Are we nearly there yet? Option for VR

german_keeper

barnstar2077 said:

german_keeper said:

barnstar2077 said:

anonanon321 said:

Thanks for all the comments, it is looking pretty unanimous. Got two weeks to decide whether to apply but I think I'm pretty much there.  I guess the next stumbling block will be how many others apply and whether it will be accepted. 

I knew someone who was accepted for VR, so I asked them how they managed to be selected out of everyone who applied and she said that she told them that her heart wasn't in it any more.  She said she would continue to work if she had to, but that she had lost her enthusiasm for the job.  Maybe others can give some suggestions too?

Call me a cynic but maybe if you said that they would turn you down on the basis that you might well walk in the near future without having to pay you off.

I guess that is the chance you take!  What would you suggest was a better tactic?

A very good question. I suppose all you can do is relate it to your own workplace. Before I retired for about the last ten years I would have grabbed their hands off if a package was offered, even before I was in a position to retire. Whenever VR was on offer elsewhere in HMRC I think they were always inundated with applications. No idea what factors were taken into account in the decision making process though.

The last time I can remember VR being offered anywhere near me was about 20 years ago and I wasn't eligible anyway. Strangely enough I was out for dinner on Monday (you may call it lunch but oop north it's dinner!) with a married couple who I used to work with, and he was one who got a package 20 years ago. The subject actually came up in discussion. He was in his fifties at the time, over 30 years service and really struggling with all the computerisation, to the point where it was badly affecting his health. He knew a very senior manager well and she was concerned about his health anyway so she pulled a few strings. Not sure HMRC senior management would have that level of concern for a member of staff nowadays.

 

barnstar2077

german_keeper said:

barnstar2077 said:

german_keeper said:

barnstar2077 said:

anonanon321 said:

Thanks for all the comments, it is looking pretty unanimous. Got two weeks to decide whether to apply but I think I'm pretty much there.  I guess the next stumbling block will be how many others apply and whether it will be accepted. 

I knew someone who was accepted for VR, so I asked them how they managed to be selected out of everyone who applied and she said that she told them that her heart wasn't in it any more.  She said she would continue to work if she had to, but that she had lost her enthusiasm for the job.  Maybe others can give some suggestions too?

Call me a cynic but maybe if you said that they would turn you down on the basis that you might well walk in the near future without having to pay you off.

I guess that is the chance you take!  What would you suggest was a better tactic?

A very good question. I suppose all you can do is relate it to your own workplace. Before I retired for about the last ten years I would have grabbed their hands off if a package was offered, even before I was in a position to retire. Whenever VR was on offer elsewhere in HMRC I think they were always inundated with applications. No idea what factors were taken into account in the decision making process though.

The last time I can remember VR being offered anywhere near me was about 20 years ago and I wasn't eligible anyway. Strangely enough I was out for dinner on Monday (you may call it lunch but oop north it's dinner!) with a married couple who I used to work with, and he was one who got a package 20 years ago. The subject actually came up in discussion. He was in his fifties at the time, over 30 years service and really struggling with all the computerisation, to the point where it was badly affecting his health. He knew a very senior manager well and she was concerned about his health anyway so she pulled a few strings. Not sure HMRC senior management would have that level of concern for a member of staff nowadays.

 

That is interesting.  I guess if the company think that you are very stressed then they are more likely to give you the VR to avoid you going off long-term sick!   

Topsinger

I took VR 10 years ago at 55 with a payment of 2 years salary. The first £30k was tax free & I chose to use the balance to buy added years in my DB pension scheme. I don’t know if the rules are still the same but I was pleased not to pay any tax. 

I was lucky enough not to need to work for the next 5 years until I was able to draw my pension at 60. The last 10 years have flown by & I don’t regret leaving when I did. Life doesn’t always go to plan- the most valuable assets we have are health & time.

Sarahspangles

A few times I’ve been involved from the ‘employer’ side in projects involving headcount reductions. These were approached as being about the posts, not the people in post, but inevitably managers speculate about who might apply, and hope specific staff will apply rather than others based on performance or attitude. I’ve never seen someone be treated differently because they applied but were unsuccessful, but I have seen staff ‘take their bat home’ when they were unsuccessful! Once the process has finished, the focus has to be on getting the smaller teams back to being productive.

In these exercises, staff weren’t actually asked to say why they were applying. Some wanted to explain, I think the only work-related reasons I’ve heard were where long-service staff missed people who’d retired before them. Mostly people would talk about lifestyle change as children left home, or because they had or foresaw caring responsibilities or a need to move closer to a partner’s job. You’ve made me wonder if this was to prevent assumptions about their actual motivation! I know one woman asked me to ensure her manager wasn’t assuming that she would welcome SVER to care for her mother (he was).

Twice, the process has been the first stage, with the managers involved being themselves at risk in a second stage. I actually made my own post redundant in one of these.

Triumph13

Just for fun, I had a bit of a play with your numbers.  They all look very solid indeed to me

As you've already said, your DBs plus SPs will largely give you your desired £40k pa once you're both 67.  It looks pretty easy to bump that up to £50k pa.  I came up with the following:
1. If we ignore for the next two years, other than the £50k DH will add to his pension, you arrive at ages 55/57 with £200k in ISAs and £600k in pension for a total of £800k.
2. Earmark £500k of that for a long term drawdown fund.  I would suggest a 4% withdrawal rate for the first 12 years as your future pensions mean it doesn't matter too much if it gets depleted a bit, so that's £20k pa.  The other £300k gets used for bridging the gap until all the pensions are online.
3.  Over the 12 year period until the second SP is in payment, you'll get 12 x £20k = £240k from the drawdown, £60k from the DB pensions and £20k from the first SP, a total of £320k.  £280k of the £300k bridging fund brings that up to £600k ie 12 years @£50k pa.
4.  The odds are that most, if not all, of the drawdown fund is still there after the 12 years.  There certainly should be enough to yield the extra to keep your budget at £50k pa for life.
Simples

anonanon321

Triumph13 thanks so much for taking the time to do that, it is certainly reassuring to have everyone say we are good to go. I think you have us 2 years older than we are, we are currently 51/53, but if we stick at £40k p.a should be ok. I've recently discovered the Guiide website which is also suggesting we are fine at £43k in all scenarios. It's a great feeling knowing that the end is in sight.

anonanon321

Just an update from me to confirm that the VR was accepted and I will be finishing work at the end of August. Still not sure if this is retirement or a break before taking on a part time role, but either way I'm happy with the decision and looking forward to the change.  Likely to have a few more questions now as I decide what to do with the redundancy payment, and then start to get everything in order for husband finishing in 1-2 years