Early-retirement wannabe

blisteringblue

Totally agree CRV, I have yet another meeting with my old boss about unhappiness following a restructure after another merger. I played hardball last time and got them to totally backtrack when I was being demoted, but I think I just want an exit package now.

Pension pot is good, I'm just 1300 days too early

I can't just tread water for 4 1/2 years, driving me mad after 3 months. Will see if I can pick up some contract work and ease into retirement.

westv

gfplux wrote: »

Looking back it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

The best thing that ever happened to me was sliced bread.

ex-pat_scot

blisteringblue wrote: »

Totally agree CRV, I have yet another meeting with my old boss about unhappiness following a restructure after another merger. I played hardball last time and got them to totally backtrack when I was being demoted, but I think I just want an exit package now.

Pension pot is good, I'm just 1300 days too early

I can't just tread water for 4 1/2 years, driving me mad after 3 months. Will see if I can pick up some contract work and ease into retirement.

2187.5 for me. Approx.
I think contract work will come after that date, but its certainly an option.
It's not quite driving me mad, but I think I have gradually desensitised myself to the day to day [EMAIL="!!!!"]!!!![/EMAIL] and just ignore large swathes.

blisteringblue

ex-pat_scot wrote: »

2187.5 for me. Approx.
I think contract work will come after that date, but its certainly an option.
It's not quite driving me mad, but I think I have gradually desensitised myself to the day to day [EMAIL="!!!!"]!!!![/EMAIL] and just ignore large swathes.

I'm trying really hard, but the red mist descends when another ridiculous decision is made by my new colleagues.

I always say it exactly as I see it too, so that isn't helping :mad:

And this was all the thanks I got for being the good solider and saying I will be retiring at 55. Should have kept my mouth shut. I used to think my old boss was a friend too. Live and learn.

Anyway, end of the day I get a good wage and they don't really seem concerned I am not doing any actual work

ex-pat_scot wrote: »

2187.5 for me.

PS loving the 1/2 day I have a countdown event to mine

Wednesday2000

LHW99 wrote: »

Wednesday2000 do you / can you get ESA? I think that provides NI credits.

I'm not sure, I really have to look into it soon and sort something out.

ex-pat_scot

blisteringblue wrote: »

I'm trying really hard, but the red mist descends when another ridiculous decision is made by my new colleagues.

I always say it exactly as I see it too, so that isn't helping :mad:

And this was all the thanks I got for being the good solider and saying I will be retiring at 55. Should have kept my mouth shut. I used to think my old boss was a friend too. Live and learn.

Anyway, end of the day I get a good wage and they don't really seem concerned I am not doing any actual work

PS loving the 1/2 day I have a countdown event to mine

I might have been a tad facetious in the stated accuracy! I'm counting the years, not the days.


I have deliberately not mentioned the long term game plan (exit plan) to anyone really. Certainly not to anyone in the chain of command. Or even (in any great detail) to Mrs XPS.
There are a few reasons for this:
1. you need to be seen to be ambitious. Having (or discussing) an exit plan is quite the opposite...
2. you never know when a package might come available. Keep your cards close to your chest in this area.
3. I don't have a firm plan (the gods laugh at such). I have a general direction of travel, which is to arrive at 55 with a sack full of gold and a brand new shiny key to be able to unlock it.
Quite what I do at that point is unknown:
- run (quite appealing to consider, especially at the end of a difficult day)
- scale back
- go part time (contracting)
- work closer to home (I travel down to London and home at weekends, which is frankly exhausting)
- stop
- all of the above.


If (!) pension rules remain as they currently are, then that's what I see ahead of me.
However, I equally envisage a number of unforeseen factors which might include
- parental or close family care requirements
- child issues (my youngest will be about to go off to uni, but frankly there are so many of them that some challenge will be on the cards)
- inability to access pension
- pensions freedoms revoked
- poor investment performance


etc.


So in my mind, the best approach now is to do what I can, which is to set my sails in the best direction and trim as the weather blows. Maximising contributions, maximising tax efficiency, minimising costs (transactions, holding, tax), optimising risk / reward.
Start building my list of desired activities / so that I can "retire TO" rather than "retire FROM".
Start clarifying the options with Mrs XPS as we get nearer the threshold, so that we (hopefully) come to a common plan.

crv1963

I have deliberately not mentioned the long term game plan (exit plan) to anyone really. Certainly not to anyone in the chain of command. Or even (in any great detail) to Mrs XPS.

So in my mind, the best approach now is to do what I can, which is to set my sails in the best direction and trim as the weather blows. Maximising contributions, maximising tax efficiency, minimising costs (transactions, holding, tax), optimising risk / reward.
Start building my list of desired activities / so that I can "retire TO" rather than "retire FROM".
Start clarifying the options with Mrs XPS as we get nearer the threshold, so that we (hopefully) come to a common plan.

That sounds like a plan! Our own plans have been along similar lines, colleagues know I could retire from October at 55 but could, want or afford to are entirely different things.


I had an enforced 6 months off last year following a heart attack, at my last appointment with my cardiologist (when he told me I was discharged and fitter than the average 40 year old) I told him I thought I may retire this year and he told me not to at 55, but to either carry on doing my stressful (but aren't they all, it's just our stress tolerance that varies) job, seek a new role or a new employer but not to retire before 60!


I spent my time working through our finances, trimmed over 1k per month using various threads on here and seriously looked at our retirement plans which went from a vague "I can go at 55, to a we can go when I'm 58 if...." Thanks to a lot of threads here I got our number, got a plan (which has to be flexible), got some ideas for retiring to something.


If Mrs XPS is anything like Mrs CRV she wont really want the detail but the bottom line of when, how much will we have to live on and what If the roof blows off? The whole topic of pensions and retirement planning is like talking a different language to her!


She has to be fair played a role, increased her savings rate, looked through some of the figures and started to think about what being retired means for her, where she'd like to travel and how she will fill her day.


At work now I'm nearing 55 I find that I'm really written off in terms of projects/ planning/ new ideas to the point that I feel I either do find another role in another Team or take retirement and do agency work, more money, less stress but also less certainty and possible periods of no work for short periods of time.


Had we planned earlier definitely I would have poured more money into Mrs CRV pension - less tax on the way out, put more into ISAs and other than that not really changed much that we've done, so now I'm looking over the next few years maximising her pension contributions. We're looking at a pound saved now is a pound and a bit less we need to earn later!


So I either have 180 or 1275 days to the salary tap being turned off, probably the latter but certainly I'm not working past another 1275 days!

fcandmp

I officially exited in February, age 57, having managed a fully transparent desire to reduce working days over the last 2 years. For me, full transparency was key to discussing shedding load and responsibilities, as well as coaching others to take on more. I had a very enlightened employer and supportive boss. I am now planning limited consultancy activity to buffer the period up to NRA (age 60).

In terms of finances, my aim was to get to a balance point before stopping work, where earned income matched our planned retirement budget. We are close but still some tuning opportunities.

Strategy all assisted by triggering one of a number of final salary scheme pensions early; putting SIPP into drawdown (balancing off against possible consulting income up to higher rate tax threshold) and bolstering any remaining retirement budget shortfall with cash savings over the next two years, until all final salary pension arrangements have kicked in.

I am heavy on cash at present to soften the potential of a significant market adjustment and don’t see the need to take a more risky investment posture at this point.

blisteringblue

crv1963 wrote: »

So I either have 180 or 1275 days to the salary tap being turned off, probably the latter but certainly I'm not working past another 1275 days!

My goal, as I have actually stated earlier in this thread, was always to retire at 55. My driver was my father having a heart attack aged 55 (heavy smoker which I am not), he isstill with us thankfully but it's been the catalyst for my escape route every since.

Our youngest will have hit 22 and we should be free for a few nice trips to far flung places and maybe a bit of motorhome action (have to seen the price of these new :eek:)

crv1963

blisteringblue wrote: »

My goal, as I have actually stated earlier in this thread, was always to retire at 55. My driver was my father having a heart attack aged 55 (heavy smoker which I am not), he isstill with us thankfully but it's been the catalyst for my escape route every since.

Our youngest will have hit 22 and we should be free for a few nice trips to far flung places and maybe a bit of motorhome action (have to seen the price of these new :eek:)

My heart attack last year (all be it with a full recovery, only thing I can't do without a lot of fuss and expensive insurance is scuba diving) and the deaths of so many colleagues and ex-colleagues in their late 50s is my catalyst! Yes I was also a heavy smoker, but stopped now, diet even healthier the rushed lunches of pasties and sausage rolls with crisps didn't help! Now it's salads and no added salt to my lunches. Hardest thing to stop was crisps! I am allowed a 6 pack a month not a day.