Advice re switching to part time

Savannah02K

Hello, just thought I'd post for some advice. I'm currently working full time but am now seriously thinking of going part time, say three days a week. My house is paid for, ditto my car, I'm reasonably savvy on things like checking my savings are getting the best interest, using up ISA allowance etc but .......... is there anything else I can be doing to 'cushion' myself against the drop in income? I've almost finished getting my house sorted re work that needed to be done (which was why I went back to full time several years ago), I've started to get into growing my own veggies and fruit (and hope to do more as I have more time), but I just wonder if I'm missing anything. I'm 54 and single, don't have expensive lifestyle at all, like my clothes shopping but have cut back already on that. Any advice would be much appreciated, particularly from those who've already made this transition. I think what's scaring me most is that as a lifelong saver (blame spendthrift runaway dad who left me with fear of having no safety net), once I go part-time, my savings habit will be hit hard. I know it's daft, that's why you save, but it's that mindshift I'm having big trouble with.

ubamother

I'm going to play devil's advocate. To be brutal my concerns would be:

1. that the job market shrinks a lot more for women as they get older than it does for men, and it might be very difficult to find full-time work once you are part-time if you wanted to go full-time again.
2. depending on the industry and job level within it, part-time workers, again particularly women, tend to get left behind when it comes to communication, promotion and generally a sense of being part of the organisation. Keeping involved in the day to day business decisions that are being made can become more difficult and therefore your involvement in decision making becomes less.
3. would this have an affect on your pension - if you are in a final salary scheme would this be an issue?

You don't mention if you would be going part-time with the same organisation - there might be costs to weigh up if you are moving company - travel etc.

My comments are not in any way a judgement or an opinion of what you should or shouldn't do, but

is76

Whoa, part time! Sounds promising....

I guess its all about balancing of time vs money. Sure you will have less income but more time. If you can balance that out and it brings you more pleasure and enjoyment. Why wait till some magical retirement date?

I want to go part time at some point over the next 5 years (I am only 33!) but I guess I am financially secure. (no mortgage, good income, secure employment, no family etc) I am a saver and like having my little nest egg. Although I am trying to enjoy my income at the moment and my biggest luxury is holidays. I hate wasting money and love a bargain.

I guess you are not suddenly going to stop being a saver but its ok to enjoy your money too.

Good luck, sounds exciting. I guiess its a question of working the figures out and looking at the different contingencies. Part of me thinks life really is too short and its good to enjoy your job but there is more to life than work.

Ehm, sorry for the ramble (probably not very helpful) but post an update on what you decide.......

theladsmum

My immediate thought was for the implications for your pension. You sound pretty well set up for the short-medium term, but as you are not that many years away from potential retirement (I know not everyone has the same view or definition of that!) it is worthy of serious consideration.

wssla00

If you do decide to go part time, do make sure you check that you have not overpaid tax. Depending on your income drop, you may have overpaid and could be eligible for a rebate. It is worth speaking to the tax office and requesting a P50 to do so, or you may have to wait until the end of the tax year but it is still worth speaking to them about it.

I went part time about three years ago and never looked back- you will get there you just budget to what you earn. I suppose it's important to ask you what you want more? More income or more free time? For me it was the free time that was needed.

Whatever you decide hope you enjoy it

Savannah02K

as where I'm currently working I opted out of joining the money purchase type scheme (hoping I'd only be here for a few years) and opted instead for the 10% extra salary. My previous pensions are all with other employers so no worry there as going part time impacting on that.

I'm trying to find part time within my current organisation, trouble is, at the mo, all the jobs coming up are TOO part time, i.e. only about 18 hours per work and I'm really looking for about 22-26 hours. My other plan is that once I've got the garden really up and running to look for a cash in hand job locally (and there are quite a lot of those given the nature of the area (lots of senior apartment housing where people are desperate for cleaners/shoppers) for one morning a week. Current rates are £10 per hour so even one morning's work would add towards my weekly food bill in a big way. Also, my current employer frequently have short term assignments (data entry, mailshots etc) whereby I could come back for a week or two every so often.

And I agree, life is too short to be doing a job with just some distant 'I'll retire one day' goal in mind, I've worked too long with too many women who were now my age and had that goal who, sadly, never made it.

[Deleted User]

I would be concerned about your pension and also that if you are not adding to your savings what they will purchase in real terms will diminish (as interest rates are so low). You will be on a reduced income (part time and then pension) for about 30 years assuming you live to a healthy age!

You will probably want or need to replace your car at some stage and you may well have other costs (replacement kitchen equipment) also there will be maintenence to be carried out on your property. These kind of things can quickly eat into savings.

My elderly father always says to me that the real problem is not knowing how long you are going to live which makes budgeting difiicult for a pensioner!

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

I say go for it if you have the chance. I struggled for years trying to juggle kids and work and since going part time have had the energy to do more at home and we seem to be better off due to having more time to save money by being thrifty.
I would ensure the following

- you have all the necessary major purchases (ie make sure all your kitchen appliances are not ready to conk out!) and things in place first

-try and manage on the money you would get if you were part time before you drop your hours

- hang on until the election, may be a few nasty surprises in store for us!

- remember that life is for living, its always a balance between time and money, both are always in short supply and you never get your time back.

Good luck whatever you decide!

marmalize

i say go for it....i have done exactly the same...i have paid off the mortgage...i have no debts...i have an old endowment maturing in 18 months that will buy me a new car and top up my savings...so... about 2 years ago i went from full time work to working 3 days a week....
i still put savings away(i too had a f.e.c.kless father and a cash poor childhood) although not as much as before it still builds up into a nice 'buffer'..
i go camping(weather permitting) on my days off so i have loads of little cheap holidays in beautiful surroundings..
i use the garden to grow veg..
as for the pension...well frankly i know lots of people that worked hard all their lives and when they finally retired they were too ill or even died before they could enjoy their freedom....LIVE NOW...
luckily i work in a job that always has availibility of overtime working (if i am particularly skint) so can always top up the months salery if needed...
reading the 'old style threads' on here has saved me lots of money with it's shopping and cooking tips and bargains....
and finally.............i decided my 'freedom' was worth giving up a few luxuries for(although i have to say i don't seem to have given up any of those either)

marmalize

since when is f.e.c.kless an innapropriate word!!!
is it a 'swearword' in another country???
i shall go look it up immediately...........

Sunnyday

Just a thought but if you are considering staying with the same employer would a job share be a possibility?

You could keep the number of hours that you need and the rest of the hours could be advertised internally or externally so both of you sharing the job get as many hours as you would both like IYKWIM

Someone where i work did this and although i don`t know much about it both people seem happy and i think that they both keep the benefits of full time employment, ie sick pay and any perks.

HTH

SD