I feel like retiring at 60 - 65 is too old

Terron

itwasntme001 said:

Those in their 50s/60s now have had the advantage of:

- rising real wages

- low property prices relative wages

- DB pension schemes and GARs

- falling interest rates boosting asset values and reducing the cost of debt

The ignorance of youth.

I bought my first house in 1989 - interest rates were in double digits. The biggest house price crash in history was just about to happen. Despite having payed a deposit of about 35% I went into negative equity.

Real wages have started rising recently. I got one 3% rise in the last 13 years I was employed.

GARs were around when I started paying into a pension. They were also mis-sold. I was lucky to go with a company that didn't have major problems, but having to rely on luck for you pensions is not ideal. It has just made it's first payment of ~£4.5k, about double what I paid in in the 80s.

DB pensions schemes for public servants are still available, though watered down a bit. Also for a few private sector jobs. Many private sector DB schemes weren't as good. I have two. The first has payment increases once in payment "entirely at the discretion of the trustees". Since the second takeover in 2003 there have been just two 1% rises. The second covered a period when the government mandated a minimum annual rise of inflation up to a cap of 5% so that has some inflation proofing. Of course that was closed so for the last ten years I worked there I paid into a DC scheme. I have transferred that to a SIPP. It is the largest part of my pension.

High inflation reduces the cost of debt, but as a saver that largely did not help me. I lost my job in 2013, and it is difficult to get a new one in your 50s when you worked all your life in IT. So then I took my savings and went into BTL. That has been made a little harder now but not much. Low interest rates help those starting. There was almost a decade leading up to the credit crunch when it was too easy to enter, for reason directly related to the credit crunch. But having lost money on my first two properties (bought as homes) I was reluctant to start then.

ComicGeek

I don't see myself ever retiring, I love my job and my work - it's a non manual job that I could easily do part time if I wanted to reduce hours. I enjoy the vast majority of work days, couldn't bear to have a job I didn't enjoy. Life pre retirement needn't be unenjoyable, life's too short for that - my brother in law passed away a couple of months ago at just 41, that really hit home.

My pension pots and savings are purely for supporting my wife and son if I were to die, and for paying for holidays and new cars if I don't, and I have set all this up so that my wife (chronic pain sufferer who wouldn't be able to work now) is financially secure for life.

Terron

CreditCardChris said:

I'm sorry if this comes across as insensitive to our older community members but I'm 31 and absolutely hate the thought of retiring at 60+.

I am 61. My health has declined a bit, but before the lockdown I was starting to enjoy life more than any time since I started working. I am pretty much retired so I have plenty of time. I live near a country park rather than having to live near where the work is. I celebrated my 60th birthday at a Michelin starred restaurant with the best meal of my life. In January I went to South Africa to watch a couple of tests and see some wildlife. Lockdown has put things on hold for now, but early 60s is not too old to enjoy yourself.

When I started work (1981) the retirement age was 65. At my first job the pension scheme was only for managers. After a few years I was working a lot of overtime (over 100 hours some weeks) and I decided I did not want to work until I was 65. So I put some money into pensions that would pay out at 60 (well 61 as they are paid yearly in arrears).

I haven't worked full time since 2013, but I didn't have the income to really enjoy it until recently. I had enough money to live without working until my pensions kicked in, but with little to spare for luxuries. I put the money to work so that I could live off the income from it, and now I have the pensions on top, which allow for a good standard of life.

You have several options. Save a lot so you can stop work early. Find work you enjoy so you won't want to retire. Set up a business and employ people to do most of the work, so you can have lots of free time whilst still getting an income.

Murphy_The_Cat

Terron said:

....................................... Find work you enjoy so you won't want to retire. Set up a business ****** (and employ people to do most of the work, so you can have lots of free time whilst still getting an income.)

If you can find work that you enjoy and is financially rewarding, your well on the way.

**** don't employ anyone as they can be an enormous PITA who can sap your will to live.

p.s. if you do start a business, don't give any credit to your customers

DPB61

I am going to retire in another year or so which will be in my early 60s. I have a decent DB pension, some saved cash for possible bad times and no debts at all. Work has not stimulated me for more than a decade probably longer and I have been drifting towards retirement. I could carry on drifting for possibly another 5 years BUT I feel that the younger generation are getting battered from all angles (I have 3 young adults of my own) . The University route for some has been a big rip off with course fees, accommodation fees, peer pressure be out partying a lot and then come away from that after 3-4 or so years heavily in debt and no prospects. My retiring early will mean that I will be still contributing to society by buying goods, having holidays, eating out etc I will be far more content with life as I have done my bit, have nothing to prove and no pressure to be or achieve anything in life that I do not want to do of my own volition. I young person coming out of education to try to get work will be feeling pressure to be part of society and to contribute to society and see something of a future. So my little contribution of getting off the working treadmill may help a younger person with far more enthusiasm, need, probably better educated. Well that's my view anyway.

Ginger123456789

I retired when I was 60 - put my NHS Pension in my pocket and said goodbye. I worked hard as a nurse for many years ( heroes I think they are now called. Me I was a simple hard working psychiatric nurse. No need to clap on my behalf thank you ) That was a couple of years ago now best thing I ever did. Retire as early as you can that would be my advice anyway. 

Ganga

Its alright retiring early as long as you have something to do with your life/time. What are you going to do? sit on the couch and watch tv? also having money and nothing to do with it is a waste ( i know you can leave it for your children ) but what is the point of saving loads and having a pension pot that looks like a telephone number if you have not planed out how to enjoy it.
By the way i am 70 next month and still go to the gym 3 times a week ( well i did till it closed but will return ) and can carry my grandaughters round on my back when playing even if my son worries that it will cause me major problems 

JustAnotherSaver

Stubod said:

Ideally I wanted to retire after leaving school but that's wasn't really practical!

Read the OP & thought ... spot on. Exactly how I feel.

Read this post in the quote & thought .... spot on. I thought I was an only one. lol

jimpwarsop

OP, *IF* you can find a partner willing to do a 32 hour a week job, and you have  child at 50, and you have mortgage free accommodation, then (currently) you would have a joint income of £400 a week from partners salary and UC+ child benefit.

I believe, if you can stand the pain, the 32 hours a week can be split.

OK £400 a week isn't a fortune, but hey, you dont have to work.

MaxiRobriguez

I'm of a similar age (33) and came to a similar conclusion that I wanted out of the workplace way before 60. Currently I'm on target to do it by 50, having started in earnest about 4 years ago.

I'm sacrificing £25k annually into my pension, and putting around £5k annually into an ISA. I use the rest to pay bills, mortgage and have a fair sized pot for weekend jaunts and an annual all inclusive holiday. It seems like a good balance. To give more room on the pension funding, I keep our mortgage LTV high and don't overpay either on the premise that inflation may at some point eat at the debt and even if it doesn't, avoiding 40% tax on pension contributions and using that to pay off the debt in the future is a better move.

I'm anticipating over the next 17 years to end up with a pot of around £750k in the pension and around £150k in the ISA, and that will cover early retirement for both me and the wife (who will receive an NHS pension at 67+ too).

But then I'm well paid, quite frugal, and I'm easily entertained by going on a walk, reading or playing computer games hours on end, so it makes getting into an early retirement position quite straightforward.

If you want it enough, you can get it if you plan for it.