How to keep going for the last couple of years

tonygcharles wrote: »

I am 60 in a few days and I keep a close eye on my pension , its growing fast at the moment , so I think the longer I keep working , the more I should have when I do retire
lso while i'm working we have a good lifestyle which we wouldn't be able to keep up , we love cruising many times a year and eating out once a week at least without having to worry

I think working part time would be an option to make it easier if it gets to much doing full time
I also think "how much will I need to retire "
At spending just 15k a year and living 20 years you'd nee 300k over that period without inflation ,

remember to factor in your State Pension which should get you approx 8k / year if you have full NI record. Get a SP forecast?

BBH123 wrote: »

I maybe in the minority here but I never even consider the state pension in my retirement planning primarily because it may not even be there when I retire.


If it is ( and I have a full NI contributions ) then I shall consider it an extra bonus .

I don't think they'll be politically able to drop it that suddenly so you don't get it..

I do hope that you have enough plans and investments in place to retire so early in life. At 55, you still have a long way to go before State pension kicks in and possibly another 20-30 years ahead of you..

Fortunately I liked my final job and although working on an 8-10 hour day 6-7 days a week, decided to keep going for a further 5 years after NRD and enhance my State pension by 10% each year and give more time for my private pension to build up. Retiring at 70, I had already planned what hobbies to get involved with and although I have changed those hobbies a couple of times since, at 77, I am reasonably fit and enjoying what I have built up. Had I retired at 60 or 65 I don't believe I would have built up enough to be comfortable and have whatever holidays I pleased.

It really depends on what you want out of life to be independant and not rely on others to support your old age.

Sam

JoeEngland wrote: »

What is the experience of others in the last few years leading up to retirement, especially those for whom work is a chore rather than a passion?

It's a game of two halves; in many long-term goals like that the first half is hell, the second easier. I ramped up saving to get out in three years, the first year an a bit was grim, because I wasn't spending to compensate for the grind of work and felt skint all the time. The halfway point is where the distant shore starts to become nearer than the place you started the journey.


I've been out six years, and boy was the effort worth it in hindsight. I should have planned sooner, but there we go. On my original plan set more or less on leaving university I'd still be at work for a couple more years, and I'm chuffed to be shot of it. There's no shortage of interest in the world, work is massively overrated IMO.