Bold leap into retirement

cfw1994

Heh heh!
One thing I have learned is that everyone has their own path.    There is no “one size fits all” in this game 🤷‍♂️

Yours sounds just fine for you, & that is, in the end, all that matters 💪

It is nice to have the offspring off the books….we still help ours a little, but are lucky that they have both forged their way into pretty well paid careers, enjoying the fun of being in London whilst they are young and solvent.  No house purchases on the horizon, but we hope we can help them towards that goal one day.  That said, London is a different ball game for purchase 😱

I read of people with a job they absolutely love who continue ‘working’ until they expire 👍
I used to read a lot of MMM, who ‘retired’ very early (Stateside) but did loads 👍
I have one friend who still does the odd bit of consultancy, but he was a bit of a guru, & it keeps him happy 👍
I know several other pals of mine who, like me, enjoyed fun careers in tech, but have been very happy to no longer be in that world 👍

I was almost ashamed at how little I missed the work element very soon after leaving.   The people, yes, but I keep in touch with a large number via a jokey email I send out most weeks: works for me 👍

trevjl

I was almost ashamed at how little I missed the work element very soon after leaving.   The people, yes, but I keep in touch with a large number via a jokey email I send out most weeks: works for me 👍          

Very much me. I travelled all over the world in my engineering job and thought that was the part I would miss terribly. Surprisingly for me, I don't - it was a struggle to take the wife to Portugal last week !!
My son works for the same company and now in Spain for a month, do I wish I was there ? - for the job, no. For the evenings out and laughs, yes.
As regards keeping in touch, 4 of us retired within a year of each other and do keep in touch. We are off for a Jolleys Boys outing to the Smoke tomorrow - time we grew up !!!

Cobbler_tone

Pat38493 said:

MallyGirl said:

HedgehogRulez said:

dont people just rely on free nhs treatment?

it depends what for - and how long you are prepared to wait.
My cataract was dealt with via private health in 3 weeks from diagnosis to surgery - only that long due to the surgeon's skiing holiday. I can currently see an MSK physio as soon as I can find an appointment slot. Both of those would have waiting lists of many months.
Bigger things would be NHS

I actually have private medical from my employer but it didn't seem worth claiming in this instance.

Without stepping too far into politics, private health care isn't what it was and getting rapidly more expensive, namely (I suspect) due to the mess of the NHS.
I've had BUPA for 25 years and done well from it for the price it has cost me. However, I probably won't make the transition to taking it out myself. Firstly, the cost of the policy (even as a taxable benefit) has increased 48% in 13 months! The policy is fully underwritten, i.e. they will cover any pre-existing conditions but have introduced an excess. Having used it a few times I have witnessed the decline in their service and a few decent waiting times for an appointment, depending how many weeks the consultant spends on the golf course. I know people who have left and the policy offering is very different. Someone who has just left was paying £40 (net) a month, he was quoted nearly £400. Then with outpatient limits, excesses etc it is hardly worth it.

My plan is to self fund. I will take out an online GP service, really good ones costing less than £150 a year. This is based on me waiting at least 3-4 weeks to speak to one and having to fill forms out to see if I am worthy of a phone call. The online GP's can write private prescriptions, which can sometimes (not always) be cheaper if you are under 60. You can also speak to a selection of GP's within 10 minutes.
If I ultimately have to pay £5-10k on an op (if I couldn't wait), or a course of physio I would. I will be saving c£5k a year. If you have a genuine emergency you are reliant on the NHS anyway.

It is one of those questions of balance. You might insure your dog for a tenner a month. You may/may not bother insuring your car if it wasn't a legal requirement. Some people wouldn't pay £300-400 a month to pay for private healthcare cover, even if they could afford to do so. There is a major difference of paying ten times the amount for something, although I would imagine 50%+ of people don't bother paying for it through work at my place.

jennystarpepper

 It's a postcode lottery with the NHS, both area I live in and the one next to it are bottom of the ratings for performance, (had thought about moving a little bit further away for better care, but no point).  After reading the comments today it has prompted me to check what I can get help with.
I have a number of conditions, which are getting worse with age and husband has BUPA cover, just checked and I can go onto his policy with pre-existing conditions, a huge weight has been lifted.  One condition I'm supposed to attend a consultant's clinic once every 3 months, have been seen once in 19 months by a doctor.  

I would like to use the NHS, but due to age and health I don't want to wait on what is for me a never-ending waiting list for help, health does get more important with age.

Pat38493

Thanks to everyone here, and also the Meaningful Money retirement academy froom Pete Matthew, I have just pulled the trigger on my financial independence age 56.

Yesterday we exchanged contracts on our house sale which is the last part of the puzzle. We are downsizing to a cheaper house but will be in temporary accomodation for a couple of months in between.

I have just informed my employer that I intend to leave the company not later than the end of October, although frankly I am being nice as I only have to give 1 month notice and I actually don't need to work there anymore according to all my calculations (thanks Voyant).

I have done stress testing of the plan using a trial version of Timeline software and it works fine, even including regular gifting into LISAs for the 3 kids for the next 10 years or so.  In fact it has 100% success which is arguably too high and I can spend more.  This was also done using the lowest 2025 balances after the tariff announcements.

I don't really see it as retiring but we plan to take at least a year or so out of work sorting out the new house and taking a few trips / holidays in our new caravan.

The other thing which massively helped is that my wife took early retirement on an NHS pension and I also have at least some amount of DB pension that I have triggered early.

Most likely I will eventually get some part time work either paid or volunteer, but financially I probably won't need it.

MallyGirl

That all sounds great

MetaPhysical

Congratulations @Pat38493 sounds like you have it all locked and loaded. 

I really like Pete Matthew and his podcasts and YouTube videos.  He is so knowledgable and his enthusiasm for the subject infectious.  I have also thought about the Meaningful Academy training but I think I have it all bolted down anyway.

Smudgeismydog

Congrats @Pat38493, I’m so pleased for you

pterri

So my ‘last day’ paid was last week (27th may), after taking accrued leave. I’ve not worked for seven or so weeks before that and I’ve not missed it as all. Zero regrets. I’m sleeping better, cycling more and just enjoying the mooching around. Met some colleagues from a previous big project, four are retired. Three early and one at retirement age. We were giving the young ‘uns sage advice, although none of us envied the house buying situation they have to deal with. 

So, a new chapter begins….. 

MetaPhysical

pterri said:

So my ‘last day’ paid was last week (27th may), after taking accrued leave. I’ve not worked for seven or so weeks before that and I’ve not missed it as all. Zero regrets. I’m sleeping better, cycling more and just enjoying the mooching around. Met some colleagues from a previous big project, four are retired. Three early and one at retirement age. We were giving the young ‘uns sage advice, although none of us envied the house buying situation they have to deal with. 

So, a new chapter begins….. 

Many congratulations, great to hear about the cycling!  I'm a cyclist too and it is time consuming.  Great that you can now just go whenever the heck you like!
I've got the rest of this tax year before I pull the 'chute on my working life although I may go at Christmas if I can't stand it any longer.