Early-retirement wannabe

marlot

Snakey wrote: »

Timing is an interesting issue....- to what extent does it make sense to earn £12k/£46k and then stop?...

I essentially have the same dilemma.

I worked out that if I go at the end of May, I'll have paid enough NI to fill another year. Or I could work a few months longer. I can't get my hands on my pension until early 2019 or so it makes financial sense to carry on for a few more months.

theoldgreychap

I’m thinking of stopping around Jun in a year or two to coincide both with employer stock incentive releases around then plus the added possible benefit of one final long summer with our last child after their A-levels - and if they make other plans then it’s still a great time to launch into the travels my wife and have planned. One thing I need to watch out for is that I am likely to fall into the next tax rate threshold around that point in the year so more careful timing is important as I approach...

bluenose1

Triumph13 wrote: »

Hi Cat House. Can I ask how you found going at that time of year? I had always planned to go in spring / summer for the better weather, but am now very seriously looking at October this year to avoid some stressful changes at work. Did the weather put a dampener on things or was being retired more than enough to offset the winter blues?

My friend retired end of October a couple of years ago. She loved not having to get up for work on cold, dark mornings.
If It were me I would go in October rather than having a stressful period in work. I’m sure the long walks in the fresh air and daylight you will be able to enjoy will mitigate any winter blues.
I would spend my winter having nice walks, knitting, reading, cooking and even possibly decorating and cleaning the house.:eek:
Don’t want to wish my life away but am looking forward to not working.

Triumph13

Snakey wrote: »

I guess your situ is different Triumph as you're looking at six months early rather than six months late. How does it impact the finances? (Another consideration is that the changes might not be as stressful to somebody who knows s/he's leaving for good in a few months time. "So what if it's a complete disaster? I won't be here to deal with the fallout!" springs to mind.)

Financially it's an incredibly inefficient date. Miss out on annual bonus, miss out on using 2019/20 PA, have to pay voluntary NI for 19/20, etc. If I kept going I would have loads more money - which I'd probably never spend because I don't like spending money. I'd also be working through a period where everyone was firefighting and working crazy hours to fix problems. Yes I feel a bit guilty about leaving them to it, but it wouldn't be good for my physical or mental health even if I did know it was 'temporary'.

k6chris

marlot wrote: »

I worked out that if I go at the end of May, I'll have paid enough NI to fill another year.

PMSL (as the young folk say).....this is exactly my plan. Two months into the new tax year ticks my final year of NI towards my full SP. Three months notice period means the end of Feb is when I jump out of the plane and hope my spreadsheet fully deploys! Good luck.

Triumph13

bluenose1 wrote: »

My friend retired end of October a couple of years ago. She loved not having to get up for work on cold, dark mornings.
If It were me I would go in October rather than having a stressful period in work. I’m sure the long walks in the fresh air and daylight you will be able to enjoy will mitigate any winter blues.
I would spend my winter having nice walks, knitting, reading, cooking and even possibly decorating and cleaning the house.:eek:
Don’t want to wish my life away but am looking forward to not working.

Thanks bluenose. That's just about exactly where my thoughts are - except I'll still have to get up on those dark mornings to get the kids to school!

jamesperrett

Triumph13 wrote: »

I'll still have to get up on those dark mornings to get the kids to school!

Once I'd decided to retire we also decided that we would home educate our son. So no more early mornings as most home education activities start at 10 or later.

westv

When I was a lad I walked to school/got the bus.

Northamptonblue

I was a teacher at an independent school. My employer had always been very fair so I wanted succession planning to be as easy as possible. With that in mind, I gave two terms notice and left on the first day of the summer holidays. As the term actually runs until 31st. August, I got paid for the long holiday. A win-win I would like to think.

Triumph13

westv wrote: »

When I was a lad I walked to school/got the bus.

For my lads it would be a > 3 mile walk and the rural bus times would mean leaving half an hour earlier than necessary. They will cycle throughout the summer, weather permitting, but they still need to be got up, fed, persuaded to do their ablutions, packed lunches made, etc.