When is enough enough

Snot

So I find myself increasingly disliking work, the people are great but I've had enough of the stress which only seems to be going up. I'm 49, single, no dependants and mortgage free. I was furloughed for months last year and this really got me thinking about the future.

My out goings are ~15k which I assume will increase if not working as I'd have more time to do stuff, so I'm working on needing 20k pa.

Pension wise I'm think I'm good, deferred DB pension from 65 of ~£25k, 4 yrs short of full SP which I can make up, plus I have a SIPP worth ~£200k.  

In addition, I have £400k in non-pension investments (mainly equity ISAs, plus NS&I, cash) so that will bridge the gap from now till 55, when I start drawing the SIPP.

I’ve tried modelling this with MS Money and some of the other spreadsheets mentioned on the forum and it seems to work, but the inflation aspect confuses me. I think the DB pension can rise by CPI upto 2,5%. 
I've never sacrificed spending to fund my savings, been lucky in having a reasonably well paid job and no desire to have the latest toy nor spend for the sake of it. I opened the SIPP to give myself flexibility and reduce HRT. Haven't ruled out future work but I'd want to do something I enjoy, maybe volunteering or something part time in a completely different field.  

If I was reading this post from somebody else I'd say it was a no brainer, go for it. But I'm struggling with the idea that it's too early to go. 

Maybe I need therapy rather than financial advice :-)

Croeso69

Snot said:

So I find myself increasingly disliking work, the people are great but I've had enough of the stress which only seems to be going up. I'm 49, single, no dependants and mortgage free. I was furloughed for months last year and this really got me thinking about the future.

My out goings are ~15k which I assume will increase if not working as I'd have more time to do stuff, so I'm working on needing 20k pa.

Pension wise I'm think I'm good, deferred DB pension from 65 of ~£25k, 4 yrs short of full SP which I can make up, plus I have a SIPP worth ~£200k.  

In addition, I have £400k in non-pension investments (mainly equity ISAs, plus NS&I, cash) so that will bridge the gap from now till 55, when I start drawing the SIPP.

I’ve tried modelling this with MS Money and some of the other spreadsheets mentioned on the forum and it seems to work, but the inflation aspect confuses me. I think the DB pension can rise by CPI upto 2,5%. 
I've never sacrificed spending to fund my savings, been lucky in having a reasonably well paid job and no desire to have the latest toy nor spend for the sake of it. I opened the SIPP to give myself flexibility and reduce HRT. Haven't ruled out future work but I'd want to do something I enjoy, maybe volunteering or something part time in a completely different field.  

If I was reading this post from somebody else I'd say it was a no brainer, go for it. But I'm struggling with the idea that it's too early to go. 

Maybe I need therapy rather than financial advice :-)

Sorry, but it is a no brainer, go for it.

Albermarle

My out goings are ~15k which I assume will increase if not working as I'd have more time to do stuff, so I'm working on needing 20k pa.

These are pretty low outgoings even for a single person + with maybe 40 years ahead of you , you might to decide to move location , go on lots of holidays ,  take up an expensive hobby , or a new expensive partner etc So I do not think you should just take account of general living expenses in your calculations .

This study shows that £30K is needed for a comfortable retirement .Retirement living standards | Loughborough University (lboro.ac.uk)

If I was reading this post from somebody else I'd say it was a no brainer, go for it. But I'm struggling with the idea that it's too early to go. 

There have been many similar discussions on the forum before and the answers range from 'why have you not retired already ' to 'what are you going to do all day , I would be bored ' and everything inbetween . In the end if you can afford it , then it is a personal decision .

Nebulous2

It's a no-brainer as to whether you can afford it, but the psychology of it is a different thing. 

We invest a lot in conflating who we are with what we do. Disentangling that at retirement is difficult. 

Not meaning to stereotype you, but in my experience that can be particularly so for single people, especially if your friends are also drawn from your colleagues. 

I'm 10 years older than you, with a family around me, when I'm allowed to visit them, with two weeks to go and wondering if I have done the right thing. 

I'm of the view that a drop in hours, and probably grade, for a couple of years is worth it, to prevent that cliff-edge and build up activities in the space left. 

Johnnyboy11

What about heading overseas to live and work? You can afford to take a bit of risk, and if it doesn't work out then just settle somewhere warm and with more favourable tax treatment. Portugal and Cyprus would tick those boxes, or one of the Commonwealth countries?

TVAS

I was going to say overseas. Portugal because they are keen on foreigners if you are able to work remotely you can apply for a digital nomad visa. Or why not go part time? Or sell house and move to a cheaper area if you really want to quit. Or why not quit. Think about retraining to do a role that you might enjoy something that can earn you an income so you have money coming in less expenses because you have a cheaper property and better work life balance and less stress. Pay privately for a full medical check up as you are suffering from stress. Why do I say this? You are single no dependants. If you die, the DB pension I reckon the value is approx £1,000,000 will die with you. Take up Yoga and meditation. Lastly how do you have expenses of 15k p.a. when you have no woman, no kids and no mortgage debt. Use MSE energy to switch suppliers. Complete an expression of wish for the SIPP if you have not already done so. Good luck.

L9XSS

Good luck in what you decide to do. From my point of view, I was in a similar position but with a third less benefits than you, SIPP 190k, DB pension at 65, 18.5k, savings 21k.
At 53 I downgraded work (left) found a FT job that I liked (but 50% less salary). All the stress disappeared overnight. My work life balance is much better and I will continue to work for a little while longer till mortgage is paid. This has worked for me.

michaels

Seems like you will have 34k plus at state retirement age.  Can your other pots get you to this level for the intervening period?  If not does it make sense to take your db early to even out your income before and after SP age?

cfw1994

No-brainer!
https://www.cfiresim.com/14f8303e-0626-4884-ab0a-20661261ef9b might help alleviate your concerns, albeit I lumped your 400k savings and 200k DC pot together. 
Numbers-wise you have no issues at all, IMHO....mentally, well, that's your call: figure out how to spend your days happily, & crack on!

ukdw

If I were you I would look at my income at SP age - which would be about £35k in todays money.  Or about  £30,500 after tax.
To then work out when I could retire at that level of income my starting point would simply to take away £16.5k from current SIPP/Investment holdings to cover they 3 years between DB pension and SP 65 - 68.  Leaving £583k.   Then dividing £583k by £30.5k gives over 19 years (back to age 46) - which means you should easily be able to cover £30.5k annual drawdown from your savings/SIPP assuming you make inflation level returns.   
You could probably afford to push drawdowns up to £33k or £34k -  so nicely above the £20k you need.
So it looks like you are financially independent and have to option to leave your current job the next time it annoys you, either for retirement or for a more enjoyable job.

Albermarle

I'm 10 years older than you, with a family around me, when I'm allowed to visit them, with two weeks to go and wondering if I have done the right thing. 
I'm of the view that a drop in hours, and probably grade, for a couple of years is worth it, to prevent that cliff-edge and build up activities in the space left. 
I am 4 years older than you , ( so 14 years older than the OP)  and could have probably afforded to retire then, but pressed on for longer to just fill the coffers up more, so now I know I can more than afford to retire even if markets turn bad etc .
Plus I do not mind the job and it has a pretty flexible work/life balance .
Going in 3 or 4 months . I think the cliff edge has been dulled by having to be at home all the time anyway due to Covid. 
I am glad I did not retire 12 months ago due to all the lockdowns.