Early-retirement wannabe

Peter...at first I thought you might have been in the same profession as me but the annual salary and lump sum don't equate to my profession.

I retired at 50 with an occupational pension. Currently I receive just over £1500 into my bank from my pension every month...this will increase to around £1800 after my 55th birthday.

My pension lump sum paid off most of my mortgage, which stands at about £9000, I have £10,000 in ISA savings.

But after a couple of years of retirement I decided that with two of my kids still at home...one going to uni in a couple of years (at that time) and the other going to college...and all the expense that this brings...the pension income wasn't enough and now have another full time job (part time wasn't an option with this employer)

However both my kids have found part time work around their studies and this will influence my thinking about giving up work again in about a year when my increase in pension kicks in

to be honest I found retirement, after the initial euphoria, a tad boring and that was another factor in getting back to work, however the next time around will be different...I'm thinking of renting out my house once the youngest has gone to uni...and living off that income as well as my pension...and do a bit of travelling

I am under no illusion that retirement will not become a life sat on the sofa! I have far too much planned, my passion is cars and travel so I will certainly keep myself busy. The reality is that if my health is still good, I may be inclined to continue working to provide the pocket money to persue my interests, knowing that if I wanted to, I could simply stop working . I do agree that keeping active in retirement is very important, particularly after a very active and busy 35 year career behind me.

I should have added. With some people living or planning to live outside the UK.
Make a will and keep it up to-date.
Inheritance law is very different in many country's. You would not want you or your partner thrown out of "your" home would you.

gfplux wrote: »

Any drawbacks to retirement.
Yes a strange one (for me, or so I thought) You are defined by what you do. For a few months I found getting the word retired out of my mouth difficult when asked what I "did" Silly I know, but it happened and it surprised me at the time.

I have no problems saying "Retired" at all, other than - possibly for psychological reasons - I tend to add the "Early" at the front! Don't know why, because if I didn't, people might think I was over 65 and look younger!

Mrs Loughton Monkey is quite happy also. When living in Asia, she obviously socialised with her compatriates ("Ladies who lunch") and she used to hate the conversation that always started by "...and what does your husband do?"

If it bothers you, you can always say "Retired Widget Maker..." (or whatever it is you did).

My own standard answer, though, tends to be "as little as possible".

Sorry to hear that waxiesdargle.