Would it be foolish to stop work at 52?

Albermarle

It’s interesting  to see the range of responses, from ‘you’ve got enough,go for it’ to ‘it’s nowhere near enough’ and to ‘you’ll be sponging’.  And I think I will ask on a board where people are already retired too, to see their view.  The view of those still grafting and those who’ve stopped can be quite different.

Many people on this board are already retired . Another response was that you may just about have enough by the time you are 52, but another two or three years at work would give you a better buffer against the unexpected .

jennystarpepper

I'm shocked at the 'sponging' comments, especially as we do not know much about your family.

I have stopped working at 51, my husband works and he is happy with this.  I for many years worked 7 days a week, not every week but many. My husband had the clothes on his back, an overdraft and 2 kids when we met.  I paid for holidays, CSA  and numerous other things, did I consider him to be a 'sponger', no, we supported each other. 

I was in a cruddy job and he told me to leave, I can work again if I want. As someone else said life is too short, do what makes you happy. 

JGB1955

I retired at 58, but had already put plans in action to (steadily) reduce my hours to 3 days a week.  It was liberating! I worked out how much I needed to save to 'pay my way' until both my Civil Service and Local Government pensions kicked in at 60.  I began to enjoy my work more, when every working day (Mon/Wed/Fri) was followed by a day off.  Now I have a full State Pension, I'm better off than I've ever been in the past 10 years.  Go for it....but on YOUR terms.

Albermarle

JGB1955 said:

I retired at 58, but had already put plans in action to (steadily) reduce my hours to 3 days a week.  It was liberating! I worked out how much I needed to save to 'pay my way' until both my Civil Service and Local Government pensions kicked in at 60.  I began to enjoy my work more, when every working day (Mon/Wed/Fri) was followed by a day off.  Now I have a full State Pension, I'm better off than I've ever been in the past 10 years.  Go for it....but on YOUR terms.

As discussed many times on this forum , only some types of jobs lend themselves to reducing days/hours.
In some roles it is not possible to be unavailable during the working week ( or even holidays ) and/or you have to catch up with unfinished work during the working days. So you just get paid 40% less  for probably doing a similar amount of work  

michaels

IF you wok part time you could pay all your income into a sipp, have it uplifted by 20% even if you haven't actually paid any tax on it because it is below the personal allowance and then draw it out using personal allowance/tfls and make the 20% as profit - should be affordable if you can live on DH salary.

Mick70

52 in a job I now hate , but will have to work til 55-57 before I have enough pension provision to leave , stress of the job is awful , roll on retirement 
it all depends how much pension you want I suppose 

Kim1965

michaels said:

IF you wok part time you could pay all your income into a sipp, have it uplifted by 20% even if you haven't actually paid any tax on it because it is below the personal allowance and then draw it out using personal allowance/tfls and make the 20% as profit - should be affordable if you can live on DH salary.

Agree with this. A couple of days a week work provides structure and is a good stepping stone to full retirement.As Micheals points out it is also v tax efficient way to boost sipps.  Personally despite many interests and hobbies i would struggle to fill 7 days a week. Going cold turkey could be difficult for me. 

robatwork

To get back on track... just a general comment about this particular forum. As well as being one of the most useful and realistic resources for UK (pre) pensioners, it tends to err on the side of financial surety. I've seen threads where £30k or even £40k wasn't seen as enough to live comfortably in retirement.

Obviously it depends on your lifestyle, but just bear it in mind. In your position I'd be leaving my detested job as soon as I could. 

In the unlikely worst case there are still jobs available to people in their 50s. 

Kim1965

robatwork said:

To get back on track... just a general comment about this particular forum. As well as being one of the most useful and realistic resources for UK (pre) pensioners, it tends to err on the side of financial surety. I've seen threads where £30k or even £40k wasn't seen as enough to live comfortably in retirement.

Obviously it depends on your lifestyle, but just bear it in mind. In your position I'd be leaving my detested job as soon as I could. 

In the unlikely worst case there are still jobs available to people in their 50s. 

It depends very much on what your income is during your working life. The forum tends to have high earners, the levels of pension provision is way higher than the average. The size of dc pots to pension income errs on the side of caution and most want to pass it on as inheritance. 
 30 k as a couple at state retirement age is  fairly easily attainable, retiring at 52 is trickier. 

ex-pat_scot

a couple of reflections, from someone of the same (ish) age.

1. you can stop, if you don't like things as they are. Financially, it works but without much wriggle room.
2. what happens if your OH income dries up? Sadly at this age it is quite possible that redundancy, or ill-health, or a new management, or even more subtle work pressures, means that their £3,000pm dries up.
How would you cover this? Would you go back to work? Can you earn enough in another job, if you had stopped and wanted to re-start? Could your OH realistically find something and at a similar level, if they wanted or needed another job?
Some work can be pretty brutal with no way back after a period of absence. You might find that your / OH skills are viewed as stale very quickly, and that you lose certification depending on your profession.
Others can be rather lucrative, perhaps doing consulting. 
Only you know the fragility of your work and the broader opportunities likely
3. If you stop, then you're not using your personal allowance. It might be sensible to get a low stress or part time job, possibly unrelated to your current one, to earn efficiently to at least £13,000 ish PA.  
4. what about NI? Do you know how many years of entitlement you have to the new SP?  If you are below the 35, then would a part time role earning just above the minimum required to accrue NI credit be sensible?
5. If you stop, then might be sensible to consider your BTL income and for it to all come to you rather than OH. I'm presuming you pay BR tax on it between you at present, and if you become a non tax payer then it would be sensible for it (and its income) to be in your name.
6. You are NOT sponging. The shared workload of the family unit should be measured in far more than net salary, and I'm sure there are plenty of ways in which you will ensure that you have a balanced approach to effort and reward as a team.

I'm in a similar boat to Mick70. Huge stress, really not enjoying at all, but have to grind on to at least 55. My wife works her socks off for a pittance and everything is shared.
 
You've got far more employment options than me. Lucky thing!