Can I retire at 55?

Options
124678

Comments

  • zolablue25
    zolablue25 Posts: 1,652 Forumite
    Options
    The other thing to bare in mind is that, whilst much is made of an increase in costs due to extra heating and filling your time etc, there are also savings to be made. No commute to work every day, more opportunity to do your own repairs and maintenance etc.

    Plus all the baby sitting cash!
  • scotty_does
    scotty_does Posts: 12 Forumite
    First Anniversary
    Options
    runninglea wrote: »
    What do you plan on doing with all your time when you retire?

    Having all that time on your hands especially whilst you are so young could become expensive or dare I say it boring. Finding new things to do often costs money - petrol, entrance fees, holidays

    Its a good question and something I've thought about. However, as I hate my job so much anything will be better than that. Maybe doing charity work or helping out on open-source software.
  • BLB53
    BLB53 Posts: 1,583 Forumite
    Options
    Should not be a problem. £520K will provide over £20K assuming a 4% drawdown so I would say go for it.

    here's an article on sustainable drawdown from the DIY site which may help?
    http://diyinvestoruk.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/a-look-at-sustainable-drawdown.html
  • doingitanyway
    doingitanyway Posts: 8,747 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post Mortgage-free Glee!
    Options
    Good luck. I think you should go too but I also think (for what it is worth) that you should think of what you are going to as well as what you are going from.
    If you have built castles in the air, your work should not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.

    Solicitor/survey savings 300/1700
    Emergency fund 0/1000
    Buffer fund 0/200
  • PeacefulWaters
    PeacefulWaters Posts: 8,495 Forumite
    edited 13 April 2018 at 8:24PM
    Options
    I gave up work at 49. Terminal lung cancer. Unlikely I'll make it to 51. Never smoked.

    In that short time I've travelled, holidayed, fallen in love and helped out the kids.

    Make the most of what you've got now. Keep an eye on tomorrow, but make today the best.
  • scotty_does
    scotty_does Posts: 12 Forumite
    First Anniversary
    Options
    PeacefulWaters wrote: »
    I gave up work at 49. Terminal cancer. Unlikely I'll make it to 51.

    In that short time I've travelled, holidayed, fallen in love and helped out the kids.

    Make the most of what you've got now. Keep an eye on tomorrow, but make today the best.

    Thanks a lot for that. Puts things in perspective.
  • justme111
    justme111 Posts: 3,508 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker I've been Money Tipped!
    Options
    being able to help out with babysitting making life nicer for your children and have some impact on how your descendants are brought up is arguably one of the main missions as they are the only thing that stays in this world after we are gone
    The word "dilemma" comes from Greek where "di" means two and "lemma" means premise. Refers usually to difficult choice between two undesirable options.
    Often people seem to use this word mistakenly where "quandary" would fit better.
  • PeacefulWaters
    PeacefulWaters Posts: 8,495 Forumite
    Options
    scotty_does wrote: »
    Thanks a lot for that. Puts things in perspective.

    I've got a similar pension pot to you. That'll go to the kids.

    A mix of benefit and a PHI policy gives me just over £1,000 a month to live on now. There's also money left from a redundancy pot that paid for travel until I was unable to get overseas again.

    If a cure comes along I assume the benefits and PHI stop. I'm happy to run the redundancy money down and then take the pension at 55. I'm a frugal type and reckon £16k-£20k a year is more than enough, even allowing for a new car at some point every decade. I'd certainly want to resume travelling again given the chance and reckon I could afford to.

    In other words, I think your numbers are reasonable and doable. As you get older you can consider not indexing your income some years as you become less active.

    But quitting what you dislike, enjoying life a little and making the most of good health seems like a stunningly good idea to me.
  • marlot
    marlot Posts: 4,935 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Options
    I went part-time at 53, and will fully retire before I'm 55. I've used the transition time volunteering on a local steam railway and in the foodbank.

    An unexpected bonus is that I've found the job easier to handle since I've been spending less time there! Though I've become much less tolerant of the management rubbish.
  • Terron
    Terron Posts: 846 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post Photogenic
    Options
    scotty_does wrote: »
    1 other piece of info that I neglected to mention is that despite the decent amount of my pension pot, I actually am currently earning a poor salary. After years of working in IT and earning well, I was made redundant when 50. I found it impossible to get a well paid job after that. My current earning do pay the bills, but I have to say I don't enjoy it and can't wait to finish.

    I'm not expecting any sympathy by the way, I know that most people don't enjoy their jobs.

    You have my sympathy. I lost my job in IT when I was 54 and didn't fancy any of tje jobs available..
This discussion has been closed.
★ ★ ★ Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 343.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 250.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.7K Spending & Discounts
  • 235.3K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 608.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 173.1K Life & Family
  • 247.9K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards