Am i okay to "deflate"? Please sanity check my model / thinking!

Linton

One point I have noticed - your assumption of 2% annual inflation does not seem reasonable to me.  The BoE are charged with keeping inflation at 2%.  Clearly inflation will exceed that at times such as recently when the rate was around 10%.  I used an average of 3% for my planning.

However you should be able to manage on £1.8M.

Albermarle

Cobbler_tone said:

eastcorkram said:

Cobbler_tone said:

It’s about maximising your fun and adventure whilst you are still able to do so. 

That's a very relative thing though. Fun and adventure for me would be making my lunch at 12.50 instead of 12.55! 

I think I met you at a party once. 

I would guess they do not go to parties 

Starmer24

Thanks for all the recents posts - very kind.

After speaking to an IFA and the feedback on here i feel relatively comfortable that i can stop work from here on.

As other people have said, we can reduce expenditure or pick up a different job in the future if needed but the one thing i cannot actively secure is time ie determine how long i will live.

My plan is now to retire March 2025 at age 54, unless employees agree to a 3 day week when i broach it in the new year, in which case i might stay on another 12 mths depending on how that pans out (work / life balance etc).  I suspect they wont agree, and "force my hand" for the 2025 exit...will see.

DRS1

Starmer24 said:

My plan is now to retire March 2025 at age 54, unless employees agree to a 3 day week when i broach it in the new year, in which case i might stay on another 12 mths depending on how that pans out (work / life balance etc).  I suspect they wont agree, and "force my hand" for the 2025 exit...will see.

Try to make the 3 days a week thing work.  It is a bit of a shock to go from 5 days a week to 0 days cold turkey.  Either that or make a plan for what you are going to do in the early days of retirement so you have a structure to replace work.

FIREDreamer

DRS1 said:

Starmer24 said:

My plan is now to retire March 2025 at age 54, unless employees agree to a 3 day week when i broach it in the new year, in which case i might stay on another 12 mths depending on how that pans out (work / life balance etc).  I suspect they wont agree, and "force my hand" for the 2025 exit...will see.

Try to make the 3 days a week thing work.  It is a bit of a shock to go from 5 days a week to 0 days cold turkey.  Either that or make a plan for what you are going to do in the early days of retirement so you have a structure to replace work.

I went from a 5 day week to a 4 day week (2 years) to a 3 day week (4 years). Retired this Summer - last 4 years of WFH was too much and I had started to hate the job. Bought an adequate JL RPI annuity which, combined with 2 DB pensions taken early, meets necessities plus a few luxuries. Remaining drawdown pot for any extras - was going to leave this til last but will draw on this before ISA (at basic rate tax only) due to changes in inheritance tax in 2027 and leave the ISA til last. A further annuity may be bought in a few years time if I feel the need for more guaranteed income. However annuity plus DB plus state pension takes me into 40% tax in 7 years and I only got mostly 20% relief on my pensions so hate the thought of paying 40% tax when taking it out, though this is obviously a first world problem.

crv1963

Starmer24 said:

My plan is now to retire March 2025 at age 54, unless employees agree to a 3 day week when i broach it in the new year, in which case i might stay on another 12 mths depending on how that pans out (work / life balance etc).  I suspect they wont agree, and "force my hand" for the 2025 exit...will see.

Glad you have been able to make a decision, glad that your plans have come to fruition after saving so well.

The next part to do between now and when you go is decide what you are retiring to. This is as important as the planning/ saving to get to the position of being able to go. It's not just the holidays/ days out etc but the mundane stuff such as what are you getting up for? There are lots of things that can be done, such as volunteering, following hobbies, as well as the usual gardening/ decorating/ cleaning. Think do you want a new skill or have skills others might need? The other thing is to be careful that you don't upset the other half, I have a friend who told his wife she was cleaning in the wrong order and the response was quite sharp! I have another friend who never sang but joined a choir and spends hours a week practising and performing, just a few thoughts I thought I would share with you.

Good luck and enjoy!

cfw1994

crv1963 said:

Starmer24 said:

My plan is now to retire March 2025 at age 54, unless employees agree to a 3 day week when i broach it in the new year, in which case i might stay on another 12 mths depending on how that pans out (work / life balance etc).  I suspect they wont agree, and "force my hand" for the 2025 exit...will see.

Glad you have been able to make a decision, glad that your plans have come to fruition after saving so well.

The next part to do between now and when you go is decide what you are retiring to. This is as important as the planning/ saving to get to the position of being able to go. It's not just the holidays/ days out etc but the mundane stuff such as what are you getting up for? There are lots of things that can be done, such as volunteering, following hobbies, as well as the usual gardening/ decorating/ cleaning. Think do you want a new skill or have skills others might need? The other thing is to be careful that you don't upset the other half, I have a friend who told his wife she was cleaning in the wrong order and the response was quite sharp! I have another friend who never sang but joined a choir and spends hours a week practising and performing, just a few thoughts I thought I would share with you.

Good luck and enjoy!

Hear hear!
Congrats on the decision making.   As some say, phasing down with a 3 day week may work, if they let you.   For me, I was happy to drop things & move on, but I get that many prefer a gentle slide into disgrace....

If not....focus on that delicious topic of what you plan to move on to do!

eastcorkram

@crv1963
@cfw1994

I'm sure there's something wrong with me   

I'm finishing in 4 weeks time. Stopping dead (pun intended). 

I have no plans, or ideas really, of what I will do. I've a vague idea of something voluntary a day or two a week, but at this stage, no idea what. Certainly to start with, I'll be doing nothing. I've had enough, physically and mentally at work. Need to rest and re group , before I move on to the next phase. My OH will finish next summer. 

I've read the number thread, but never worked out a number. I came to all this too late, to be able to make much of a difference. Plus, I'd have no idea how to do a spreadsheet, or even the purpose of such a thing. Just figured I'll live within my means, whatever they are. Once SP kicks in next year for me, and in two years for OH, we'll be on around £60k gross between us. Very roughly about half each. 

You read quite a lot on here about holidays, and clearly a lot of people enjoy them, and even enjoy the planning of them. We don't do holidays as such, apart from the odd one night away, even as a couple earning around £100k a year. We have no plans to change that in retirement either. Though I'd expect the nights away to increase. Some people find that odd. Usually the people who like holidays! I'm not sure it's that rare though. I work in a department of 9 people. They're all on between £50k to £60k. Only one of them goes on holiday each year. That's to the same place in France each time, certainly for the last 15 years, excluding COVID. None of the others go away. 

So four weeks left. I'm not excited about it. It's an odd feeling. I'm looking forward to it, but all I'm looking forward to, is not going to work anymore. I'm pretty thick, but not thick enough to realise that I will need to discover a new schedule and routine, which might need to last 1, 10, 20, or 30 years. 

I'm also aware that I'm not doing it the way you're supposed to. As in, I should already have a plan. Probably suits me as a contrary so and so. If I vanish from here sometime just after Christmas, it might be because I've dropped dead shortly after stopping work! 

Never been sure if that's a real thing, or just a myth .

pterri

eastcorkram said:

@crv1963
@cfw1994

I'm sure there's something wrong with me   

I'm finishing in 4 weeks time. Stopping dead (pun intended). 

I have no plans, or ideas really, of what I will do. I've a vague idea of something voluntary a day or two a week, but at this stage, no idea what. Certainly to start with, I'll be doing nothing. I've had enough, physically and mentally at work. Need to rest and re group , before I move on to the next phase. My OH will finish next summer. 

I've read the number thread, but never worked out a number. I came to all this too late, to be able to make much of a difference. Plus, I'd have no idea how to do a spreadsheet, or even the purpose of such a thing. Just figured I'll live within my means, whatever they are. Once SP kicks in next year for me, and in two years for OH, we'll be on around £60k gross between us. Very roughly about half each. 

You read quite a lot on here about holidays, and clearly a lot of people enjoy them, and even enjoy the planning of them. We don't do holidays as such, apart from the odd one night away, even as a couple earning around £100k a year. We have no plans to change that in retirement either. Though I'd expect the nights away to increase. Some people find that odd. Usually the people who like holidays! I'm not sure it's that rare though. I work in a department of 9 people. They're all on between £50k to £60k. Only one of them goes on holiday each year. That's to the same place in France each time, certainly for the last 15 years, excluding COVID. None of the others go away. 

So four weeks left. I'm not excited about it. It's an odd feeling. I'm looking forward to it, but all I'm looking forward to, is not going to work anymore. I'm pretty thick, but not thick enough to realise that I will need to discover a new schedule and routine, which might need to last 1, 10, 20, or 30 years. 

I'm also aware that I'm not doing it the way you're supposed to. As in, I should already have a plan. Probably suits me as a contrary so and so. If I vanish from here sometime just after Christmas, it might be because I've dropped dead shortly after stopping work! 

Never been sure if that's a real thing, or just a myth .

I really don’t think you are as “thick” as you think you are! Simply stopping the thing that exhausts you mentally and physically and being able to afford it (£100k joint to £60k joint is not a bad place to be in retirement) is a perfectly valid decision. 

Albermarle

eastcorkram said:

@crv1963
@cfw1994

I'm sure there's something wrong with me   

I'm finishing in 4 weeks time. Stopping dead (pun intended). 

I have no plans, or ideas really, of what I will do. I've a vague idea of something voluntary a day or two a week, but at this stage, no idea what. Certainly to start with, I'll be doing nothing. I've had enough, physically and mentally at work. Need to rest and re group , before I move on to the next phase. My OH will finish next summer. 

I've read the number thread, but never worked out a number. I came to all this too late, to be able to make much of a difference. Plus, I'd have no idea how to do a spreadsheet, or even the purpose of such a thing. Just figured I'll live within my means, whatever they are. Once SP kicks in next year for me, and in two years for OH, we'll be on around £60k gross between us. Very roughly about half each. 

You read quite a lot on here about holidays, and clearly a lot of people enjoy them, and even enjoy the planning of them. We don't do holidays as such, apart from the odd one night away, even as a couple earning around £100k a year. We have no plans to change that in retirement either. Though I'd expect the nights away to increase. Some people find that odd. Usually the people who like holidays! I'm not sure it's that rare though. I work in a department of 9 people. They're all on between £50k to £60k. Only one of them goes on holiday each year. That's to the same place in France each time, certainly for the last 15 years, excluding COVID. None of the others go away. 

So four weeks left. I'm not excited about it. It's an odd feeling. I'm looking forward to it, but all I'm looking forward to, is not going to work anymore. I'm pretty thick, but not thick enough to realise that I will need to discover a new schedule and routine, which might need to last 1, 10, 20, or 30 years. 

I'm also aware that I'm not doing it the way you're supposed to. As in, I should already have a plan. Probably suits me as a contrary so and so. If I vanish from here sometime just after Christmas, it might be because I've dropped dead shortly after stopping work! 

Never been sure if that's a real thing, or just a myth .

Plus, I'd have no idea how to do a spreadsheet, or even the purpose of such a thing. Just figured I'll live within my means, whatever they are. Once SP kicks in next year for me, and in two years for OH, we'll be on around £60k gross between us. Very roughly about half each. 

I am not a 'spreadsheet person' either, although I do know what they are and had to use them at work, although usually managed to avoid actually creating one.
For retiring I can see they can be useful for people who like detail, as you can for example have projected income and expenditure in a table going forward many years, and then use different growth/inflation figures and the spreadsheet will automatically recalculate all the figures for the next 30 years for example.
Of course though it is all based on predictions so could be totally wrong, and just checking things occasionally as you go along could be just as good a strategy, especially for the less 'detail' types.
It also helps if you clearly have enough. If your income will be £60 Kpa, but your expenditure is likely to be less than £50K, then it is unlikely anything will go wrong anyway, although best to do a sanity check from time to time, even if it is on the back of a fag packet !

 We don't do holidays as such, apart from the odd one night away, even as a couple earning around £100k a year. We have no plans to change that in retirement either. Though I'd expect the nights away to increase. Some people find that odd. Usually the people who like holidays! I'm not sure it's that rare though. I work in a department of 9 people. They're all on between £50k to £60k. Only one of them goes on holiday each year. That's to the same place in France each time, certainly for the last 15 years, excluding COVID. None of the others go away. 

I think it is pretty unusual for only one person in a dept of 9, to only go on holiday once a year. Maybe somehow a lot of like minded people ended up doing similar jobs in the same organisation.