How to keep going for the last couple of years

mollycat

Thinking about it a little more, I think what i called the "tipping point" is the moment when hoping that you make it to the end changes to knowing you're going to make it to the end.

A fine feeling indeed!!

michaels

I am in a weird position that each extra year working only seems to add about 1000pa to my eventual retirement annual income which then makes me wonder how worth it it is....

JoeEngland

michaels wrote: »

I am in a weird position that each extra year working only seems to add about 1000pa to my eventual retirement annual income which then makes me wonder how worth it it is....

Does that include the extra year less you'd have to drawdown on?

Noodling

Yes but each extra year you work doesn't subtract from your net worth. So really you are adding the cost per year + £1,000.
I too recognise the agony of "when will it end". Like many, I had a loose notion in my head of not working beyond 60. Then a real threat of redundancy started to loom, so I began a spreadsheet to see if I could cope if the axe fell on my head at 55. The answer was I'd survive but age 56 would be so much better.
Then I became interested in when it would be without a lump sum redundancy payment. This answer was 58 for comfort or 57.5 with things a little tighter. After that, I discovered this board, started learning about pensions, tax rebates etc etc and have been able to revisie down to 56.5.
This was the back end of 2017. Since then, I've known it would be this year but every week has felt interminable! Finally decided I really couldn't get to Dec, and have put my papers in for end Sep.
It's an odd phenomenon!

JoeEngland

Noodling wrote: »

Yes but each extra year you work doesn't subtract from your net worth. So really you are adding the cost per year + £1,000.
I too recognise the agony of "when will it end". Like many, I had a loose notion in my head of not working beyond 60. Then a real threat of redundancy started to loom, so I began a spreadsheet to see if I could cope if the axe fell on my head at 55. The answer was I'd survive but age 56 would be so much better.
Then I became interested in when it would be without a lump sum redundancy payment. This answer was 58 for comfort or 57.5 with things a little tighter. After that, I discovered this board, started learning about pensions, tax rebates etc etc and have been able to revisie down to 56.5.
This was the back end of 2017. Since then, I've known it would be this year but every week has felt interminable! Finally decided I really couldn't get to Dec, and have put my papers in for end Sep.
It's an odd phenomenon!

I think there's more acceptance of the prison of work when financially you're stuck with it for many years to come. Once you realise that something else is possible the mind probably focuses too much on that escape plan, which is what has happened to me.

Doglegger

JoeEngland wrote: »

I think there's more acceptance of the prison of work when financially you're stuck with it for many years to come. Once you realise that something else is possible the mind probably focuses too much on that escape plan, which is what has happened to me.

That's been my experience in a nutshell. I know that if I had't looked into what was possible I'd still be reasonably content at work. With five years still to go I do worry that the focus will wander too far that it becomes a problem!

atush

JoeEngland wrote: »

Neither do I.

Where do you live? My area in the NW has had stonkingly good weather since May?

MallyGirl

atush wrote: »

Where do you live? My area in the NW has had stonkingly good weather since May?

so has pretty much everywhere. Even East Devon, where my Mum retired to, has been nice and that seems to be the wettest place in the world (barring the west coast of Ireland!).

AnotherJoe

michaels wrote: »

I am in a weird position that each extra year working only seems to add about 1000pa to my eventual retirement annual income which then makes me wonder how worth it it is....

As "Joe England" hints, I bet you aren't including the (say) £15k a year "basics" you are spending in that year which is currently covered by your salary and you dont have to fund out of your retirement savings. Knock that off what you have for retirement and it would be much worse. Given you have 7 years to go, thats around £100k you dont need to finance, and that £100k can then be spread over (say) the next 30 years of retirement, so thats £3k a year extra at least, then add on top whatever you are saving. If that produces £1k a year, then each year is actually getting you £4k a year.

Triumph13

OP I feel your pain. I was finding those last few years so hard that I'm bailing 8 months ahead of plan.


What I have found is that time is very much non-linear in this situation. You can spend what feels like a year stuck at x months to go, then suddenly half a year goes by without you noticing.


I'm about to hand in my 3 month's notice and the feeling of freedom is positively intoxicating!