For those in their fifties and beyond

moneyistooshorttomention

I'd come across that idea - ie of "sixties as golden years" a fair number of times.

I do get concerned by just how many British people have health that goes downhill visibly from around 70 onwards. I am doing my best not to be one of them - well....I won't be one of them personally....simple as. I personally wouldnt want to put up with severe health problems, as well as anything else one has to put up with....

Hence I guess I'm pretty determined to cram "retirement" into my 60s in case I dont have my 70s and 80s basically.

Maybe it depends on the person concerned? But I tend to think that if someone is basically at the extrovert end of the spectrum and expects to be "out and about" a fair bit - then it's all the more important to start in on "having a retirement" asap just in case. Introverts could probably cope a lot better than us - as they are more home-focused anyway.

pollypenny

We are determined not to let ourselves go. We had enjoyed life a bit too much, we admit. Had to to face up to it after our Ireland trip.

We started the 5:2 Diet, based on intermittent fasting. OH has lost nearly 2st and a half. I've lost 22lbs and just bought a pair of size 10 trousers. The two pairs of size 12 I bought are too big.

This is the easiest 'diet' ever. All we do really is eat two meals a day, with a calorie counting on two days.

lessonlearned

I read something the other day.....don't ask me where .....or was it on the tv ......anyway it said that genetics only counts for 25 per cent of how we age - the rest was lifestyle choices,

So even if you have drawn the genetic short straw as regards longevity and ageing well there is still much you can do to improve the odds of a healthy old age.

I think we all just know so much more now. We know about exercise, eating well, staying mentally alert etc. We know far more about what we need to do than our parents or grandparents. We don't just follow what the medics tell us as "gospel", we take an active role in our own health care plans.

Ok so 70 might not be the new 50 :rotfl: but I think today's 70 year olds have aged a lot better than their grandparents or even parents.,

50 years ago you were worn out at 60, now you could have another good 20 years in you before the decline sets in.

Davesnave

I planned to go on teaching for as long as I could still deliver, but the pressure of looking after my aged father's needs and running a partnership business with my wife, finally forced me to go P/T.

I was totally naive about matters like benefits, but once I discovered that Tax Credits were going to take up the slack, I thought, "Blow this!" and moved to supply, still teaching in places I knew, but without the dreaded paperwork. It was a good move, as my main school was on the slide at the time, education policies were becoming ever more bonkers, while our business was on the up, so I gradually f-f-f-faded away.....finally throwing down my interactive whiteboard pen at the age of 57.

There were a couple of years when we just lived on the business as Dad's dementia became worse, so from being very naive, I moved to much greater creativity in the benefits and accounts department. ;)Then, when he died, leaving us with a £30k annuity to repay, another year was spent renovating his property to claw back some of that. We'd just paid off our mortgage! :rotfl:

Unfortunately, success in business took its toll on both of us, as we began to suffer from RSI and our premises were no use for expansion. We sold the house,(it was complex, but we'll skip that) dissolved most of the business, stuck all our money in the banks at £6.5% interest (those were the days!) and rented just up the road. I took my teachers' pension a year early, so we'd never been so well-off. By then, house prices were in free fall, so it was a good time to start looking for another....allegedly.

Our plan had been to move to West Wales, but research there had shown that our business would struggle. Attempts to buy there in the worsening market also foundered; the full implications of the recession had not hit home in an area where more expensive property could easily take 3 years to sell in the good times. We made three offers, which subsequently proved to be eminently reasonable, but no one was listening.

In spring 2009, I began to get twitchy about having nothing except money in the bank. We'd been involved when Iceland went down, and only just retrieved our cash from Kaupthing when folks were pulling it out faster than the helicopters left Saigon. After all, what was money except a few pixels on a screen? It was all very scary.

At that low point, I spotted a Devon smallholding up for cash purchase in a rapid time frame, with an unusual or faulty agricultural tie, which didn't limit its purchase to locals. We took a look, decided it was worth it, checked we could buy it, and the rest is history. It was run-down but we felt that fixing it would be good for our health. No matter what happened to world finance, we'd have a roof and enough land to partially feed ourselves. I was almost 61 by then and the recession bottomed-out at the same time....but we didn't know that; we just got lucky

It has been good for my health and I don't think it's been bad for my DW's either. However, although she's 'considerably younger than me' so still well off pension age, hers has not been an easy life health-wise. She does targeted exercise daily, whereas I just work hard! The health and mobility card one draws is a lottery, but she's proved that being pro-active makes a huge difference if you do get that short straw. Hers kicked-in at the age of 27.

Initially, we thought we'd learn from this place, tidy it up and sell-on later, but looking at similar property, we've come to realise that its advantages cannot be easily duplicated, so we've put most of our savings into it now. We know what the ceiling price is and we've invested under that, so when the time comes, we'll be able to down-scale the land. There are loads of options, including converting a barn, but having just done 2.5 years serious remodelling of the house, I'm just not up for that.....yet!

Davesnave

pollypenny wrote: »

Ditto. I did supply for a year, but when I was added to do a maternity leave, with an inspection due, I rapidly declined!

I did one OFSTED as a full timer, but I was on supply and when the next one came around, andit was no longer my problem.

When one of the inspectors slid 'unobtrusively' into a seat at the back of the class, I had great pleasure in announcing, "Err, excuse me, I'm merely the supply teacher. I think you are looking for Mr Bloggs, who is teaching in the classroom next door to this one!"

Davesnave

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I think one factor that may affect my particular generation (ie Baby Boomer) is that many of us came into the workforce originally knowing that, if we were just doing a pretty ordinary type job (eg office work in my case) then it would be basically bearable work conditions in many respects.

But then things changed.......

The world of work is a lot harsher place than it was when we joined it. Replacement jobs harder to find/employers giving low or non-existent annual payrises/greater pressure being put on/etc.

Ironically, when I worked in Whitehall, there was considerable pressure in my department which was more 'relaxed' because this was a recognised fact. We were allowed to use christian names! :rotfl:

I knew what others in similar positions were doing and it was nothing like my dept, which no one ever wanted to take in a job swap.

Experience in other workplaces soon showed me that my first 'proper' job experience had been somewhat unusual. Throughout the early 70s, I had a number of different jobs, where it became increasingly apparent that few people worked hard. It was no wonder to me that GB Plc was going down the toilet.

I'm not sure if education ever had a high point before I joined it on the staff side. I experienced many schools and most of them were run by incompetent, inadequate people. It was still that way when I took up my first teaching post, with the school run mainly for the convenience of staff. Indeed, it was often a teacher who was first down the drive at 15.45 in those days!:rotfl:

For us, the changes began to arrive in around 1980, with many older, post war trained staff being pensioned-off early. They were lucky; a cushy job followed by early retirement on full pension.

Then, I'd guess around 1990, the National Curriculum was introduced in a really unwieldy form as governments began to exert control in schools, which was probably well overdue in many places. We'd just spent a huge amount of time and energy devising our own curriculum, so these efforts by central government were resisted at our school for quite a few years. However, eventually, even the more independently-minded instiutions had to succumb to the demands of great educational sausage machine.

By the time I left teaching, I was going in at about 7.45am and leaving around 5.45pm, with probably two to three hours more work to do at home. Such a regime would have been totally unthinkable in the 70s.

Murphybear

pollypenny wrote: »

We are determined not to let ourselves go. We had enjoyed life a bit too much, we admit. Had to to face up to it after our Ireland trip.

We started the 5:2 Diet, based on intermittent fasting. OH has lost nearly 2st and a half. I've lost 22lbs and just bought a pair of size 10 trousers. The two pairs of size 12 I bought are too big.

This is the easiest 'diet' ever. All we do really is eat two meals a day, with a calorie counting on two days.

Well done you:D.

Murphybear

I left my last paid employment in 2004. We bought a business and moved to Devon. Unfortunately in 2008 I was seriously ill in hospital and as my OH couldn't manage on his own we sold it to a friend with similar business and took early retirement. With reasonable state pension plus 4 small works pensions we manage financially although we can't go mad with 3 cruises a year:rotfl:

I still have health issues but life is generally good. It is wonderful to wake up in the morning and not have to get up if I don't feel like it. We joined U3A and do lots of interesting things and have met loads of nice people.

A massive bonus is being able to shop when we want, usually when the supermarkets reduce food;) and we have plenty of time to cook healthy meals

Murphybear

Davesnave wrote: »

I planned to go on teaching for as long as I could still deliver, but the pressure of looking after my aged father's needs and running a partnership business with my wife, finally forced me to go P/T.

I was totally naive about matters like benefits, but once I discovered that Tax Credits were going to take up the slack, I thought, "Blow this!" and moved to supply, still teaching in places I knew, but without the dreaded paperwork. It was a good move, as my main school was on the slide at the time, education policies were becoming ever more bonkers, while our business was on the up, so I gradually f-f-f-faded away.....finally throwing down my interactive whiteboard pen at the age of 57.

There were a couple of years when we just lived on the business as Dad's dementia became worse, so from being very naive, I moved to much greater creativity in the benefits and accounts department. ;)Then, when he died, leaving us with a £30k annuity to repay, another year was spent renovating his property to claw back some of that. We'd just paid off our mortgage! :rotfl:

Unfortunately, success in business took its toll on both of us, as we began to suffer from RSI and our premises were no use for expansion. We sold the house,(it was complex, but we'll skip that) dissolved most of the business, stuck all our money in the banks at £6.5% interest (those were the days!) and rented just up the road. I took my teachers' pension a year early, so we'd never been so well-off. By then, house prices were in free fall, so it was a good time to start looking for another....allegedly.

Our plan had been to move to West Wales, but research there had shown that our business would struggle. Attempts to buy there in the worsening market also foundered; the full implications of the recession had not hit home in an area where more expensive property could easily take 3 years to sell in the good times. We made three offers, which subsequently proved to be eminently reasonable, but no one was listening.

In spring 2009, I began to get twitchy about having nothing except money in the bank. We'd been involved when Iceland went down, and only just retrieved our cash from Kaupthing when folks were pulling it out faster than the helicopters left Saigon. After all, what was money except a few pixels on a screen? It was all very scary.

At that low point, I spotted a Devon smallholding up for cash purchase in a rapid time frame, with an unusual or faulty agricultural tie, which didn't limit its purchase to locals. We took a look, decided it was worth it, checked we could buy it, and the rest is history. It was run-down but we felt that fixing it would be good for our health. No matter what happened to world finance, we'd have a roof and enough land to partially feed ourselves. I was almost 61 by then and the recession bottomed-out at the same time....but we didn't know that; we just got lucky

It has been good for my health and I don't think it's been bad for my DW's either. However, although she's 'considerably younger than me' so still well off pension age, hers has not been an easy life health-wise. She does targeted exercise daily, whereas I just work hard! The health and mobility card one draws is a lottery, but she's proved that being pro-active makes a huge difference if you do get that short straw. Hers kicked-in at the age of 27.

Initially, we thought we'd learn from this place, tidy it up and sell-on later, but looking at similar property, we've come to realise that its advantages cannot be easily duplicated, so we've put most of our savings into it now. We know what the ceiling price is and we've invested under that, so when the time comes, we'll be able to down-scale the land. There are loads of options, including converting a barn, but having just done 2.5 years serious remodelling of the house, I'm just not up for that.....yet!

Devon is wonderful isn't it?:A. We wouldn't live anywhere else

seven-day-weekend

BBH123 wrote: »

Did you ever feel ready for retirement and why did you retire when you did? We retired in our mid-50s due to husband's health.

Was work less enjoyable or they forced your hand? Not applicable

Did you always have a life plan that included the age you were going to retire at. NO

Did finances force your hand as the sole determinant of when you could retire , NO, although of course we had to crunch the numbers

Retirement or reduced hours through ill health We both had reduced hours. We retired due to husband's health although I could have carried on for longer.

Is retirement as good as you hoped , Better! (we are in our mid-60s now).

I suppose I am asking because I am now working full time at age 51 when in my thirties I'd always go by 50. Financially I'm not as ready as I hoped to be but I don't want a frugal retirement so will keep working until I have enough to do all the things I want to.

A lot of my friends seem to be a complete selection of ideas from who has treated her retirement planning with military presecion to another who has to work until she drops but has had some fantastic adventures and experiences along the way all done in style.

See my comments in blue above. The reason that I retired at the same time as my husband is because we moved to our little house in Spain for eight years.

We could live in rural Spain solely on my husband's reduced Teachers' Pension, although it was tight, and we did that for six years until I got my State Pension (one of the last to get it at 60).

We returned to the UK at the very end of 2011 and now have two more pensions, so are OK financially. We sold our Spanish house. We spent 2015 buying and renovating our bungalow, which although a downsize as regards size of property, was an upsize in terms of location and garden. We sold our family home.

We both still undertake activities, my husband hosts an Open Mic every Thursday, and I volunteer at a Job Club, also on Thursdays. We are also registered petsitters and did quite a lot of it up until last year when we were so busy with the bungalow renovation, but still do the occasional job.

Retirement is good.