What made you 'pull the trigger'?

NedS

There must be some good leaving stories here. Had a colleague leave giving the required 1 month notice at 4pm, and on totting up their untaken annual leave, noticed they had exactly 1 month of annual leave to take, so walked out at 5pm never to be seen again.

Pat38493

I was actually discussing how much notice to give my employer with my wife recently.

I was thinking that to be nice, I would let them know a year in advance that I'm either going to leave, or request reduced working hours.

Technically I have to give only 1 month notice (although they would have to give me 3 months notice the other way around for redundancy).

My wife was saying leave it to the last possible moment just in case I get lucky and get made redundant.  They won't make me redundant if they know I'm planning to leave soon anyway.  However I think this is not very likely.  Still mulling it over.

mebu60

Pat38493 said:

I was actually discussing how much notice to give my employer with my wife recently.

I was thinking that to be nice, I would let them know a year in advance that I'm either going to leave, or request reduced working hours.

Technically I have to give only 1 month notice (although they would have to give me 3 months notice the other way around for redundancy).

My wife was saying leave it to the last possible moment just in case I get lucky and get made redundant.  They won't make me redundant if they know I'm planning to leave soon anyway.  However I think this is not very likely.  Still mulling it over.

As your wife says!! However small the chance of a redundancy package why would you kill it off completely? 

kipsterno1

On my second from last working day I attended and passed my first aid in the workplace course. In fairness I had booked on it the previous year knowing I was going as it was worth having on my CV if I took up another job. 

Albermarle

I was thinking that to be nice, I would let them know a year in advance that I'm either going to leave, or request reduced working hours.

I think that if your employer, colleagues, boss etc has always been fair to you, then you should also leave in the same manner ( even if you are getting a bit tired with the job). I waited until a replacement had been found /trained/ introduced to main customers etc If I had left a mess, I would not have felt comfortable.
 Of course if you are more emotionally detached/ hate it ( like many posters seem to ) then it is different.

CoboCali

This is a fantastic thread that I've enjoyed reading.  I share so many of the potential triggers that people have shared.  
I'm early 50's, can access a DB pension anytime I wish; even if it is actuarily reduced it is still a reasonable amount.  I took a generous voluntary redundancy from BT in 2020 and have since worked in another IT org on a good salary making the max £40k/annum pension contribution.  I've worked solid for 35+years and I feel ready to join the growing ranks of 50+ and early retired.  Still I am sat here wrestling with the one more year, or work until I'm at least 55 conundrum.  I have so many 'other things' I want to get on an enjoy doing.  Alas, the final trigger to jump still eludes me.

barnstar2077

CoboCali said:

This is a fantastic thread that I've enjoyed reading.  I share so many of the potential triggers that people have shared.  
I'm early 50's, can access a DB pension anytime I wish; even if it is actuarily reduced it is still a reasonable amount.  I took a generous voluntary redundancy from BT in 2020 and have since worked in another IT org on a good salary making the max £40k/annum pension contribution.  I've worked solid for 35+years and I feel ready to join the growing ranks of 50+ and early retired.  Still I am sat here wrestling with the one more year, or work until I'm at least 55 conundrum.  I have so many 'other things' I want to get on an enjoy doing.  Alas, the final trigger to jump still eludes me.

What about working for yourself?  Sounds like you have some desirable skills, could you go freelance and pick and choose your work?  Or turn a side hustle into more of a money maker?  Something to bring in a bit of money and keep your mind ticking over while you get used to the idea of not working. 

coyrls

Pat38493 said:

I was actually discussing how much notice to give my employer with my wife recently.

I was thinking that to be nice, I would let them know a year in advance that I'm either going to leave, or request reduced working hours.

Technically I have to give only 1 month notice (although they would have to give me 3 months notice the other way around for redundancy).

My wife was saying leave it to the last possible moment just in case I get lucky and get made redundant.  They won't make me redundant if they know I'm planning to leave soon anyway.  However I think this is not very likely.  Still mulling it over.

It depends on how big the company you work for is and your relationship with your manager.  If it's a big company and you have a good relationship with your manager, then if a voluntary redundancy program is announced, you can still apply for it.  So long as you have only informally told your manager, they are unlikely to scupper it for you and as your manager may also have a headcount reduction target it could be a win for them as well, reducing headcount with minimal consequences (you were going to go anyway).

sheslookinhot

coyrls said:

Pat38493 said:

I was actually discussing how much notice to give my employer with my wife recently.

I was thinking that to be nice, I would let them know a year in advance that I'm either going to leave, or request reduced working hours.

Technically I have to give only 1 month notice (although they would have to give me 3 months notice the other way around for redundancy).

My wife was saying leave it to the last possible moment just in case I get lucky and get made redundant.  They won't make me redundant if they know I'm planning to leave soon anyway.  However I think this is not very likely.  Still mulling it over.

It depends on how big the company you work for is and your relationship with your manager.  If it's a big company and you have a good relationship with your manager, then if a voluntary redundancy program is announced, you can still apply for it.  So long as you have only informally told your manager, they are unlikely to scupper it for you and as your manager may also have a headcount reduction target it could be a win for them as well, reducing headcount with minimal consequences (you were going to go anyway).

That’s a risk not worth taking.

yp70479

I retired 5 years ago ' aged 56, and I can honestly say I've haven't regretted it once. I loathed my job (US Corporation) and couldn't wait to leave! Saved every penny and paid off my mortgage by 2005, then threw as much into AVC as I could afford. I did have a DB pension (24 years) and used various pension calculators to see the earliest I could go.I figured I could go at 55, but 56 was better financially.  The company did a round of redundancies in the US, but announced there would not be any schemes in the rest of the world so there was nothing to hang around for. I had a chart on the wall near my desk, and each month crossed off another box. It gave me great satisfaction to see the date getting nearer. On my 55th birthday I announced to the office that this was my f**k you year, and if any of them !!!!!! me off I would just walk! Had quite a nice stress free 12 months! I even gave 3 months notice to give them time to find someone else and offered to train them up - did they use it - of course not - still hadn't found any one after I left  - but not my problem!
Advice I would give
 - if you can afford it - just go for it. Do all those things you've been promising yourself but never had the time to do
- get some good independent financial advice - often better to find someone with a flat fee rather than a % if you have a decent sum
 - get some hobbies lined up before you retire - preferably some that involve getting out of the house and meeting people. For me that was getting an allotment - fresh air, exercise, like minded company and fresh fruit and veg