How to cope with work in run to retirement

Alexland

There's a difference between working and keeping busy. I used to enjoy being a volunteer in a charity bookshop for 3 years while I was at university and would seek to find something similar to occupy me when I retire.

AnotherJoe

shinytop wrote: »

This topic really resonates with me. My intended retirement date has been moving forward from 60 to 59 and my latest was about 58.5, which is October 2019. Now after suffering a very close family bereavement and having a few weeks off I'm going to find it hard to go back and even harder to keep going. I'm currently thinking how much difference the last 6 months will really make and it's probably just 'noise'. Since I have a 3 months notice period I'm going to have to decide soon.
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One thing to consider is that if you work for a while after next April (eg into the new tax year) you can time your departure so as to pay no income tax (at least you may pay it but you can get it back) and you can put your whole salary into your pension and take it out again with the 25% topup, probably with no tax to pay on it.

zagubov

I'll try and track down where I came across those findings. It basically claimed part-time work during retirement was better for wellbeing. It also warned that changing your line of work was more stressful than continuing in a familiar type of job.

This article is well worth a read and this one refers to the findings I mentioned.
It obviously depends on how much your work stress decreases with decreasing workload, plus the benefits of keeping social interactions with workmates, having more time for hobbies, having enough income to live comfortably on and so on.

shinytop

One thing to consider is that if you work for a while after next April (eg into the new tax year) you can time your departure so as to pay no income tax (at least you may pay it but you can get it back) and you can put your whole salary into your pension and take it out again with the 25% topup, probably with no tax to pay on it.

I was thinking along those lines but working as long as it took to earn £40k and putting it all into my pension (fortunately I'm quite well paid and can do most of it by salsac). You've just ruled out me leaving end March for me because I'd be daft not to earn up to the BR threshold.

p00hsticks

shinytop wrote: »

I was thinking along those lines but working as long as it took to earn £40k and putting it all into my pension (fortunately I'm quite well paid and can do most of it by salsac). You've just ruled out me leaving end March for me because I'd be daft not to earn up to the BR threshold.

Another advantage of working a few months into the new tax year may be that you can clock up another NI year to count towards your state pension.

This may be of benefit if you've been contracted out previously and so need to get extra post-2016 years in to maximise your New State Penson

JoeEngland

zagubov wrote: »

I'll try and track down where I came across those findings. It basically claimed part-time work during retirement was better for wellbeing. It also warned that changing your line of work was more stressful than continuing in a familiar type of job.

This article is well worth a read and this one refers to the findings I mentioned.
It obviously depends on how much your work stress decreases with decreasing workload, plus the benefits of keeping social interactions with workmates, having more time for hobbies, having enough income to live comfortably on and so on.

Thanks, those are interesting articles. I guess how well you do in retirement depends on what kind of person you are and how invested you are in your work. I know that my mental wellbeing will be much improved when retired or working a couple of days a week. Just being able to get more and better quality sleep will make a big difference.

Wenlock

I found it really hard working the last couple of months.

The decision to retire (at 50) was made during a particular lunch hour but I agreed to carry on for a couple of months to finish various tasks. I really, really wanted to just finish but felt a duty to continue. I had enough accumulated leave to stop immediately.

With hindsight I should have phoned my manager during the lunchtime walk to say I was never coming back. You realise after you leave that you are just a number to your employers. They have no loyalty to you so why should you show any?

Leaving was the best thing I ever did by the way. Life doesn’t begin until you retire!

OldMusicGuy

zagubov wrote: »

This article is well worth a read and this one refers to the findings I mentioned.
It obviously depends on how much your work stress decreases with decreasing workload, plus the benefits of keeping social interactions with workmates, having more time for hobbies, having enough income to live comfortably on and so on.

This is why retirement planning is so important. You need to have a really good understanding of yourself and your life goals. You also need to discuss these with your partner.

I had a very high stress job that was causing health problems. In the last 12 months (since cutting down at work and retiring at the end of March) I have lost a stone in weight, reduced my blood pressure from bordering on hypertension to normal levels and am sleeping so much better. I recently bumped into to someone that is still at my old company doing the same job and she told me how she had to have 3 months off due to stress related problems including serious hypertension. So in my case, work was definitely going to get me into an early gave whereas in retirement I am relaxed, taking regular exercise and no longer get stressed. I am so busy in retirement that I have not achieved nearly as much as I planned and I am a nicer person to live with (according to my wife!).

I'll contrast that with my grandfather, who had an incredibly varied and exciting life (compared to mine). He served in three theatres of war in WWI, worked at senior government levels in WWII on sorting out the bomb damage in London and after WWII became a senior civil servant and ended up with an MBE. But when he retired, he quickly faded away and died within 10 years of heart trouble. He had no hobbies and I can see now that he just wasn't very fulfilled when he gave up work.

JoeEngland

Wenlock wrote: »

I found it really hard working the last couple of months.

The decision to retire (at 50) was made during a particular lunch hour but I agreed to carry on for a couple of months to finish various tasks. I really, really wanted to just finish but felt a duty to continue. I had enough accumulated leave to stop immediately.

With hindsight I should have phoned my manager during the lunchtime walk to say I was never coming back. You realise after you leave that you are just a number to your employers. They have no loyalty to you so why should you show any?

Leaving was the best thing I ever did by the way. Life doesn’t begin until you retire!

I feel that my life won't properly begin until retirement because only then will I have the time and headspace to feel more fulfilled and relaxed.

Btw, how come you made a decision to retire so quickly one lunchtime, was it something that had been brewing for a while?

Wenlock

JoeEngland wrote: »

I feel that my life won't properly begin until retirement because only then will I have the time and headspace to feel more fulfilled and relaxed.

Btw, how come you made a decision to retire so quickly one lunchtime, was it something that had been brewing for a while?

I agree; I am someone who only seems to be able to deal with one issue or problem at a time. I couldn’t concentrate on family matters etc because I was permanently worried about work matters.

My quick decision was based on the fact that I had just reached the minimum age at which I was able to draw a much reduced pension. I had been deeply unhappy at work for some time. The final straw was receiving an email from a manager wanting to discuss new performance management procedures and other matters. I felt I just could not continue any longer, regardless of the financial consequences.

Some 4 years after retirement I have no regrets. I have limited money for discretionary spending but my physical and mental health is infinitely improved.