Early-retirement wannabe

gadgetmind

geoffers4 wrote: »

the boss has already ruled out reducing my hours

There is a formal process to go through. The answer still might be "no" but it has to be a reasoned "no".

I would like OH to keep the vast majority of her income for personal spend

Fair enough.

wouldn't factor it into covering the 1000-1500 pm expenses.

Unless she's going to cease and desist at some point, you need to add another £600 on to that figure.

saver861

geoffers4 wrote: »

I would like OH to keep the vast majority of her income for personal spends, so wouldn't factor it into covering the 1000-1500 pm expenses.

Maybe a bit of compromise?

geoffers4 wrote: »

And I'm not keen on eating away all of the savings before I reach 60, as that could be needed for emergencies or care costs in later life etc. So I guess I'm seeking a balance between preserving capital and reducing work stress.

Maybe review the pot set aside for sons getting on prop ladder?

geoffers4 wrote: »

Of course I could just "suck it up" for 6 more years - but frankly not keen.

That does not sound like a good option. Other option is to change job.

I would revisit the boss with a determined effort to reduce hours. It may not run but equally it will give him food for thought for succession planning.

As it stands, sounds like there is a percentage chance of going off with illness - thus boss in a worse position.

geoffers4

Thanks all, consensus seems to be on tackling the boss about part time working, then. I think some sort of Plan B needed also - for example a bit of networking to understand whether I could pick up consultancy work or similar, without too much travel.

greenglide

Today was my last day at work. Employment ends formally on Sunday and I become retired on Monday.

LGPS and employer DB pension with maximum lump sum funded by AVCs bought with salary sacrifice.

Voluntary redundancy at two months after 65th birthday.

I love it when a plan comes together!

Marine_life

greenglide wrote: »

Today was my last day at work. Employment ends formally on Sunday and I become retired on Monday.

LGPS and employer DB pension with maximum lump sum funded by AVCs bought with salary sacrifice.

Voluntary redundancy at two months after 65th birthday.

I love it when a plan comes together!

Nice one.

Hope you enjoy it!

madeinireland_2

greenglide wrote: »

Today was my last day at work. Employment ends formally on Sunday and I become retired on Monday.

LGPS and employer DB pension with maximum lump sum funded by AVCs bought with salary sacrifice.

Voluntary redundancy at two months after 65th birthday.

I love it when a plan comes together!

Well done - I hope to join you soon

edinburgher

greenglide wrote: »

Today was my last day at work. Employment ends formally on Sunday and I become retired on Monday.

LGPS and employer DB pension with maximum lump sum funded by AVCs bought with salary sacrifice.

Voluntary redundancy at two months after 65th birthday.

I love it when a plan comes together!

If I was you I would be feeling euphoric and smug in equal measures - well done :beer:

atush

geoffers4 wrote: »

Just finished reading through all of the (currently) 141 pages of this fascinating thread : sad, I know! Although in my defence I'm laid up at home recuperating from a hospital stay, so have some free time on my hands. Carried on reading to see if MarineLife did eventually retire...and I see not yet.

Anyway given the obvious expertise on this thread, I'd be interested in any thoughts on my options for early retirement, as it's something I'm seriously giving thought to these days.

I'm 54 and OH is 45 - our financial highlights are;
* my salary 56k, OH works part-time 7k
* Mortgage paid off on our 250k property. No debts.
* 70k in savings (all in cash), I'm adding 25k pa to this.
* 2 grown-up sons, now off the balance sheet, with a separate pot set-aside to help them get on the property ladder.
* 35 years NI contributions, so full state pension when I reach 67.
* 3 other public sector occupational pensions, currently worth 25k pa if taken at 65-67, or worth 20k pa taken at 60 with actuarial reduction. If I continued working until 60 they would then generate 26k pa. 1 also provides a lump sum of 50k at age 60, and also will continue to pay out to OH if I go first (as she has little pension provision of her own).
* Our pretty frugal lifestyle costs £1000-1500 pm, and this will easily be covered by the pensions taken at 60. This does include a couple of holidays each year, but we recently relocated to the Lake District so frankly every day is like a holiday here, or would be if I wasn't stuck in the office the whole time. The job is very demanding and leaves me with little time and not much energy to enjoy these surroundings. OH on the other hand enjoys her part-time work in a school and seems happy to continue for many years to come.

So : how much longer should I keep working/saving? And at this stage is it worth exploring other investment options?

Any thoughts?

With DB pensions and 75K in cash, I think you are being a bit too conservative. I would at the very least consider investing your 25K PA going forwards into S&S isas- maybe into income producing funds which you can compound now, and take the natural income from later?

You have 35 years, but will be contracted out for much of that it seems. So you really need a statement/forecast to see how much you will actually get (although as you keep working each additional year will get you an extra 4 something a week until you hit the max).

What are you OH pension arrangements?

westv

It's always a good Monday when you discover an old DB index linked pension you thought was dead is actually still alive and ready to pay you money come 60.

bigadaj

westv wrote: »

It's always a good Monday when you discover an old DB index linked pension you thought was dead is actually still alive and ready to pay you money come 60.

Well if you're not going to look after it properly you shouldn't be allowed to keep it!