Turning off the tap

OldMusicGuy

k6chris wrote: »

I doubt I will ever be in a situation where I feel I have enough money to retire risk-free, despite the spreadsheet showing that we could maintain our current lifestyle right now......I am also very suprised by my reaction, that after many years of preparing for being able to retire early and now having arrived at the point where I can, I am hesitating......odd!

I am retiring in 22 weeks and 2 days (yes, I have a calculator going). Like you, I suffer from the "I will never be sure we have enough to retire on" and also the "OMG I am turning off the tap" syndrome. And in my case, it is a big tap because after 40 years of work I am an additional rate taxpayer.

I have no DB pensions at all, so I have to rely on SP of around 11K plus which I get at 66 (I just turned 60) and my DC pot. This has to fund both my wife and me. She has DB pensions of around 5K pa and will get the flat rate SP. Now I have a big DC pot which by any spreadsheet calculation should be ok but it is still a daunting prospect for me to turn off that monthly tap, especially since the mortgage is paid off and our son has finished uni, so I can save a big amount each month.

I really suffered from "OMY" syndrome. My original plan was to keep working until around 63/64 so that the time to SP was small and I always had the "well OMY doesn't make much difference" mindset. However, recently my health and stress at work have made me realise I have to stop now. In my late 50s the demands of a high pressure job and lots of travel really started to take a toll on my health and mental wellbeing, and I realised that the "OMY" mindset was killing me. It's actually "OYCTTG" (one year closer to the grave). So, with a lot of encouragement from my wife, I decided to retire. I won't be working part time or doing consulting work, I will be changing my lifestyle completely to get out of the corporate rat race and to focus on enjoying my remaining years on earth by spending more time with my wife, enjoying hobbies, focusing on being a very fit and healthy 60+ year old and not being a corporate wonk.

It might be tough but we are going to change our lifestyle completely and we have decided to live within our means. It will be a big change from our current lifestyle but it's actually truer to the core values that we used to have when we were younger. But I can't say I am not worried, especially as the day of turning off the tap draws closer..... But then like my wife says, we can always get jobs stacking shelves if we have to!

Terron

jerrysimon wrote: »

Thus when I retired 6 months ago I thought I would never worry about having a purpose so to speak. After the first few months of elation I found a stranger feeling crept in of having a daily structure, some might call it purpose.

Fortuantely just before I retired I started training as a Samaritan and this was a blessing in disguise. I sort of knew I should do something and had looked around for voluntary work before I left full time work. I don't miss my old job in fact as many have explained here it was the changes and management B!!!!! that made me retire early or at least contributed to the decision to turn off the tap.

What the voluntary work has given me is a structure in terms of shifts and a rota I have to sign up to each week (I can do as much or as little as I want) and gave me a focus for a few hours a week. I never realised how important that would be after I left, even though as I said I was not fully work orientated. Maybe after 40 years (16-56) of working it becomes ingrained ?

I lost my job at 54. Initially I found a purpose in investing my savings in BTL to provide an income. Then I moved home. I was considering looking for voluntary work, perhaps helping at the lcal hospital, but I am finding that I enjoy not having a structure to my life. If I want to spend all morning in bed reading I can. Or I can stay up late watching a box set.

jerrysimon

Terron wrote: »

I lost my job at 54. Initially I found a purpose in investing my savings in BTL to provide an income. Then I moved home. I was considering looking for voluntary work, perhaps helping at the lcal hospital, but I am finding that I enjoy not having a structure to my life. If I want to spend all morning in bed reading I can. Or I can stay up late watching a box set.

Yes and I can pretty much do that as well except when I have a shift once a week or more if I chose. As I have kept involvement to a minimum at least for the first year. What I was trying to highlight for me is the first phases of retirement in terms of the past 6 months. Not sure how many more phases will come.

Sea_Shell

Maybe we should think along the lines of "OMM", as for me, that's what my notice period is!!

What is your notice period, any maybe think of that as your "one more....."

Triumph13

I'm on 3 months notice, which helps in some ways with the countdown as if I count to give-my-notice-day that is 3 months closer than retirement day!
Incidentally, do employers actually have any practical sanction if you just walked out without giving notice? If you're retiring anyway you don't care about references.

Dorian1958

If you are expecting a pension I would think it is important to give notice or you may find nothing in the bank on day one! I am required to give 3 months notice, but on enquiring about retirement, I was advised to request the pack 6 months before. If you have AVC's linked to the pension, it may take time to untangle.

crv1963

Hi Dorian1958


I agree with you, nominally I have to give 3 months notice to retire next year but both HR and Pension Officer suggested that to retire in October I should give formal written notice in April as the process to pay my pension can be lengthy and suffer delays.


I am more than happy to give 6 months notice and offered to write it out there and then!!

Eric_the_half_a_bee

Triumph13 wrote: »

One of the benefits of FU money is that I will be telling my manager I have no intention of 'engaging' with it whatsoever so what's the absolute minimum content I can put in without causing a riot from HR.

Or, just don't engage and do the absolute minimum, without telling your manager.

Eric_the_half_a_bee

ewaste wrote: »

To me it means reaching a point where you could enjoy the same lifestyle and outgoings working a part-time minimum wage job that your not tied to and actually enjoy doing with the option that you can pack it in and change to something else whenever you want.

Coming from 30 years in a mentally demanding career, this appeals greatly. There are plenty of jobs that would be quite fun to do on 20 hours a week, leaving plenty of free time for hobbies etc.

crv1963

Eric_the_half_a_bee wrote: »

Coming from 30 years in a mentally demanding career, this appeals greatly. There are plenty of jobs that would be quite fun to do on 20 hours a week, leaving plenty of free time for hobbies etc.

Exactly what I and my wife are thinking- she is starting training for a different job as a complete change with hours to suit her and much, much reduced stress level.


I really am fortunate in enjoying my work despite the at times very high stress level and would probably go part time as long as I wasn't expected to do 5 days work in 2! If that was the case then something else would need to be found!