How much to live on

Organgrinder

At least they're not using the PLSA figures!!!

Organgrinder

Well my pension and stocks and shares ISA have lost 2% this week, mostly since the budget but that said, global markets are down.

It's caused me to take stock of my current position.

Mortgage 1.64% £54k
Short term debt 0% £22k

ISAs 5% £57k
Savings/bonds 5.5% £27k

So effectively debt free. Currently have just over £40k in private pension but with projected final salary pensions of £23k at my expected retirement date. Currently saving approx £15k pa into pension pot and savings. Projected to have £80k in pension pot plus £40k in savings. Mrs O has approx £50k in pension pot plus her projected final salary pension of approx £7k and is currently saving £6k per annum.

So when we want to retire we should have £30k pa between us, no debts and pots/savings of almost £200k. We will draw down on that till we reach SPA where our income gets boosted to approx £53k pa.

I'm starting to think we could even think about retiring a year earlier.

HillsideRetired

Organgrinder said:

Well my pension and stocks and shares ISA have lost 2% this week, mostly since the budget but that said, global markets are down.

It's caused me to take stock of my current position.

Mortgage 1.64% £54k
Short term debt 0% £22k

ISAs 5% £57k
Savings/bonds 5.5% £27k

So effectively debt free. Currently have just over £40k in private pension but with projected final salary pensions of £23k at my expected retirement date. Currently saving approx £15k pa into pension pot and savings. Projected to have £80k in pension pot plus £40k in savings. Mrs O has approx £50k in pension pot plus her projected final salary pension of approx £7k and is currently saving £6k per annum.

So when we want to retire we should have £30k pa between us, no debts and pots/savings of almost £200k. We will draw down on that till we reach SPA where our income gets boosted to approx £53k pa.

I'm starting to think we could even think about retiring a year earlier.

if it works a year earlier do it . be brave and take the leap . one thing is certain you wont get that 12 months back with those early years potentially the best ones in retirement
from my experience , not for the want of trying i have not spent what i thought i would spend in retirement , I must try harder !!

Organgrinder

Well just done the figures. It's certainly doable!

kempiejon

Organgrinder said:

Well just done the figures. It's certainly doable!

I had a plan, finalised in 2005, filled my spreadsheet, it was a 15 year plan. Looking over my finances I was just about ready to get out Christmas 2018 but wasn't brave enough. In April 2019 I ran my numbers, looked affordable, I decided as there was some wrangling at work with redundancies mentioned I'd thought hang on. Pesky Covid shut the country and pushed my exit plan back by another year. 

I guess my point is if you want to get out and can don't miss the opportunity. If I had been bold in 2018/19 I would have had a few extra years retired. 

Organgrinder

It's certainly getting more attractive. The original plan was for 4 years part time (4 days), but it became 5 in order to save for Mrs O to retire at the same time.

She then got notice of over £40k in a pension pot that had been thought to have been decimated in a financial scandal about 30 years ago. 

So with one year of the plan down (well 14 months to be exact), the thought of having 33 months to go is starting to appeal more and more!

louby40

Organgrinder, I say just do it!

 I'm leaving teaching next year at age 56. I told my headteacher (I didn't need to but I'm glad I did).

I do keep panicking and thinking am I doing the right thing but I can't stay in education any longer, totally burnt out and not loving it anymore after so long.

But the numbers are ok and if I'm careful I can manage. So many people say that it's the best thing they did, retiring early. 

blue.peter

louby40 said:

So many people say that it's the best thing they did, retiring early.

Yup. Definitely. I got out at 56, and don't regret it at all. No alarm clock, no travelling to the office, nobody to tell me what to do. As long as the numbers stack up - and do check them carefully - it's absolutely the right thing to do.

Organgrinder

It's going to be another few years yet......however having done the numbers again I do think earlier than planned is achievable.

GunJack

Timescales are what I've been looking at (again) recently, especially as this April our company closed the DB and gave us a relatively generous DC instead. I'm looking at 5 years next month to allow buildup of the new DC to allow me to go at 62 to bridge between DB1 @ 60 (the value of which will be salsac'd into new DC), DB2 @65 and SP @ 67.

Unfortunately we got caught in a mortgage trap after the 2008 GFC (we moved in 2007 ) or I may have been able to go a couple of years earlier, but we are where we are....