Can O/h and I afford early retirement ?

maggiem

Have been wondering this too - DH older than me and almost 60. Have concluded it is not possible at present - DD and DS too expensive but perhaps if ever we pay off the mortgage! Wrong board for that comment

Still very keen to travel and potter around with DH at some stage. I have seen parents saving hard but then ill-health meaning unable to travel so now have savings but not fit enough to travel. Still current economic situation is a worry!

Good luck to the newly retired!

treliac

It's a tricky one to calculate. Leave it too late and health and fitness may not allow for an enjoyable retirement. Too early and funds may not last out / permit choice of lifestyle. As the economy is at the moment, caution and maximising any earnings potential might be best.

lilac_lady

I could live off my pensions income so am not too worried about interest rates on savings at the moment. However, I decided to free up some money and gave it to my children as they have young families and are struggling a bit already. I'd rather have the joy of seeing them have the money while I'm still here than wonder what they'll do with it when I'm gone.

It may be foolish but I've kept a certain amount of savings for my "rainy" days and can even save a bit from my present income.

I can still travel and enjoy my life in retirement so I feel very lucky.

exil

I had my health scare at 48. Turned out to be a false alarm but I probably wouldn't get life insurance.

So when a voluntuary severance scheme was launched a few weeks ago I'm taking it seriously. I've no intention of "dying in harness" if I can avoid it. The offer is not a great one, my pension would be severely reduced.

Cons
-offspring (only 1) at college
- pension too small to live on - so either I have to find a 2nd career (I dislike my current one) or OH has to keep working

Pros
- Mother and MIL getting old and likely to need support soon, difficult to do when working full time when they live a long way away
- old man got very ill before he could retire - and had 5 years of severe disablement instead of retirement before passing away, And his condition (heart) is something I'm very likely to have inherited
- health scare I mentioned before
- not sure I can do my current job until I'm 60 to a sufficient standard to avoid the sack
- if I want a new career - now is the time - not easy to do at 55-60

weanie

Go for it!! Good luck! I wish I were in the same position now.

Eco_Miser

A useful thread. I'm glad it came back. It helps convince me I'm making the right decision.
My job ends at the end of the month (redundancy), and I'm 59 a fortnight later. I'm single and the house is paid for. I've got a pension forecast - 100% - for 2015 and I can live on it. My savings/investments are 40 times my current annual spending (I really am a miser:cheesy:) so I reckon it's time to retire and start spending the nephew's inheritance.:rotfl:

lolly5648

dwileflunker wrote: »

A bad days retirement is better than a good day at work anytime! Don't let anyone tell you different.

I disagree completely with this statement. I retired 5 years ago, I joined a gym and went 3 days a week, met friends for lunch, did some courses, went to galleries, plus did one day's voluntary work but I wasn't challenged or fulfilled.

I have always had a job that I enjoyed but worked very long hours and couldn't wait to get out of the rat race. I enjoyed retirement for about a year but then the weeks seemed to become repetitive. If you can find a job you enjoy where you are valued it gives you high self esteem and self worth. I now work a couple of days a week for a charity. I get a lot of satisfaction from my job knowing I am doing something useful and productive.

I am not into gardening, self-sufficiency or long walks so I have to say that a bad day's retirement is much worse than a good day at work.

baileysbattlebus

lolly5648 wrote: »

I disagree completely with this statement. I retired 5 years ago, I joined a gym and went 3 days a week, met friends for lunch, did some courses, went to galleries, plus did one day's voluntary work but I wasn't challenged or fulfilled.

I have always had a job that I enjoyed but worked very long hours and couldn't wait to get out of the rat race. I enjoyed retirement for about a year but then the weeks seemed to become repetitive. If you can find a job you enjoy where you are valued it gives you high self esteem and self worth. I now work a couple of days a week for a charity. I get a lot of satisfaction from my job knowing I am doing something useful and productive.

I am not into gardening, self-sufficiency or long walks so I have to say that a bad day's retirement is much worse than a good day at work.

I took early retirement at 50, I lasted 6 months before I went back to work, on a temporary basis, worked for over 3 years. Gave it another go last year and went back to work after 5 months. Maybe the fact that OH is still working has some bearing on it, for me anyway.

I'm not into gardening etc either and I found once the novelty of being at home had worn off, I was bored and fed up. Maybe I should do some serious planning before I give retirement another go.

I have found that not having to work has made a difference though, if I work it's because I want to, not because I have to.

EdInvestor

lolly5648 wrote: »

If you can find a job you enjoy where you are valued it gives you high self esteem and self worth.

On the other hand, while it may apply to you, you shouldn't assume that everyone's self esteem and self value relies on having a job, and when it disappears so does the self-esteem.

I now work a couple of days a week for a charity. I get a lot of satisfaction from my job knowing I am doing something useful and productive.

Good for you, but again, not everyone needs job satisfaction to enjoy a happy life.

harryhound

Does existing on a state pension topped up by a means tested benefit do anything for one's self esteem and self value ?

Does retiring on state benefit plus a small pension, a wee bit bigger than the means tested benefit, do anything for one's self esteem and self value ?

Does having saved a decent "nest egg", by not holidaying in Florida, and having its interest slashed from (say) 6% to something less than half of that, do anything for one's self esteem and self value ?