Bold leap into retirement

bjorn_toby_wilde

MetaPhysical said:

An update on my private medical medical insurance situation.  I had BUPA with my employer prior to me retiring last week.  With my employer I had a zero excess policy including all cancer drugs.

This year I had a hip consultation and MRI in March and, on a different issue, I had an operation under General Anaesthetic as an outpatient in November on a benign abdominal cyst.  So, two distinct medical matters.

I am 58, 6" tall and generally healthy albeit with the issues I mentioned above and there's no doubt that this hip will eventually go and will need a replacement.  That could be in six months or ten years, it depends so my consultant says.  Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised at the quote I received.  It is a "continuation" policy of my employer's policy so that my medical history remains covered.  I had to have this in place inside four weeks of leaving my employer or else I'd have to get a "new" policy that would then not cover my existing conditions.

I have a yearly excess of £1000 to keep the premium down.  This means that the first £1000 of any private medical bills incurred I will need to cover.  So if I have a £250 initial consultation I will have to pay that, leaving £750 excess remaining.  if I then had a MRI that was then £750, say, then I'd also need to pay that as well.  However if I then needed a £20000 Hip operation that would then be fully covered because it's above my excess.

No cancer drugs cover since I figure the NHS is pretty good with this anyway.   There is stuff and drugs the NHS won't do as well but I'll take a risk on that bit.

The cost? £78 per month for me alone.  Needless to say, I think that is a good price and I have taken over the policy.  I have the excess put to one side already in an ISA I have started for this purpose and will throw £250 a month into that to give me future options. I accept that this price will only go up as I get older but with this policy now in place gives me time to think what I'll do in future years whilst being covered in the here and now.

I don’t wish to be “heightist”, but 6” isn’t very tall. 😁

JoeCrystal

bjorn_toby_wilde said:

MetaPhysical said:

An update on my private medical medical insurance situation.  I had BUPA with my employer prior to me retiring last week.  With my employer I had a zero excess policy including all cancer drugs.

This year I had a hip consultation and MRI in March and, on a different issue, I had an operation under General Anaesthetic as an outpatient in November on a benign abdominal cyst.  So, two distinct medical matters.

I am 58, 6" tall and generally healthy albeit with the issues I mentioned above and there's no doubt that this hip will eventually go and will need a replacement.  That could be in six months or ten years, it depends so my consultant says.  Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised at the quote I received.  It is a "continuation" policy of my employer's policy so that my medical history remains covered.  I had to have this in place inside four weeks of leaving my employer or else I'd have to get a "new" policy that would then not cover my existing conditions.

I have a yearly excess of £1000 to keep the premium down.  This means that the first £1000 of any private medical bills incurred I will need to cover.  So if I have a £250 initial consultation I will have to pay that, leaving £750 excess remaining.  if I then had a MRI that was then £750, say, then I'd also need to pay that as well.  However if I then needed a £20000 Hip operation that would then be fully covered because it's above my excess.

No cancer drugs cover since I figure the NHS is pretty good with this anyway.   There is stuff and drugs the NHS won't do as well but I'll take a risk on that bit.

The cost? £78 per month for me alone.  Needless to say, I think that is a good price and I have taken over the policy.  I have the excess put to one side already in an ISA I have started for this purpose and will throw £250 a month into that to give me future options. I accept that this price will only go up as I get older but with this policy now in place gives me time to think what I'll do in future years whilst being covered in the here and now.

I don’t wish to be “heightist”, but 6” isn’t very tall. 😁

I read it 58' 5" which is very tall indeed!

Kryten_the_Titan

JoeCrystal said:

bjorn_toby_wilde said:

MetaPhysical said:

An update on my private medical medical insurance situation.  I had BUPA with my employer prior to me retiring last week.  With my employer I had a zero excess policy including all cancer drugs.

This year I had a hip consultation and MRI in March and, on a different issue, I had an operation under General Anaesthetic as an outpatient in November on a benign abdominal cyst.  So, two distinct medical matters.

I am 58, 6" tall and generally healthy albeit with the issues I mentioned above and there's no doubt that this hip will eventually go and will need a replacement.  That could be in six months or ten years, it depends so my consultant says.  Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised at the quote I received.  It is a "continuation" policy of my employer's policy so that my medical history remains covered.  I had to have this in place inside four weeks of leaving my employer or else I'd have to get a "new" policy that would then not cover my existing conditions.

I have a yearly excess of £1000 to keep the premium down.  This means that the first £1000 of any private medical bills incurred I will need to cover.  So if I have a £250 initial consultation I will have to pay that, leaving £750 excess remaining.  if I then had a MRI that was then £750, say, then I'd also need to pay that as well.  However if I then needed a £20000 Hip operation that would then be fully covered because it's above my excess.

No cancer drugs cover since I figure the NHS is pretty good with this anyway.   There is stuff and drugs the NHS won't do as well but I'll take a risk on that bit.

The cost? £78 per month for me alone.  Needless to say, I think that is a good price and I have taken over the policy.  I have the excess put to one side already in an ISA I have started for this purpose and will throw £250 a month into that to give me future options. I accept that this price will only go up as I get older but with this policy now in place gives me time to think what I'll do in future years whilst being covered in the here and now.

I don’t wish to be “heightist”, but 6” isn’t very tall. 😁

I read it 58' 5" which is very tall indeed!

The BFG calls it "time" to hang his trumpet and enjoy more time on the allotment growing snozzcumers.

Pat38493

I finished work in October as I had enough of corporate life and my pensions and savings seemed to be "enough".  My wife says I'm retired, I said I am taking a break between contracts lol.

Well I have just made a small withdrawal from my drawdown fund to trigger a tax code, which will also trigger the MPAA, so my high flying career of maximum pension contributions is over (actually I never made maximum but I was putting in a lot more than £10K in the last years).

Another nail in the coffin lol.  My reasoning is that even if I do any paid work in future, I highly doubt I will be making pension contributions in excess of £10K, and actually it's no big deal if I make zero pension contributions.  I am trying to maximise my 20% allowance for the year.

I think I will probably fall into the category of folks who take a good while to figure out the happy balance of life in retirement - I spent a lot of time doing the financial planning and I don't really have a lot of hobbies or suchlike, so the world is my oyster I guess.  We have plans to take our caravan out to Europe later this year and various other things, but as it said in a book I am reading - when you are retired there will probably be a moment on a wet Tuesday in February when you wonder what to do now!

MetaPhysical

So my second day retired.  So far, so good!  Doing some decorating and had a long walk on the morning of both days so far.

LHW99

as it said in a book I am reading - when you are retired there will probably be a moment on a wet Tuesday in February when you wonder what to do now!

No! - really NO!

Smudgeismydog

MetaPhysical said:

So my second day retired.  So far, so good!  Doing some decorating and had a long walk on the morning of both days so far.

Ooh, I bet you are glad you weren’t out defrosting the car!

BridgetTheCat

I got confirmation yesterday that my old deferred db pension will be paid as planned from next month, so I can now apply to ‘semi-retire’ (ie go from full time to 3 days a week) as from 1st April. I’ve already got agreement in principle from my team and line manager to do this so its just the formal application. 

It’ll be a change as I’ve been full time without a break for nearly 40 years, but I’m doing it mainly to have more time to care for my elderly parents. 

kipsterno1

LHW99 said:

as it said in a book I am reading - when you are retired there will probably be a moment on a wet Tuesday in February when you wonder what to do now!

No! - really NO!

I sort of experienced this. After six years of retirement during a particularly dark and damp February I found myself questioning what I had achieved that day. It soon passed.

michaels

kipsterno1 said:

LHW99 said:

as it said in a book I am reading - when you are retired there will probably be a moment on a wet Tuesday in February when you wonder what to do now!

No! - really NO!

I sort of experienced this. After six years of retirement during a particularly dark and damp February I found myself questioning what I had achieved that day. It soon passed.

I used to question what I had achieved every day....so I retired