The Piano Diary

glass_half_full

Thanks @AgathaSquirrel and @beanielou!

I had my meeting with the more senior manager on Friday. It went really well and they were very positive and supportive. So I put my resignation into writing to my line manager. He has accepted it and I even received an email from HR Friday afternoon confirming my last day is 31st August. So its finally done and real. It’s a weight off my mind. We have some nice things to look forward to between now and the end of August. Next Friday we are going together to a conference in Europe, the weekend is ours to enjoy and the conference is Monday, Tuesday. Looking forward to it.

glass_half_full

Dear diary and all,

The wheels are in motion, my internal role will be advertised next week. I'm sure time will fly now.

Submitted my pension form yesterday with my choices. Had some growth since Christmas and fund is now £545k up from £500k. When I rebalanced at Christmas I put £75k into Emerging Markets which has grown to £95k. Post retirement, I plan to keep 2/3 still in equities for growth. 

We are off on a mini trip to Europe, away for a few days combined with a conference. Good opportunity to step back from it all. 

We had a video call with DS. All seems well. He will be back at the end of July. OH is organising a surprise party for him. It will be great to see him after 6 months away.

glass_half_full

Dear diary and all,

Enjoyed the time away. We were away from Friday to Wednesday so a good mini break. Today I received an email from the pension people saying that they have received the notification of retirement and that they have all the necessary information to process my retirement. This is great as it confirms everything is in hand. This week I attended my last management meeting. I will be away for the July one and there isn’t one in August. Everyone knows I am going and people have been very kind and been wishing me well. I had wondered if I would experience any regret about the decision. So far this has not happened. If anything, I have felt confident I am doing the right thing. We have this week and next at work and then we are away for a couple of weeks on holiday. I’m starting to wind down now and very much in handover mode.

AgathaSquirrel

Sounds lovely. You have planned this for a long time. I’m sure you’ve made the right decision.

glass_half_full

Dear diary and all,

We are just back from holiday. Really enjoyed the break. We both have just 4 weeks left of work before we finish. I'm thinking of starting a new diary documenting the first year of retirement. There's not much written about the realities of retiring 'early' on mix of DB, DC and state pensions. By early I mean before state pension age. The realities of lump sums, drawdown etc.and managing the bridge. How much do you actually need in retirement etc I think I might put it over on the Pensions Forum.

KajiKita

There’s a ’How much to live on’ thread that you might find useful:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6228191/how-much-to-live-on#latest

KK

glass_half_full

Thanks @KajiKita very useful thread.

Approaching the end of the first of the four remaining weeks. Trying to resolve the final issue of my job. We need to do something as an organisation but there's no money. Classic middle manager conundrum, we need you to make X happen but resources Y are not available. As I am leaving I am able to point out that having the cake and eating it without paying for it is not an option :). Unfortunately purse strings are tightening again.

DS is coming home next week. OH is planning a surprise welcome home party. I will be briefed on how the surprise element is going to work. DS has now had his next contract confirmed which will involve rehearsals from November and starting work in January 2027. We will be aiming to join him next year on one of the cruises. Starting to make plans for the next 12 months.

AgathaSquirrel

Sorry about the work headaches…but it won’t be your problem very soon.

Good news about your son returning and new contract. The cruise is a lovely thing to look forward to.

South_coast

This is so exciting!!! I am very much enjoying living vicariously through you 😀

glass_half_full

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82071585#Comment_82071585

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82071883#Comment_82071883

Thanks @AgathaSquirrel and @South_coast!

DS is home and we collected him from the airport on Tuesday. Its great to see him and there is a new energy in the house. I think it will take a while to get up to speed with all the news. We have a surprise welcome home party planned for the weekend. A few people coming over tomorrow including some of his friends, should be fun. Just two weeks of work left to go. Then three weeks of holiday and officially leaving at end of August. I have even booked the day/time to return my laptop / pass which will be Friday 28th August.