Regret retiring too early with not enough money?

atush

Mine died this week, and I am still in a state.

i was able to holiday in FL as I had family to look after him once he was too unwell for the kennels. He was an only dog so actually liked the kennels where they were allowed to mix together each day.

and I too would like to hear from the many who retired with too little income.

The only ones I have seen so far are those who made plans w/o taking into account the changes in SPa age that were well advertised.

i expect more though, who will fall foul of the new reduction in AA after taking a DC pension income.

Alice_Holt

I certainly don't regret an early redundancy / retirement from a job I didn't really enjoy.

There are plenty of activities / groups to join that will stave off boredom, and provide enjoyment without great financial outlay (or the consequent need to boast on FB!).
A different state of mind helps. Forget the status symbols, and find something in your local community that you can contribute to and that interests you.

However, in my case volunteering eventually led to a paid job (part-time), and I now have a job I find very satisfying.

chucknorris

atush wrote: »

Mine died this week, and I am still in a state.

i was able to holiday in FL as I had family to look after him once he was too unwell for the kennels. He was an only dog so actually liked the kennels where they were allowed to mix together each day.

and I too would like to hear from the many who retired with too little income.

The only ones I have seen so far are those who made plans w/o taking into account the changes in SPa age that were well advertised.

i expect more though, who will fall foul of the new reduction in AA after taking a DC pension income.

I'm so sorry, I know that there isn't anything that I can say, what people have said to me in the past when my other dogs (best friends) passed way that they couldn't have had a better life, and your sadness supports that theory. But the bottom line is that we miss them so much because they are irreplaceable.

Triumph13

robin61 wrote: »

Good thread.

As soon as you feel ready to retire and have enough to do what you want I can't see the point in hanging on for a bit more. You won't get those years back.

I watched my father struggle on to 60 in a job he grew to hate, just to make sure he got his full pound of flesh from the final salary pension scheme. Utterly ruined his health and, although he's still pottering on 20 years later (and spending less than half that pension income), he never got to do half the things he would have wanted.
Bad news is I have all the same instincts. Good news is at least I can recognise them and try to come to a better compromise.

ischofie1

Nebulous2 wrote: »

The issue I have with this, though I haven't explored the options, is healthcare. I've been very healthy, no sick time, very rare GP visits, but I'm conscious that could change very quickly.

Perfectly understand your concern but I wouldn't assume 3rd world standard health care.
My friend was of the thought that the local hospital was as good as you'd get in the UK & nearly all the doctors were UK trained.
I wouldn't say the NHS is in a great state but in an emergency there's no where else I'd rather be.
I guess you'd have to do your research on wherever you were thinking of landing.

zagfles

atush wrote: »

I am really disappointed that all i hear on UK forms is about how Florida is dull and/or theme parks etc.

There is a whole other Florida out there, whatever you like to do. Stunning boating, fishing, nature. And shopping, dining and nightlife too.

Agreed - it's a brilliant place for a holiday but some people go there year after year and never seem to do anything but theme parks. Anyway bit OT, the point is what can look exiting, like foreign travel, can be more dull than seemingly mundane stuff like hiking/cycling depending on how you do it.

kidmugsy

atush wrote: »

There is a whole other Florida out there... nature.

If I wanted to spend time somewhere in the subtropical dry season I'd go to Queensland. You have to beware of the crocs, snakes, jellyfish, spiders, sharks and so on. But the humans are much less of a risk than in Florida. And Ozzie nature is "another planet".

zagubov

Nobody ever said on their deathbed that they wished they'd spent more time at the office. Just saying.

Eco_Miser

I retired six years early, with sufficient savings to continue my naturally frugal lifestyle.
Far from being bored, seven years on I've been so busy I only managed one trip to Whitby this year .

Wenlock

I think the OP may struggle to find anyone who regrets retiring too early, unless either they genuinely enjoyed working (something I cannot comprehend!) or are overly materialistic.

I retired 2 years ago at 50, on a small occupational pension that is only sufficient to cover the basics of food, household bills etc. I do however own my home and have a reasonable amount saved/invested to cover likely future one-off costs such as gas boiler replacements etc.

I cannot envisage being bored, unless you are someone who requires constant stimulation. I regularly get to the end of a day and realise that once again I haven't actually "done anything" other than bake bread, go for a walk or run and practice the guitar. But who cares? I am not on facebook and don't give a damn what other people might think of my lifestyle. I have peace of mind and contentment.

I can recall a number of former colleagues who worked for a few extra years in order to increase their final pension and then either died just before or just after their retirement dates or whose health deteriorated to an extent then they received no pleasure from the extra pension.

If you can cover the essentials, without state assistance, I would strongly suggest you retire at the earliest date possible!