Pensions Planning: The NUMBER

Sunnylifeover50plan

SouthCoastBoy said:

Sounds lovely

It is mostly but no matter where you live there are always problems/ compromises. If anyone say's any different they are probably an estate agent

MarriedWithKids89

A question for those already retired; have there been any significant costs/expenses that you had not planned/accounted for beforehand?  

Linton

MarriedWithKids89 said:

A question for those already retired; have there been any significant costs/expenses that you had not planned/accounted for beforehand?  

No, because I never based our retirement plans on an itemised budget but rather took the view that since we were living comfortably on our expenditure prior to retirement we would plan to keep our expenditure the same. If you are used to a particular standard of living you may be unhappy with a significant decline.

Of course to do this sensibly you need to have good records going back several years on how much you are spending.

In practice our expenditure pattern has changed significantly helped by investments performing much better than planned and inflation much less even after the past year.

This experience has led me to conclude that basing one's retirement on a detailed budget is not a sensible approach at least for normal expenditure.  Though if you are planning to take up expensive hobbies or go on holidays you would never have considered whilst working it may be prudent to add in the costs.

bownyboy

MarriedWithKids89 said:

A question for those already retired; have there been any significant costs/expenses that you had not planned/accounted for beforehand?  

Nope. I've been keeping track of our expenditure for the last 5-10 years so always have a good 'feel' for what we are likely to spend. 

We don't budget as such, rather I keep an eye on spending by checking once a month how our cash balance looks and I drop that into our networth tracker sheet. 

Outside of the day-to-day there is then the big ticket items that we know will come up eg: new kitchen, summer house, carport. 

cfw1994

MarriedWithKids89 said:

A question for those already retired; have there been any significant costs/expenses that you had not planned/accounted for beforehand?  

A bit over 2 years in, & none really for us.  

Inflation can be a worry, of late, I would say.
We just returned from Latitude festival, and they release the ‘early bird’ tickets for next year…..up over 25% 😳  First World Problem, I guess….

Feels like price gouging, but we have rolled with it as we enjoy the weekend so much…..we just take our own beers for breakfast to dull the need for too many beers on site (£6.80 pints….although 10% off with a Barclaycard 😉).

Obviously inflation hits all dining out costs these days.  Maybe we have subconsciously chosen to do less than we perhaps planned….being reasonably ‘tight’ with spending does that 🤣

Nebulous2

We had plans to spend a lot on our house - and have kind of ran out of ambition to see it through. So less than we expected on that front. 

We bought a second vehicle, which we hadn't intended to do. My part-time job is funding that however. 

I'm still casting around for something to fill my time and am considering buying a classic car to take to car rallys / shows etc. That certainly wasn't anywhere in our plans when I retired! 

atush

eastcorkram said:

bownyboy said:

Mick70 said:

There's clear evidence of how different we all are , as if it were needed. We won't spend anywhere near £600 in total , on pubs and takeaways, over the next 30 years. 

Yeah, we are all different.

I would be miserable if i only ate out spending less than 600 in 30 years.

We spend around 200/month, more if on holiday. Just got back from france for 3 weeks and id be surprised if we didnt spend more than 600.  But it is a holiday, and there wasnt much beach weather so we went out for 3 course menu lunches.  One place near us is in the michelin guide, and serves a fantastic menu for 24 euros.  Ate there twice.

eastcorkram

atush said:

eastcorkram said:

bownyboy said:

Mick70 said:

There's clear evidence of how different we all are , as if it were needed. We won't spend anywhere near £600 in total , on pubs and takeaways, over the next 30 years. 

Yeah, we are all different.

I would be miserable if i only ate out spending less than 600 in 30 years.

We spend around 200/month, more if on holiday. Just got back from france for 3 weeks and id be surprised if we didnt spend more than 600.  But it is a holiday, and there wasnt much beach weather so we went out for 3 course menu lunches.  One place near us is in the michelin guide, and serves a fantastic menu for 24 euros.  Ate there twice.

I am miserable 😄 but eating out or going to a pub certainly wouldn't change that. 

retiringtoosoon

Just burst through the £500k DC pot level by heavily sal sac over the last few years (about to turn 44 in a month).

The aim is to retire in 9 years by 53 - question is feasibility, partilcularly when the kids will be 23 and 21 so entering the workforce proper (one hopes). Thoughts over ongoing support in respect of house deposits etc.

Net monthly income hovers around £4k for us as a couple (my OH is a deputy head so will get a decent DB pension for pin money).

Have around £200k in S&S ISAs so some money to bridge the gap to 58.

L9XSS

Plan to retire at 62. Currently 56. On a glide path to retirement already with “downsizing my career” currently contributing to my SIPP monthly. House paid off, volume of my money is Pension & a requirement now to build cash reserves to support the gap between years 62 and 67. Taking a DB pension at 60 years of age whilst continuing to work for a further 2 years. Net income in retirement years is forecasted at 3k per month. This will fund travel plans and hobbies. My current income is 1.5k per month so quite a jump from present earnings, though previously I was a HRT payer. I could go slightly earlier but I want the security of “my number”. I have been frugal the last 15 years, overpaying my mortgage considerably to clear it 11.5 years early and running two old cars. I’m enjoying the freedom that saving into pensions has brought me so far at this point. My DB pension will do the “heavy lifting” supported by a moderate SIPP pot of (forecasted) at 205k at 60 years of age.