Bold leap into retirement

dharm999 · 5 December at 9:45AM

MetaPhysical said:

Cobbler_tone said:

MetaPhysical said:

Smudgeismydog said:

HUSKYPAL said:

@Smudgeismydog - Have to say, this is the most helpful and useful forum I've found anywhere on the web for real world numbers and information. Very refreshing to have a community of like minded people with a simple objective to help each other navigate what can be a tricky decision, and to see what's likely on the other side. Thanks for starting it. I'd love to see some more updates from earlier posters as to how their plans/finances have panned out over time. My end date keeps creeping forward, now looking at June 27, but could be sooner, work motivation sinking below basement level...

Hello early posters;

@leosayer, @MetaPhysical, @savingmore, @Daffodil1234, @handful, @squashtraveller , @AliBee16, @cloud_dog

Do you fancy letting us know how you are getting on?

I'm recovering from that but life without private medical cover is something I approach with trepidation, especially with my right hip. I may explore options for buying my own cover (which I know won't cover that hip).

That is a good benefit but you might find the policies expensive, easily racking up £5k a year and then you'll have excesses and restrictions. Personal choice, but it may be a better option to self fund. You have a good income and cash in the bank, anything from a few grand to maybe £15k for a major op like a hip replacement could be money well spent, that fingers crossed you never have to. I have regular injections via BUPA which are around £1,500 a time. I will do a combination of self funding and NHS, as the consultant (the same either way) has told me it takes 18 months on the NHS to get one.
If you have money, spending it on maintaining and improving your health is money well spent IMO.

Yes, I completely agree. I am going to start putting £250 a month into a "health" pot for these kinds of eventuality and invest it (80% MM fund + 20% equities).

I have hip dysplasia where the femur ball isn't fully inserted into the pelvic socket and my hip will definitely need to be replaced eventually. I have it in both hips but the right hip is where it is worse. Many people have this but a lot of people can get through their life without it wearing out the cartilage. In my case consultant said it could be next year or it could be fifteen years, but it will need to be done eventually.

@MetaPhysical, as I understand it, if you take out a policy so there is no break in cover then there wouldn’t be any exclusions for pre-existing conditions, other than any that the employer policy has. So your hip may well be covered. Maybe worth thinking about taking out the cover yourself, having the op in the next 12 months a nd then cancelling the policy. Needs looking at in more detail, but I would guess it’s worth a look.

cloud_dog · 5 December at 1:03PM

Smudgeismydog said:

HUSKYPAL said:

@Smudgeismydog - Have to say, this is the most helpful and useful forum I've found anywhere on the web for real world numbers and information. Very refreshing to have a community of like minded people with a simple objective to help each other navigate what can be a tricky decision, and to see what's likely on the other side. Thanks for starting it. I'd love to see some more updates from earlier posters as to how their plans/finances have panned out over time. My end date keeps creeping forward, now looking at June 27, but could be sooner, work motivation sinking below basement level...

Hello early posters;

@leosayer, @MetaPhysical, @savingmore, @Daffodil1234, @handful, @squashtraveller , @AliBee16, @cloud_dog

Do you fancy letting us know how you are getting on?

Hi @Smudgeismydog, congratulations on the longevity of this thread.

TL/DR It's been great!

Our retirement (partner 1 year / me 8 months) was earlier than originally planned and so some of our financial plans haven't been executed just yet, but our kid finishes Uni next year so life will become a little more straightforward.

From my perspective I have simply been wallowing

in the removal of my working life commitments, stress, etc. That has been huge for me. We have been away on a number of trips (just home from the last one), but most of my time has been (eagerly) taken up by pottering around the house and undertaking some of those 'must do' jobs and some 'wish I could' jobs. Moving to the inside jobs now.

It is really just the flexibility of being able to 'do things', and I've lost count of the number of places we have visited (partner is a huge history buff). They created a Google Map page with historical places in GB and we are working our way through them. We haven't felt the need, just yet, to add new activities / hobbies / interactions into our lives just yet.

Bigger news for use is that after a lot of deliberation we are buying a motorhome (arriving next March) and so this will then commence longer phases for exploring Europe. So very looking forward to the commencement of that.

Financially, I am still going backwards and forwards on the numbers for taking my DB scheme early (pro's / con's), but I really need to finalise this.