Should I stay or should I go - teacher

NedS

Bobon_Time said:

I have savings of £170,000 in premium bonds/ISA/High interest savings. Also £30k in AVC.

If my son was out of Uni I would happily go at the end of this year at 54 and work in a less stressful environment for a year and top up using my savings.

I would start planning financially for your exit. Personally, I would try to avoid taking your DB pension early, or at least delay taking it as long as is practicably possible to minimise any actuarial reduction.

To maximise your £170,000 savings, I would look to feed as much of that as you can into your pension until your retirement to benefit from the tax relief, knowing you will then be able to draw upon it in the early years of retirement utilising your £12,570 tax free allowance whilst you have no other income. Even more beneficial if you are a high rate tax payer now.

Whether you feed any excess into a SIPP, AVCs for your work pension, or through purchase of additional DB benefits (if that is possible with your scheme) helping to offset any future actuarial reduction from taking it early is the fine detail, the important point is to maximise any tax relief in the short term.

On a personal note, I find myself in a similar position to you. Like you, I've decided that I've had enough and I'm going. The spreadsheets are out and the planning is now all around a date. I think once you've made the decision you are going and have a date to work towards, it becomes more tolerable so you may decide you can tolerate another 18 months until Summer 2024. But that's a personal decision for you. I'm guessing that being a teacher there are restrictions about what times of year you can go.

Jimmithecat

I would suggest you join the Facebook group ‘life  after teaching - exit the classroom and thrive’ straight away - there are over 107,700 of us on there and it is full of good advice.
a recent post was from a headteacher who took early retirement….

Watch ‘the pit pony’ video attached to the site.

Watch David Fountain’s videos on YouTube - he is also very helpful for specific TP advice.

I found Wesleyan very helpful and I hope you do also.

Once you have done your research your decision should hopefully become quite straightforward 

Good luck!

xylophone

If you are as unhappy and stressed as you indicate above, it seems to me that it is unfair on you and your family and on your pupils to stick it out to what is likely to be a bitter end.

You have enough in savings to finance your son at the current rate for another couple of years - after that, it's up to him.

Have you explored the possibility of obtaining a job outside teaching as soon as your contractual obligation has been met?

daveyjp

If all is not well, don't be 'brave' get help and get signed off.  Use that time to consider things in the round.

Senior staff being away for an extended period can often shock those around you to realise things need to change.

LHW99

diystarter7 said:

LEAVE NOW

Life is short, you are in a relatively good position. I'm

You can semi-retire at 55, but we just left everyone financial situations, spending habits are different so difficult to say based on what you have posted

However, I'm clear about you leaving as being that unhappy, please leave but you will miss the school hols

Maybe - but Septembers feel WONDERFUL!!

zagubov

I can't offer advice but in your situation I'd want to get get signed off. Maybe seek work outside of teaching to support you until you can access your pension without penalty. 
School hols are generous but rubbish - you pay top dollar for all your holidays and don't get away from kids and, if you're not single, they're useless if your other half doesn't have them too.
Maybe starting your new job on 1/9, 1/1 or 1/4 would optimise your pension contributions as well as ensuring you collect your holiday pay, but some say you should also pick a leaving date after your birthday.
Leave your paperwork etc. in good order so your workmates/pupils know what to do next.
Leave on good terms and if you've a spare room leave an advert in your staff room so you can get a lodger if you need one to help pay off any residual mortgage.

mark5

For me its not just a financial decision your making here its a health/lifestyle one. 

Stress/anxiety are both horrible things that take over your life. 

Personally I would take the 25k pension and top up with some teaching work, tutoring or even something completely different, to pass some time, top up your income etc. 

This isn’t financial advice more health advice, I suffered from really bad anxiety which was work related I would never want to go back to that position again.

theoretica

If your household no longer had your wage, would your son be eligible for any increased loans or other support?  Even so, £7k for a third year (and being clear with him that it will not continue) doesn't seem impossible with the savings you have. 

Do you have a final salary pension?  They usually have some arrangements for a few years of lower earnings at the end of a career not to impact them negatively.

HRH_MUngo

My husband left teaching 18 years ago at the age of 55 because, like you , and for similar reasons, he didn't want the stress. He took his pension, actuarily reduced, because we needed to live on it for the next part of our lives, which was to live in Spain with its lower cost of living, for eight years.

I'm not suggesting you go to live in Spain (and it's not cheaper now anyway!), but if the stress is getting to you, just go.  Life is too short, and my husband's mental health was so much better after he left.  He has never regretted going, and has never missed any part of it, not even the students.

If you like the actual teaching part of the job, why not just be a classroom teacher for a few years?

Whether to take your pension, I can't advise on as I have neither the knowledge nor the expertise.

Pensions_matter_2

As someone who left a high paying role at as a result of stress, I can totally sympathise. Staying on but signing off would not have worked for me at least, as the job and cause of stress was never going to get better. I took a part time role in a lower grade job paying much less (but enough so I didnt have to raid my pension funds) to tide me over and make up my state pension years (now full) and then retired completely. I worked out I could manage on the numbers I had. Your health is the most important thing, and you can always go for part time work in a different role,