it seems possible to retire - do you do it?

I like the idea/principal of esrly retirement or at least winding down to part time whilst your still young and fit enough to do other things. But on those figures, nope I wouldn't do it.
 
Efour said:
Yeah same we got someone at work whos 2 years from official retirement and all she does is moan and moan and moan about everything.
Shes probably got 5 years left to live she has a string of medical problems too.
Shes been offered to retire early a couple of years ago with a lesser pension but said no she needs that extra (equivalent) £50 a month......
Absolutely mind-blowing someone will put up with that and probably be dead a few years later anyway.....
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Because shes broke and probably will struggle when she officially does retire. If they live that long.
 
Hedge said:
I'd be interested in knowing if people actually feel their workplace would miss them when they were gone.
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I'm not easily replaceable, but companies don't care so they'd hire a replacement or two as best they can and not lose any sleep over it. Of course if retiring while employed I'd be professional about it and help them prepare. I think I'm most likely to retire at a natural break between jobs, like how I'm thinking about it now, but who knows.

The role I just left I was responsible for about 90% of the output, but got treated like trash so I left, presumably they're a bit stuffed now. Demonstrates that companies aren't always rational or really have a clue who does what. So even if you should be missed, maybe you won't be.

Tom_ed1987 said:
I like the idea/principal of esrly retirement or at least winding down to part time whilst your still young and fit enough to do other things. But on those figures, nope I wouldn't do it.
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Do you have a figure in mind?
 
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CapitalOne said:
Being brutal, how old are you all?

We'd struggle to survive on 40k/year with eveything paid off with current "expectations". The key is to get used to less (no Carribean holidays, forget the new car, keep the 4090 rather than go 5090) but that's also the hardest part :-)

Currently looking to get 60k/year and will work until I hit that. Or, sod it all and go an live in a Neom project, what could go wrong!
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What are your expenditures?!? You struggle on 40k with no mortgage and car payments? £2700 after tax.

How?! Going to take some rough round number guesses

Council tax…£200
Water £50
Electric £100
Gas £100
Fuel £100 (plenty if you are not driving to work daily)
Car tax £60 (let’s assume you have high band)
Car maintenance fund £100
Internet £50
Mobile £50 (I pay £10!)
New phone fund £40
Subscriptions like Netflix, Disney plus £100

Just under £1000. What’s the other £1700 going into?! What are you eating?! My sister’s family of 4 spends average of £120-150 a week on Ocado deliveries a week and i thought she is being excessive. And that’s a family of 4. That still leaves near £1200 left as fun fund….struggle?!
 
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A lot of people really think they are an important part of the business, subject matter experts, lifers. But I’ve seen so many of these just go and the biggest problem they leave is having to chuck out all the rubbish they left behind, someone else steps into the role and everything carries on.
These people used to be consulted all the time by middle managers, their thoughts became gospel. Sometimes it was frustrating because you didn’t want to do the job the way they said but so and so said.
When they are gone their gone the business does not really notice.

One particular guy thought he was super special and wouldn’t say hello to anyone he thought was below him. Then he retired and no one cared.
I bet he’s sat at home pontificating to his wife about his own importance. Those types probably can’t handle retirement.

Actually thinking about it there’s been quite a few of these guys, middle managers love them, everyone doing the actual work hated them.
 
Raymond Lin said:
What are your expenditures?!? You struggle on 40k with no mortgage and car payments? £2700 after tax.

How?! Going to take some rough round number guesses

Council tax…£200
Water £50
Electric £100
Gas £100
Fuel £100 (plenty if you are not driving to work daily)
Car tax £60 (let’s assume you have high band)
Car maintenance fund £100
Internet £50
Mobile £50 (I pay £10!)
New phone fund £40
Subscriptions like Netflix, Disney plus £100

Just under £1000. What’s the other £1700 going into?! What are you eating?! My sister’s family of 4 spends average of £120-150 a week on Ocado deliveries a week and i thought she is being excessive. And that’s a family of 4. That still leaves near £1200 left as fun fund….struggle?!
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We would struggle to expectation manage down from a lot more.....and some of your figures are off...

Council Tax - £400
Gas & Electric - £3-400/month
Holidays - £2k month (that would make what we spend a year)
Gardener - £250
Cleaner - £250

We haven't even gone out to dinner yet!

.....oh, all gone already so yes we'd struggle to get over hiring cottages in Dorset instead of big holidays and having to do everything ourselves :D
 
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CapitalOne said:
We would struggle to expectation manage down from a lot more.....and some of your figures are off...

Council Tax - £400
Gas & Electric - £3-400/month
Holidays - £2k month (that would make what we spend a year)
Gardener - £250
Cleaner - £250

We haven't even gone out to dinner yet!

.....oh, all gone already so yes we'd struggle to get over hiring cottages in Dorset instead of big holidays and having to do everything ourselves :D
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£2500 a month holiday, gardener, cleaner.

Therein lies your “problem”.

It’s far far from the definition of struggle for 99.9999% of people. That’s a rich people problem.

Those kinds of things are the luxury, what I covered are the basics. The other end of the spectrum and not what people consider what they need to “live” on.

I think you COULD struggle if you choose to have and continue to have that life style. But it’s easily done on £40,000 a year and still have holidays. £2500 a month, like a £40k wage earnings on holiday, gardener and cleaner is crazy to me. Different world!
 
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Crikey keep your hair on :-)

The challenge is as much managing down as it is saving up is the point, that's quite the journey.

Of course we'll tone things down and most of those expensive things are there because we both work full time. Still 60k seems much better than 40k if you are used to treating yourself.
 
MichaelAwkward said:
Christ, it’s no wonder people are worried about how they’ll manage in retirement if that’s how they’re living now. Lifestyle creep be damned.
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Not worried, planned appropriately but bar a lottery win, our income will reduce hugely when we stop working like most people. You just have to get your head around it.
 
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CapitalOne said:
Not worried, planned appropriately but bar a lottery win, our income will reduce hugely when we stop working like most people. You just have to get your head around it.
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I don’t need to get my head around anything because I don’t live like that and have no desire to anyway. It’s much easier to not let your lifestyle costs spiral in the first place so that you’re just saving more and more with every career step and can stop working much sooner in the first place. Different strokes for different folks innit.
 
MichaelAwkward said:
I don’t need to get my head around anything because I don’t live like that and have no desire to anyway. It’s much easier to not let your lifestyle costs spiral in the first place so that you’re just saving more and more with every career step and can stop working much sooner in the first place. Different strokes for different folks innit.
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I guess I should have said "one" rather than "you".

I'm probably older and further down the career path, and I am still putting lots aside, but if you don't treat yourself (it's hardly coke and hookers is it)....it all gets a bit dull.
 
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I mean, I treat myself and still manage to save nearly 2/3s of my income every month. Like I said, I’m hardly surviving on beans just to retire early. Off on holiday for 3 weeks next month.

And originally we were talking about income per person, I suspect the £40-60k is per household in which case it’s more reasonable I guess but still more than most people probably need.
 
Semi retirement works for me. Income pays for treats like the holiday I am currently enjoying. Two voluntary activities that keep me busy.
 
throwaway4372 said:
Do you have a figure in mind?
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I think a lot of people really don't, and it's a massive problem. I know this because I don't, and it's a massive problem.
spile said:
Semi retirement works for me. Income pays for treats like the holiday I am currently enjoying. Two voluntary activities that keep me busy.
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Absolutely key word being voluntary. The freedom of having those options is what matters most to me I think.
 
CapitalOne said:
I guess I should have said "one" rather than "you".

I'm probably older and further down the career path, and I am still putting lots aside, but if you don't treat yourself (it's hardly coke and hookers is it)....it all gets a bit dull.
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coke and hookers are probably cheaper than some of the stuff you listed :D
 
My work pension from my 1st job pays out at 60, its a final salary pension worth currently about £10k a year and goes up with inflation.

by my reckoning i need to find enough money to generate a further 10k a year in interest/dividends etc...... and at that point i am retiring. in theory i would retire sooner but the reality is i wont have the funds to do it.

hopefully when i hit 69/70 i will also get a government pension, at which point i am laughing but am not betting the farm on that. i am not quite 49 so still a ways to go yet. i need to find a job in 12 months time however is this one is ending.
it is further complicated that my current job i am not allowed a UK pension. to counter this i get a tax free lump sum of - hopefully - around £50k - £60k when i leave which may sound a lot but bear in mind that has to cover 9 years of not having a pension (albeit i was voluntarily paying national insurance for my state pension for most of that time)
 
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