The when thread

racing_blue

chiefie wrote: »

But what about when people are going to retire (what age) and what'sthe motivation ?

I'm 42. Started out as an athlete. After university worked part time for a decade so I could train and race.

My sport gave me three things: tenacity, endurance, and varicose veins. Sadly it did not give me money- quite the opposite in fact. I was never quite good enough, and hit 30 needing to play financial catch up.

Applied myself fully to work, and now work in a team providing professional services to a government department. This gives me three other things: a constantly ringing phone, a well-worn office chair, and a headache by Friday night. It does however also give me rather a lot of money and a defined benefit pension, so I am making hay while the sun shines.

The pension is the biggest barn for said hay, but other barns are: my house, a commercial building in town, and recently a pet S&S ISA project.

Wife has always been a solid earner - she is the sensible one- and has also has taken full advanatge of DB pension provision.

Chapter two is a better fit for family life than chapter one was. The pulsing rhythms of the school week and the working week sweep us along, pausing briefly for a fortnight in summer and at Christmas, before launching again into the term-time tango. The kids live full lives too, they have never seen anything else.

I'll turn 50 in 2023. Our youngest child will hit university age in the same year. The nest might suddenly become empty. This is when we envisage starting chapter three. I hope it will involve work and play, with play being the big brother. I want to sail, proper ocean crossings. Certainly to the Azores, maybe the whole way across the Atlantic. No window for that right now. And I want to make craft beer, actually I do that now but would like to give it more head-space. There are another 400 miles of the SW coast path to tick off, and I have not yet completed the tour of Mont Blanc in snowshoes in March, or kayaked from Wales to Ireland. Old habits die hard.

In chapter three there will be work too, but flexibly and on our terms- if we can put enough away now (and I hope I can) then money will not be calling the shots in chapter three. I have an unrequited lust to become a qualified electrician, for example, and my wife has her own plans. But if we want to take two months off to walk the Camino - game on. I also want to build a house.

There is so much to do- life seems too short, too rich, too full of opportunity to think about Chapter four and the closing years - I just hope that when they arrive, I'll have a plan that will make the grandchildren roll their eyes. Maybe I'll be driving the boat that takes them waterskiing, and by then the craft beer should be honed to perfection - come and join me for a pint.

chiefie

Wow racing blue - living it large whatever your age ! Inspirational

gadgetmind

racing_blue wrote: »

I have an unrequited lust to become a qualified electrician, for example

Good money for not particularly demanding work.

Electricians always claim the exams are hard, but that's because derating, discrimination, and disconnect times require maths, and they generally failed and gave that up as early as possible. Which is why I always discuss latest changes to wiring regs regards these aspects if forced to employ a sparky.

Last one we used fitted a new CU to daughter's house. He then came back to swap the shower MCB for one sized correctly for the circuit, and to move circuits between splits so that running shower+dishwasher+oven didn't pop the split's incoming. No faults observed in use, just my MK1 eyeball seeing he'd screwed up.

It's not hard, but they seem to mess it up a right lot, and I've thrown more than one off the job and done it myself because I wanted it done right.

robin61

Racing Blue, the Craft Beer sounds right up my street. A bit off post really but I would be most interested to hear more about that.

Dandytf

I've started thinking 55 if i'm lucky.(due to MS)

Only very small pension from previous employment-RM
And recently joined current employment pension.

(I might mange to clear MTG a few yrs earlier than the full 25 yr term via overpayments)

Motivation is health -MS is my lesson as to why money is not the most important consideration.

Nual

I am going on the 5th April, 2 months after my 60th birthday. Was hoping to go to July 16, as DD 2 is graduating then and there will be no more rent to pay for her, but I am taking ER/VR so the redundancy money will top up the DB pension until SPA at 66. I can't really take a redeployment role for 4 months!

I will be ok financially but anxious over how I will cope with the loss of structure.

chiefie

Nual wrote: »

I am going on the 5th April, 2 months after my 60th birthday. Was hoping to go to July 16, as DD 2 is graduating then and there will be no more rent to pay for her, but I am taking ER/VR so the redundancy money will top up the DB pension until SPA at 66. I can't really take a redeployment role for 4 months!

I will be ok financially but anxious over how I will cope with the loss of structure.

A few people have mentioned the structure issue. It seems to be a personal thing. Perhaps some of us need preparatory time and going p/t could help, my problem is that I want at least 6 months sabbatical to get my breath and energy before taking another job on.

LXdaddy

When - later in 2016 aged 66 point something.

Previous assumption was sometime in 2017 aged 67 and something. Later than 65 because I didn't think we could afford to go at 65 and because I enjoy my job.


What has changed to bring it forward?

Reworked the sums over the last year or so (with the help of this board and lots of other reading) and concluded that we actually have more than we need.


Knowing that I will go at some point in this year has added freedom at work too - I've stopped feeling the pressure quite as much as I did now that I know the answer to "what's the worst that can happen" is "leave tomorrow".


Certainly giving thought to what happens after R day - I would like to find a part time job with zero responsibility (had too much of that already in my life) but that might not be practical. Will certainly be spending more time in local theatres doing my hobby (LX stands for electrics in theatre speak - I'm a lighting designer) Probably take up bowls - maybe even play against my father at that!


And you never know - might play the Grandfather to our about-to-be first grandchild due in a few weeks.

lisa110rry

I'm 59. I was talking with the MD about ultimate retirement yesterday and he said: "you'll be around forever, at least 20 years"! To be fair he was indicating the cohesive contribution I make to the company, but by 79 I certainly want to put my feet up!

chiefie

lisa110rry wrote: »

I'm 59. I was talking with the MD about ultimate retirement yesterday and he said: "you'll be around forever, at least 20 years"! To be fair he was indicating the cohesive contribution I make to the company, but by 79 I certainly want to put my feet up!

A lot of people seem to make a big.contribution but have fallen out of love with work and have concluded its time to go, even if all the numbers don't add up.