(NON FINANCIAL) Retirement plans/ dreams/ discussion.

bluenose1

Hi,
not sure if anyone wants to join in but on Bugslett suggestion:beer: thought we could have a thread to discuss lifestyles, hobbies, travel, interests etc etc that we pursue or intend to when we retire.

I am 2 years and 2 months away from retiring at 55. I change my mind regularly, though at moment hoping to downsize and be on holiday for several months of the year. I wonder after a couple of years of retirement, when my youngest who is 16 is more independent we will choose to base ourselves abroad, Brexit allowing of course.
I run (very slowly) or volunteer to marshall at a weekly local Parkrun and love the social side of the cake, coffee and chat afterwards. Have met some lovely people from all different walks of life and it always cheers me up.
Really looking forward to retiring but fear the loss of income in case I need more money to help kids out with more than I thought for deposits on houses etc etc.

justme111

What do you mean - you "need" more that you thought money to help kids? It does not make sense , they will live with whatever they have from you/not have from you.
Yeah I am tentatively dreaming about relocating to Spain. Will not be good tax wise though..

MallyGirl

I will be 52 next month and DH 2 weeks later - there is no possibility of retirement before 55 but it will probably be more like 60. DD should be off to uni in 18 months (fingers crossed for her) at which point we will able to take holidays when we like and not when school holidays allow.
We have tended to holiday in the UK with the occasional city break but last year we did a 'holiday of a lifetime' to Vancouver Island to see bears and whales. It was fab and showed us that we want to do more of this sort of adventure in the future. We are prepared to work a couple more years to accumulate the extra funds we need for this.
Our van is going in to be converted to a camper next week and we look forward to exploring more of the UK with our big fluffy dogs.
I am not sporty but joined a running club on 4th Jan to meet my resolution to 'move more'. Park run clashes with driving DD to Stagecoach but she'll stop this in the next term or 2, or will pass her driving test and take herself.
Retirement is very much on my mind and 45% of my salary plus 10% from employer is going in to the pension these days - if only I had ramped up when I was younger but I focused on paying off the mortgage. Hey ho!
Apart from travel I would like to do more volunteering, get more exercise (should be able to work on this when Mum's taxi is no longer needed) and get out more in the garden and in the great outdoors.
We have no plans to downsize for some years as we love the house and it is in a very convenient location but eventually I expect we would move West to free up some capital.
For now we have a full and pretty healthy set of 6 parents/step parents but I expect that we will need to help some of them out more as they age. None of them lives close so that is something we will need to bear in mind.

ex-pat_scot

i have five years. I'd like to say "more or less" but it's "more". Won't be "less", as I am very heavily reliant on SIPP access at 55.


I have pipe dreams of lots of exercise - Parkruns, cycling, duathlons, mountain walking, skiing. Trying to get back to an 18 minute Parkrun. Exploring. Touring. Long distance path walking. Camino de Santiago.

What I wont be worrying about is deposits for children's houses. I have 4 (children, not houses). There would never be enough, and I would have to work for a few years extra just to earn the money (I have a huge marginal tax rate, so 2/3 of what I would be paid would get taken off me in tax/ NI and 1/3 as funds for the children.)

I want to enjoy the end of the weekend, without the dread of having to head down to London, and the guilt of not having done enough work over the weekend to keep afloat of my monster workload. I want to be able to make plans on a whim, not to be dictated by the schedules of my children.

I want to wake up one day and think "what should I do today" and decide there and then to do it without any guilt of work avoided, commitments missed, or jobs building up in my absence.

I want to be a lion-tamer.

ex-pat_scot

Counsellor: Well yes. Yes. Of course, it's a bit of a jump isn't it? I mean, er, chartered accountancy to lion taming in one go. You don't think it might be better if you worked your way towards lion taming, say, via banking?

MallyGirl

I am also not factoring support of a grown up child into my retirement plans. She will get quite a sum at 18 which I and family have contributed to over the years. I will help through uni as our earnings mean she won't get the full maintenance loan. There will be little opportunity for a part time job for her as the vet med degree includes a huge amount of work experience which has to be done in the holidays.
After that we would help if we could but I am not working extra years to ensure it.

triplea35

At 62 I still have no plans/desire to retire completely. In recent years since receiving a DB pension and continuing to work, and with mortgage paid off, we have never been better off and are in a very high (comparatively speaking) accumulation phase.
I do worry about my son, his generation generally do not get the perks of DB pensions etc, so I want to help now and the thought of leaving a healthy legacy pleases me.

crv1963

bluenose1 wrote: »

Hi,
not sure if anyone wants to join in but on Bugslett suggestion:beer: thought we could have a thread to discuss lifestyles, hobbies, travel, interests etc etc that we pursue or intend to when we retire.

I am 2 years and 2 months away from retiring at 55. I change my mind regularly, though at moment hoping to downsize and be on holiday for several months of the year.

Really looking forward to retiring but fear the loss of income in case I need more money to help kids out with more than I thought for deposits on houses etc etc.

Good idea bluenose1.

We're some 2-3 years away from retirement, timing is really dependent on two things, either we'll go when I reach the maximum possible DB pension at 58 so 2 years away or when the Gorgeous One aka Mrs CRV reaches 55 in which case it's 3 years and 3 weeks away. Currently I really do enjoy my job but if that changed significantly then I may call it a day and give 3 months notice, take my pension and look for a part time role- a viable option as there are more vacancies in my field than qualified staff.

No plans to downsize, love where we live with easy access to all we need in walking distance. We had planned several nice holidays but that has been scuppered for now with our collection of pets- one diabetic dog who will probably likely live another 10 years and an older cat needing medication twice a day for the rest of her life- again likely another 10 years or so. So likely we'll continue as we are taking separate holidays abroad to family.

We have thought of campervan, maybe a holiday cottage/ flat. I'm quite happy for Mrs CRV to take the lead on this one, so it maybe a case of save the money ready for when we can rather than jump straight in on retirement.

We're preparing for retirement- have replaced all the white goods in the past year- only the washing machine is older than a year, the only unneeded replacement was the fridge and freezer but they were 20 years old. We're trying to age proof as far as possible and my next target is replacement shed (next months payday having earned the money for it with overtime in March). This will enable me to have a workshop area for a bit of woodworking which I probably have more of an interest in than skill in!

I don't fear the loss of income, although as said earlier I enjoy my work so I may take the option of part time just for the fun of it and a couple of hundred pounds extra a week would be good.

With regards children and helping them we've bought both their first car and they had these on the understanding that they run them not us, seems to be working out, youngest just passed his driving test. We do not intend gifting money towards house deposits etc, they have been taught budget skills, both are working and saving, although it is likely we'll buy them a cooker or something in that region of cost when they get their own place- have made no promises!

How to fill the time? Easily, I had a period of ill health 2 years ago and spent the time in the garden, which is large and I have plans to spend a lot of time gardening, we'll be out with the dogs daily in the local countryside, Mrs CRV has hobbies and I intend to become more proficient at woodwork, may do some voluntary work, will do more walking and take a garden design course.

waveydavey48

Do tell more about your camper/dogs please.

We have 2 dogs (retired greyhounds) and a MPV which many people convert (toyota alphard) and have toyed with the idea of going campervanning. What sort of van do you have, where did you get it converted etc.

Thanks.

waveydavey48

Sorry to confuse - my post was really directed to Mallygirl.

AlanP_2

Don't have a definite date in mind for retirement but will be within next 3 years we expect.

Like many we have worked through the big ticket items like new kitchen and conservatory whilst there is an income to fund it and are saving heavily for the end of that income.

My wife is likely to carry on working longer than me as she enjoys her work more, even if she cuts down on days / hours per week.

I'm starting a Gliding Course at the end of this month and I'm hoping that will be an activity that will occupy a day or so a week. I also fish and want to do more of that. I'm learning to play Bridge which should help to keep the brain active.

We've thought about camper vans and I've thought about a narrow-boat. Doubt if either will come to fruition but who knows.

Plan on holidays being a big feature when we have the time for longer trips, pets allowing. There is a dependency on health there obviously but at the moment all good on that front (touching wood).