Time to knock it on the head

Rotty

Rotty

Rotty

Don
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
42,097
Location
Notts
After 41 years in IT and 35.5 years with the same company I retire on the 30th

It's been a very close decision as I had a decent salary and will have to learn to live on a lot less as I'm only 59

We regularly have VR schemes but I've always been excluded, this time I was allowed to apply, getting 21 months money

What tipped me over is that 5 years ago I had some significant heart surgery that lasts on average about 15 years before needing to be done again

We have always wanted to move away for a few years and as such we couldn't leave it much longer

As it stands we move to Thailand in March (unfortunately the wife insists on coming too :) )

Anyway we will see if it works out :)
 
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and congrats on getting the hell outta dodge!
 
throwaway4372 said:
Grats, would be good to hear your take on pensions, what you did and whether it's enough etc.
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TBH I don't have as much as I would like but health wise made be decide to do it

I have an old final salary pension which if I take straight away pays about £17k p.a.

I then had a fairly standard 6+6% defined contribution pension for last 16 years, I upped this after mortgage was paid off and kept upping it so for last 5 years it's probably averaged 40+6%

I am also putting all my VR money in as well (bar the 30k tax free) so I don't pay any tax on that

My wife only has about 40k in her pension pot

I intend drawing the final salary one pretty much straight away, originally planned to defer till I was 67 but I worked out I would need to live till 87 for that to be the better option

We will live on that and the 25% tax free on all the pensions until state pension age and after than have the final salary, state pensions and drawdown on the others from there

We have no kids to leave anything to so contigency would be the equity in our house
 
Retirement depends on whether you have something to do. If you lead a full retired life you will last forever, if you are one of these people who has nothing outside of work and no plans then your spirit will be dead in six months and you shortly after. A grave warning! Makes sure you have lots of exciting things to do. :cry:
 
Best of luck in your next steps!

Given your wealth of tenure in IT, what have been the largest technological advancements over the decades, that you’d say have shook the sector you’re in the most?
 
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As someone who ditched the corporate world and the U.K. aged 53, good luck in your new life chapter.

Get enrolled in all the local systems ASAP, especially the tax one even if you have zero income for a time.
 
Sounds like you’ve been into a lot of financial detail which is important, so I’m sure that side will be okay.

I retired at 58, nearly 59 and then not long after that both my elderly parents passed so everything was very busy for a few months.
My dad had a triple heart bypass at 60 and died at 96, he did have to have some more surgery I think in between.
For me personally it took me a long time, several years, to get over the trauma of 40 years plus in the ‘machine’ I had no idea how different I would feel.

I have two small db pensions and have just about worked through my avc , my wife is still working though which helps a lot, she is now chucking loads into avcs.

Having seen my parents grow old , I think it’s a very good idea to retire early.

All the best
 
Congrats. I'm hoping to retire early - sometimes next year aged 56 if I can make the numbers stack up. Won't be moving abroad though as we have kids, grandkids and still have 4 elderly parents around. I've had enough of the corporate IT grind too, but sadly don't think there will be any possibility of a VR package as the current employer is still growing + recruiting strongly.
 
Sounds wicked, all the best and congratulations on retirement.

Slam62 said:
My dad had a triple heart bypass at 60 and died at 96, he did have to have some more surgery I think in between.
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That's incredible. 36 more years after a surgery like that is unbelievable, especially given the "era"... he must have been a real tough bloke.
 
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Having had two close friends pass in recent years before making it past 40.....absolutely retire as soon as you can. Or at least find a work life balance that lets you enjoy your working years to the full.
 
Thailand is a hell of a lot cheaper than the UK I think so you'll be fine financially. Retirements great.
 
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