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Retire, semi retire, or keep working???

Macgomez1
Posts: 11 Forumite

Hi, 58 year old male. MaintenanceEngineer, work 3 on 3 off, 12 hour. continental patteren, getting a bit much.
Have 5 pensions totaling £294k and a investment of £71 with Fidelity.
No major overheads to speak off, day to day bills...
Not sure if I'm mentally ready to retire? *Physically fit, keep busy with gym and walking dog, don't drink too much.
*Like the idea of going part time 20/25 hours a week.
* Keep working, other than the constant swaping between day shift and night shift, job is fine, get around £51k before tax a year (would I be mad to give this up)???
Can I combine the lot into a drawdown scheme or put into a long term interest paying account drawing out 15-20k a year??
Will probably need to go finical planner route to be on safe side...
Any help much appreciated 🙏
Have 5 pensions totaling £294k and a investment of £71 with Fidelity.
No major overheads to speak off, day to day bills...
Not sure if I'm mentally ready to retire? *Physically fit, keep busy with gym and walking dog, don't drink too much.
*Like the idea of going part time 20/25 hours a week.
* Keep working, other than the constant swaping between day shift and night shift, job is fine, get around £51k before tax a year (would I be mad to give this up)???
Can I combine the lot into a drawdown scheme or put into a long term interest paying account drawing out 15-20k a year??
Will probably need to go finical planner route to be on safe side...
Any help much appreciated 🙏
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Comments
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and a investment of £71 with Fidelity.
That's not going to get you very far !
I am sure you will get plenty of good comments but just note similar questions have been debated regularly on the forum and looking through it you will get some good tips on retirement generally.
One critical point you do not mention is your current and planned expenditure.
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You say the job is fine, but getting a bit much. Don't these points contradict each other?
If the job is fine and you feel you're not ready to retire I think you have answered your own question.
Before making any retirement decision you need to ensure you can financially afford to retire. I would suggest creating a detailed spreadsheet plotting expenditure vs income and project that out 30 years, factoring in growth and inflation impacts.
Also it is worth checking your state pension forecast to ensure you are on track to receive what you think you will receive.It's just my opinion and not advice.0 -
Hi, the job itself isn't hard, it's the constant 3 day change of shift pattern... I like the idea of retiring, I do generally keep busy, wee jobs about house, out with dog, gardening... but come the winter 🤔
NI contributions are at the max, no issues there.
Will probably go down the Financial advisor route.
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Hi, sorry, £71k
Not heavy spenders, taking bills out the equation, we can get by on £220 a week. Do have £30k in a saving account for any issues...
Yup, will trawl the boards and take what advice has been offered beforehand0 -
Macgomez1 said:Hi, the job itself isn't hard, it's the constant 3 day change of shift pattern... I like the idea of retiring, I do generally keep busy, wee jobs about house, out with dog, gardening... but come the winter 🤔
NI contributions are at the max, no issues there.
Will probably go down the Financial advisor route.It's just my opinion and not advice.2 -
With a pension worth just under £300k you should be able to take out about £10k a year. That £10k will be taxable but if you have no other income you won’t pay tax. Is £10k a year enough?I guess you will get a full state pension when the time comes too, so you might be able to take out a bit more in the early years and less when your state pension kicks in.0
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NI contributions are at the max, no issues there.
Still worth checking, due to the change in state pension calculations in 2016. You could need any number of years NI for a full pension, I think the range on here has been something like 29 through to 49 years!
https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension - read it all, not just the headline figure, because how many (if any) additional years you need isn't right at the top.
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i contemplated the same thing at 57 . when some redundancy came around ..
for me my thoughts were all about time .(even though i enjoy great health ) and how much time i may have left to enjoy .. basically health over wealth ..
when i sat down and looked at the numbers it made sense for me to grasp the opportunity and give up work altogether .
now being 60 i don't regret it .. life can be short and cruel ..
3 years in , i have looked at part time employment , but cant find anything that gives me the flexibility i require of not working .. in essence that job does not exist , the thought of having to ask someone for a holiday again sends shivers down my spine !!!!!5 -
As you have no db reliable income until sp i would be tempted to work pt. If your expenditure is really that modest a 20 hr week would cover them. Replacement cars/holidays etc can come out of savings. Do you want to leave an inheritance?0
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El_Torro said:With a pension worth just under £300k you should be able to take out about £10k a year. That £10k will be taxable but if you have no other income you won’t pay tax. Is £10k a year enough?I guess you will get a full state pension when the time comes too, so you might be able to take out a bit more in the early years and less when your state pension kicks in.0
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