Plotting for an early retirement - anyone want to join me?

barnstar2077

Andyed201 wrote: »

Hi, another new joiner to the thread here, reading with interest so thanks to everyone.

I am 44 and looking to "sort of" retire early at 55. I am fortunate enough to make a good living and have no debt apart from a mortgage, so I follow a few FIRE principles and hit a good saving rate which goes into pensions, S&S ISA and a cash emergency fund. The aim is to get to a point where at 55 ish I would be able to draw £35,000 a year income from my investments forever if I need to, but instead of starting to do that, I plan to take a lower paid job that I really want to do so still have income. The S&S ISA would be used to make up any income difference I may need and the pension pots should stay invested for another 10 years.

So through investment and growth I have my eye on hitting £800k across pension, S&S ISA and a smaller amount of cash, and I think that is somewhere near to where I want to be. I've ignored state pension in my calculations for now, but if I put it in I think I should be able to keep the full £800k in place forever, but I don't mind running it down to zero.

Its going to be an interesting 10 years and 6 months to see if I can get there......

If you really want to get another job instead of retiring then great, but if I were you I would retire completely and adjust my spending if it becomes necessary down the line. A lot of people don't make it to retirement, don't think it could never happen to you, no one ever thinks it will be them. Retire as early as you can and live a little!

Keith_Clunk

I'm 57 years old, retired at 49 and moved to Asia to live for a few years to see if I liked it. I'm still there 8 years later enjoying a slower, more relaxed pace of life.

I live off UK property rental income with the occasional supplement from ISAs and am debt free with no mortgage. I've been fortunate with the two sets of tenants occupying my house during this time, I also use a letting agent. I completed a NRL1 form prior to departure and complete tax returns online.

My trigger point was when my endowments came to fruition, although they did not reach their intended targets, but by that time I'd transitioned over to a repayment method so their failure wasn't critical and used them to pay off a large chunk of the mortgage.

I consolidated 4 of my 5 personal pensions into a SIPP earlier this year and am now very much enjoying my new hobby, personal investment. I should have done this sooner but hindsight is a wonderful thing, I'm just glad I did it at all. The fifth pension was better left as was as it's a 'with profits' security plan. Well worth reading and absorbing any risk warnings when considering such transitions.

Since the referendum the exchange rate plunged and over the last few months the £ has hit all time lows on the forex, but I foresee a brighter financial future once we exit the European Union.

Since buying my house in 2001 it has more than tripled in value, despite remaining flat since the referendum. Roll on Halloween where we can -fingers crossed- wave goodbye. Give it another 12 months and I will look at selling before my ISAs run dry. I do not wish to begin any SIPP drawdown for a decade or more.

I know I am a person who is careful with money, I tend not to be wasteful the majority of the time. Some people may say I'm tight, frugal, stingy, or similar, but criticisms are taken on the chin far easier when retired in a tropical country.

I love being retired, I took to it like a duck to water. I am single (divorced, no children) which helps to keep things simple.

Good luck to those who intend to retire early. The only thing stopping you is yourself. If it wasn't you, then I'm afraid you only have your younger self to blame.

[Deleted User]

Retiring late next year (aged 55), the countdown is excruciating.
Another IT person who has ridden a few well paid software changes (old school fortran packages, ERP, BI, Big Data, Hadoop, Digital Marketing).
The way I did it - even though at the beginning of my career I was fairly low paid - was to put away minimal inflation pay rises as increased pension/AVCs. Then take the large pay rises that came with promotion or a job change as my lifestyle change. (better house, holiday, car)

shinytop

Deleted_User wrote: »

Retiring late next year (aged 55), the countdown is excruciating.
Another IT person who has ridden a few well paid software changes (old school fortran packages, ERP, BI, Big Data, Hadoop, Digital Marketing).
The way I did it - even though at the beginning of my career I was fairly low paid - was to put away minimal inflation pay rises as increased pension/AVCs. Then take the large pay rises that came with promotion or a job change as my lifestyle change. (better house, holiday, car)

Also IT, also on a countdown with just over a week left :eek:. I'd like to be able to reassure you but it gets more excruciating as it gets closer

Keith_Clunk

I'm another ex-IT guy. My last contract was with Citibank in Canary Wharf at the beginning of 2012. They offered a further 6-month extension at the end but I simply could not wait to stop working and retire to Asia, as planned.

Part of that plan was during my final years working under an umbrella company, which allowed my limited company to completely run down with nothing owed and nothing outstanding in order to leave with a clean slate tax wise.

My IT career only began in my late 30's, following my return from a round-the-world 16 month trip after selling my house in 1998 and legging it with the positive equity, but kept the endowments going. I put a lot of the proceeds into a one year savings bond which paid 8.5% at the time, a rate unheard of now.

During my travels I'd decided to change my life before it was too late. Upon return I trained and acquired an MSCE and the world of IT in the financial world beckoned. I was working at Royal Bank of Canada when the financial crisis struck in the noughties and my mortgage was with Northern Rock. Oh, the memories.

Apologies for the side-track

JoeEngland

shinytop wrote: »

Also IT, also on a countdown with just over a week left :eek:. I'd like to be able to reassure you but it gets more excruciating as it gets closer

I know that feeling. I finish tomorrow lunchtime and the last few weeks have been excruciating beyond belief. Just want my freedom now!

Anonymous101

JoeEngland wrote: »

I know that feeling. I finish tomorrow lunchtime and the last few weeks have been excruciating beyond belief. Just want my freedom now!

Not long now Joe... Enjoy your last morning in work!

JoeEngland

Anonymous101 wrote: »

Not long now Joe... Enjoy your last morning in work!

Wehay, I'm now officially retired from the rat race, although I may look for some PT work. Can't say I'm sad to leave IT! Giving up FT work now has been forced on me by health issues caused by sitting at a desk all day, but it is the right time as I've been demoralised by work for several years. I'm really looking forward to the freedom to do other things and be able to relax more.

The big thing on my retirement to-do list is to get the house and garden tidied up and then have it valued. Other things I plan to do are resurrect my writing hobby, join the library, go out for walks, and join the U3A.

crv1963

JoeEngland wrote: »

Wehay, I'm now officially retired from the rat race, although I may look for some PT work. Can't say I'm sad to leave IT! Giving up FT work now has been forced on me by health issues caused by sitting at a desk all day, but it is the right time as I've been demoralised by work for several years. I'm really looking forward to the freedom to do other things and be able to relax more.

The big thing on my retirement to-do list is to get the house and garden tidied up and then have it valued. Other things I plan to do are resurrect my writing hobby, join the library, go out for walks, and join the U3A.

Congratulations and enjoy yourself, I'm still busy planning, getting our house in order literally prior to the jump. Tree Surgeon coming this evening to see what needs felling, trimming and made generally more manageable.

Gardening is definitely high on my list of retirement joys to do, as opposed to the general just being able to squeeze enough time to cut the lawn and cut the hedges!

Well done and wishing you a happy, healthy time.

JoeEngland

crv1963 wrote: »

Congratulations and enjoy yourself, I'm still busy planning, getting our house in order literally prior to the jump. Tree Surgeon coming this evening to see what needs felling, trimming and made generally more manageable.

Gardening is definitely high on my list of retirement joys to do, as opposed to the general just being able to squeeze enough time to cut the lawn and cut the hedges!

Well done and wishing you a happy, healthy time.

Thanks. Are you planning to sell up and move too?