Just retired

atush

I can only assume this is because they thought he had got a golden handshake, when in fact the reverse was true, he had to lose 1/3 of his pension for taking it early.

Why would anyone be jealous of such a bad decision?

Robin9

I thought the days of carriage clocks were long gone. The lunch with my colleagues and a small gift from them was much appreciated

seven-day-weekend

atush wrote: »

Why would anyone be jealous of such a bad decision?

If you mean my husband's bad decision to take his pension early, he had to get out of teaching before he had another breakdown and wanted some income so that he didn't have to go into another high-stress job; and b) his colleagues probably didn't realise he had lost 1/3 of it and that's why they were jealous.

It was a pragmatic decision made to suit our circumstances at the time. It's worked out OK, he's been retired for ten years and is now officially State Pension age and our financial situation is fine.

I also left work at the same time, but left my LGP where it was and have only been drawing it since August this year.

lovinituk

My first thought was "who cares, it really doesn't matter". And then I thought "who cares, it really doesn't matter".

I'm sure your working relationships with the lads meant more to you than your relationship with the company. Forget about it and enjoy your retirement.

molerat

It really took you 20 years to realise that your employer did not give 2 stuffs about you ?

System

somethingcorporate wrote: »

5 days after you left it will be business as usual for everyone else.
.

Correction.
5 years before you retire you are marked as someone on his way out. Passed over for promotion, avoided by the wizz-kid fast-trackers, you are marked as a has-been, an anachronism from another age before the world of work became owned by the under-30s. In company thinking you have already ceased to exist.

But you have your other interests and hobbies you have been dying to devote more time too as soon as work stops getting in the way, so you just thankfully wave a pointless goodbye to the windows no one is waving from, and mutter stuff you as you march off to begin your real life.

Don't forget to take a few biros and some sellotape before you go.

atush

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

If you mean my husband's bad decision to take his pension early, he had to get out of teaching before he had another breakdown and wanted some income so that he didn't have to go into another high-stress job; and b) his colleagues probably didn't realise he had lost 1/3 of it and that's why they were jealous.

It was a pragmatic decision made to suit our circumstances at the time. It's worked out OK, he's been retired for ten years and is now officially State Pension age and our financial situation is fine.

I also left work at the same time, but left my LGP where it was and have only been drawing it since August this year.

Glad it worked out for him, but he had other options like saving outside the TPS in a DC pension or S&S isas to fund early retirement so he could take his pension later like you wisely did? also he could have worked part time as a supply teacher (many find it less stressful) or in other lower paid but less stressful work. I say this for others considering the same.

As for the jealous fellow employees, they are being very stupid indeed not learning about their pensions as they should know anyone retiring that early does so at a reduction.

seven-day-weekend

atush wrote: »

Glad it worked out for him, but he had other options like saving outside the TPS in a DC pension or S&S isas to fund early retirement so he could take his pension later like you wisely did? also he could have worked part time as a supply teacher (many find it less stressful) or in other lower paid but less stressful work. I say this for others considering the same.

As for the jealous fellow employees, they are being very stupid indeed not learning about their pensions as they should know anyone retiring that early does so at a reduction.

I appreciate you writing this for the benefit of others, but you don't, with all due respect, know how ill my husband was. He could not work at all for several years,other than hobbies which he could pick up and put down, certainly not in a teaching environment.

We decided to live in our holiday home in Spain for a while, so that the peace, quiet and sunshine could help him to recover. We were there for eight years. We would have had no money to live on if he had not taken his Pension and indeed his lump sum enabled us to buy the house adjoining ours (it was only £12k as it was derelict) and most of the eight years was spent slowly renovating it. We later sold both houses and made a very small profit.

We made a careful and calculated decision and were well aware that he would lose 1/3 of his pension, but a we considered it a price worth paying.

Hope this clarifies.

Catcherupper14

atush wrote: »

Why would anyone be jealous of such a bad decision?

Rude.


It was probably the best decision they could make at the time.

seven-day-weekend

Catcherupper14 wrote: »

Rude.


It was probably the best decision they could make at the time.

Yes it was, thank you. Sometimes there are other priorities than getting the largest pension possible.