Bold leap into retirement

Vespaboy

Mcc100 and handful

ditto for me too, I always earmarked 60 to retire which should be later this year but now I am in that “year” I am finding the prospect of pulling the plug disconcerting but equally I find that I really do not want to stay in my job either. These conflicting thoughts run around and around in my mind

 



 

cloud_dog

Albermarle said:

squashtraveller said:

eastcorkram said:

squashtraveller said:

There must be something in the air!? I also confirmed to my line manager that I am going this year (end of August). I have been thinking about this for some time (years as my suffering partner would say) and experienced some of the feelings expressed (e.g., worrying if I will have enough money, what will I do etc). Given the balance of where I am, that I dont like what I am doing and we wont be destitute, I decided the time is right for a change. I wish all similar posters the same best of luck for a great 2024.

Is there a reason why you and the OP are giving so much notice? Is it in the contract, or is it just out of courtesy? I'm thinking of finishing in December, but wasn't playing on saying anything until November or possibly October..

My contract says 3 months - however, recruitment in my sector is not easy and my boss/employer has been good to me. Finally, despite what Sun Tzu says, I dont want to burn bridges. You never know!

This has been debated on other threads and a lot depends on your type of job and your relationship with colleagues and managers ( and customers in my case) 
I contractually had to give 4 months notice, but knowing it would take longer than that to replace me, especially with Covid still rampant at the time, I informed my ( good) Boss 9 months in advance. With some foot dragging from HR, and the successful candidate needing to give 3 months notice and a few weeks training, the whole process took around 15 months in the end. Ideally it was 3 months too long  but it meant  One more years money in the bank/pension and no loose ends, and everybody happy with the outcome, so no problem.

My HR (company) will not even begin to act / start the process until the person leaving has actually left.  It has always been a bone of contention for the rest of us who have to operate within the business. 

SouthCoastBoy

Vespaboy said:

Mcc100 and handful

ditto for me too, I always earmarked 60 to retire which should be later this year but now I am in that “year” I am finding the prospect of pulling the plug disconcerting but equally I find that I really do not want to stay in my job either. These conflicting thoughts run around and around my mind

 



 

I've been trying to retire for about 4 years, was going at 55 initially now 59 in March, maybe this is the year. I have exactly the same thoughts, I think it is perfectly natural to have some anxiety about pulling the plug. It's a big leap especially after working so many years.

handful

cloud_dog said:

Albermarle said:

squashtraveller said:

eastcorkram said:

squashtraveller said:

There must be something in the air!? I also confirmed to my line manager that I am going this year (end of August). I have been thinking about this for some time (years as my suffering partner would say) and experienced some of the feelings expressed (e.g., worrying if I will have enough money, what will I do etc). Given the balance of where I am, that I dont like what I am doing and we wont be destitute, I decided the time is right for a change. I wish all similar posters the same best of luck for a great 2024.

Is there a reason why you and the OP are giving so much notice? Is it in the contract, or is it just out of courtesy? I'm thinking of finishing in December, but wasn't playing on saying anything until November or possibly October..

My contract says 3 months - however, recruitment in my sector is not easy and my boss/employer has been good to me. Finally, despite what Sun Tzu says, I dont want to burn bridges. You never know!

This has been debated on other threads and a lot depends on your type of job and your relationship with colleagues and managers ( and customers in my case) 
I contractually had to give 4 months notice, but knowing it would take longer than that to replace me, especially with Covid still rampant at the time, I informed my ( good) Boss 9 months in advance. With some foot dragging from HR, and the successful candidate needing to give 3 months notice and a few weeks training, the whole process took around 15 months in the end. Ideally it was 3 months too long  but it meant  One more years money in the bank/pension and no loose ends, and everybody happy with the outcome, so no problem.

My HR (company) will not even begin to act / start the process until the person leaving has actually left.  It has always been a bone of contention for the rest of us who have to operate within the business. 

I think it comes down to cost. Many companies can't afford the luxury of 2 salaries whilst a proper handover takes place.

Albermarle

handful said:

cloud_dog said:

Albermarle said:

squashtraveller said:

eastcorkram said:

squashtraveller said:

There must be something in the air!? I also confirmed to my line manager that I am going this year (end of August). I have been thinking about this for some time (years as my suffering partner would say) and experienced some of the feelings expressed (e.g., worrying if I will have enough money, what will I do etc). Given the balance of where I am, that I dont like what I am doing and we wont be destitute, I decided the time is right for a change. I wish all similar posters the same best of luck for a great 2024.

Is there a reason why you and the OP are giving so much notice? Is it in the contract, or is it just out of courtesy? I'm thinking of finishing in December, but wasn't playing on saying anything until November or possibly October..

My contract says 3 months - however, recruitment in my sector is not easy and my boss/employer has been good to me. Finally, despite what Sun Tzu says, I dont want to burn bridges. You never know!

This has been debated on other threads and a lot depends on your type of job and your relationship with colleagues and managers ( and customers in my case) 
I contractually had to give 4 months notice, but knowing it would take longer than that to replace me, especially with Covid still rampant at the time, I informed my ( good) Boss 9 months in advance. With some foot dragging from HR, and the successful candidate needing to give 3 months notice and a few weeks training, the whole process took around 15 months in the end. Ideally it was 3 months too long  but it meant  One more years money in the bank/pension and no loose ends, and everybody happy with the outcome, so no problem.

My HR (company) will not even begin to act / start the process until the person leaving has actually left.  It has always been a bone of contention for the rest of us who have to operate within the business. 

I think it comes down to cost. Many companies can't afford the luxury of 2 salaries whilst a proper handover takes place.

It is not just cost, it also depends on the role involved. For example if the person leaving is the main contact for many important customers, or on the other side the main financial contact for the banks, lenders, financial analysts etc , or maybe the IT person liaising with SAP, Microsoft etc then just leaving a gap for months dents confidence.
It does not have to mean the top dogs/directors, but just people who are the face of the company to the outside world. 

Smudgeismydog

I have also questioned my reasoning about taking the bold leap, but it’s been a really tough day in work today. 

I can’t wait to get out!

I know I could take on a local, part-time role if I need to later on. Of course the pay would be less, but I don’t ‘need’ to earn what I do now.
I just need less stress and I want more time to do what I want to do.

ukdw

Interesting thread. Your talk of 1:1's reminds me of my situation a few years ago. At around age 49 triggered  partly by some work issues I did spreadsheets and worked out I could just about afford to leave in about 3 years time. 

So during the 3 year period maxed out savings and pensions - in fact in the last year I ended up putting 100% of my gross salary into pensions.

Finally reached the day I could afford to go (based on a share option trigger date). 

I had planned to take a few weeks enjoying the fact that I could resign whenever I wanted, but by coincidence I had a 1:1 that very day -  and you guessed it - I resigned straight away.

Technical I took a 3 year career break - which for my company was still technically resigning,

Might have been willing to do the odd bit of work for the company - but slightly disappointingly I never heard a single thing officially from the company again - despite having worked for them for my whole 35 year career!

All working out well so far for me. Ran out of  easily accessible cash a few months before I could access my SIPP at age 55 - so bridged the last few months with an interest free credit card.





  

Daffodil1234

I think you are right, @Smudgeismydog , that very likely there could always be some further job / work to do in the future if needed or if wanted.  I keep reminding myself of that as I am heading towards taking the plunge.

There is clearly a big difference between "A: I don't have enough money to pay my basics"  and "B: I already have enough money for all the essentials and a few luxuries - but who knows what bizarre things might require money further down the line".      I do know logically I'm in the B category, not the A, and also that the list of potential things that might need money in the future is long - however I also know that it's really important to prioritise my own health, wellbeing, stress levels, and time for me.

When feeling nervous about approaching the big change of stopping work, I am sometimes choosing to look at it like a gap year.   After 1 year of not working, I think I'd be very clear on whether I wanted to go back to work (FT or PT); whether I felt I needed to earn more income;   or whether I had come up with entirely different ideas.  I don't think a 1 year gap on a CV would be a huge problem if I did want to return to work, either. 

cloud_dog

handful said:

cloud_dog said:

Albermarle said:

squashtraveller said:

eastcorkram said:

squashtraveller said:

There must be something in the air!? I also confirmed to my line manager that I am going this year (end of August). I have been thinking about this for some time (years as my suffering partner would say) and experienced some of the feelings expressed (e.g., worrying if I will have enough money, what will I do etc). Given the balance of where I am, that I dont like what I am doing and we wont be destitute, I decided the time is right for a change. I wish all similar posters the same best of luck for a great 2024.

Is there a reason why you and the OP are giving so much notice? Is it in the contract, or is it just out of courtesy? I'm thinking of finishing in December, but wasn't playing on saying anything until November or possibly October..

My contract says 3 months - however, recruitment in my sector is not easy and my boss/employer has been good to me. Finally, despite what Sun Tzu says, I dont want to burn bridges. You never know!

This has been debated on other threads and a lot depends on your type of job and your relationship with colleagues and managers ( and customers in my case) 
I contractually had to give 4 months notice, but knowing it would take longer than that to replace me, especially with Covid still rampant at the time, I informed my ( good) Boss 9 months in advance. With some foot dragging from HR, and the successful candidate needing to give 3 months notice and a few weeks training, the whole process took around 15 months in the end. Ideally it was 3 months too long  but it meant  One more years money in the bank/pension and no loose ends, and everybody happy with the outcome, so no problem.

My HR (company) will not even begin to act / start the process until the person leaving has actually left.  It has always been a bone of contention for the rest of us who have to operate within the business. 

I think it comes down to cost. Many companies can't afford the luxury of 2 salaries whilst a proper handover takes place.

Whilst I don't disagree (cost is everything in a business), they won't even start the internal paperwork to authorise the vacancy, draft the job spec, etc.  I've never known for us to recruit someone within 6 months of someone leaving.  It is this extended gap which causes the overload on the people remaining.

SouthCoastBoy

Daffodil1234 said:

I think you are right, @Smudgeismydog , that very likely there could always be some further job / work to do in the future if needed or if wanted.  I keep reminding myself of that as I am heading towards taking the plunge.

There is clearly a big difference between "A: I don't have enough money to pay my basics"  and "B: I already have enough money for all the essentials and a few luxuries - but who knows what bizarre things might require money further down the line".      I do know logically I'm in the B category, not the A, and also that the list of potential things that might need money in the future is long - however I also know that it's really important to prioritise my own health, wellbeing, stress levels, and time for me.

When feeling nervous about approaching the big change of stopping work, I am sometimes choosing to look at it like a gap year.   After 1 year of not working, I think I'd be very clear on whether I wanted to go back to work (FT or PT); whether I felt I needed to earn more income;   or whether I had come up with entirely different ideas.  I don't think a 1 year gap on a CV would be a huge problem if I did want to return to work, either. 

The issue I have with stopping work is once you have taken a year out and you are in your 60s I imagine it could be quite difficult to get back into a decent paying job, so better to do the extra year(s) up front