Nice People Thread No. 15, a Cyber Summer

Generali

michaels wrote: »

Back to the pension contribution discussion, what would NP think about the trade off between working fewer days a week or retiring earlier - for example work 5 days a week and retire at 54 or work 4 days a week and retire at 57?

I went part time a year or so ago and can't recommend it highly enough. There are some problems working part time as a man. It's a bit like wearing a pink shirt: if you are comfortable with your masculinity then it's not a problem but if you aren't it can be.

However, I enjoy my job so am happy to turn up and collect my dollar. You hate yours from what I can see and so might just want to be shot of it as soon as possible.

Ooh, they've sold Bargain Hunt to Aussie TV. My mate was asked to be on it as an expert I believe (he never told me the name of the program) but his boss wouldn't let him.

michaels

Generali wrote: »

I went part time a year or so ago and can't recommend it highly enough. There are some problems working part time as a man. It's a bit like wearing a pink shirt: if you are comfortable with your masculinity then it's not a problem but if you aren't it can be.

However, I enjoy my job so am happy to turn up and collect my dollar. You hate yours from what I can see and so might just want to be shot of it as soon as possible.

Ooh, they've sold Bargain Hunt to Aussie TV. My mate was asked to be on it as an expert I believe (he never told me the name of the program) but his boss wouldn't let him.

It is complicated though by the 'make hay while the sun shines' argument - ie currently I can earn enough to be able to put away for retirement where as who knows if this will continue for the next 11/12 years - would I regret having chosen 4 days a week now if in 5 years time I end up employed elsewhere paying much less?

Re Bargain Hunt, not like a business to turn down free TV publicity.

SingleSue

michaels wrote: »

Back to the pension contribution discussion, what would NP think about the trade off between working fewer days a week or retiring earlier - for example work 5 days a week and retire at 54 or work 4 days a week and retire at 57?

Part of me says to do the longer week and then reap the rewards 3 years earlier...but the other part says that it gets harder and harder to work full time the older you get and still have a quality of life and that extra day off a week could actually do a great deal of good.

vivatifosi

michaels wrote: »

Back to the pension contribution discussion, what would NP think about the trade off between working fewer days a week or retiring earlier - for example work 5 days a week and retire at 54 or work 4 days a week and retire at 57?

Oh to have that problem!

In all honesty, I don't think anyone can advise on that as it depends on personal circumstances. However I would be wary of any tax implications of retiring before 55. My understanding is that the options at 55 or older are much greater.

michaels

Conversation in an MSE household:
DD1: Can I switch to having school dinners rather than pack lunches?
Michaels: Are you sure? It is much cheaper for us if you take sandwiches that cost about £1 per day rather than £2.50 per day on dinners.
DD1: But DD2 and DS have school dinners so you can't deny me having them....if I stay on sandwiches will you pay me £1 per day?

vivatifosi

Good to hear that they start young as MSEs in your house michaels. Next time you check, she'll probably be appointed board guide to money saving juniors, or possibly set it up.

michaels

vivatifosi wrote: »

Oh to have that problem!

In all honesty, I don't think anyone can advise on that as it depends on personal circumstances. However I would be wary of any tax implications of retiring before 55. My understanding is that the options at 55 or older are much greater.

Well now the govt has stolen my s2p contributions there are no NI implications, I don't think you can draw pension before 57 (10 years before statutory pension age) so for retirement at 54 the first 3 years would have to be funded from savings. I think there are going to be issues about it being UC by then so no CTC for children under 19 still in full time education because of capital rules. The issue is of course a question of how much one is happy to live on - currently we live on net 28k excluding mortgage and the calcs assume we continue with something about 10% higher index linked in retirement although I am not sure my spreadsheet accounts for inflation between now and retirement age correctly....

ivyleaf

PasturesNew Looking at these programmes, it seems to me that the antiques business works entirely by dealers buying things from other dealers and selling them on to yet other dealers

michaels Your DD1 will go far If you were to pay her £1 per day if she stayed on packed lunches you'd still save about 50p per day!

Before Christmas our DGS had a virus which, even after he felt better, made things taste "wrong" for a while and he couldn't face school dinners, so went on to packed lunches, and stayed on them even after he could taste things properly again. This meant DGD agitated to have packed lunches too, and although it is cheaper as you say, they have ended up having less variety in their diets because they always want exactly the same things in their lunchboxes every day....

GDB2222

michaels wrote: »

Well now the govt has stolen my s2p contributions there are no NI implications, I don't think you can draw pension before 57 (10 years before statutory pension age) so for retirement at 54 the first 3 years would have to be funded from savings. I think there are going to be issues about it being UC by then so no CTC for children under 19 still in full time education because of capital rules. The issue is of course a question of how much one is happy to live on - currently we live on net 28k excluding mortgage and the calcs assume we continue with something about 10% higher index linked in retirement although I am not sure my spreadsheet accounts for inflation between now and retirement age correctly....

I'm fairly sure that early retirement is not good for longevity. However, the statistics are confounded by the effect of people in poor health retiring early. Also, it depends what you do with all that extra time at home. From the point of view of longevity, it may be better to work for longer but on a part-time basis.

GDB2222

DW has not worked all that many years, although she has loads of credits within the state pension scheme for raising children. I've been self employed most of my working life. We are both getting similar state pension forecasts of about 90% of the maximum.