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Early-retirement wannabe
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I've been reading this thread for a few years now.
I've just agreed a settlement with my employer which means I'll retire before my 51st BD with a pension pot of just over £1m and enough savings to enjoy life until I can draw those when I 'need' to.0 -
Golden parachute?0
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Just popping in on a Friday night.
This Sunday will mark 500 days to my (potential) early retirement, so a bit of a landmark.
Anyway the reason I popped in was this article http://conversation.which.co.uk/money/uk-state-pension-comparison-serps/.
As someone who has been living in Germany for a while I guess this should have been more on my radar. I really had no idea that the German pension was so high realtive to other European countries. Ofcourse whether it will stay so for the next 15 or so years (until I start receiving is another question).
What I understand that your state pension is calculated based on your combined contributions over your working life and the government is obliged to calculate the most beneficial outcome. So, if I retire at 50 then I would have over 30 years total contributions then they would take the German contributions in preference to the UK.
Of course the story is slightly different as we pay higher contributions to pensions and have higher health care costs. Nevertheless, the German full pension is a nice chunk of change!Money won't buy you happiness....but I have never been in a situation where more money made things worse!0 -
Congratulations!
With a pot of that size you might usefully look into flexible drawdown.
If flexible drawdown doesn't interest you, using capped drawdown to get money out of the pension pot may well be a good idea, so your other money that is more flexible doesn't get depleted.0 -
YesGolden parachute?Congratulations!
With a pot of that size you might usefully look into flexible drawdown.
If flexible drawdown doesn't interest you, using capped drawdown to get money out of the pension pot may well be a good idea, so your other money that is more flexible doesn't get depleted.
I'll be living off my savings until my DB schemes kick in at 60, then I'll be using flexible drawdown to empty my DC pots as tax efficiently as possible (I've always been in the super tax bracket, so anything less than 45% is efficient to me) before any further pension doors get closed (when I started 50 was the age when things started!!!)
I've had a good life and been very lucky, I've also lived below my means and followed the HYP (high yield portfolio) route for 20 years.
As background - inner city comprehensive school educated to A level standard, then lucky enough to work around the world in jobs I've always found challengingly enjoyable which have been financially rewarding. A very expensive divorce with 2 children now in their 20s so fiscally independent from me.0 -
Yes
I'll be living off my savings until my DB schemes kick in at 60, then I'll be using flexible drawdown to empty my DC pots as tax efficiently as possible (I've always been in the super tax bracket, so anything less than 45% is efficient to me) before any further pension doors get closed (when I started 50 was the age when things started!!!)
I've had a good life and been very lucky, I've also lived below my means and followed the HYP (high yield portfolio) route for 20 years.
As background - inner city comprehensive school educated to A level standard, then lucky enough to work around the world in jobs I've always found challengingly enjoyable which have been financially rewarding. A very expensive divorce with 2 children now in their 20s so fiscally independent from me.
Sounds like you are well sorted!
What are your plans now?Money won't buy you happiness....but I have never been in a situation where more money made things worse!0 -
I raised this a few posts ago and I think I may have mentioned a couple of times but as retirement gets closer the prospect of where to live really needs to be considered.
By way of background, we are originally from the UK where I was brought up in Liverpool but moved to London post university. We then lived in or around London until 1999 and then moved to Germany. We had a year in Australia and then returned to Germany.
As we ponder where to live we have looked at various options and are gradually narrowing down the field. First of all lets think about the priorities.
Although we've lived in Germany for a time, I have never enjoyed speaking German and still find it somewhat stressful (in that I still have to concentrate quite hard in normal conversations). That said the Germans are nice people and we really like the sense of order in German society. I have to laugh sometimes that at pedestrian crossings people generally will not cross until allowed to do so even it is plain to see there is nothing coming!
Secondly there is family. All our family lives in the UK including one of our children (and soon the second one) and we would like to see more of them. My wifes mother (who is German btw) is somewhat frail and would like us to move back and buy a home together.
So there are positives to moving back to the UK. On the downside moving back to the UK would make me (at least) feel like a failure. That is a strange word but having been away for so long it would feel like an adventure coming to an end to move back. There are many other things that worry us about the UK and when I look at the press I can see that a lot of things have changed and I do not think it is the same country we left.
Over the years we have looked at and discounted many other options including:
- France (too French)
- Spain (too many brits)
- Cyprus (too hot)
- Canary islands (see above)
- Portugal (see Spain)
- Malta (too remote)
etc, etc.
Over the last few years we have made a number of trips to Asia (Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam) and I am a big fan of the place and the people - but could i seriously see myself living there? Probably not, would feel very strange.
If we were to come back to the UK there are very few places we would consider as we would want to be be near some hills and mountains. We would really like to move to the Lake district but frankly its just absurdly expensive. The alternative would be Snowdonia but that feels a little bit chavvy! The highlands of Scotland is probably just too remote and too cold.
Are we being too picky?
If feels like we are gravitating towards southern Germany and Austria which has some negatives in respect of our relationship with the outside world (!!) i.e. we don't know anyone there and its German speaking but on the other hand it has so many of the things we like (mountains, countryside), things we will need (good health service) and the weather is not too bad!
I guarantee you however we will waiver!Money won't buy you happiness....but I have never been in a situation where more money made things worse!0 -
It is the same at heart and I think as you get to retirement age the things that are the same become more important. If you judge UK by what the press write - well you will miss out on the good stuffMarine_life wrote: »when I look at the press I can see that a lot of things have changed and I do not think it is the same country we left.
It is also the same in that I have seen articles or historical reviews about how its either not the same and getting worse, or not the same and getting better for at least the last 100 years
Personally I would come back rather than being a stranger in a strange land. My personal plan is slightly different which is to stay in and enjoy UK for as long as I've got my marbles, then ship out to somewhere hot cheap and sunny with kind-ish people so at least when the kids come to visit they get a holiday
I think you should also ask yourself the question where would you want to be when there's only one of youI think I saw you in an ice cream parlour
Drinking milk shakes, cold and long
Smiling and waving and looking so fine0 -
when I look at the press I can see that a lot of things have changed and I do not think it is the same country we left.[/QUOTE
I have this problem with the USA- it is Def not the place I left, and the rise of the religious right has been terrible to see.
But I also think the Britain of today is worse in some respects than the Britain I came to in 1989/90. Certainly the benefits culture has gotten worse, as has the out of control youth in schools etc.
I think you need to spend some more time in the UK to find the right place. Snowdonia Chavvy? Not when I've been there. Look at Herefordshire too. Peak District?0 -
Marine_life wrote: »Over the years we have looked at and discounted many other options including:
- France (too French)
- Spain (too many brits)
- Cyprus (too hot)
- Canary islands (see above)
- Portugal (see Spain)
- Malta (too remote)
Have you considered Belize?
English is the first langauge and laws are based on English common law. Low taxes and good incentives for retirees.0
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