Thrifty in my 60's

OpalGirl

Congratulations @Brambling, that's very exciting. I turn 60 on Friday and I am planning to retire in September. I haven't told anyone at work yet as I still want to get a few things sorted first. I only need to give two weeks notice although I will probably give them a month. My workplace are hopeless when it comes to filling positions so it won't matter how much notice I give they still won't get themselves sorted.

Brambling

OpalGirl I will put money on no replacement being found my the time I leave, it took him several months to think about the last recruitment  🙄

Not that I'm counting but I think I'm on a 100 day count down which could be less if I have holiday left to take 😁 

otb666

I just wanted to fore warn of the delays that occur when initiating your pensions.  It took a while for me and my sister and it feels like they have one person in the office with one calculator and they use second class post.  This spoils the first few weeks of retirement and sent me in to a total panic.  I was acting like a maniac checking with the postman everyday for weeks. Then 8 months later they re did figures as had underpaid me.  Felt like total shambles and my sister had same experience we had different employees one international and other civil servant.  That was 2 years ago now but spoil first few weeks for us both as you have such high expectations when you have taken 30 years to reach the day when you retire.

Rosa_Damascena

Reading this makes me realise I just don't have the energy I did in my twenties and thirties (I'm taking 60-80 hour weeks). Or perhaps I have realised that the work is not in fact worthy of my additional efforts!

Either way, whilst I love what I do I would also be quite content not to work. I know the choices I make in the next 10 years is going to make a big difference to how much sooner than 73 I will be able to retire. I can't see my spending patterns changing though, they feel pretty baked in as a habit.

Last week this article opened up my eyes, the figures are just wild!: https://apple.news/AcYolKEG1S1OmC4R9lEXWnQ

tooldle

I stopped work at the end of December. I’m 54 so cannot access my pensions until 55. I have two DB and one DC across two providers. Both suggest starting the process 3 months prior to when the money is needed. OH finishes at end of April and has just received the first set of forms to claim his pensions. Luckily we are are in the same schemes so when my turn comes I will at least be familiar with the paperwork.
Congratulations to all who have recently retired / are on countdown to the big day

Wednesday2000

otb666 said:

I just wanted to fore warn of the delays that occur when initiating your pensions.  It took a while for me and my sister and it feels like they have one person in the office with one calculator and they use second class post.  This spoils the first few weeks of retirement and sent me in to a total panic.  I was acting like a maniac checking with the postman everyday for weeks. Then 8 months later they re did figures as had underpaid me.  Felt like total shambles and my sister had same experience we had different employees one international and other civil servant.  That was 2 years ago now but spoil first few weeks for us both as you have such high expectations when you have taken 30 years to reach the day when you retire.

That is worrying to read! Did you just live off your savings while you were waiting?

Floss

Rosa_Damascena said:

Reading this makes me realise I just don't have the energy I did in my twenties and thirties (I'm taking 60-80 hour weeks). Or perhaps I have realised that the work is not in fact worthy of my additional efforts!

Either way, whilst I love what I do I would also be quite content not to work. I know the choices I make in the next 10 years is going to make a big difference to how much sooner than 73 I will be able to retire. I can't see my spending patterns changing though, they feel pretty baked in as a habit.

Last week this article opened up my eyes, the figures are just wild!: https://apple.news/AcYolKEG1S1OmC4R9lEXWnQ

That's based on the report discussed on the Over 50's board, with the miniscule sample size.

Brie

otb666 said:

I just wanted to fore warn of the delays that occur when initiating your pensions.  It took a while for me and my sister and it feels like they have one person in the office with one calculator and they use second class post.  This spoils the first few weeks of retirement and sent me in to a total panic.  I was acting like a maniac checking with the postman everyday for weeks. Then 8 months later they re did figures as had underpaid me.  Felt like total shambles and my sister had same experience we had different employees one international and other civil servant.  That was 2 years ago now but spoil first few weeks for us both as you have such high expectations when you have taken 30 years to reach the day when you retire.

What has been bizarre to me is that I have 3 different work pensions being administered by the same firm.  The DB one was a doddle. 

The other 2 are DC and I'm prevaricating on those but every single time I need information one is quite speedy and the other takes absolutely forever.  And despite me telling them I need things by snail mail they always eventually send it by email and encrypted in a way I can't open.  And that adds another month at least. 

I do like to think the DC one that is super efficient is in part due to the fact that I trained some of their staff.  Frankly I actually know it doesn't make a difference but it is bizarre as it's the more complicated of the two DC schemes.  

Then again there's my foreign state pension that told me I couldn't get a pension forecast until the end of the tax year of the year I turned 65.  And having a December birthday and trying to claim from the January immediately following meant that I was asking for my pension to be paid without any knowledge of what they would pay me. (unlike the UK SP where a forecast is an easy online thing).  Extra bizarrely they were then going to automatically send me cheques in that country's currency which I would have to try to cash here.  And even more bizarrely they have happily (after 10 months) sent the OH a forecast of the amount he can collect monthly later this year!

Brambling

My DB pension sent the paperwork just before Christmas and i've spoken to them with queries they advise as long as I get the paperwork back a month before 31st May which is the month of my birthday i should get my pension on the 31st not sure about my tax free lump sum.  This is a previous employer so not sure if that makes a different because my pension date was agreed when i was made redundant 11 years ago.  My sister and several people i  worked with have had their pension at the agreed date with no issues. 

My current employer pension which is DC and was defaulted to get at 65 i expect to take longer but as that is a lot smaller that won't be a issue I have savings and my last month salary so won't panic if there are delays

Floss

I have 2 former employer pensions alreasy being paid, they each took about 8 weeks from request to payment. My NHS one says to apply 3 months ahead of planned date.