Retiring early

Art_Deco

Litchielou wrote: »

:jHello everyone, had a few threads but would like this new one as it will be a new way of life.

A bit about us, my DH is 58 I'm 56, we have 2 children DS 34 and DD32, 5 grandchildren GS1 is 12, GS2 is 8, GD1 is 10, GD2 is 9, GD3 is nearly 9. We also have 3 Extras 17, 15 and 9 ( not aloud to call them grandchildren as future SIL first wife gets annoyed). DS is married to our darling DIL, DD is separated but lives with future SIL. He has taken on the care of DDs 3 children as his own, better than their own dad.

My post is about retiring DH has been informed he will be made redundant at the end of February and after a long chat with each other I will be finishing work as well. (Decided to do it now as we both have lost friends before they get to our age and you only come this way once)
We are already debt free and have a lot of savings, we will be able to live of his monthly pension, the terms of him finishing he can get his personal pension, redundancy pay. OK his SP is 8 years away and mine is 10.

We don't live an extravagant life but would have enough money to still have a annual holiday usually Tenerife. Have day trips out, see more of our family ( if anyone has read my other thread this does not include Mother).

My husband plays a summer sport, so do a lot of traveling around the North of England so have got plenty of friends to catch up with.

Hope everyone will enjoy reading this thread.

5 weeks to we finish. xx

Good luck, i love reading threads like these, im 54 work in Older Persons Mental Health , been there 34 years, but my hips are getting worse and i struggle to throw myself down on the floor in MVA training, you have to be able to pass all your training or your job is at risk, I love my job and always hoped to stay as long as i could but changes are making everyone nervous. My kids are still at home, youngest is 19 and at FE college, Eldest is 22 with social anxiety problems, husband has health problems and works part time, Im hoping to stay at work until both kids are working , can get a reduced work pension at 55, but wont get state pension until, 67 i think. Lost my best friend 3 years ago at 50, such a shock , another at 53, sister just been diagnosed with cancer, life is so short:(.

[Deleted User]

Art_Deco wrote: »

Lost my best friend 3 years ago at 50, such a shock , another at 53, sister just been diagnosed with cancer, life is so short:(.

Oh if only that realisation had sunk in during our 40s and 50s but people always said `life is short` and it would almost be lip service. It really is short, my husband died at 67, 23 months ago, my dear sil at 57, 11 months ago and my sister at 61, less than two months ago. I am very very thankful that I never stopped my husband doing what he loved. I could do anything I like now but the magic has gone. So retire as soon as you can and rest easy, knowing that it actually cost far far less to live, than when going to work had to be taken into consideration eg one car, existing clothes, no packed lunches.

Goldiegirl

As you can see from my signature, I retired early a couple of years ago, and have no regrets whatsoever.


Other posters have mentioned getting a state pension forecast - I echo their comments.


If your 'foundation amount' for the State Pension is below £155, you can still pay voluntary national insurance contributions to increase your pension to the full single tier amount. For every extra year of NIC, your state pension increases by £4.45 per week, up to the full amount of £155pw.


Also, be careful about your State Pension Age. As your husband is 58, his SPA is 66. If you are born up to 5/4/60, your SPA is 66 too, but if you are born after 6/4/60, your SPA begins to rise to 67, so do check this out.


Interest rates on your savings are rubbish at the moment. So do consider ways of making your money work for you. Some current accounts offer higher interest, subject to certain conditions. Many people open multiple bank accounts, and cycle money through the accounts to earn additional interest. See the banking and budgeting section of the MSE forum. Regular savings accounts also pay higher rates, this is worth looking at.


Some people, who are comfortable with an element of risk open Stocks and Shares ISA's. See the Investing section of the MSE forum.


As non earners you can both open a SIPP, and pay in £2880 per annum. The government will make this up to £3600 ! See the pensions section of the MSE forum.


We do all the 'Old Style' things like batch cooking and meal planning, but it's also good to look at the financial side of things as well

Farway

I left / retired when I grabbed the offer of voluntary redundancy over ten years ago, being male SP was way in the future so the redundancy pay + savings saw me through just fine, no occupational or service pension but income is OK for what I need, paid off the mortgage years before I retired which made the choice somewhat easier

Hobbies are good, as is just mooching with a camera around gardens / woods etc

I agree with the "do it while you can" opinions, you may not be able to one day. This time last year I was just coming out of hospital hardly able to walk after collapsing in the street. Now every day is a bonus, treat it as such

maryb

We retired early and lived off savings until pensions started kicking in. It will be another two years before I get all my occupational pensions but we are covering our costs now and the savings have stopped going down quite so fast. We budgeted for it but it's still unsettling to see them go.

But definitely retire as early as possible in my view. Colleagues said I would be bored. I can honestly say I am never bored. But both DH and I developed (or probably found out about, more accurately, since we were too busy for Dr's appts when working) "repeat prescription" issues literally within months of stopping work. Fortunately they don't hold us back but it did bring a sense of how we might have less time than we thought before other health problems started. In fact we are healthier in many ways than when we were working so hopefully that will be a while off

lessonlearned

Litchielou.......go for it. I guarantee you won't regret it.

One thing you may find is that oddly enough you don't seem to spend as much once you retire, at least not on day to day living. You will have that one magic ingredient........time......that will enable you to shop,and budget wisely.

And remember......the best things in life really are free. A sunrise, a walk in the park, time with loved ones, sitting in the garden on a perfect summers day, curling up on the sofa with a book on a miserable winters afternoon.

And I agree about not putting things off. My husband died at 57, thankfully he did get to accomplish one of his ambitions......an extended trip to China before he got too sick.

Life is indeed short and we dont know what the fates have in store for us.

So yes take the plunge.......the water is just fine.

Carpe that Diem!!!

Pollycat

It's very quick and easy to check your state pension age and the date you receive your bus pass:
https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-age

meanmarie

Litchilou.......count yourpennies, savings and income if you retire early.......I found that when I had to retire early due to ill health (62) it seemed to cost much less to live than it had done when I worked, no travel costs, no lunch costs, no smart shoes and clothes, no birthday collections.......the list seemed endless, so go for it, it is much easier to economise when there are not so many calls on your purse! Do not feel guilty and have a ball!

Marie

Litchielou

Thank you everyone, yes we have got forecast of our state pensioners.
So looking forward to more time for other things than go to work.

5 weeks to go xx

lessonlearned

Litchielou wrote: »

Thank you everyone, yes we have got forecast of our state pensioners.
So looking forward to more time for other things than go to work.

5 weeks to go xx

Just in time for spring.....:D