Is it all too good to be true?

SouthCoastBoy

Starmer24 said:

this thread resonates a lot with me - i have been thinking of retiring for a while, primarily because i dislike my job, the long stationary hours sitting at a desk, the stress and the impacts this has vs the opportunity cost in terms of spending time doing sports / hobbies i enjoy (not possible now clocks changed) and quality of family time etc.

i wonder if the issue is related to DC pensions...My analogy is that i have been blowing up an inflatable ball for 35 years...very vigorously in the last 20, and now it feels like a real "leap" to stop pumping it up, and indeed pull the valve out and start letting all the air out....not knowing if you have inflated it enough or not (what will inflation do, what % will my investments grow, will there be a catastrophic stock market impacting event, how long will i live etc, that are all a gamble compared to a DB pension) - and there is no CLEAR ANSWER.

i did some basic modelling at the weekend - but i think people (like me) need re assurance having worked 13 hrs a day for decades that yes, its okay to now let the air out!   Or i think often times it needs a trigger event  - such a redundancy or a medical issue that kinda pushes the button - but thats not ideal.

im going to share my model in a seperate thread this evening - needing peer review to tell me its okay to deflate!

Yes I think this is a real issue with dc pensions, having spent decades saving and seeing pots accumulate, and the comfort of a monthly wage, suddenly you have to start spending and witness your pot reduce in size with no future plans to re accumulate. It's a very difficult proposition for some.

FIREDreamer

SouthCoastBoy said:

Starmer24 said:

this thread resonates a lot with me - i have been thinking of retiring for a while, primarily because i dislike my job, the long stationary hours sitting at a desk, the stress and the impacts this has vs the opportunity cost in terms of spending time doing sports / hobbies i enjoy (not possible now clocks changed) and quality of family time etc.

i wonder if the issue is related to DC pensions...My analogy is that i have been blowing up an inflatable ball for 35 years...very vigorously in the last 20, and now it feels like a real "leap" to stop pumping it up, and indeed pull the valve out and start letting all the air out....not knowing if you have inflated it enough or not (what will inflation do, what % will my investments grow, will there be a catastrophic stock market impacting event, how long will i live etc, that are all a gamble compared to a DB pension) - and there is no CLEAR ANSWER.

i did some basic modelling at the weekend - but i think people (like me) need re assurance having worked 13 hrs a day for decades that yes, its okay to now let the air out!   Or i think often times it needs a trigger event  - such a redundancy or a medical issue that kinda pushes the button - but thats not ideal.

im going to share my model in a seperate thread this evening - needing peer review to tell me its okay to deflate!

Yes I think this is a real issue with dc pensions, having spent decades saving and seeing pots accumulate, and the comfort of a monthly wage, suddenly you have to start spending and witness your pot reduce in size with no future plans to re accumulate. It's a very difficult proposition for some.

Try https://annuitysupermarket.hl.co.uk/personalclient.aspx

Starmer24

SouthCoastBoy said:

Starmer24 said:

this thread resonates a lot with me - i have been thinking of retiring for a while, primarily because i dislike my job, the long stationary hours sitting at a desk, the stress and the impacts this has vs the opportunity cost in terms of spending time doing sports / hobbies i enjoy (not possible now clocks changed) and quality of family time etc.

i wonder if the issue is related to DC pensions...My analogy is that i have been blowing up an inflatable ball for 35 years...very vigorously in the last 20, and now it feels like a real "leap" to stop pumping it up, and indeed pull the valve out and start letting all the air out....not knowing if you have inflated it enough or not (what will inflation do, what % will my investments grow, will there be a catastrophic stock market impacting event, how long will i live etc, that are all a gamble compared to a DB pension) - and there is no CLEAR ANSWER.

i did some basic modelling at the weekend - but i think people (like me) need re assurance having worked 13 hrs a day for decades that yes, its okay to now let the air out!   Or i think often times it needs a trigger event  - such a redundancy or a medical issue that kinda pushes the button - but thats not ideal.

im going to share my model in a seperate thread this evening - needing peer review to tell me its okay to deflate!

Yes I think this is a real issue with dc pensions, having spent decades saving and seeing pots accumulate, and the comfort of a monthly wage, suddenly you have to start spending and witness your pot reduce in size with no future plans to re accumulate. It's a very difficult proposition for some.

i am curious - what are your headline numbers / reqs? 

cfw1994

Starmer24 said:

SouthCoastBoy said:

Starmer24 said:

this thread resonates a lot with me - i have been thinking of retiring for a while, primarily because i dislike my job, the long stationary hours sitting at a desk, the stress and the impacts this has vs the opportunity cost in terms of spending time doing sports / hobbies i enjoy (not possible now clocks changed) and quality of family time etc.

i wonder if the issue is related to DC pensions...My analogy is that i have been blowing up an inflatable ball for 35 years...very vigorously in the last 20, and now it feels like a real "leap" to stop pumping it up, and indeed pull the valve out and start letting all the air out....not knowing if you have inflated it enough or not (what will inflation do, what % will my investments grow, will there be a catastrophic stock market impacting event, how long will i live etc, that are all a gamble compared to a DB pension) - and there is no CLEAR ANSWER.

i did some basic modelling at the weekend - but i think people (like me) need re assurance having worked 13 hrs a day for decades that yes, its okay to now let the air out!   Or i think often times it needs a trigger event  - such a redundancy or a medical issue that kinda pushes the button - but thats not ideal.

im going to share my model in a seperate thread this evening - needing peer review to tell me its okay to deflate!

Yes I think this is a real issue with dc pensions, having spent decades saving and seeing pots accumulate, and the comfort of a monthly wage, suddenly you have to start spending and witness your pot reduce in size with no future plans to re accumulate. It's a very difficult proposition for some.

i am curious - what are your headline numbers / reqs? 

Probably not broadly dissimilar to the post in 2020 - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6087918/can-i-afford-to-retire, when as mentioned, several people suggested he had more than enough.  

Now 4 years on, that is 4 *fewer* years of life left to fund…& if the pot has increased, then….
 
The other thing SCB should remember is that his exotic plans to visit Oz for 6 weeks at a time can likely be cheaper than for many by being flexible on travel dates….all breaks and holidays can be chosen at cheaper rates than typical working times often allow.

His desire to run more is essentially free, & whilst I guess the 19th hole may get a little more action, playing more golf will (I assume) have sunk costs that are already paid - Club membership 🤷‍♂️
I wonder if any of the golfing pals are retired?  That ought to tempt him in - come in, join us, the water is lovely🤪

UNLESS of course you love work beyond the life outside of work, in which case, feel free to carry on 👀

penners324

It's quite poor really. 1 of my funds is up 50% in the last 2 years.

LHW99

SouthCoastBoy said:

Starmer24 said:

this thread resonates a lot with me - i have been thinking of retiring for a while, primarily because i dislike my job, the long stationary hours sitting at a desk, the stress and the impacts this has vs the opportunity cost in terms of spending time doing sports / hobbies i enjoy (not possible now clocks changed) and quality of family time etc.

i wonder if the issue is related to DC pensions...My analogy is that i have been blowing up an inflatable ball for 35 years...very vigorously in the last 20, and now it feels like a real "leap" to stop pumping it up, and indeed pull the valve out and start letting all the air out....not knowing if you have inflated it enough or not (what will inflation do, what % will my investments grow, will there be a catastrophic stock market impacting event, how long will i live etc, that are all a gamble compared to a DB pension) - and there is no CLEAR ANSWER.

i did some basic modelling at the weekend - but i think people (like me) need re assurance having worked 13 hrs a day for decades that yes, its okay to now let the air out!   Or i think often times it needs a trigger event  - such a redundancy or a medical issue that kinda pushes the button - but thats not ideal.

im going to share my model in a seperate thread this evening - needing peer review to tell me its okay to deflate!

Yes I think this is a real issue with dc pensions, having spent decades saving and seeing pots accumulate, and the comfort of a monthly wage, suddenly you have to start spending and witness your pot reduce in size with no future plans to re accumulate. It's a very difficult proposition for some.

And while I have sympathy with the view that IHT should be charged on unspent pensions, the above is why a good many people actually add more to their DC pension than logic maybe says they need to, hence building an excess that probably won't be used.

If people start to think "it's all going to be taxed anyway" you get an increase in the "what's the point of saving into a pension anyway" (there's already one thread on here and the legislation isn't even finalised yet.

Result, no pension, money possibly spent on things that bring the Government 20% tax only, and more people needing pension credit etc.

Plucking the goose slowly, by starting with a 10% rate that is then increased over time (as many taxes seem to have been) would probably not have pushed so many people to look for ways to avoid paying as the proposal of an immediate 40% is doing.

SouthCoastBoy

Yes it is interesting in what the final legislation will be , may be they will introduce a new rate for pension IHT, or maybe allow the first £1m of pensions to be tax free. As always the devil is in the detail, so we will have to wait and see.

Albermarle

cfw1994 said:

Sarahspangles said:

SouthCoastBoy said:

cfw1994 said:

Doesn’t your other thread show you are WAY above a safety net with what you have now?

My wife was VERY supportive of me stepping away asap - how does yours feel?

My wife says I should retire, its me who is the problem

This and another active thread at the moment make me wonder if anxiety about retirement is more prevalent than we think. The abolition of standard retirement age has introduced choice and some personality types will then consider risk and mitigatations in a way they may not have if the calendar made the choice for them.

That’s probably about right 🤷‍♂️

One thing to remember is every year you work is one less you are retired.

Time. Health. Money.
The balance throughout your life 
See what the very smart James Shack says - https://youtu.be/OuDCDp9Z9Y4

A smart cookie 😉

However this being the MSE pensions board, I feel obliged to point out that one more year at work, is also one less year that you need to use your own funds for income. So each extra year at work gains you two years financially 

Dazza1902

Scb.Your numbers are fine, the biggest problem you will have is watching England getting battered in Oz.
 I recently travelled to India and Pakistan  cost peanuts but the cricket was awful.See you in Oz

SouthCoastBoy

Dazza1902 said:

Scb.Your numbers are fine, the biggest problem you will have is watching England getting battered in Oz.
 I recently travelled to India and Pakistan  cost peanuts but the cricket was awful.See you in Oz

I would like to do an india tour one day. Been there for work and found the country fascinating.

Do you know if ashes tickets are on sale yet? Been on cricket australia but couldn't find anything. Not sure what test to do. Most probably perth and brisbane.