Get a grip woman!

trix-a-belle

ohh sweetie i'm thinking warm thoughts for you. I would agree that there is urgency to the matter.
sleep/live next to the aga & don't let DH near it to realise the impact?

Karmacat

You poor thing, SL! I really hope some urgency has emerged in people's thinking!

enthusiasticsaver

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

Wow! Only five weeks to go until your early retirement enthusiasticsaver! What will you do with all that extra time?

3 weeks to go now SL

I will have plenty to keep me busy thanks. DH retired last year and I am the last of our group of friends to take early retirement so we do lots of social stuff like lunches out, walks and theatre trips. DH and I belong to NT and the local country club and I love reading, walking, cycling, gardening and playing the piano. I am thinking of joining U3A and we have a 2 year old granddaughter we look after one day a week at least and a new grand baby due AprilMay.

Lots of holidays too to look forward to. Are you still intending to retire early?

enthusiasticsaver

Goodness. No heating and it's freezing cold out there. I really feel for you. Bad news about the car repair bill too.

Personally I would attack the mortgage.

Suffolk_lass

trix-a-belle wrote: »

ohh sweetie i'm thinking warm thoughts for you. I would agree that there is urgency to the matter.
sleep/live next to the aga & don't let DH near it to realise the impact?

:rotfl: I meant the company fixing it needed to realise the impact, rather than DH, although he can be vague and not persistent enough :rotfl:

Darling Husband has been diligent in making sure that oil filled radiators are on in bathroom and sitting room and fire has been lit every evening when I get home at seven. I very obviously got the duster out yesterday and meaningfully wiped things that he said he would do last week but he is selectively deaf and blind so no hints were taken and the dining room floor still needs a good clear and vacuum. After nearly 28 years I should expect nothing else, I know

Suffolk_lass

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

3 weeks to go now SL

I will have plenty to keep me busy thanks. DH retired last year and I am the last of our group of friends to take early retirement so we do lots of social stuff like lunches out, walks and theatre trips. DH and I belong to NT and the local country club and I love reading, walking, cycling, gardening and playing the piano. I am thinking of joining U3A and we have a 2 year old granddaughter we look after one day a week at least and a new grand baby due AprilMay.

Lots of holidays too to look forward to. Are you still intending to retire early?

Oh wow, you are definitely retiring at the right time, aren't you!

We love walking and socialising, although DH was muttly-ing (Sassafiassarassum) on Friday about the choice of venue for his department's Christmas dinner, the cost, and the time we got home (very GOM) but I put it down to it being Friday and him being tired. I'm hoping he picks up a bit when he stops work (5 and a bit terms to go for him).

I am undecided when to finish. I am looking at my options at the moment and can go without my DB Pension being reduced after March but I could do a bit of consultancy, or I could stay on a bit longer. I have the 0% loan for the DG until November so the mean part of me doesn't want that liability when I stop working. I definitely don't want to work after DH stops and he definitely wants to stop at the end of the school year 2018-19 (he will be 60 and can also go without penalty after that).

His form have GCSEs that year (2019) and he is staying a few months extra so that they have that continuity of emotional support that they have had throughout senior school with him as their form teacher. - Having inherited a class that had had many different teachers in his first role, this has been important to him ever since. They wrote things like "thanks for sticking with us to the end Sir, when everyone else gave up on us" and it's only then you realise the impact all the changes had on them. They thought it was something they were doing wrong. Bless.

Suffolk_lass

Right. I cocked up the fudge at the first attempt and had to reboil it :eek:

Then I made six dozen mince pies.

Now I've made shortbread.

I might chance my arm by putting a pile of Christmas cards in front of DH to try and get ahead.

Bought his gift yesterday - totally unexpected but we love it, and just £30! Added to the slogan T-shirt sitting in my drawer that is the first person sorted!

Karmacat

You're doing well!

Retirement ... sigh ... I wish I'd been able to retire to have a ball, but even after 15 months, I'm really not there yet The chronic fatigue has lessened, this set of building works is coming to an end, as is the disposition of probate goods, so there's replastering my house, and selling my mum's house, and then things are probably ready to rumble A bit of Christmas cooking (mince pies! Good for you!) sounds wonderful!

Suffolk_lass

I actually rang our pension service contract company and asked the question that informs my retirement timing decision.

I have a FS pension that is based on the best 12 months of my final three years. I did a spell of higher grade work for three months which means my best year started in Feb 16. My question is whether my index-linked accrued benefits will index link from my retirement date or from the end of that year.

If it is the end of that year, does it get 2/12ths (i.e. Feb and March 17) or a whole year's uplift from April 17 (at just 1% or a fraction thereof) and again next April (18) when CPI is 3%.

If it is retirement date I need to do the calculations for retiring before the end of March 18 as that 3% is (probably) too good to miss out on.

enthusiasticsaver

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

I actually rang our pension service contract company and asked the question that informs my retirement timing decision.

I have a FS pension that is based on the best 12 months of my final three years. I did a spell of higher grade work for three months which means my best year started in Feb 16. My question is whether my index-linked accrued benefits will index link from my retirement date or from the end of that year.

If it is the end of that year, does it get 2/12ths (i.e. Feb and March 17) or a whole year's uplift from April 17 (at just 1% or a fraction thereof) and again next April (18) when CPI is 3%.

If it is retirement date I need to do the calculations for retiring before the end of March 18 as that 3% is (probably) too good to miss out on.

That would definitely make a difference SL and one example of why people should be looking at their pension calculations in detail.

My pension is a LGPS so a mix of FS/CARE but my highest salary and when a lot of my benefits accrued were when I was working full time pre 2008 to help put my girls through University. The reduction in my pension is fairly minimal even though I am going at age 57 which is 8 years earlier than my normal retirement age and it is because pre 2008 the pension is reduced less as they work on age 60 as the NRD rather than my current retirement age of 66. If my highest earning years were after that I think the reduction in pension by going so early would be hard to stomach.

Do you have an online benefit projection tool through your pension provider? I played around with that for ages before deciding what to do.