Early-retirement wannabe

ermine

melanzana wrote: »

Anyhow, I actually plan to do NOTHING for at least six months, apart from lazing around etc. I think after that time I will get a bit bored and it will encourage me to do something to fill my time. But maybe I will be happy doing nothing? Maybe. Apart from walking every second day, and swimming twice a week, which i do anyway, indolence sounds great to me![...]I think sometimes there is far too much pressure on retirees to HAVE A PLAN AND DO THINGS! Just relax, rest, do as little as possible, and soon enough, I think you will become motivated to do something. The best advice I ever got was -make no huge voluntary decisions immediately, wait for at least three months. I will be doubling that!

I agree- plans made while working will become passe. Retirement changes you. Things I thought I'd do and could easily afford I haven't done, because they mean nothing to me now, they were, to paraphrase dlorde's great post, the empty dreams of a cubicle slave. But I've done other things I thought I'd never do.

Retirement changes you - in general for the better, but not always. I recognise the sage advice of Silver - beware too much chair

Not in myself, but I saw it in my Dad, he watched too many games shows when he left work. I retired early for negative reasons, and people who do that should beware. It is better to light a candle than curse the endless night, and it is always better to run towards what you want than try and find a way away from what you don't want - the compass needle always points towards a pole.

I got lucky, because retirement transformed me. It dropped the scales from my eyes, and showed me the brilliance and amazing detail of a world that I had slowly surrendered to The Man. I had lost touch with what Enough looked like. I have seen more of the beautiful Suffolk countryside in one year of retirement than I saw in a quarter of a century of working there. I was in town and saw an advert from 1930 that I had never seen before, though it had crossed my retina hundreds of times. All because I looked up, and looked, rather than just seeing.

Retirement isn't a long weekend, it isn't an extended vacation, it is a rite of passage. You will either be changed by it, or you will be consumed by it. But don't be in too much of a hurry. You have the rest of your life, and six months of chilling isn't too much time to run in neutral after 30 years at the coalface. Listen to yourself, to those around you, be open to transformation. Then be transformed Run towards the light...

melanzana

Has anyone who is contemplating early retirement, or full retirement been offered a preretirement course?

If so, did you partake?

I was looking at the prospectus for mine, and while I think it would be good to be at a course with like minded others... I do wonder what's new there!

Make a will,
Sort out your finances,
Keep fit,
Don't become a recluse
Join a club
Keep bills up to date
Health
Family (spouse, partner has to adjust aswell and so on)
Boredom and how to deal with it

Well, I think I have all those things in my head already.

Not knocking such courses, just wondered if anyone has partaken, and if so, what did you gain?

(my employer will pay for me and partner... So we might go on a jolly anyhow!)

Broadsword

As someone freshly retired I have been "tutored" on useless things too. If you have to be told to join a club/keep healthy/not get bored there is little hope for you, sadly. I would have appreciated a course on benefits/pension system/perks of the elderly/taxation in retirement/ how to choose annuities etc etc. not motherhood and apple pie stuff.

For example,should I have known to tell HMRC I am not working, I thought my P45 did that? Their recent letter telling me they know I am "between jobs", suggests they have no idea. I retired at 65.5, claim an annuity they know about, so retirement should not be a great surprise to them. I now tell everyone I am not retired. It is official, I am between jobs !

melanzana

Broadsword wrote: »

As someone freshly retired I have been "tutored" on useless things too. If you have to be told to join a club/keep healthy/not get bored there is little hope for you, sadly. I would have appreciated a course on benefits/pension system/perks of the elderly/taxation in retirement/ how to choose annuities etc etc. not motherhood and apple pie stuff.

For example,should I have known to tell HMRC I am not working, I thought my P45 did that? Their recent letter telling me they know I am "between jobs", suggests they have no idea. I retired at 65.5, claim an annuity they know about, so retirement should not be a great surprise to them. I now tell everyone I am not retired. It is official, I am between jobs !

Don't let it get to you. I hope you have a very happy retirement.

All Government Departments can be frustrating, but especially when we need them most , I agree.

However, a lot of the communication is generated by computer, and sometimes the up to date info is just not there before the old computer sends the letter out.

That is no exuse though. Maybe they should leave off sending such letters for a while until all the infromation is in.....8 weeks? More?

Everyone needs to adjust.

Write to your MP about how you have been treated. I would.....and also would suggest a cooling off period before HMRC writes to the recently retired. Just in case, like you!

But in fairness, a P 45 suggests ending of a job, not necessarily retirement. Although I know you are of the age and have an annuity etc.

Computers!!

ermine

For example,should I have known to tell HMRC I am not working, I thought my P45 did that?

I didn't know that either. I'm still trying to get a grand or so of back tax out of the barstewards from over a year ago. I refuse to phone their non-geographic number and hang on for a zillion years so I do it by post. Perhaps this between jobs assumption explains their sloth, though they at least accept something is owing

gallygirl

ermine wrote: »

I didn't know that either. I'm still trying to get a grand or so of back tax out of the barstewards from over a year ago. I refuse to phone their non-geographic number and hang on for a zillion years so I do it by post. Perhaps this between jobs assumption explains their sloth, though they at least accept something is owing

Can't you go back and an online self assessment and get it back that way automatically?

Bigmoney2

melanzana wrote: »

Has anyone who is contemplating early retirement, or full retirement been offered a preretirement course?

If so, did you partake?

I was looking at the prospectus for mine, and while I think it would be good to be at a course with like minded others... I do wonder what's new there!

Make a will,
Sort out your finances,
Keep fit,
Don't become a recluse
Join a club
Keep bills up to date
Health
Family (spouse, partner has to adjust aswell and so on)
Boredom and how to deal with it

Well, I think I have all those things in my head already.

Not knocking such courses, just wondered if anyone has partaken, and if so, what did you gain?

(my employer will pay for me and partner... So we might go on a jolly anyhow!)

Yes, done a couple of these, at various 'life stages'.

I think they are generally worth while, yes some of it seems to be stateing the obvious, but there is usually something you either didn't know or hadn't thought about.

As you say it wont cost you anything, so go wth an open mind, and enjoy a day with your partner.

Marine_life

I can report today that there are the beginnings of a Grand Plan.

Step 1 of the plan involved buying a comfy leather chair for sitting in. Out of the furniture shop and step 1 of the plan has been duly achieved.....although at €1,400 I would have preferred if that part of the plan had involved slightly less cash flow.

...anyway having achieved step 1 with little effort, we move onto step two which requires a bit more concentration.

Step 2 involves a slight delay to my plan to retire on my 50th birthday and puts that plan back by a year.

The new plan is as follows:

- We had always planned to have a big 50th birthday trip / holiday (on my 50th in October 2014) however, it now looks more sensible to delay that early 2015.
- We will then take a big holiday (60-70 days) and use that as a sort of sabbatical. The idea is that we will use those 60-70 days to do our big tour of Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.
- We will begin the tour watching the Australian Open tennis and finish watching the Australian Grand Prix. both in Melbourne (we are bi sports fans).
- Returning in March 2015 I will then hand in my notice on 1 April 2015 and as my notice period is six months from the end of the quarter in which I hand in my notice I would actually leave in December 2015 (although i hope they would give me time off for good behavious ;-)

It feels like a good plan that keeps everyone happy.

Time to start putting together the detail!

atush

Good to see you have made a plan lol!

Let us know the details later- Is Mrs Marine happy?

AlwaysLearnin

Marine_life wrote: »

- Returning in March 2015 I will then hand in my notice on 1 April 2015 and as my notice period is six months from the end of the quarter in which I hand in my notice I would actually leave in December 2015 (although i hope they would give me time off for good behavious ;-)

Out of interest, why going back to work for 6 (summer) months?