Should I retire - help me debate

Albermarle

leosayer said:

There's an acronym that got used a lot when I worked in IT Dev - JFDI.

OP you haven't given any reason to stay working other than earning and saving more however that seems unecessary given you are facing 40% income tax on drawdowns. This tells me you have more than enough to stop work based on any reasonable measure such as the PLSA 'Comfortable' standard. 

The fact that your DH is already retired and financially independent means that you are double comfortable. What is his opinion on you retiring? I discussed this a lot with my DW in recent years and her main requirement was that I don't stop before her. In the end I did but only by a few days at the end of last year.

We don't have one regret even though our investments were stress tested by the market dips earlier this year.

The market dips this year - we’re just that - a routine dip . Something that will happen numerous times during a retirement.
If this stressed your financial position, then there will be a lot more stress in future at some point.
Maybe your portfolio needs derisking a bit ?

seacaitch

It seems to me that the OP has thought things through carefully, with a very good grasp of her present situation, with:
- financials robust and well understood
- a plan in place and a desire to do enjoyable things, with structure, while providing a sense of purpose and achievement

The remaining hurdle seems to be entirely natural thoughts about financial security; because the future is unknowable, you never "know" for sure whether you've enough money set aside. Combine this with an IT career, where your earning power collapses once you step off the hamster wheel of staying up-to-date with technology, and there's understandable trepidation. In these circumstances, where there's no going back (earning-wise) it always seems pragmatic to bank more while you can, even if you suspect it may not be needed...

My firmly held view is that, if it's financially viable to do so, retirement is exponentially both easier to adjust to and easier to take advantage of the opportunities available the earlier you do it. The longer you remain in employment, the more difficult it is to (essentially) reinvent yourself and embrace what a full "retirement" can offer.

We say "retirement", but really it's a chance to play; this emphasises how beginning earlier, when you're in (much) better physical shape matters, and you're mentally more open to change.

Try to imagine how your 20-odd year old self could view your present circumstances: they might be amazed at how financially robust you appear, while excited to make the most of this by pursuing interests and trying new things rather than the sticking at the same old job for longer as insurance "just in case".

I would suggest:
- dismiss ideas mentioned earlier of letting down the work team ("weakest link") and selfishly choose what's right for you now
- if viable with your employer, strongly consider transitioning ASAP to reduced hours, to begin the major adjustment you'll be commencing; this avoid a binary decision today and allows time and mental space for your thinking to evolve and solidify and for the go / no-go decision to essentially make itself.

Exciting times ahead, hopefully!

lisyloo

Thats very well summed up. 

leosayer

Albermarle said:

leosayer said:

There's an acronym that got used a lot when I worked in IT Dev - JFDI.

OP you haven't given any reason to stay working other than earning and saving more however that seems unecessary given you are facing 40% income tax on drawdowns. This tells me you have more than enough to stop work based on any reasonable measure such as the PLSA 'Comfortable' standard. 

The fact that your DH is already retired and financially independent means that you are double comfortable. What is his opinion on you retiring? I discussed this a lot with my DW in recent years and her main requirement was that I don't stop before her. In the end I did but only by a few days at the end of last year.

We don't have one regret even though our investments were stress tested by the market dips earlier this year.

The market dips this year - we’re just that - a routine dip . Something that will happen numerous times during a retirement.
If this stressed your financial position, then there will be a lot more stress in future at some point.
Maybe your portfolio needs derisking a bit ?

Maybe stress test was the wrong word. I said it because I've been making payments into an ISA and/or pension to invest in global equities for well over 20 years and during this time I knew that any market crashes would be partially offset by buying units cheaper with our monthly contributions.

Now that my wife and I are no longer earning salaries, that opportunity no longer exists so this year was my first experience of a portfolio drop on retirement savings that we can no longer top up.

I found the dip useful for comfirming that I remain comfortable with the level of risk we are taking (70% equities) that I had set pre-retirement. 

BrilliantButScary

seacaitch said:

It seems to me that the OP has thought things through carefully, with a very good grasp of her present situation, with:
- financials robust and well understood
- a plan in place and a desire to do enjoyable things, with structure, while providing a sense of purpose and achievement

The remaining hurdle seems to be entirely natural thoughts about financial security; because the future is unknowable, you never "know" for sure whether you've enough money set aside. Combine this with an IT career, where your earning power collapses once you step off the hamster wheel of staying up-to-date with technology, and there's understandable trepidation. In these circumstances, where there's no going back (earning-wise) it always seems pragmatic to bank more while you can, even if you suspect it may not be needed...

My firmly held view is that, if it's financially viable to do so, retirement is exponentially both easier to adjust to and easier to take advantage of the opportunities available the earlier you do it. The longer you remain in employment, the more difficult it is to (essentially) reinvent yourself and embrace what a full "retirement" can offer.

We say "retirement", but really it's a chance to play; this emphasises how beginning earlier, when you're in (much) better physical shape matters, and you're mentally more open to change.

Try to imagine how your 20-odd year old self could view your present circumstances: they might be amazed at how financially robust you appear, while excited to make the most of this by pursuing interests and trying new things rather than the sticking at the same old job for longer as insurance "just in case".

I would suggest:
- dismiss ideas mentioned earlier of letting down the work team ("weakest link") and selfishly choose what's right for you now
- if viable with your employer, strongly consider transitioning ASAP to reduced hours, to begin the major adjustment you'll be commencing; this avoid a binary decision today and allows time and mental space for your thinking to evolve and solidify and for the go / no-go decision to essentially make itself.

Exciting times ahead, hopefully!

This post resonates, retirement for me has been about reinventing myself. It's the first time that I've been able to do what I want, when I want, since the age of 16, when I started work. 44 years later @seicatch is right, the go/ no-go decision did essentially make itself, in my case, and I have no regrets, 2 years on.

You have to accept that you have to let go of something, in order to create new space for different experiences in your pre and post retirement years. It really is a transition.

Good Luck to the OP, whatever you decide is right for you.

nicknameless

Only read the OP.

Just retired 2 months ago and was really uncertain right until the day.  Even shed a tear on the way out.  Honestly, have not thought about it or missed for a single minute since.  Early days but wondering what I was so fussed about now.

I'd say if the numbers work and you do not absolutely love and need what you do for work, get gone asap.

fuzzzzy

I agree with the post above. I would go ASAP. 

I guess it makes sense to wait until the December bonus (guessing you probably need to give 3 months notice anyway?).

If you really don't like the idea of retiring in winter then leave it until the spring at the latest.

Spend more time with your mum. Honestly after your mum is gone you may regret it if you spent extra years at work earning extra money you didn't need.

Storcko14

If you are able to decrease your days I'd really recommend it.  Given that you have several non-work interests, a shorter week can be useful time to get trained / qualified / some experience in your retirement 'job'.  By which I mean something you'll do because you love doing it.  I went to 3 days for my final 18 month IT contract and used the 2 days to gain quallies and experience and was able to pretty seamlessly retire into a day or so a week volunteering role in June which I love and is the complete antithesis of what I was doing.  I reckon I've learnt more vocational skills in the last couple of years than in the previous 10.  But set an end date - I wound up calling time as my client would have rolled on.