Semi retire at 55

LHW99

It says I have 5 more years to contribute. I have 29 full years , and 16 missing. These were worked outside the UK.

Are these years included in your old pension(s), or could you have eg a small EU state pension somewhere?

p00hsticks

1_robbo said:

Brynsam said:

Have you factored in what would happen if your wife lost her job or was otherwise unable to continue to earn? Half a million pounds sounds (and is) a lot of money, but you could be talking about 30 to 40 years of retirement.

Myself and wife also both only child so at some point will inherit parents houses, not really factoring that in right now though.

Best not to make that assumption  - with people generally living so much longer these days, but in often experiencing failing general health / dementia etc, there's a chance that they may wish to use some of the money currently tied up in the property to pay for better care or simply make life more comfortable down the line....

eastcorkram

LHW99 said:

It says I have 5 more years to contribute. I have 29 full years , and 16 missing. These were worked outside the UK.

Are these years included in your old pension(s), or could you have eg a small EU state pension somewhere?

The 16 years were worked in Ireland. That's more than enough to qualify for a partial pension. I've tried, and never managed to get a straight answer, about whether or not it's possible to get a partial pension from one country, while getting a full one from another.
There is plenty of online stuff about having two partial ones , to make a full one in effect. But I'm sure I read somewhere that if you've qualified for a full one, then the partial one doesn't count. 
It would be great if I did end up with something from those 16 years, but it appears all I can do is wait.

saucer

I can’t see that you would have a problem claiming the pension you are entitled to in each country. EU arrangements are outlined here https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/retire-abroad/state-pensions-abroad/index_en.htm 
I can’t see that full versus partial is an issue, although you would need to be mindful that the retirement age might be different in different countries. 

eastcorkram

saucer said:

I can’t see that you would have a problem claiming the pension you are entitled to in each country. EU arrangements are outlined here https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/retire-abroad/state-pensions-abroad/index_en.htm 
I can’t see that full versus partial is an issue, although you would need to be mindful that the retirement age might be different in different countries. 

Proper derailing the thread now, sorry.
But you'll see that all of the examples on that link are partial qualifications in each country.
I've spoken to the FPC here, and I've had face to face meeting with social welfare office in Ireland, and neither would give a straight answer.
The following is the final bullet point in conditions you must meet to qualify for a pro rata pension in Ireland. I meet all the other qualifications.

• You do not qualify for a pension under EU regulations or under reciprocal arrangements with other countries (or you only qualify for a pension at a lower rate than this pro-rata pension would give you).
• So I read that as saying, that if I qualify for a full UK pension, then I don't qualify for a partial Irish one.