Pensions Planning: The NUMBER

atush · 22 September 2015 at 10:49AM

Similar to mine I think.

Although until the alst twin is out of Un i (law school this year) and we downsize (just starting renovations in our 20 yr dated house) then I wont know the lower figure as running costs in this large place are high.

missyrichards · 22 September 2015 at 11:06AM

I think it makes a difference if you have children or not. We deliberately chose not to have kids and that means we can plan our retirement in a much more straightforward way.:)

I think if I had kids and grandchildren etc... I would probably be more cautious just in case they ever needed financial assistance in the future.

I keep thinking even if something goes wrong we always have the option of moving house to a cheaper area if we had to.

We don't have a car and don't like driving so I can't see us ever splashing out on a posh car. We have pets but they don't really cost that much and we have insurance on them. My house doesn't have a lot of upkeep as it's quite small.

If all goes to plan I will only be 50 when I retire and my husband will be 55 so we could always get a part time job later on if we had to.

My husband knows quite a lot of ex collegues that have retired fairly early 55-57 and they have all handled it well and not had any financial problems so we know it can be done as we know real life examples.:D

This is how I feel at the moment anyway, I might get more nervous as I get closer to the date, lol.

robin61 · 22 September 2015 at 11:28AM

Marine_life wrote: »

I'm going to argue that you actually need a couple of "numbers"

Number 1 - is you bum basic living i.e. what you could survive on if you live a fairly frugal lifestyle (actually there is an "extreme" level below bum basic but lets not go there).

Number 2 - is you want to spend a little in retirement and enjoy the fruits of your labours (i.e. you want to travel a bit or take up golf - all of which require a bit of extra cash)

Number 3 - is you want to have some "flash" money - buy that Porsche, indulge your desire for fine wines etc.

Number 4 - is your buffer is you have one over and above everything else.

So....My numbers (in € unfortunately) are:

1. €30,000
2. €15,000
3. €15,000
4. €Who knows!

I think this is a good way to go.

Because I'm not a very good spread sheet jockey I have been doing the same as one of the others mentioned in this thread and using the RetireEasy website. You can put your desired income into the personal info section - start with your #1 and work upwards by changing it. It will tell you if and when you will run out of money.

atush · 22 September 2015 at 3:05PM

missyrichards wrote: »

I think it makes a difference if you have children or not. We deliberately chose not to have kids and that means we can plan our retirement in a much more straightforward way.:)

I think if I had kids and grandchildren etc... I would probably be more cautious just in case they ever needed financial assistance in the future.

I keep thinking even if something goes wrong we always have the option of moving house to a cheaper area if we had to.

We don't have a car and don't like driving so I can't see us ever splashing out on a posh car. We have pets but they don't really cost that much and we have insurance on them. My house doesn't have a lot of upkeep as it's quite small.

If all goes to plan I will only be 50 when I retire and my husband will be 55 so we could always get a part time job later on if we had to.

My husband knows quite a lot of ex collegues that have retired fairly early 55-57 and they have all handled it well and not had any financial problems so we know it can be done as we know real life examples.:D

This is how I feel at the moment anyway, I might get more nervous as I get closer to the date, lol.

This is so true. And if we had never had kids, we would be pretty rich lol. They have cost alot, and are still costing. But hopefully will have turned out to be a good investment.

chiefie · 29 December 2015 at 7:51PM

It's nearly 2016, anyone got any more thoughts on their number and when ?
Enjoyed reading thrOugh this all.

I'm struggling as I can't get my dh to understand that we will have less money but also less stress, at least work stress. She is 7 years orders as well so we can both go at 55/62 with about the average 'number' from this thread. Two still at uni but I'm afraid they will have to get used to standing on their own two feet by the time they leave uni.

Carnival789 · 29 December 2015 at 9:44PM

I don't have plans for a very ambitious retirement and think I could get by quite happily on around £10k per annum once I have retired.

I'd probably be funding my retirement by down-sizing and freeing up equity from my house. If I knew for definite that a stAte pension would still exist in 25 years time then It would make the planning so much easier!

As things stand , I feel like I need to have a "plan-b" just in cAse the state pension disappears at some point. Most annoying!

OldBeanz · 29 December 2015 at 10:50PM

It is very unlikely that any government would get rid of the OAP. As they have already indicated it is the age which will be moved.

atush · 29 December 2015 at 11:34PM

10K a year? Better you than me lol.

But it is expensive where i live. and there will be 2 of us (even if we are now 5 at the moment)

peterg1965 · 30 December 2015 at 8:02AM

Great thread this, and very thought provoking.

Retirement planning is a real lottery, I think, I plan, I act and then the Givernment acts and moves the goalposts. It's tough that even as retirement looms in a handful of years there is still uncertainty surrounding pension legislation, and what might happen to derail the train. Changes to tax relief is a real worry.

Retirement for me equals giving up working for someone, my aim is to achieve this when I am 55/56 and then my life after that doesn't mean playing golf all day or watching day time TV. It means something else that enables me to be firmly based at home and supplementing my income, maybe a small internet based business.

Anyway, my NUMBER is higher than average and is around the £60k+ mark. I will have a modest mortgage when I 'retire' and I want to keep doing the things I/we like - maintain a nice home and have decent cars. fortunately I am on track to achieve this at the moment.