Early-retirement wannabe

cathybird

neil1960 wrote: »

I wish I could get this point across to an IFA. I have been semi retired for a couple of years with a view to getting access to my pension this year when I'm 55. But I can't do this without the agreement of an IFA who say I'd be better off financially working to 65, which is technically true if I live that long, what health state I'd be in then or how long I'd be healthy enough to enjoy it counts for nothing. It looks like I'm going to be forced back to work until I'm 65 or maybe older despite having a pension pot large enough to retire on. My advice to you or anyone else is:- If you have the finances and the interests to keep you occupied, get out there and enjoy life!

As far as I know you are legally entitled to access your pension pot at 55 and the opinion of an IFA on what you "ought" to do can't stop you! If the one you asked is being a nuisance, my thought is shop round for a new one.

pjcox2005

melanzana, thank you for sharing and sorry for your misfortune. It's great that you did get time to spend with family though, and I guess makes you see the world differently now.


I was curious as I'm in a reasonably paid job, mortgage being overpaid, pension being contributed to but I'm looking now I'm in early 30s and wondering whether in 3 years time I could finance a year out with wife and young children, even if that means putting me back financially, potentially in future earnings and appreciation of assets.


But then, you never know if you get to retire early so why not make a temporary sabbatical happen now!


A dream at present (and I may not want a full year out!) but I think I'll keep one eye on it over the next few years to see if it is an option.

melanzana

pjcox2005 wrote: »

melanzana, thank you for sharing and sorry for your misfortune. It's great that you did get time to spend with family though, and I guess makes you see the world differently now.


I was curious as I'm in a reasonably paid job, mortgage being overpaid, pension being contributed to but I'm looking now I'm in early 30s and wondering whether in 3 years time I could finance a year out with wife and young children, even if that means putting me back financially, potentially in future earnings and appreciation of assets.


But then, you never know if you get to retire early so why not make a temporary sabbatical happen now!


A dream at present (and I may not want a full year out!) but I think I'll keep one eye on it over the next few years to see if it is an option.

I had the six months out plus part time for a while. Then when I was getting nearer to my early retirement date I cut my hours down to three weeks on and one week off. That meant that when I left the decrease in take home was not such a huge drop!

I paid into a last minute AVC on the day of retirement. That gave me a chunk of tax relief right back into my hand together with the AVC amount. Talk about money for old rope!

OK, my pension would have been a tiny bit higher had I not taken the sabbaticals that I did. But I don't care. Go with your instincts, remember that you cannot get the time back, and if you enjoy it and it makes you and your wife happy, then go for it. No one knows what's down the road.

I am sure you could buy AVCs to top up your pension if you are missing a year or so. Check that out. I couldn't as I was retiring early, and the AVC scheme would only have kicked in if I didn't have the required years at full retirement age.

In time I can downsize my rather large house just for me.... it has increased so much in value since I bought it over twenty years ago. But I never thought of it as an investment, it is my home. Still, the option is there to cash in the chips if needed and buy a smaller place with less maintenance. But that is not needed right now.

Anyway, good luck with whatever decision you make. But do it for yourself and your wife, life is short, and your health is your wealth.

gfplux

For those in retirement or close to it that have a partner/spouse.

1) Has anyone calculated what the living costs for the survivor would be after the death of the other.
2) Have they further calculated accurately what the survivors income would be.

I ask as we have just been thinking these issues through and although 2) is a simple mathematical exercise, the figure can be enlightening and perhaps leads to further thought.
However 1) is much more complicated.

Marine_life

Well, there you go after almost five years since I started this thread, saving and accumulating money, paying off the mortgage and modelling away at spreadsheets we finally took the decision.......not to retire.

We are financially ready there's no doubt about that so this is more a psychological decision.

Firstly, I think that being financially independent has changed my mindset from having to work, to being able to work free from the mental shackles and that makes work more attractive. I will be able to get my elbows out a bit.

Secondly, I get the feeling that at 50, while we have lots of hobbies, I am not sure that there is enough to fill seven days a week, 24 hours a day - not yet anyway - and while there is always the opportunity to drop down to part time I don't think there is a lot of point (as my experience is that part timers tend anyway to work on their days off). I'm sure that will change but I'm actually looking forward to making a mark and approaching projects with a new enthusiasm.

Thirdly, we've been offered the chance (which we are taking) to relocate to a really nice city near the mountains so we will be able to indulge our passion for skiing a lot more easily at weekends, which will be a good test drive and will scratch one of my main pre-retirement wishes. And as they say - a change is as good as a rest.

Finally, there is the money. Of course we don't need the money and we don't plan to change our spending habits but the comforting thud of a pay check hitting the bank account each month is something that can't be ignored.

But in summary it all comes down to the fact that we're simply not ready and there is as much relief knowing we have the choice that actually taking the decision.

So we are signing on for another two years and will then reassess.

kidmugsy

Marine_life wrote: »

we finally took the decision.......not to retire.

We are financially ready there's no doubt about that so this is more a psychological decision.

Firstly, I think that being financially independent has changed my mindset

We had that feeling once we'd saved enough to pay off the mortgage. Once we could pay it off there was no need to actually pay it off - knowing that we could have done so was quite enough of a thrill.

With early retirement, I was offered it by the company but my Head of Department didn't want me to go. We compromised on an 18 month delay. With all the weight off my shoulders, and a shorter horizon to worry about, I was remarkably productive for those months, and they flew by.

Thrugelmir

When your not working to pay the "bills" then I believe one becomes more relaxed. One's pay check can be spent as one wishes. I'd happily be made redundant now as would receive a sizable pay off! With a combination of holiday entitlement and flexi day leave amounting to 58 days a year. I feel part time anyway as working less than 4 days a week whilst receiving full time pay.

tell_it_how_it_is

And in other news, the Pope's Catholic!

gfplux

Marine life, no surprises then. I think most of us following your posts have known for the last few months if not for longer.
There is no shame in working when you could comfortably retire. It is a very personal decision and I suspect that many of us who are retired were pushed in some way, I certainly was.
17 or more years down the road the pain of that time has long disappeared and I and my family can only be grateful that we have been able to spend so much more time together.

atush

I have to say, I am not surprised at all. And well done for getting the chance to move and to ski more often!

I say to others on threads where the young are planning on retiring at 50, that 50 is pretty young to no longer work- 50 isn't as old as it was 30 years ago. As you have found out for yourself