I am suffering from "The Fear"

sheslookinhot

bluenose1 said:

One of my idle Saturday morning thoughts is I might consider asking for a career break as I hit my target number in December 22 if no VR offered in the meantime. 

I do fear retiring financially even though I have no reason to, though I fear not retiring in the next 12 months more.
Totally had enough of work and the stress and bureaucracy of it all, fortunately I am in a good team with friends who are like minded. 

Think about what is causing you stress and start implementing stress avoidance techniques. If your that close forget about the bureaucracy.  As I neared the finishing line I just concentrated on doing the job and ignored all the bureaucratic !!!!!!. 

c'est_moi

Albermarle said:

and I am 5 years short on NI contributions

If you are a 'FIRE devotee' you presumably are aware that you can buy these extra years and they are an absolute bargain/no brainer to do so ?

Yes, I am well aware, and will be making my first voluntary payment this year - the lower rate which I will qualify for as an exam invigilator. I intend to do this every year until I am fully paid up.

pensionpawn

bluenose1 said:

One of my idle Saturday morning thoughts is I might consider asking for a career break as I hit my target number in December 22 if no VR offered in the meantime. 

I do fear retiring financially even though I have no reason to, though I fear not retiring in the next 12 months more.
Totally had enough of work and the stress and bureaucracy of it all, fortunately I am in a good team with friends who are like minded. 

What about reducing your hours? My wife did this last year and is fully retiring later this year. I've reduced my hours since 1st April and have lost most of the crap of the job. It has so many advantages whilst avoiding the cliff edge of switching straight to the deaccumulation stage.

barnstar2077

pensionpawn said:

bluenose1 said:

One of my idle Saturday morning thoughts is I might consider asking for a career break as I hit my target number in December 22 if no VR offered in the meantime. 

I do fear retiring financially even though I have no reason to, though I fear not retiring in the next 12 months more.
Totally had enough of work and the stress and bureaucracy of it all, fortunately I am in a good team with friends who are like minded. 

What about reducing your hours? My wife did this last year and is fully retiring later this year. I've reduced my hours since 1st April and have lost most of the crap of the job. It has so many advantages whilst avoiding the cliff edge of switching straight to the deaccumulation stage.

I dropped down to four days myself about six months or so ago.  It completely changed my life.  Gone is that feeling in the pit of my stomach as I see another mind numbing week stretch out before me.

pensionpawn

barnstar2077 said:

pensionpawn said:

bluenose1 said:

One of my idle Saturday morning thoughts is I might consider asking for a career break as I hit my target number in December 22 if no VR offered in the meantime. 

I do fear retiring financially even though I have no reason to, though I fear not retiring in the next 12 months more.
Totally had enough of work and the stress and bureaucracy of it all, fortunately I am in a good team with friends who are like minded. 

What about reducing your hours? My wife did this last year and is fully retiring later this year. I've reduced my hours since 1st April and have lost most of the crap of the job. It has so many advantages whilst avoiding the cliff edge of switching straight to the deaccumulation stage.

I dropped down to four days myself about six months or so ago.  It completely changed my life.  Gone is that feeling in the pit of my stomach as I see another mind numbing week stretch out before me.

Also, once you've convinced your management that you're now only continuing to work because it suits you and that "you'll stop as soon as the fun stops" the pressure just falls away. They now know that you'll not put up with the !!!!!! your under 55 colleagues still have to 5 days a week. Coming back to the OPs point that does then tend to delay pulling the rip cord, however for positive reasons rather than anxiety. My pot is nowhere near as large as some on this forum however as my strategy has always been to exhaust my pot over the term, having both secured full SP's, we fairly immune to 'one more day / slightly larger pot' syndrome. Tomorrow isn't promised. Make the most of the next phase of your life 

Albermarle

pensionpawn said:

bluenose1 said:

One of my idle Saturday morning thoughts is I might consider asking for a career break as I hit my target number in December 22 if no VR offered in the meantime. 

I do fear retiring financially even though I have no reason to, though I fear not retiring in the next 12 months more.
Totally had enough of work and the stress and bureaucracy of it all, fortunately I am in a good team with friends who are like minded. 

What about reducing your hours? My wife did this last year and is fully retiring later this year. I've reduced my hours since 1st April and have lost most of the crap of the job. It has so many advantages whilst avoiding the cliff edge of switching straight to the deaccumulation stage.

As pointed out in similar threads, reducing days/hours is not really practical in some jobs. If you have a certain area of responsibility, and with no direct back up and/or specific knowledge/experience, then you often get contacted/involved on your days off anyway.
For this reason I went for the cliff edge, but after a long handover period to a new person, many goodbyes to customers etc., so at least I had some time to get used to the idea. 

Bobinyorkshire

I dropped both my pay grade (and responsibility) and hours and this as helped me to continue both working for longer and getting used to a reduced salary. I had to move jobs to do it, but it’s helped on the road to retirement. This forum is great for discussing and reading the plans others have and knowing your not alone.

pensionpawn

Albermarle said:

pensionpawn said:

bluenose1 said:

One of my idle Saturday morning thoughts is I might consider asking for a career break as I hit my target number in December 22 if no VR offered in the meantime. 

I do fear retiring financially even though I have no reason to, though I fear not retiring in the next 12 months more.
Totally had enough of work and the stress and bureaucracy of it all, fortunately I am in a good team with friends who are like minded. 

What about reducing your hours? My wife did this last year and is fully retiring later this year. I've reduced my hours since 1st April and have lost most of the crap of the job. It has so many advantages whilst avoiding the cliff edge of switching straight to the deaccumulation stage.

As pointed out in similar threads, reducing days/hours is not really practical in some jobs. If you have a certain area of responsibility, and with no direct back up and/or specific knowledge/experience, then you often get contacted/involved on your days off anyway.
For this reason I went for the cliff edge, but after a long handover period to a new person, many goodbyes to customers etc., so at least I had some time to get used to the idea. 

I appreciate that reduced hours work better for some professions than others, however we all have the right to ask for it. My wife is a supermarket manager and fortunately her company has been very accomodating in allowing her to gradually chipp away at her hours / days even if she is still scheduled shift patterns to her frustration. I work in education where courses arrive with gaps in between and I have agreed with my management that I take the gaps in between as my reduced contract rather than a set period each week. That's perfect for me as I now work around 6-8 weeks full on, 3-4 weeks full off. I also set an 'out of office' announcement before my breaks stating that I will respond to any enquiries asap after my return and that my manager is the point of contact in my absence. However as I mentioned above I sowed the seeds for my reduced hours request months in advance by subtly communicating that I could walk away from the job if we couldn't agree a revised contract. Being able to access your pot and managing your manager is key. Yes, the pressure remains in the team to continue to do other teams work etc, however my boss knows that none of that can continue to come my direction as I have a specific function to deliver when 'in the office'. We all have individual circumstances however I firmly believe ensuring that your management knows that you only turn up because it suits you is key to a happier working life