one's sexual life suffers because one does not have the whole time in the world to dedicate to it?
methinks it is a very worthwhile reason to stop!