What made you 'pull the trigger'?

Time4T_Accounts

DW is 6 years older than me. My trigger to go at 60 was for us to be able to enjoy an active retirement together.  Covid got in the way a bit, but we’re very much enjoying our time. 

Lyncroft

I retired from the CS last May aged 57.5. Yet another hopeless restructure causing stress and uncertainty. Lots of politics and people jostling for position - grim. I was turned down for redundancy and managed a year after that. I was also in the do another year camp but realised I had to make the decision at some point and it wouldn't get any easier. I also noticed I wasn't dealing as well with stuff as I used to - the place had beaten me lol! I was put under great pressure to stay on and I began to resent this. Feeling guilty I went over and above what I should have done during my 4 month notice period. Got an excellent replacement in and was even emailing at 5.30pm on my last day - mug! I've enough to live on and some on top for fun, but above all else I now call the shots in as much you ever can.

Albermarle

cfw1994 said:

Albermarle said:

If you can afford to go, and don't particularly like your job then why wait? Just 'one more year' is one more year at work and one less in retirement.
Last year, I lost a friend who only made it to 60. From diagnosis to death in 12 months. It's a lottery of life and next time it could be you.

The benefit of 'one more year' is that depending on your finances, it can mean two more years from a financial perspective. That is another year paying for everything from your salary, and another year adding to your war chest.

That extra couple of years can be quite comforting and help you sleep at night.

Although of course 'one more year' is easier if you do not hate your job.

Have to say I’m with Mrs_Z on this one:
”Just 'one more year' is one more year at work and one less in retirement.
Last year, I lost a friend who only made it to 60. From diagnosis to death in 12 months. It's a lottery of life and next time it could be you.”

I’ve know too many good pals & colleagues who never managed to enjoy their gold years…..

To play Devils Advocate a bit, you are making an assumption that one more year at work is a year lost, or a year of misery. Whilst one more year of retirement means a year of unmitigated bliss. Maybe that is the case for you ( and a few of the other posters), but probably not quite so clear cut for everybody. I guess on the opposite side we all know people who love work, and look forward to retirement with dread. That is not me by the way, and probably very few of the posters on a pensions forum, but they definitely do exist.
Also for sure there is a big grey area between the two extremes, and in the end 'One more Year' will be a sensible choice for some, especially if it reduces potential anxiety about finances in retirement.

ex-pat_scot

Albermarle said:

cfw1994 said:

Albermarle said:

If you can afford to go, and don't particularly like your job then why wait? Just 'one more year' is one more year at work and one less in retirement.
Last year, I lost a friend who only made it to 60. From diagnosis to death in 12 months. It's a lottery of life and next time it could be you.

The benefit of 'one more year' is that depending on your finances, it can mean two more years from a financial perspective. That is another year paying for everything from your salary, and another year adding to your war chest.

That extra couple of years can be quite comforting and help you sleep at night.

Although of course 'one more year' is easier if you do not hate your job.

Have to say I’m with Mrs_Z on this one:
”Just 'one more year' is one more year at work and one less in retirement.
Last year, I lost a friend who only made it to 60. From diagnosis to death in 12 months. It's a lottery of life and next time it could be you.”

I’ve know too many good pals & colleagues who never managed to enjoy their gold years…..

To play Devils Advocate a bit, you are making an assumption that one more year at work is a year lost, or a year of misery. Whilst one more year of retirement means a year of unmitigated bliss. Maybe that is the case for you ( and a few of the other posters), but probably not quite so clear cut for everybody. I guess on the opposite side we all know people who love work, and look forward to retirement with dread. That is not me by the way, and probably very few of the posters on a pensions forum, but they definitely do exist.
Also for sure there is a big grey area between the two extremes, and in the end 'One more Year' will be a sensible choice for some, especially if it reduces potential anxiety about finances in retirement.

Indeed. "Wherever you go - there you are".

If it's indeed clear that the "problem" is entirely the work / company / boss etc, then leaving would be great.
If the challenge might be something more fundamental, then it will follow you around, whether you are working or not.

There's something to be said for ploughing on for a while in the absence of any clear plan - I want to retire TO something, rather than retire FROM.
Covid was a recent example. I know people who were going to retire, when Covid struck. They figured the choice was to be sat at home working, or sat at home waiting for restrictions / risks to abate. They took the view that it was better to plough on, still earning and keeping occupied, until they could have the possibility of travel etc.

TallGirl

I love following this thread and finally going to participate.

I am 52 and my DG is 57. I have good pension provisions and could retire now but DG does not only a small BD (and I mean very small) but we both have full state pensions. She would love to go right now but took up self employment (consultant solicitor) to enjoy the flexibility of not being so heavily supervised but also earn some decent money. She has had no income from that job yet (1 year) but has done a 3 day paid role which is allowing her to pay the joint bills and a little spending money. I believe she will make some decent money and it is a job she can take on what cases she wants so easy to wind down and up. 

I work full time and have finally after 6 years got a permanent job again that I really enjoy doing. I have crunched the numbers several times and if I wait another 5 years we will have £30K from my pension and the 2 state pensions which should see us both to 90. 

If DG does manage to make some money that will be so good as we keep our finances separate and I would prefer if we kept to this and I know so would she. We had seriously toyed with the idea of becoming landlords and having an income this way (this is DGs area of expertise) but with interest as they are and house prices so high not worth it. 

Some morning I do wake up and would love to be retired but others I do like my job and feel like I have finally found my area to work in. Some days I do recent having to work as I could retire had I been on my own but obviously lovely to have someone to share your life with and money is not everything. Anyone else finding the inequities between partners an issue. 

Albermarle

Covid was a recent example. I know people who were going to retire, when Covid struck. They figured the choice was to be sat at home working, or sat at home waiting for restrictions / risks to abate. They took the view that it was better to plough on, still earning and keeping occupied, until they could have the possibility of travel etc.

I told my boss during the first wave of Covid, that I wanted to go, but not for about  9 months time, partly because at that time I was being paid to sit at home, not doing a lot.

As the second wave hit, I just kept my head down as I knew HR had not commenced any recruitment for a replacement. In the end by good luck/judgement, I retired in the Summer of 2021, just as most things were starting to fully open up again.

handful

Really interesting reading these posts.

I'm 60 and not yet quite ready to pull the trigger but getting close. I have always worried about not having the resources to fully enjoy my retirement but have recently learnt I am totally unexpectedly a beneficiary in a cousin's will who sadly passed away in October so will be circa £250-£300k better off than I otherwise would have been. This probably won't come through for a few more months but when it does I think I will have all the incentive that I need. I usually enjoy my job but have just had a very tough 6 months going through a successful tender process and I know I don't ever want to repeat that so will make sure I ease myself out before the 2 years is up!

allsort

On the matter of "what made you pull the trigger", let me mix things up a bit by pointing out that sometimes the trigger is pulled by somebody else.  In my case, last summer, at age 59, I came to the end of an unextendible, time-limited contract, for a job I loved and had held for 11 years.  I had known this would happen when I first took the job and planned carefully for my exit, expecting to possibly retire or take consultancy.  On turning 60, I activated two DB pensions but I've been rather worried about a significant decline in my DC investments and to have a really great retirement, I would need to start drawing down on them, which I'm not  happy to do at this stage.  Additionally, my husband hasn't retired and has no immediate plans to do so and retirement for one is less fun, in my experience. Oh, and we still have one child at university and all the costs associated with that.
I really missed the stimulus of work and after eight months of relaxing, some travel and catching up with life, I have taken a part time and very flexible consulting contract in my specialist area, about which I am very happy.  I'll use this income to build up the DC investments and ISA and to fund holidays and will revisit retirement proper, this time hopefully with my husband, a little further down the line.

geoffers4

I'm 1 month into retirement, at 60. Definitely experienced a bit of "one more year" syndrome towards the end - particularly with Covid lockdown and then work agreeing I could go part-time for the last couple of years. I started to really enjoy having a 3-day weekend and then a 4-day weekend - would strongly recommend.

I have a mix of DB pensions, Vanguard LifeStrategy and cash ISAs, and the income projections from these have been more than sufficient for quite a while now (and I feel relatively protected from market fluctuations), even if I wasn't ready to jump.

What made me jump in the end? Probably it was enjoying the freedom of my non-work days more than the stimulation and social aspects of the working days. Then last May I had a couple of bad days at work (Annoying People) and after the second one, I stopped on the drive home at a coastal viewpoint feeling pretty rubbish and asked myself "why am I putting up with this?" and decided to tell the boss I was finishing at xmas. I had enough time to recruit a successor and train them up - a good feeling to leave things in the capable hands of someone younger and keener.

Sus59

Thank you to the person who started this thread which is so useful.  I am in the process of being roped into a project at work that I would really rather not get involved in and feel it is time to tell them the truth.  
Having been treated for cancer in 2021 and had my first grandchild a few weeks ago also plays into the equation.
So have just emailed my financial adviser asking for a meeting to discuss my options.