Retiring at 50?

hamiltonian

My 2c, as someone who retired at about 52...
To my mind, there are two parts to the 'question', and they are partly linked.
Do you have the Means,
What's your Motive?

the link - to some extent, the means will determine or direct the motive - you can 'just about' afford to retire, but then have restrictions on what you can do... or, possibly, work longer and then have more capacity for a comfortable retiremement.  We're all on a scale between zero and 'Jeff Bezos'

in short, Means are simply financial, and the outcome of good planning (or good fortune) or more probably a bit of both.  I'm in a similar position, having saved assiduously, approx £1M in shared pensions, few 100k's in ISAs, but also will inherit some from ageing parents...  we chose to spend some money on an IFA to review our finances, and develop an ongoing funding plan. It costs every year, but that comes out of 'income' from savings, and is worthwhile for peace of mind, certainly in the short term. The longer I'm away from work, the less likely I'd be able to go back into it.

Motive - for me, I always 'worked to live', not 'live to work'. I never lusted after the 'corner office' or the 'fancy job title'. We're all wired differently in that respect - the key thing is to figure out for yourself, what you want to be, then have the courage of your convictions to follow it. I chose a line of work that was aligned to my skills, and paid well (audit in technology), and sold my soul to a couple of banks.... I'd also chosen not to have children.
My retirement so far has been to do all the things I liked doing in my spare time, but more of them... a mix of travel (ticking off National Parks in the US), hobbies (dinghy sailing, skiing), and 'sport' (principally running, but will get back into triathlon) and the associated training (gym, yoga etc). I'm also working on my languages, related hobbies (photography, writing), etc...  and I've still got a stack of books to read, movies to watch... and sometimes it's just nice to be able to sit in the garden in the sun and just 'be in the moment'.

I'm very cognisant, as is the OP, of being fortunate enough to be in this situation - it's a mix of planning and luck. I'll be using some of my income philanthropically to support friends, family etc

Regrets - hell no!

ali_bear

Woo .. old thread revived. 

So dear OP you have a good financial basis, even if some of it could be better invested perhaps. A position many would be envious of. You are free to pursue what you want to do in life, rather than what you have to do to get by. You can think beyond the demands of work or the financial constraints of retirement. 

BENNZ787

Hamiltonian wrote: 'I'm in a similar position, having saved assiduously, approx £1M in shared pensions, few 100k's in ISAs, but also will inherit some from ageing parents.'

Thanks for sharing. 

This is my first post. I’m nearly 57 and am wanting to finish up anytime between now and 59/60. 

My question is you shared the above details and I’m wondering if that’s a combined total for a couple or just your own position - I’m interested because it makes quite a difference whether its providing for one or two people. 

And for any couples out there would you be able to estimate the percentage increase you think is required between providing for one or a couple in a mortgage free home. 

ali_bear

I think the living costs for a couple can be figured to be somewhere between what a singleton costs and two times that. But something that most would find valuable is to draw up a realistic budget for your living costs. For each item you can additionally consider if this is fixed or increases for a couple. eg House insurance is fixed, home heating is maybe 1.2x and food costs is 2x. 

hamiltonian

BENNZ787 said:

Hamiltonian wrote: 'I'm in a similar position, having saved assiduously, approx £1M in shared pensions, few 100k's in ISAs, but also will inherit some from ageing parents.'

Thanks for sharing. 

This is my first post. I’m nearly 57 and am wanting to finish up anytime between now and 59/60. 

My question is you shared the above details and I’m wondering if that’s a combined total for a couple or just your own position - I’m interested because it makes quite a difference whether its providing for one or two people. 

And for any couples out there would you be able to estimate the percentage increase you think is required between providing for one or a couple in a mortgage free home. 

my figures are for a couple.  our total 'cash' assets are about £1M5, and about 800k in the house (diff between mortgage balance and rough estimate of sale price). we're still paying the mortgage... factoring in when to sell & downsize (need v choice) is a regular checkpoint with our IFA.
In terms of 'how much you need', there are widely published guidelines, but these are kind of a lower limit... for us, once we've budgeted for the essentials (medical insurance, building maintenance, car etc), our 'optional' spend is nearly as much...  you'll hear talk of the 'U' curve of retirement spending - where you spend more initially whilst you're still able to enjoy activities, and then more in the last few years on healthcare.... 

We did (as ali_bear says) put together a reasonably detailed budget of all our required and optional expenditure - and most of those things (heating, subscriptions etc) are much the same for 1 or 2 people. Even holiday costs are probably only 25-30% more expensive as a couple.
Do the budget, and you'll soon realise where you fall - but my gut would say 25-30% premium for being a couple, as a starting point.  

BENNZ787

Thanks for the replies. I'll give it some thought and contribute some more if I have anything interesting to say/ask. 

jim8888

I retired at 50 having planned financially for it for years. What I didn't plan for was what I'd do with myself. Within a year I was back to full time employment and enjoying it, until I retired (again) six years later. I was a bit better prepared mentally this time and have also taken some part time work because, frankly, I like the social and fulfilling side of having a job. So spend at least as much time on the social planning side of retirement as you do on the financial side, and start developing those hobbies and pastimes today, instead of on Day One of retirement. Build a network you can retire into. I think people tend to underestimate the massive change full retirement is after working and earning for decades, and it deserves serious thought in preparation for it.