Early-retirement wannabe

westv

Karmacat wrote: »

Erm, about the state pension? What positives, I can't think of any?

I was replying to your reply to the comment about the 25% tax free element of personal pensions.

Karmacat

Oh! My comment wasn't about the 25% tax free bit internet replies are wonderful things

Signing off now.

atush

Stuff that! If I deem I have sufficient to support myself, then it should matter not whether I choose to withdraw at 50, 55, 60 or whenever.

You may 'deem so' but many in your position underestimate the length of their life. So overestimate how much cash they can draw from pensions (so that they dont run out before you die).

Stirfry

Retired August 2015 aged 58, recently sold main home and am waiting for OH to wind business down over next year. Will be closely looking at how much cash we can withdraw from savings/interest to supplement small current pensions and future state ones. Its difficult to get the balance right as OH wants to spend spend spend while he is young enough to enjoy and i want to keep it under the mattress and count it now and again.

ex-pat_scot

atush wrote: »

You may 'deem so' but many in your position underestimate the length of their life. So overestimate how much cash they can draw from pensions (so that they dont run out before you die).

And that's why the SP is a useful backstop.


Personally, I know what my longevity forecast (and that of my wife) looks like.
I also have run lots of sims to get a Safe Withdrawal Rate, which I can flex if I get poor initial years' returns.
Finally I hope to have a pot at (or near) the Lifetime Limit = however I rather suspect / hope that it will no longer be an issue once I approach it.


Bad scenario: I get to 55, with £1m in the pot, which frankly is ample for £40,000 to £45,000 pa (to be supported by small spouse pension and 2 x SPs later on).
BUT the state, in its wisdom, deems me somehow too young to access it.


I know I #could# mitigate this risk a little, by diversifying into ISAs. However I am well and truly stuck in the 62% marginal tax band, which makes pension optimisation the only sensible game in town.

Marine_life

So here it is....

Not retiring....but you knew that ;-)

Have agreed a 25% reduction in hours which I will test drive over the next 12 months.

goRt

Marine_life wrote: »

So here it is....

Not retiring....but you knew that ;-)

Have agreed a 25% reduction in hours which I will test drive over the next 12 months.

Richest person in the graveyard.

I'm coming up to 4 years in retirement and I'm only just 54.

atush

Marine_life wrote: »

So here it is....

Not retiring....but you knew that ;-)

Have agreed a 25% reduction in hours which I will test drive over the next 12 months.

Let us know how you get on, as i- unlike gort, dont think you will heading tot he graveyard soon.

C-dog

Marine Life I've been rattling around these forums for many years and this thread has been an inspiration to my own early retirement. If you don't retire before me....I just don't know what I'll do.

Wenlock

Which will come first; the building of the third runway at Heathrow or the "early" retirement of Marine Life?

Personally, I retired at 50 on a fraction of the money that most posters on here have. I would not have wanted to carry on working beyond that age. There really is more to life than work and excessive wealth.

For goodness sake just quit today!:j