Early-retirement wannabe

agent69

jamesd wrote: »

more "how much should I spend" than "will I have enough to live on".

I've built up a significant retirement pot over the years. The difficult bit is trying to work out how long you have to make it last

barnstar2077

agent69 wrote: »

I've built up a significant retirement pot over the years. The difficult bit is trying to work out how long you have to make it last

I am planning on retiring at 55 and having my money last me until I am at least 85. I don't see the point in putting it off by a couple of years to try and make my money last till I am 90. The years from 55 - 57 seem a lot more likely to happen than 85 - 90. Plus should I be fortunate enough to make it to 90 I won't be spending anywhere the same kind of money as when I was out and about at 55.

cathybird

barnstar2077 wrote: »

I am planning on retiring at 55 and having my money last me until I am at least 85. I don't see the point in putting it off by a couple of years to try and make my money last till I am 90. The years from 55 - 57 seem a lot more likely to happen than 85 - 90. Plus should I be fortunate enough to make it to 90 I won't be spending anywhere the same kind of money as when I was out and about at 55.

I have a friend who works for the Heart Foundation in Australia and she says there is a real bump in mortality rates between 55 and 60 - no one knows why, but a lot of people die then. She says if you get past 60 you've got a good chance of living another 20 years. This year I've had two work colleagues die, one at 55 and one at 59. Both quite suddenly when they were seemingly in reasonable health. It does focus the mind.

As it happens I'm planning to retire at 55 too - which is not that far away! A year or so, maybe a bit less.

JoeEngland

cathybird wrote: »

I have a friend who works for the Heart Foundation in Australia and she says there is a real bump in mortality rates between 55 and 60 - no one knows why, but a lot of people die then. She says if you get past 60 you've got a good chance of living another 20 years. This year I've had two work colleagues die, one at 55 and one at 59. Both quite suddenly when they were seemingly in reasonable health. It does focus the mind.

As it happens I'm planning to retire at 55 too - which is not that far away! A year or so, maybe a bit less.

Does your friend have a source for this bump? The risk of death figures don't seem to show it:

http://www.bandolier.org.uk/booth/Risk/dyingage.html

hugheskevi

ONS 2016-based cohort mortality figures show the following chances of dying in the next year for a male aged (source here):

50=0.3%
55=0.4%
60=0.7%
65=1.1%
70=1.7%
75=2.9%
80=5.0%
85=9.0%
90=15.9%
95=26.0%

The age at which a male is least likely to die in the following year is age 9 (0.006%), after that there is a higher risk of dying every year.

gadgetmind

jamesd wrote: »

Not exactly voluntarily from the leaving the job end but I won't be looking for a new job, so retired it is.

Pretty much the same for me! I'd always planned to retire at age 55 in March 2018, and I was musing on how to tell my employer and large team about it. However, just before Christmas, I was asked to make most of my team (across four continents) redundant and then make myself redundant.

I can't go into details, but let's just say that it was all a complete nightmare with a happy ending. Myself and employer finally agreed (via solicitors!) terms of my parting, and most of my team were quickly found a new home on better pay.

cathybird

Re my friend's source, surely it is obvious it is based on her employer's own research? ... I said she worked for the Australian Heart Foundation - I didn't think I needed to spell out the connection. Apparently I do.

JoeEngland, when you say "the risk of death figures", it is quite possible to come up with many multiples of figures in health research. I could make the same point to hugheskvi. I could ask her for a link, I'm sure, but it's her job to know what the foundation's research is, and to present it.

If you prefer your own sources, good luck to you!

westv

Could it be there is a spike of heart related deaths between 55 and 57 rather than a general spike of deaths?

agent69

cathybird wrote: »

I have a friend who works for the Heart Foundation in Australia and she says there is a real bump in mortality rates between 55 and 60

I recall going for a health check up when I was in my 50's. Everything was fine, but the doctor did say that my 2 biggest risk factors were being male and middle aged.

Anonymous101

k6chris wrote: »

I think this is something that requires a few iterations and some real effort. Spending less is simple but it's not easy. Cars were (are??) the big thing for me, where a lot of money was dribbling away...still work in progress!

Absolutely, I’m similar. I found if you “allow” yourself some indulgence but don’t go completely over the top that can be an effective self management tool.

As you said it’s an ongoing process over time. I found with every pay rise it became much easier. Allocate a % of the pay rise to lifestyle inflation and another % to addition saving. Eventually (in my early 30’s) I felt comfortable enough with my standard of living to not require any lifestyle inflation so any extra pay now goes straight into savings.