Can I retire at 55?

Joey_Soap

I think you can do this. One thing I would say is that you need to keep three years income in cash or near cash that is accessible. The reason I suggest this is that if there is a big drop in the market (there will be) then you will need that pot of money to draw from otherwise you run the risk of permanently damaging your pension portfolio. I suggest three years because most bear markets in recent times have recovered their original value within that timescale. HTH.

marlot

scotty_does wrote: »

...After years of working in IT and earning well, I was made redundant when 50. I found it impossible to get a well paid job after that.....

Yes, IT is a brutal world for older people - especially if you've moved into management or consultancy positions, so may have neglected your technical skills.

I was very fortunate that one of my public sector clients gave me a job straight away. Their maximum was only 50% of my previous package though the pension is good.

cobson

As you seem to have a frugal outlook have you looked at the mrmoneymustache.com website ? The ethos on there is to live as frugally as possible whilst building a stash of money in order to retire as early as possible - the folks on there would consider 55 a very late age to go. It is a US site but if you look in their forum there are a number of UK posters who hang about in the UK Tax Discussion subforum, including links to several who keep online journals. The latest post is from a couple who live in the SE on £12k a year. Might be useful for moral support.

jerrysimon

I retired last year (at 56) on 20K, no mortage, debt free and also have a small 40K pot. So far its going well. As I now pay no pension, NI and little tax this goes a lot further than when those bills came to over 10K/year!

As such I think its better to look at your monthly income rather than annual salary.

Although 20K is slightly less than half my pre retirement income the monthly figure is considerably more than half my monthly income when I was working.

PS I live in the East of England and worked in IT management albeit Public Sector.

ferox666

Hi Scotty

Sorry to bump up this thread, but I am aiming to be in same position as you (pension pot size/age) in approx 20 years (but work on to 60). I am genuinely interested to hear how much was required to accumulate your pot - particularly if you presumably started pre-2000 before pensions were as "mainstream" and without the benefit of internet research etc. I'm curious the average monthly contribution made and over what period - Did you start "early" ie early 20s? I note you worked in IT, did your employer make large contributions? Did you reduce contributions when made redundant?

Sorry for all the questions, it's the level I aspire too and I know past returns will have no relation to future returns but just curious if I can ever achieve it. Congratulations and I hope you enjoy retirement when you do decide to stop. :beer:

GSP

You hear a number say what are you going to do with yourself once you leave work.

Remember, every day when you do is a holiday.

chiefie

I suspect working in the public sector helped to achieve this. Lower salary but better pension. Well done it’s all about intelligent choices

jerrysimon

chiefie wrote: »

I suspect working in the public sector helped to achieve this. Lower salary but better pension. Well done it!!!8217;s all about intelligent choices

EXACTLY the choice I made, always taking a lower salary than I could have got in IT in the private sector. My DB pension for started for me aged 16 and I left 40 years later. I did move around a lot, but stayed in the public sector and took my DB pension with me

A year on I am still busy (two new grandchildren and voluntary work) plus DIY, gardening, cycling and other hobbies. I feel like I have 6 Saturdays and 1 Sunday often forgetting which day of the week it is. Another great thing I love and have discovered is when doing DIY projects and jobs if I get to early afternoon rather than cracking on to finish before work the next day, I know I can stop as tomorrow offers the same opportunity to complete the task without work getting in the way.

If I really feel the need for more structure (I definately needed some which I found through the voluntary work I do) I could get a part time job, but currently have no intention to do so yet.

I rarely get up before 8:30am as I was never a morning person.

jamesperrett

Many of your posts resonate with me Jerry - I'm now 9 months into retirement and the only things that help me remember what day of the week it is are the activities that I take my son to.

My fuel costs are less than half of what they were and I like the later mornings too.

AnotherJoe

ferox666 wrote: »

Hi Scotty

Sorry to bump up this thread, but I am aiming to be in same position as you (pension pot size/age) in approx 20 years (but work on to 60). I am genuinely interested to hear how much was required to accumulate your pot - particularly if you presumably started pre-2000 before pensions were as "mainstream" and without the benefit of internet research etc. I'm curious the average monthly contribution made and over what period - Did you start "early" ie early 20s? I note you worked in IT, did your employer make large contributions? Did you reduce contributions when made redundant?

Sorry for all the questions, it's the level I aspire too and I know past returns will have no relation to future returns but just curious if I can ever achieve it. Congratulations and I hope you enjoy retirement when you do decide to stop. :beer:

Use a pension calculator. Something like this one


https://www.hl.co.uk/pensions/interactive-calculators/pension-calculator