How do you "let go" of your working life?

SimonSeys

Love the username @Kismet_Hardy! 

I wonder if there’s some deep-seated mental block from your earlier experiences?  My grandfather (former PoW) really struggled to see food left on a plate or go to waste - a legacy of being extremely, extremely hungry. 

Might your experience of being homeless have a similar long term impact?

Si

Albermarle

It starts with anxiety like that about more adventurous trips, and over a period of time people end up going no further than the local shops. 

On the other hand if you travelled a lot for work, the prospect of voluntarily putting yourself through the stress again of queues/delays at airports, on Motorways, at Eurotunnel, or driving for extended periods, is less than enticing.
A friend of mine was very regularly on a plane ; In the US, Eastern and Western Europe, Far East etc.
After retiring early he has only been on one flight in ten years, much preferring a leisurely cycle down to his golf club.
I do go on a couple of trips abroad a year, but spending most of a day travelling actually reminds me of work. I also feel a bit reluctant ( although I do it occasionally) to drive too far, even though when working I would drive for example. from the South to Derby and back in the same day.

firesidemaid

I'm definitely in the camp that says none of us know how much time we have left. I'm 10 years younger than you and have decided to take my work pension early - we can live on it (mortgage paid and bills cut by massively reducing commuting costs).

I thought I would never take it early as that meant taking a reduction / 'losing'  money. But after doing the sums, I realised I would be well into my 80s before I regretted it! And we've got our state pensions to come.

A final note to all, do as much as you can to keep fit, particularly strength work (even if only body weight) from as early as possible. And to women, consider HRT if you are able, the evidence shows it is better than statins or blood pressure meds at reducing heart disease & cardiac events - and a licensed treatment for osteoporosis prevention. Basically, your healthspan will be much improved. Check out the Balance Menopause website for all the evidence-based info.

Good luck with your imminent retirement @Kismet_Hardy

leosayer

My own way of "letting go" of work (as a Project Manager) was to treat retirement planning as a long-term project which felt like a second job to me. It helped that my field of expertise was Investment Management so I already had direct experience of many relevant aspects.

I never really wrote it down before but if I had done so, my Project Terms of Reference would have read something like the below. It's all a bit scientific and formal but without SMART objectives that everyone signs up to, project struggle.

Ironically, our retirement is probably the only project I ever delivered that was under budget (thanks to redundancy payments and good investment performance) and delivered early (we stopped at 54) although of course, the project continues for the rest of our lives.

Objectives

• By the age of 57, remove the constraints on our time associated with working for a salary to allow more time for things we enjoy like travel, reading, music, exercise, and spending time with family and friends
• Remain living in our current house
• Enjoy a comfortable standard of living for the rest of our lives

Assumptions

• No material impact to our plans from changes to the tax, savings and pension regime
• Paid financial advise is not required
• Long term investment performance profile resembled historic

Risks (that need managing)

• Job loss curtails our ability to save
• Material life change (eg. medical issue) require change of plans
• Sequence risk
• Sustained period of high inflation
• Lack of financial advice give rise to a costly mistake

Kismet_Hardy

DRS1 said:

I have always thought that a gentle glide into retirement (dropping the odd day a week here and there) was a good thing; much better than coming to a sudden halt.  It never occurred to me that you could find yourself stuck on the glide path unable to land.

I suspect there are quite a few of us feeling stuck in this way. I feel like I should be strutting my stuff to Alice Cooper's School's Out and Bon Jovi's It's My Life. Instead I'm shuffling around in circles to Hotel California. I can check out any time I want, but I can never leave!! 

Kismet_Hardy

By the way everyone, I am truly grateful for all of your postings. I'm not going to reply to all of them, but I have read them all and this is really helping.  

Kismet_Hardy

As long as I was working even a few days consulting a month, I would be limited to live my dreams. The freedom of total retirement is hard to explain but there’s no consulting or NXD’s, I chaired enough schools and boards in my 40s while working  that stuff Is for other types of people now , sounds like that's what you want though , still needing to be significant and have an impact  ? 

It is limiting me - I accept that. I have absolutely no desire to chair school boards or anything like that. I don't need to be significant (other than to my family and friends). It really isn't about status or a sense of worth. I have done all that and I am satisfied with what I achieved.   

Kismet_Hardy

Pat38493 said:

Running out of money is optional.

Running out of time is mandatory.

I have just finished work this week at age 56 after thinking about it for a few years.  My wife already took early retirement a couple of years ago, partly due to health concerns, and is a bit older than me.  I'm not sure it's really sunk in yet as I did my last work day and now packing for a 3.5 week swanky holiday so it will probably start to hit me when I get back and realise I don't have to go back to work!

I have a retirement finance plan which seems to be perfectly fine for us as a couple, and provides a pretty high chance of being able to help the kids out with house deposit or whatever, so I have not firmly set money aside for them but it's in the plan, with the proviso that making sure we are ok financially comes first.  Seems pretty similar to the situation you are in.

Your issue seems to be more psychological, as for many of us, working provides a further sense of purpose outside of the family.  What helps for me a bit is that I am trying not to think of myself as retired - more like taking a break before I decide what to do next.  There are a myriad of opportunities to be useful that don't involve working to corporate deadlines or suchlike.  I also worked in IT and one of my main motivators is that I have just had enough of working in the IT "world" - maybe I'll use my skills later to do some volunteer IT training or such, but not working projects or corporate deadlines.

Thank you for this. Looks like we are in similar positions. The kids will be okay in due course. I was getting on a bit when I had them (not through choice) and there will be a fair bit of inheritance, subject to what happens with IHT. 

Kismet_Hardy

BridgetTheCat said:

I’m finding it surprisingly easy to let go. I’ve spent the last 2 years under threat of redundancy and since I was turning 55 anyway I pulled together all my pension information just in case. I wasn’t made redundant in the end but I’ve decided to go part time from next April with the intention of retiring fully between 58 and 60.

I think it helps to imagine what you would do if money wasn’t a factor. Would you still work, or pursue other interests? After a long career in the sciences I want to learn about art and history, maybe even go back to uni 🤣, so it’s a matter of working out how much I need to pursue those things.

I am sure that I would have stopped by now if money wasn't a factor. Like you, I am a huge fan of art and history (as a youngster, I wanted to be an artist and I have a history degree  ). There are quite a few people nagging me to pick up my brushes again.  

Kismet_Hardy

twopenny - I am someone who is eternally curious. I have given this some thought over the weekend and I am sure that I shall not be bored. I'm genuinely not the type to waste my life. Work is now stopping me from being myself and everyone who has commented about time running out is correct.