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Planning early retirement

2

Comments

  • bluenose1
    bluenose1 Posts: 2,767 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Have you considered is there any ways to boost your retired income now whilst you are still working. Many people put additional into pension, with most schemes there is the added advantage of salary sacrifice.
    Have you also considered your income in retirement and the most tax effective way to withdraw it.
    If your annual income will be less than £12,500 definitely worth considering the £2880 pension contributions you can make in retirement each year which will get topped up to £3660. A nice annual boost to retirement income.
    I am planning to retire in 16 months and want to be able to save some if my income for future expenses - boilers, beds, white goods etc, household maintenance and items that need replacing in general.
    I have madeca tough list of how often I expect items will need replacing and worked on the annual cost equivalent.
    Money SPENDING Expert

  • I hate my job and there is little interaction with colleagues due to type of work we do. I have posted my current SOA above #8 (I usually post on How much have you saved) compared to retirement budget. I will be increasing heating & would like to start swimming again as it is good for my medical condition, so also need to account for that.

    Thanks for the links Albermarle I will look at those.

    A car is essential but I was hoping current car will last a good few years till it’s falling apart and not financially viable to fix and use equity in house once sold to buy replacement. So far only done 14000 miles & no major problems. Has no timing belt.
    0% credit card £1360 & 0% Car Loan £7500 ~ paid in full JAN 2020 = NOW DEBT FREE 🤗
    House sale OCT 2022 = NOW MORTGAGE FREE 🤗
    House purchase completed FEB 2023 🥳🍾 Left work. 🤗

    Retired at 55 & now living off the equity £10k a year (until pensions start at 60 & 67).

    Previous Savings diary https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5597938/get-a-grip/p1

    Living off savings diary
    https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6429003/escape-to-the-country-living-off-savings/p1
  • State pension age is 67 have just checked :D

    Off to find paperwork & create gateway account
    0% credit card £1360 & 0% Car Loan £7500 ~ paid in full JAN 2020 = NOW DEBT FREE 🤗
    House sale OCT 2022 = NOW MORTGAGE FREE 🤗
    House purchase completed FEB 2023 🥳🍾 Left work. 🤗

    Retired at 55 & now living off the equity £10k a year (until pensions start at 60 & 67).

    Previous Savings diary https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5597938/get-a-grip/p1

    Living off savings diary
    https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6429003/escape-to-the-country-living-off-savings/p1
  • Hi, ive been following the thread and wondered if the Pensions advisory Service would be a good organisation to assess my personal pension, or would it be better to use Unbiased.com? Are they similar organisations, would using the former lead to an IFA potentially contacting me?
  • Ceme3000
    Ceme3000 Posts: 217 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    OP your lifestyle and outgoings are very similar to mine. I also hated work but was fortunate enough to be kicked out through redundancy so the decision to quit was made for me. Am now at aged 53, living off savings on a similar budget to yourself.

    You will get the 'won't you get bored' line, and comments from people who seem to doubt you can have a worthwhile life on a limited budget but if it makes you feel happier then go for it! Personally I don't get bored, I just do what I enjoy at a slower more leisurely pace. Do working people get bored in the majority of hours that they are not at work, and "stare at the walls"?

    My advice would be to try living on your proposed budget to test the waters, and as other posters have said, make sure you have a healthy contingency fund for the boiler, car etc. If it doesn't quite work out financially, there is always the option of finding a part time job in the future, perhaps one you would really enjoy.
  • lisyloo
    lisyloo Posts: 30,094 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Ceme3000 wrote: »
    Do working people get bored in the majority of hours that they are not at work, and "stare at the walls"?

    Working people have a lot less leisure time after doing their chores and also may have disposable income coming in so they might not need to budget tightly.

    It’s absolutely fine to have whatever lifestyle you want, posters are just saying that a lot of people find life does change and you can get a better idea of your budget if you understand how it might change.

    For example, Many people with families might find they spend more time with children/grandchildren and want to treat them now and again.

    The OP does seem to have an idea of their budget and future lifestyle.
  • LHW99
    LHW99 Posts: 5,376 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Hi, ive been following the thread and wondered if the Pensions advisory Service would be a good organisation to assess my personal pension, or would it be better to use Unbiased.com? Are they similar organisations, would using the former lead to an IFA potentially contacting me?
    I don't think they are that similar. The PensionsAdvisory provides guidance as to your options, which can be useful, but is not advice. Unbiased is, I think, a financial advisor directory, which you could use to find an IFA who could give regulated advice.
  • As I am not retired myself yet (hope to be by the end of the year) I can only comment regarding my proposed budget, I would say you need to increase your gas/electric and allow more for petrol. What about broadband? I am allowing £250 a month for car depreciation, changing every 5 years on a Yaris sized car as well.


    You could be correct for yourself, anyway good luck!
  • Albermarle
    Albermarle Posts: 28,967 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Seventh Anniversary Name Dropper
    Hi, ive been following the thread and wondered if the Pensions advisory Service would be a good organisation to assess my personal pension, or would it be better to use Unbiased.com? Are they similar organisations, would using the former lead to an IFA potentially contacting me?
    The pensions advisory service is a government website , so they are not trying to sell you anything , or offer personalised advice , It is there for education and guidance .
    The linked 'Pension Wise' organisation offers free one hour telephone appointments for anyone Over 50 , who wants to discuss their current pension situation and ask questions . However again they will not offer personalised advice but just general guidance and clarification of your options ( as it is a complicated area ).
    Both will say at some point something along the lines of ' if you are still not sure what to do then we recommend that you take financial advice ' this could be a good idea but they have to say it to cover themselves .
    If you think you would benefit from professional advice then you need to find an IFA ( Independent Financial Advisor) . However there will be a significant charge and if you are talking about less than £50K , they probably will not be interested anyway .
  • Gandhi
    Gandhi Posts: 12 Forumite
    10 Posts Second Anniversary
    On a more general theme, while I’m also all for early retirement, to plan on a budget that tight would make retirement seem a bit premature.

    While possible in today’s terms, there’s very little room to manoeuvre with increasing prices and surprise bills. Hopefully they don’t amount to huge amounts when averaged over time, but I think it’s something to be considered.

    If you loathe your job so much, perhaps a bit of part time work to cover your day to day costs while leaving your retirement nest egg invested in the background would be an idea?
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