Early-retirement wannabe

cyclonebri1

ozzage wrote: »

People need to take more responsibility, and I have no problem with the government forcing them to do it, since otherwise THEY (ie WE) have to pay.

I don't feel that spending my life working gives me any right to expect that other people will fund my retirement. I know that others don't share my view, which is why I'd like the government to do more to force them.

Unfortunately that falls flat on it's face as throughout your working life you will have paid whatever the going rate is/was at the time, into the scheme the government devised to pay for such things.

Granted things are changing and MOST are living longer, so things have to change, but many older people have grown old on the reassurance that there will be at least a minimum wage after work ends.

ozzage

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Unfortunately that falls flat on it's face as throughout your working life you will have paid whatever the going rate is/was at the time, into the scheme the government devised to pay for such things.

Granted things are changing and MOST are living longer, so things have to change, but many older people have grown old on the reassurance that there will be at least a minimum wage after work ends.

Which scheme are you referring to?

Genuine question... at which point was anybody promised a minimum wage by the government?

atush

1. We move into a situation where state pensions are means tested - removing the benefit for those who have paid in over years. Maybe not as fanciful as it seems after all there has never been any real connection with the amount of tax and NI an individual pays versus the benefits they draw.

Perhaps I am over optimistic, but when the current govt is so afraid of pensioners they don't remove the special top ups like Winter fule payments, xmas bonus, and free tv Lic and buss passes from the wealthy retired (or just even those who live abroad), I can't see them means testing the whole shebang.

I would think, if things got that bad, they'd end the tax free status of Isas first?

JoeCrystal

ozzage wrote: »

Which scheme are you referring to?

Genuine question... At which point was anybody promised a minimum wage by the government?

Good question! I am looking forward to an answer. Especially the minimum wage was only introduced in 1999 at the great sum of £3.60 per hour. Now it is £6.19 per hour. If we use 37.5 hours working week, that is £12,070 in a year. To get that income over the next forty years in real term without lump sum requires... £287.92 per month at estimated annual growth of 7% (default), or £589.49 per month at estimated annual growth of 5%.

Cheers,
Joe

Marine_life

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

I've drifted in and out of this post over the months/years but my reasons for finishing at 55 were both for health reasons and as a result of being promoted into ever more stressful areas outside my comfort zone.

I only post today as I have lost touch with most of my ex work colleagues, but yesterday had lunch with a guy I worked with for 30 years but hadn't seen since the day I left over 5 years ago.

2 people had been moved into my position over the 5 year period, both, and he was 1 of the 2 had suffered heart attacks, both being healthy previously and both citing stress as the main suspect.
Now I don't want to sound like a smart !!! or seem to be gloating at their misfortunes, but that would have been me had I not taken my options.

More a case of can I afford not to retire early than to retire early.

The guy I met yesterday always said he was going to retire at 60, he's now 61, and yes, he retired last year;)

I have a lot of sympathy with those sentiments.

I remember when I gave up smoking about 10 years ago - I really believed that it was going to kill me. Unfortunately with stress I believe the effects are far more insipid.

Of course there is the famous saying that nobody on the death bed ever said "I wish I had spent more time in the office". And we had this conversation on this thread a couple of weeks ago. Getting away from the purely financial aspects of retirement we were talking about what really defines a person? What makes you keep going day in day out?

I had an interesting perspective on this a few years ago when I left my job in Germany to go and work in Australia. I was still working for the same company but effectively I was gone. I will not be as flippant as to say it was like I had died but over a period of six months or so, ex-colleagues who would regularly email me me gradually contacted me less frequently until I was soon forgotten.

The key message for me is that nobody is expendable and no matter how much you think the office will not function without you...it will.

I have been feeling a lot of stress recently but not to the extent that I no longer want to be here. My work has quite a lot of personal satisfaction, I am paid well and I am successful. What causes the stress is actually people who try to make me less effective by introducing rules and regulations that make no sense.

Anyway, my conclusion is that actually stress is not necessarily having too much to do but it is about lack of control...retirement is the ultimate solution to getting that back.

cyclonebri1

ozzage wrote: »

Which scheme are you referring to?

Genuine question... at which point was anybody promised a minimum wage by the government?

I refer of course to the Old Age Pension, it was drummed into everyone that you had to get in your 44 years, (as it was), contributions through national insurance to entitle you to a FULL pension.

This was in place and remained unchanged for decades without change or challenge.

Lets not place word games about being promised a minimum wage, I'm sure you realise I simply meant enough money to get by on in old age.
There were no, or at least very few private pension schemes offered then, and indeed few saw the need.

That was then and most were living under the belief that they would not starve.

But as I said, things have changed in many respects, we live longer, we require a better standard of living in general so want the same in retirement, that is we want enough money to live on not just to survive on.

The gist of what I'm saying is that unless your were a little more savvy than most actually were over the proceeding decades, maybe up to the mid 90's, then you were oblivious to what recent times have brought under the spotlight;);)

BeatTheSystem

Marine_life wrote: »

Anyway, my conclusion is that actually stress is not necessarily having too much to do but it is about lack of control...retirement is the ultimate solution to getting that back.

One of the most important things that anyone has ever said on this or any other forum!

The value of being in control (or at least feeling that you are in control) far exceeds any monetary reward someone gets from a job IMHO.

I would take a pay cut from say 75K to 30K if it meant I could retire and not have to take corporate B.S.

cyclonebri1

BeatTheSystem wrote: »

I would take a pay cut from say 75K to 30K if it meant I could retire and not have to take corporate B.S.

Until that day arrived, and then, like every other sensibly minded person, you would do the maths and say "just 1 more year", "maybe another year":eek:

It should be labelled a disease;);)


I have to add another point, I'm guessing probably 70% of the uk working population can only dream of 75k per annum??, ask them which they'd go for:D:D:D

mgdavid

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

......., I'm guessing probably 70% of the uk working population can only dream of 75k per annum??, .....

more like 95% if wikipedia is to be believed...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_in_the_United_Kingdom

gadgetmind

Marine_life wrote: »

Anyway, my conclusion is that actually stress is not necessarily having too much to do but it is about lack of control...retirement is the ultimate solution to getting that back.

I've always got huge amount to do, with projects and people to manage, problems to solve, new markets to explore, large customers to keep happy, competitors to fight, meetings long into most evenings, but can't say that I suffer from stress as such.

I've got financial plans in place that should (stock market permitting!) allow early retirement, but I still look forward to Monday mornings at the moment!