What made you 'pull the trigger'?

ToneP

michaels said:

For those who have been same employer for a long time and have a big DC pot, consider working for the civil service for a year or so as you can import a lot of your DC into the govt gold plated DB at generous rates which reduces SOR risk and lifetime allowance issues.

The DB schemes all closed years ago to new entrants. The current schemes are potentially little better than any others in the private sector and there may well be a loss (in various ways) by transferring.

indiasign

ToneP 

The DB schemes all closed years ago to new entrants. The current schemes are potentially little better than any others in the private sector and there may well be a loss (in various ways) by transferring.

That’s not true - the Alpha Scheme is still a DB pension, albeit Career Average rather than Final Salary, is available to all new starters and is index linked to inflation, so is still a very attractive benefit to anyone considering joining the Civil Service

Albermarle

indiasign said:

ToneP 

The DB schemes all closed years ago to new entrants. The current schemes are potentially little better than any others in the private sector and there may well be a loss (in various ways) by transferring.

That’s not true - the Alpha Scheme is still a DB pension, albeit Career Average rather than Final Salary, is available to all new starters and is index linked to inflation, so is still a very attractive benefit to anyone considering joining the Civil Service

Yes, I am not sure what ToneP really meant. Public sector DB schemes are alive and kicking and open to new entrants.

saucer

Similarly the newer NHS scheme is a very good db plan

buyhighselllow

Well today I pulled the trigger. I gave formal notice of my intention to quit just after 55 in the summer, and take my pension. I may then carry on til the end of the year on a couple of days but by 2024 will have completely finished. I have kept records of spending for the last 14 months. My DB  pension will provide just under 2/3 of what we need, and my savings will hopefully meet the shortfall. They equate to twice my perceived outlay. I may do some menial PT work once I've settled, and there is likely to be some inheritance but how much is in the lap of the gods. So whilst its not without risk, I feel its best for my health and well being, as another 5 years doesn't feel doable. DP + SP should be fine for our needs, so I think sensible enjoyment of the next 12 years should be he goal while we hopefully have a reasonable standard of health. I see too many people with plenty of money and poor heath, low quality of life over 75 and I think the opportunity to live differently to the last 35 years should be taken now.  

Plasticman

buyhighselllow said:

Well today I pulled the trigger. I gave formal notice of my intention to quit just after 55 in the summer, and take my pension. I may then carry on til the end of the year on a couple of days but by 2024 will have completely finished. I have kept records of spending for the last 14 months. My DB  pension will provide just under 2/3 of what we need, and my savings will hopefully meet the shortfall. They equate to twice my perceived outlay. I may do some menial PT work once I've settled, and there is likely to be some inheritance but how much is in the lap of the gods. So whilst its not without risk, I feel its best for my health and well being, as another 5 years doesn't feel doable. DP + SP should be fine for our needs, so I think sensible enjoyment of the next 12 years should be he goal while we hopefully have a reasonable standard of health. I see too many people with plenty of money and poor heath, low quality of life over 75 and I think the opportunity to live differently to the last 35 years should be taken now.  

Congratulations!

Daffodil1234

Congrats @buyhighselllow and wishing you all the best.  THanks for sharing your story as it's really helpful to see what others are thinking about when  making their choices.  I like your comment about the "opportunity to live differently to the last 35 years"

SouthCoastBoy

Well done, may you have a long and happy retirement. Always interested to hear other peoples approach to retirement

Sus59

Congratulations @buyhighselllow.  I too have joined the 'pulled the trigger' club this month. I'm retiring at the end of May, just a week before I turn 64.  
Factors that made me decide were many, but most of all seeing friends and acquaintances suddenly experience bad health just a few years into retirement.  I myself was treated for breast cancer in 2021 and am now supposedly 'cured', but you never know. Also, my first grandchild was born this year so I'm hoping to spend more time with my daughter whilst she is on maternity leave and to see more of the little one in his first years of life.  
I have had meetings with my financial adviser who has given me the green light to go ahead so looking forward to a new chapter in my life with freedom to do what I fancy doing when I want to.

whitehartal

I've started reading this thread today, and after just 5 or 6 pages, I can see that there are a few people out there with similar experiences to me. 

I "pulled the trigger" at 52, last July. I'd spent 35 years in IT, primarily in banks, and my last 6 years were spent miserably at Lloyds Banking Group...watching things get progressively worse, but watching the management slapping each other on the back, thinking they were doing a marvellous job! Things culminated in a significant period off with stress at the beginning of 2022, and I ultimately jacked it in in July.

My OH is 45, and retired in December - also leaving a demoralising IT role in a bank!

The key for us was downsizing over 15 years or so...4 bed detached to a 3 bed detached to a 2 bed static caravan...and also being fairly frugal! 

We're currently living primarily on savings we've put away after the sale of our last house - around £300k - and in a couple of years I can access my DC pension. I've got around £300k in that at the present time, and my wife has a similar amount in  hers...although she's 12 years away from being able to access it. 

After doing what many others seem to do and having spreadsheets all over the place, we've worked out that if we can live on £30k per year between us, we should be OK. With no mortgage and no debts, hopefully we'll be fine!

But what both of us are struggling with is wondering "what do we do now"? We travel a fair bit (we have a villa abroad that we now intend to spend  6 months of the year in), but we're constantly thinking "what's our purpose now"?

I think that it's still "early days", and over time we'll settle into new routines and we'll get over what feels like the "guilt" of not working!

And...having spoken to numerous ex-colleagues over the last 8 or 9 months, it seems that things are only getting worse, so early-retirement definitely seems to be the lesser of 2 evils!