Redundant at 50... retiring early

atolaas

Could you turn one of your hobbies into an employment opportunity? You mention that you enjoy DIY...could you be an "odd job man" - taking on small jobs locally?

Nitram29

At your indicate living expenses even a one day a week is going to save you drawing on the cash but maybe your done with working,

It all comes down to your risk tolerance, you could put part of the lump sum into a stocks and shares ISA with low risk funds but there would still be some chance of volatility. Apart from that you could and should look to maximise the range of current accounts and regular savers to get up to 5% on some of it.

I'd recommend reading DIY Pension and DIY Simple Investing by John Edwards as a good read to familiarise yourself with the options in front of you, there is not rush to jump into anything so read, think and ponder it before deciding.

ermine

Topiary wrote: »

175K cash in savings sitting in low interest instant access savings accounts (60k of which in cash isas)

Just reading this gives me pain. You will be slaughtered by inflation, which halves the real value of your money every ten to fifteen years. Plus the clusterf..k being made of Brexit will bend it even more.

And the BTL recommendations, oy vey...

Educate yourself about asset classes, why the volatility of equities is a preserve against inflation, start here. Or to be honest be prepared to pay an independent finacial advisor £10k to educate you if you CBA to do it yourself. Find an IFA at https://www.unbiased.co.uk/

You will be slaughtered by inflation, you could easily expect to live another 30 years, and you have about 17 years till your state pension is payable. Get a state pension forecast. Talk to pensionwise. Get help.

Unless you are a terrific fan of Brexit, steer clear of BTL. The cycles of the housing market are long and ponderous, but it's still a cyclical market...

You may be rich enough and frugal enough to make it, but not stuck in cash.

Terron

jojorose wrote: »

I personally wouldnt sign up for jobseekers its frankly not worth the grief the DWP would be on your back the whole time to see what jobs you have applied for. Job seekers is a contract to job seek!

I signed up when I lost my job at 54, mainly for NI purposes. I soon decided that actually looking for a job was pretty pointless, since my skills were largely obsolete. But I had inherited some money earlier that year and rather than live off it until my pensions were due I decide to put it to work by buying some BTL. Reasearching for that counted. I was put onto the NEA program whioch included training, and eventually transferred to that - a slightly lower payment.

Terron

ermine wrote: »

And the BTL recommendations, oy vey...

Unless you are a terrific fan of Brexit, steer clear of BTL. The cycles of the housing market are long and ponderous, but it's still a cyclical market...

On what do you base your opinion of BTL?

There are two ways to make money from BTL - from the rents or from capital growth. The latter is cyclical and in some areas is suffering from tax changes. It has also been the best way to build wealth long term.
However for providing income for retirement then rents work better and are more stable And if you keep your total income (without deducting interest payments) below the HRT threshold the tax changes have little effect.
Brexit is a minor issue for BTL except perhaps in London.

There are reasons why BTL may not be right for an individual, but it can work, as it is working for me.

Alice_Holt

Topiary wrote: »

Yes definite not looking to claim JSA though will enquire about possible NI credits.

You won't get NI credits without claiming JSA (or UC if rolled out in your area).
The JSA / UC claimant commitment is now very strict - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-and-your-claimant-commitment-quick-guide/universal-credit-and-your-claimant-commitment

To purchase voluntary NI years is c.£740 pa I believe, so you should factor this into your living expenses.
https://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/about-pensions/the-state-pension/voluntary-ni-contributions

Are you allowing for house maintenance? The jobs you can't do.

I'm afraid I tend to argue with ermine.
I'd be looking for a one or two day job, and trying to grow the savings (rather than drawing on them).

Eco_Miser

Topiary wrote: »

Regards registering unemployed I am not looking to claim JSA as I am not seeking employment. Just wondered if it would otherwise benefit me in my situation.

I didn't bother, but I didn't need any NI tax credits to claim full pension.

Topiary wrote: »

Thanks for your advice regard stocks and shares isa. I have circa 60k I can transfer from my cash isa into S&S ISA and have yet to use this years allowance 20K = total 80K available to invest.
Any ideas for the remaining 110K?.

Invest most of it outside an ISA (and move £20k into the ISA each financial year. You are allowed £2k (£5k this year) dividends and £11k realised capital gains each year with no tax to pay, in addition to any otherwise unused Personal Allowance.
Keep two or three year's spending in high interest current/regular saver accounts.

Topiary wrote: »

question is it a good time to invest in the stock market now?...though appreciate stock market is a long term investment....15years

Unfortunate apart from savings accounts and cash isa I'm not up on the stockmarket and alternative investments. Time to start learning.

Monevator is a good place to start. Also MSE's Savings & Investments forum.
Use funds rather than individual shares.
Stock markets go up and down, but dividends keep rolling in. This means that so long as the dividends are greater than your spending, you should not be particularly concerned about drops in the market.
If you're having to draw on your capital, try to make the withdrawals when your funds are up (impossible to forecast when this will be).

BLB53

Any ideas for the remaining 110K?. Unfortunate apart from savings accounts and cash isa I'm not up on the stockmarket and alternative investments. Time to start learning.

If you want to live off your savings, cash will not do the job..it will be eroded by inflation so you really need to be looking at low risk investments which can generate a return above inflation.

Investin can be fairly straight forward when you come to terms with it. Personally I like the Vanguard Lifestrategy funds which offer a very simple all-in-one solution. Maybe get hold of the 'DIY Simple Investing' book by J Edwards and see if it makes sense to give it a go.

The other thing worth considering is a SIPP - you can save £2,880 each year into a pension (also use Vanguard funds) and the taxman will add a further 25% so this could be a good way to build extra savings for when you retire.

Audaxer

Topiary wrote: »

Thanks for your advice regard stocks and shares isa. I have circa 60k I can transfer from my cash isa into S&S ISA and have yet to use this years allowance 20K = total 80K available to invest. question is it a good time to invest in the stock market now?...though appreciate stock market is a long term investment....15years

Any ideas for the remaining 110K?. Unfortunate apart from savings accounts and cash isa I'm not up on the stockmarket and alternative investments. Time to start learning.

If concerned about putting £60k to £80k into S&S ISA all at once, you could invest £20k per year for about 5 years into an S&S ISA with a low cost cautious passive global diversified multi asset fund. That would be a total of £100k invested over 5 years. In the meantime you could draw up to say, £7.5k per annum for income from the remaining cash as you would still have enough in cash for about 10 years income. For the last 5 years to retirement your investment should have grown enough for you to draw income, and you will still have a fair amount invested when you are retired at which time your pensions will more than meet your income needs.

jennyjj

Topiary wrote: »

50 year old single male no partner/ dependents.

...mortgage paid off. No outstanding debts/ loans...175K cash in savings sitting in low interest ...pension circa £16-18Kpa

Current living expenses are less than £300 per month = £3600 PA

Q.Looking for advice on how to best utilise (save/invest) the £175k which I'm currently drawing down until I start taking pension at 65....another 15 years time.
Q Should I consider registering as unemployed up to the time I Claim my pension at 65?
Q What are the Tax implications? I have only previously worked for companies and have never submitted a tax return......when do I need to submit a tax return as have never done one.

Not the worst situation to be in. You sound like you are fantastically frugal, and it's just as well. You may not always be so. To survive on 3600 a year is almost incredible. My utility bills and council tax alone would take more than that.

Q1) You definitely need some equity exposure Pop £2880 per annum into a SIPP. The taxman will add the tax to it, though will take some of that back when you draw it, so it's not all free money. Research stock market investment and maybe buy a tracker or managed fund. Otherwise inflation will murder your plans.
Q2) I wouldn't bother unless you want to make a job out of pretending to seek a job.
Q3) You probably never need to fill in a tax form again unless you tell the taxman you have a taxable income source such as self employment or renting out a property.
Good luck in your research and for the future.