Early Retirement....First Week

Jack_Itin

First week of early retirement......what a strange feeling....not on holiday...not got doctors, dentists, or hospital appointments....and yet, not at work.....suppose I will get used to it !!.....one question, not heard from pension provider yet, should I contact them ? or will they contact me ?.........Jack.

Linton

Ones pension normally has a retirement date specified. This is what drives the pension provider to contact you a few months in advance. If you take early retirement they may well not know.

Do you want to take your pension yet or is it better for you to live off savings for a while? If you want the pension now I suggest you contact the provider.

Jack_Itin

Linton, Thanks for the reply......everything is in place with my works pension department, from what I understand they pass the details over to the pension provider, in this case Mercer.....perhaps I am unduly concerned.......Jack.

dano17439

lol well done on early retirement. How long will it take until you start flicking through your local paper to see if theres any part time dream jobs in there?

molerat

dano17439 wrote: »

lol well done on early retirement. How long will it take until you start flicking through your local paper to see if theres any part time dream jobs in there?

I retired at 54/11mths and am now 61 and so far I have not felt the need even once !

Gers

Jack - congratulations and welcome to the land of limbo!

I took my work pension at 60 last year and, despite having to wait until July 2019 for my SP (female caught in the SP changes trap) I stopped working at the end of March this year.:j

As I am still young (ish) I'm not ready to just not work, I just don't want to work full time or dance to any tune but my own. After 45 years + of never being unemployed I now enjoy freedom from it.

I know that there are many many people who are desperate to work and can't find a job, I've left a space for one of them.

My time is filled with travelling, reading, visitors and generally tip-tapping in the garden. Never had a garden before, will never be a gardener but like looking at the plants and flowers.

I have taken on a short term two hour a week role and will be starting a one day a week / three term teaching role come the autumn. Both are more than enough for me, keeping the brain challenged, the legs moving and a little money to top up the pension. If they end I won't be broken-hearted!

My time is my pleasure now and I really hope that you can take pleasure from your time too. I wish you all the best.

Jack_Itin

Thanks for the replies......already got something lined up......be happier once I get the lump sum in the bank......Jack.

Jack_Itin

Think I got that wrong earlier......Mercer is not the pension provider, but the administrator...... I think !!......this is all new to me, and is all very confusing.....still, at least now I have the time to sort it out......Jack. :mad: :mad:

Milliemum55

I, too, retired slightly early at 59 just over a week ago and it does feel very odd to be at home in the middle of the week.

We have a small motor home which has been gathering dust on the drive for years so are hoping to get a bit more use out of it. Maybe a bit of volunteering for the National Trust/charity but for the first time in my working life, I am going to take the summer off!!

If it's any consolation I am also waiting on letters from my pension providers. They seem a bit slow, in particular the Civil Service one. I know I will get the money eventually but you don't feel completely secure until it's in the bank, do you?

I have had a couple of issues with my pensions which I am sorting out with help from the good folk on this forum.

Enjoy!

Jack_Itin

Milliemum55, Thanks for that,yes I will be happier once it's all sorted out, the lump sum and the first monthly payment in the bank....this really is an excellent website, I have asked so many questions over the last year, since deciding to ''go for it'' and have always had good sound advice......enjoy your retirement.......Jack.

Goldiegirl

The few weeks are a bit strange.

It felt as if we were having a couple of weeks off work, and would be going back shortly.

It probably took a couple of months before we really believed we wouldn't have to go back to work, ever!

So far, I've had no desire to return to any sort of paid work - I like my freedom too much