Bold leap into retirement

pterri

Smudgeismydog said:

Hi @Sunsh1ne54, thanks for dropping by.

Everything is going to plan thanks. My partner and I went on a tour of a beaver enclosure this morning, which we found to be really interesting. We are also volunteering for dry stone walling on Thursday this week. We have a trip to New York with the kids in 2 weeks, which we are all excited about, then hoping to move house mid August.

The new house needs some tlc, so loads of projects both indoors and outdoors to keep us busy, along with exploring the area on foot, bikes as well as kayaking and paddle boarding along the river. We both want to volunteer locally, but will carefully select what put our hands up for when we are ready.

I’ve moved some money from my SS ISA to cash ready for the house move, but other than that nothing much to report on the finances front. Since finishing work we have both lost track of days a little, as it’s felt like we’ve have a really long weekend, but no Sunday evening feeling of dread, and our sleep patterns have definitely improved.

Sounds amazing, can’t wait for the lack of dread! I’ve always worked and got used to a ‘professional’ salary. I’ve saved loads and have a DB pension due at 60 so I’m convinced my escape plan (draw down the limit on a SIPP to avoid tax and top up with isa from 57 to 60) works out but still have that niggling worry. One year and counting…..

cloud_dog

So I had a regular 1-2-1 catch up with my boss on Friday, and after discussing the challenges ahead and plans to resolve, I decided to let her know that I was going to call it quits by Xmas.

All the usual questions were asked, is it another job, is the date firm, would you extend.  So, it is done, and we will now put a succession plan in place.

barnstar2077

cloud_dog said:

So I had a regular 1-2-1 catch up with my boss on Friday, and after discussing the challenges ahead and plans to resolve, I decided to let her know that I was going to call it quits by Xmas.

All the usual questions were asked, is it another job, is the date firm, would you extend.  So, it is done, and we will now put a succession plan in place.

Congratulations!  Counting down the days!

Vespaboy

Well done cloud dog. Decision made 

my last day is next Wednesday so hopefully an easy run in then !!!!!! I am gone to find adventure and freedom 

katejo

Yesterday I read a short news article which said that 62 was a very popular age to stop working (finances permitting). Next March I will be 62 and I am thinking about stopping then. I have already done the finance side/checked the state of my DB pension. Just a bit apprehensive..... 
.

ColdIron

There is always apprehension. IME most are pleasantly surprised and wish they had gone sooner

ex-pat_scot

I've been having *that* conversation with my boss since March. 
First, in terms of general principles. I've been here a long time, and the team are fab.
Quickly pivoted onto the solution of consulting rather than perm, but continuing with current firm (and others) in a consulting role.
In the interests of stable handover, recruiting a replacement etc, I've agreed to stay on until end of the year (ish) and negotiated a fair few concessions.
I did want to switch end of the summer; I'm OK (if a little impatient) to move forwards at the end of year.
I'm not stopping yet - having focused so much on getting safely to 55 and access to my pension, and stewarding the funds, I'm now looking to build financial and time flexibility, to cut as much of the unsatisfying / stressful parts of working (yes, naive I know to be expecting to cut it completely!), and focus the next phase around my children's gradual migration through tertiary education and into early adulthood, around my wife's own plans and priorities, and building the ability to support parents as they themselves navigate the challenges of later life and health.

I'm incredibly fortunate to be financially well-prepared (albeit it's taken a lot of long hard work to get here), to be very well paid, and able to pivot into consulting with a great network of peers across my industry who will be keen to use me.

I'm also aware of the "One More Year" syndrome. I am very mindful of my inherent trait towards wanting more money for "things", which has been subservient to the need to provide for the family for so many years. Whilst nice to have, a big pot of money to buy a nice car, fancy gadgets, extravagant living etc won't really impact our quality of living beyond the exuberant purchase phase.  I have a very cautious risk-averse wife, so we will still have to navigate the "number" and SWR discussion/ compromise.

Smudgeismydog

cloud_dog said:

So I had a regular 1-2-1 catch up with my boss on Friday, and after discussing the challenges ahead and plans to resolve, I decided to let her know that I was going to call it quits by Xmas.

All the usual questions were asked, is it another job, is the date firm, would you extend.  So, it is done, and we will now put a succession plan in place.

Congrats cloud_dog, how do you feel?

cloud_dog

Smudgeismydog said:

cloud_dog said:

So I had a regular 1-2-1 catch up with my boss on Friday, and after discussing the challenges ahead and plans to resolve, I decided to let her know that I was going to call it quits by Xmas.

All the usual questions were asked, is it another job, is the date firm, would you extend.  So, it is done, and we will now put a succession plan in place.

Congrats cloud_dog, how do you feel?

Hi...sorry, been out most of the day.

Being completely honest there were a raft of feelings; a little uncomfortable as I don't want to drop the team in the proverbial, enjoying the moment of stating my intent, a little feeling of pride having actually done it (silly how things can manifest themselves), and it was a nice feeling knowing that they would like me to stay (even if only temporarily) a reinforcement that you do have a  value.

Of course I spent Friday evening and Saturday going back over my figures 😁

I am now into the realm of calculating the most efficient means of drawing on our eraly retirement pots.  I had always intended to take the majority of the TFLS to pay off the remainder of the mortgage, and I am content with the approach we took and the end result.  But, I know more now about pension drawdown, and ideally I might now have wanted to use UFPLS so I can have my cake and eat it.

Hence I'm going to be spreadsheeting the numbers to see what the efficiencies may or may not be.

Just for reference these early retirement pots are designed to pay off the mortgage and see us through to SP age.  We have DBs that come on stream at age 65 and 67 which will (by age 68) more than cover our expenses.

m_c_s

I prefer to use the phrase "One Less Year" or as I say the 5% rule when speaking to ex colleagues who are considering staying on at work. 
At 60 you have an average 23 years left of life. So each year you carry on working uses up approximately 5% of your life left. Ofcourse you may get lucky and live to 95 or unlucky and die at 75; nobody knows!
Many people cannot retire at 60 or even 65 due to their finances not being sufficient but for those who have planned properly or who have been lucky to be in a job with good pension benefits then its worth keeping in mind the 5% rule in your deliberations.