If you could go back in time, what would you do differently?

Oliver1191

Hi to anyone in their 50s contemplating retirement, or to anyone who has now retired.

If you could go back in time to your 30s, what would you do differently (from a financial perspective)?

What were your successes? What were your mistakes?

How did you make yourself financially secure? What concerns do you now have?

What do you wish you could have to enjoy retirement more?

Thank you for sharing!

MallyGirl

I wish I had started investing in S&S via ISAs earlier and also moved into paying more into pension earlier - instead I concentrated on paying down the mortgage.

ermine

Same as MallyGirl - pension before mortgage. It's a terrible idea to overpay your mortgage from taxed income where you can aim the PCLS at it to pay it from untaxed income, particularly at low interest rates.

Oh and to have some sort of plan to retire earlier. Your fifties is a very risky time to need to stay employed.

And not get hung up on particular standard retirement ages. I was going to retire at 60. Although I left early because I couldn't stand the way things were going, I discovered it would have been a dreadful waste of time and lifestream, I'd still be working now. Everyone has the same amount in the bank of Time, and it falls by 24 hours every day. I bought six years of my own time back and still counting. They're not making more of it.

TBC15

One year many, many years ago due to a dip in the market we didn't invest in that years ISA or whatever it was called then.

Filo25

Not really aimed at me as someone in mid 40's rather than 50's, but I will answer anyway !

2 main things I suppose, one being the obvious one, contribute more to pensions earlier, the other to have taken a much more active interest in what my various pensions were being invested in and manage them more actively myself. One of my old workplace schemes was stuck in a lousy absolute return fund during one of the strongest bull markets in history!

Oliver1191

Thanks MallyGirl.

I wish I had started investing in S&S via ISAs earlier and also moved into paying more into pension earlier - instead I concentrated on paying down the mortgage.

Hasn't being mortgage free been beneficial? If I was mortgage free, I would stress less...

Oliver1191

Thank you Ermine.

It's a terrible idea to overpay your mortgage from taxed income where you can aim the PCLS at it to pay it from untaxed income, particularly at low interest rates.

Do you mean that you can pay-off your mortgage with the pension 25% tax free lump sum?

From your perspective, would you consider the LISA as useful as a pension (you have to be 60 to cash it in)?

NoMore

Oliver1191 wrote: »

Thanks MallyGirl.



Hasn't being mortgage free been beneficial? If I was mortgage free, I would stress less...

Psychologically, yes some feel better paying off mortgage early, financially it may not be the best idea.

Prism

When I was 23 I opened my first personal pension (the good bit) but then knowing nothing when asked about my approach to risk I said 'middle?' and that was it - for the next 15 years I forgot about it and left it to make a small amount each year.

What I should have done was go for higher risk at that age and then also pay at least some attention to it along the way

chiefie

Pay more into avc and buy the biggest house I could afford

Thrugelmir

Don't look back. Hindsight is a wonderful human invention. One should only look forward and plan for tomorrow. Retirement is only one aspect of our lives. Divorce, redundancy , health etc all can cause a change of direction without warning.