Retirement Decision

Cobbler_tone

My house and groceries cost about £17,500, so that’s a lot of etc for me. That’s with two of us on £180 a week on groceries including a regular supply of Waitrose Cava. Might bump it up if we switched to Champers. £45k for nice cars, gifts, clothes and holidays maybe.
I guess it’s all relative and some people spend £150 a month on the telly, £300 on council tax and the same again on energy bills.

Smudgeismydog

As you say, you’ve already worked out your accumulated assets should support your desired level of retirement income. 
I suspect your apprehension comes from ‘pulling the trigger’, and it is indeed a bold leap at 52, but like others, I have done this, so you are not alone.

As chewbacca and cobbler_tone both note, it’s really important to think about what you are retiring to. Are you someone who needs things in the diary to look forward to and provide structure? If you are, then perhaps spend some time in the run up to retirement starting to put this in place. 

If you enjoy travel, as cobbler_tone clearly does, then you could speak with your partner to start to plan this.

The move from accumulating to decumulating can be challenging, but it’s what you saved for, to give yourself that freedom and own your own time.

Good luck and please keep posting to let us know how you get on

BrilliantButScary

Perhaps the OP's partner should post for advice, as they could potentially be in a vulnerable position. The OP's partner has alot to give up, a salary, their own home and £30,000 projected retirement income. I would be inclined to maintain the status quo.

How old is the OP's partner?
If they are the same age as the OP (52) and intend to stop working, this will potentially impact both their Defined Benefit and State Pension. If the relationship does not work out the OP's partner could be in a position of having to return to work, find somewhere else to live, with far fewer resources than the OP.

'Putting a ring on it', in my opinion, is an awful phrase.

DT2001

Your withdrawal rate is about 3% of the whole for the top end of your requirement which to my way of thinking is cautious bearing in mind in 15 years you will get your state pension. You also want to maximise investment growth which I think runs contrary to your apprehension. Linton’s 3 pot approach - cash/nr cash for immediate needs, large income producing pot to ‘feed’ 1st pot and growth pot (pension as untouchable for a few years) would work for you to achieve the income. Personally I intend to withdraw a fixed percentage of the whole high percentage equity pot (about 3.5%)  and supplement from cash pot to achieve the total but adding a caveat that I’ll reduce my income if I have a poor early sequence of returns. I have guaranteed income so a reduction in the ‘top up’ is less consequential. My plan will probably achieve the investment growth but at the potential expense of income certainty. How do you intend to use your cash reserve?

dinosaur66

i am 59 retired last year aged 58

looking back i wish i took the chance and retired at 50

like you i was apprehensive about money and making it last and you have a lot more than me

of course lifestyles and area we live make a huge difference money wise and how far it stretches

now i am single with no children and that makes a huge difference /inheritance tax wise unless thangs change my properties which are just over 7 figures now means the  govt is going to take 1 million off me minumum if i live 20 more years and i have no one who needs it all relatives having done well

but after 1 year of retirement i  did everything and went everywhere i wanted to last  year not trying to save a penny and still ended up having 20k more in bank than i started with and realise now i can buy what i want when i want / do what i want when i want /go where i want when i want and not worry about it for the rest of my life

the old addage you only have one life rings very very true older you get and whats the point of  working huge hours which you must have done to accumalate the money and property and pay it all off  if you retire at 67 and are burnt out

now approching 60 i wish i could go back 10 years and make myself retire at 50 best year of my life since i was in my 20s and carefree

bownyboy

Wow. You have an amazing number of assets. It feels like you have more than enough to retire right now and start enjoying your life.

But only you can make that decision.

I retired 3 years ago at 49 with combined with my wife of ISA / SIPP / Cash of £925k and a paid off house. Our expenses are around £48k a year (right now as we're having fun) but we also have two full new state pensions of £12k a year coming online later. We assume our expenses will be lower for next few years and then increase as we get older.

We also dont have kids so plan to make use of our equity to have fun and also pay for any end of life care.

Anyway, my advice? Enjoy life right now while you are healthy. You never know when it will be taken away from you.

cfw1994

52?
What are you retiring *to*?
I think financially you are in a fabulous position, but we all know it isn’t money that makes us happy, & 52 is very young these days: I’m now the wrong side of 60, but last month saw me hurtling headfirst down a quarry over 80mph, then walking up Snowdon the next day 😉

For some, their successful career defines them.
For others, it is their garden.
For me, it is a wide group of friends and an amazing family - those are the things that drive me to doing more things, having given up the wage 4 years ago.

I’m genuinely curious: you must have either had a very good career or perhaps large inheritance.  That isn’t important - it is history.  The future is!
My career was “good enough”, but I never felt it was what I was all about.  

How will you spend your time?  Do you have friends in similar positions?  
The house consolidation could be a multi-year project, of course, & both of you protecting your interests is perhaps an important point, as others have said.

Linton

cfw1994 said:

52?
What are you retiring ‘to’?
I think financially you are in a fabulous position, but we all know it isn’t money that makes us happy, & 52 is very young these days: I’m now the wrong side of 60, but last month saw me hurtling headfirst down a quarry over 80mph, then walking up Snowdon the next day 😉

For some, their successful career defines them.
For others, it is their garden.
For me, it is a wide group of friends and an amazing family - those are the things that drive me to doing more things, having given up the wage 4 years ago.

I’m genuinely curious: you must have either had a very good career or perhaps large inheritance.  That isn’t important - it is history.  The future is!
My career was “good enough”, but I never felt it was what I was all about.  

How will you spend your time?  Do you have friends in similar positions?  
The house consolidation could be a multi-year project, of course, & both of you protecting your interests is perhaps an important point, as others have said.

In my view this should be the most important consideration. Don’t retire unless you have an answer.

You have sufficient money to do anything you may reasonably wish to do. So what will you do with the one asset that will eventually run out -time.  What are your ambitions? What will you achieve in the next 30-40 years?

This should be the motivation for retiring, see it as an opportunity for a new life rather than just “not working”.

Cobbler_tone

Although we are all different, general rule of thumb I hear (both on here and lived experiences) is that you’ll spend more money in the first couple of years. Setting up hobbies, clubs, DIY projects, increased travel. Then you realise you are burning money and rein it in, or your retirement settles down, maybe getting a free Waitrose coffee as opposed to £4 in Costa. I grind my own BTW. 

When setting your target (seems basic but people do forget), no more NI to pay, less tax probably, no pension contributions, maybe less on the commute, maybe less on buying work lunches, plus I’m sure some other expenses related to work. Don’t forget your free prescriptions at 60, plus your travel pass if in London.
On the flip side, your energy bills will most likely increase but hopefully you won’t be watching too much day time TV.
Ultimately you can enjoy a lot of freedom and fun without breaking the bank. People who enjoy fishing or a member of their golf club have got it made!

If you just despise work and want to quit early, assuming you are mortgage free it’s surprising how little you need to lead a comfortable, active and happy life. Still a meaty DC and/or savings I guess.

Cus

911abz said:

I’ve been a member here for a while and have enjoyed reading the various posts about early retirement. Now, I find myself at a similar crossroads and would really appreciate some encouragement and advice from those of you who’ve made the leap.

To start, I know that everyone's pension and financial situation is different, and I’m aware that mine is in a relatively strong position. However, I’d like to kindly ask for no sarcastic comments—I’m genuinely seeking thoughtful guidance. I’ve worked hard to get here, but I’m still feeling a bit nervous and uncertain about taking the next step.

Here’s my situation:

1. I’m 52 and planning to retire at the end of June.
2. My partner and I each own our own homes outright, with no mortgages.
3. My current pension and savings are as follows:
   - SIPP: £772k
   - Stocks & Shares ISA: £656k
   - General Investment Account: £253k
   - VCTs: £65k
   - Cash savings: £266k
4. I’ll be eligible for a full state pension at 67.

I’m planning to draw down between £50k–60k per year in the most tax-efficient way possible while still maximizing investment growth. My partner’s Defined Benefit pension, along with their state pension, will provide an additional £30k annually, and they have around £135k in savings.

We also plan to sell our individual properties and purchase a home together, using the combined proceeds from both properties.

I’ve worked with financial advisors, and their cash flow models, along with online tools like Guiide and spreadsheets I’ve created, all show that my cash should last—assuming markets behave as they have for the past 125 years. Still, for some reason, I’m feeling a bit apprehensive about it all!

If anyone has any advice on whether my approach seems reasonable, or any tips for managing the transition, I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences. Thanks in advance!

As you state that you have been a member for a while, then I assume this is a second account as you joined yesterday. This is reasonable as people often want anonymity when stating their financial position. But having been a member, you will have seen the many threads of this nature and the sound non financial advice given, and you are in a similar position to the members on those threads, so I recommend searching for those threads.  I'm not sure anyone providing financial advice here is worth any more than what you have done with your IFA, so it seems it's a reassurance thing, but I think it would be unusual not to feel apprehensive no matter what financial position you are in.