Early-retirement wannabe

mlal_2

Looking for some opinions from others who want to retire early.

An outline of our position.

52 years young and Married with no kids.

Mortgage free and debt free. No loans etc.

Final salary pension which I can take early (50 onwards with reduced benefits).

If I take my pension next year (53 years old) I'd have accrued 29 years.

We intend to sell our house (£385k), I've got around £20k saved. Also I've got investments coming out at 54, 55 and 56. These should be good for around £20k each after CGT.

We will buy a house for around £300k in a different part of the U.K. which will be the equivalent or better than our current house.

I'd appreciate opinions on if we take full pension lump sum (£130k) with reduced pension (£19k pa) or low lump sum (£25k) and higher annual pension of around £27k.

Thanks.

Marine_life

jojorose wrote: »

What stuns me is the amounts discussed in the pension pots.

Everyone is different, that's what creates uncertainty, there's no single answer that is right for everyone.

jojorose wrote: »

You just need enough.

Precisely.
But how much is enough?

jojorose wrote: »

My husband has a pension of £9,000 a year

Which would not be enough for us, especially when we need to pay €6,000 a year for health insurance (not optional - compulsory)

jojorose wrote: »

Your delay is down to fear.

That would be too simplistic - its about wanting to secure a certain lifestyle for EVER i.e. its a fairly big decision.

jojorose wrote: »

Apologies if i offend.

Not offended - but whats right for you would not be right for me

gadgetmind

jojorose wrote: »

You dont need enormous homes, you dont need new clothes, you dont need takeaways or meals out. You just need enough.

You don't need a house at all and could just live in a tent. Some people would be very happy doing this, whereas others would be deeply miserable. I like having space for my hobbies, I like being able to afford quality cars and to eat at good restaurants, and I like to be able to afford to go scuba diving in warm water surrounded by pretty-coloured fish.

£9k pa would not allow me to have this so I know I have to keep on working hard for a few more years. I could trade off this sacrifice for a few sacrifices during retirement, but this is a decision that everyone needs to make for themselves.

Apologies if i offend.

Blimey, I think we're all a bit harder to offend than that!

atush

jojorose wrote: »

Ive read pages and pages of this thread but not had the stamina to do the bit in the middle..
What stuns me is the amounts discussed in the pension pots., concerns about luxury items, holidays etc.

Life is short. Your kids are going to blow anything you leave them on things you never had. You dont need enormous homes, you dont need new clothes, you dont need takeaways or meals out. You just need enough. I think I must live in a different world

My husband has a pension of £9,000 a year, which thanks to Tata is about to take a hit. I have several small pots which we began to draw down on my 55th birthday to pay into the bill account which should last until he gets his state pension. We own a small house in a northern part of the UK. We did blow on a VW to camp and tour but our needs are simple. Our savings, I mean his, are 4 x his pension. We consider ourselves more than fortunate.

Your delay is down to fear. Just do it. If you are unhappy, depressed counting the days JUST DO IT.

Apologies if i offend.

You dont offend, but just because you like living on the bread line doesnt mean others want to or have to.

Some of us who want to retire early, work hard to save the money for what you call luxuries.

If that means working another year or two, so be it.

atush

mlal wrote: »

Looking for some opinions from others who want to retire early.

An outline of our position.

52 years young and Married with no kids.

Mortgage free and debt free. No loans etc.

Final salary pension which I can take early (50 onwards with reduced benefits).

If I take my pension next year (53 years old) I'd have accrued 29 years.

We intend to sell our house (£385k), I've got around £20k saved. Also I've got investments coming out at 54, 55 and 56. These should be good for around £20k each after CGT.

We will buy a house for around £300k in a different part of the U.K. which will be the equivalent or better than our current house.

I'd appreciate opinions on if we take full pension lump sum (£130k) with reduced pension (£19k pa) or low lump sum (£25k) and higher annual pension of around £27k.

Thanks.

My opinion is, why take the pension early? why not start a DC pension this year, saving as much as possible (why not try living on that lower pension amount and save the rest)? At least work to 54, and take those investments coming in and live on them for the next years?

At what age will your pension be unreduced? Do you have any serious health issues that might mean you will die early?

mlal_2

atush wrote: »

My opinion is, why take the pension early? why not start a DC pension this year, saving as much as possible (why not try living on that lower pension amount and save the rest)? At least work to 54, and take those investments coming in and live on them for the next years?

At what age will your pension be unreduced? Do you have any serious health issues that might mean you will die early?

Thanks, appreciate the thoughts and something to think about.No serious health issues. Pension is unreduced at 59 years old.

I'd estimate on a DC pension I'd probably be able to put away around £15k per annum.

Marine_life

I had to share this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu2HhlTEHMc

What's missing is the final line:

Lawrence: Well, you don't need a million dollars to do nothing, man. Take a look at my cousin: he's broke, don't do !!!!.

Love it

Goldiegirl

jojorose wrote: »

Ive read pages and pages of this thread but not had the stamina to do the bit in the middle..
What stuns me is the amounts discussed in the pension pots., concerns about luxury items, holidays etc.

Life is short. Your kids are going to blow anything you leave them on things you never had. You dont need enormous homes, you dont need new clothes, you dont need takeaways or meals out. You just need enough. I think I must live in a different world

My husband has a pension of £9,000 a year, which thanks to Tata is about to take a hit. I have several small pots which we began to draw down on my 55th birthday to pay into the bill account which should last until he gets his state pension. We own a small house in a northern part of the UK. We did blow on a VW to camp and tour but our needs are simple. Our savings, I mean his, are 4 x his pension. We consider ourselves more than fortunate.

Your delay is down to fear. Just do it. If you are unhappy, depressed counting the days JUST DO IT.

Apologies if i offend.

It seems to me that those on modest to average incomes find it easier to make the decision to retire.


Those on higher incomes, who already have more money than most people can ever dream of having, seem to be the ones who find it more difficult to stop work, going for 'one or two more years' almost indefinitely.

edinburgher

Possibly because they have less options (financially speaking) and are far less likely to succumb to analysis paralysis?

If you've spent 30 years tucking away 8%/month into your pension and paying NI, another year or two won't make much difference to your eventual goal.

If, on the other hand, you're investing huge amounts to avoid paying tax on your very healthy salary etc., the fear of 'loss' must be quite palpable. I imagine that the enough? question becomes clouded in uncertainty very quickly when you're in this situation.

gadgetmind

In my case, I find my job rewarding, and now I'm down at a 4 day week find that I have enough leisure time. However, my employer is going through major changes at the moment, and I'm having to trim my team and do a lot of restructuring, and I'm by nature a team builder and find this quite stressful.

I'm lucky in that I have other options and a sound financial base, which I know isn't the case for many there, so TBH I'm putting in over and above right now to make sure they get as good an outcome as I can deliver.