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Retirement


Matt Hopkins said:
What's more manageable though? A house with one less bedroom? Smaller garden is probably one. From my experience it's bathrooms and stairs that prove to be the main problems. So no matter where you are the bathroom will probably need adapting, stairs can be overcome with a stairlift which are surprisingly cheaper than I thought.
Also as I said in my post imagine living in your house for 50+ years having good neighbours then moving in to your downsized house only to be surrounded by helmets.
Probably could be a topic for another thread lets keep it on track and be concerned about Gilly fading into obscurity :D:D
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Gardens can definitely become a bit of a noose for old folks, yes. And a lot of houses don't just have stairs, they have awkward steps at access points or inside. A lot of people hate change when they get old, even things like getting workmen in to remodel a bathroom. I think my main point is to make changes before you need them, and give yourself a helping hand for when you do need them. But yes, let's not derail the thread too much.

Personally speaking, with a private sector DC pension pot which is decent but definitely needs more in it before I can retire, it's hard to have a clear idea of when I'll be able to retire. It depends on stock market performance, my employment status over the coming years (which is never guaranteed), and things like health (fine now, but who knows what's around the corner when you get to middle age). I'd like to stop around 60ish as a realistic target and maybe even just wind down a bit at that stage rather than stop, but we also need to make decisions about what we actually need to live on. It's always a compromise of sorts, but the number of variables makes it tricky. Maybe circumstances will dictate an obvious time to do it, when the time is right. But there's no way I'm delaying unless I have to.
 
Jap Stammer said:
I'm certain you'd find something to occupy your time. I know I would.

Never understood the mindset of working until you drop because you can't imagine doing anything else - better to be defined by who you are rather than what you do.
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If you've had a good work/life balance through your adult life then it shouldn't be difficult to increase one and decrease the other.

Work's always a means to an end. Put a roof over your head and bring your kids up mainly. If you no longer have that burden then why bother?
 
The Great Soprendo said:
Gardens can definitely become a bit of a noose for old folks, yes. And a lot of houses don't just have stairs, they have awkward steps at access points or inside. A lot of people hate change when they get old, even things like getting workmen in to remodel a bathroom. I think my main point is to make changes before you need them, and give yourself a helping hand for when you do need them. But yes, let's not derail the thread too much.

Personally speaking, with a private sector DC pension pot which is decent but definitely needs more in it before I can retire, it's hard to have a clear idea of when I'll be able to retire. It depends on stock market performance, my employment status over the coming years (which is never guaranteed), and things like health (fine now, but who knows what's around the corner when you get to middle age). I'd like to stop around 60ish as a realistic target and maybe even just wind down a bit at that stage rather than stop, but we also need to make decisions about what we actually need to live on. It's always a compromise of sorts, but the number of variables makes it tricky. Maybe circumstances will dictate an obvious time to do it, when the time is right. But there's no way I'm delaying unless I have to.
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100% agree with the bit I've put in bold.👍

Unless you already do start keeping a spreadsheet of what you actually spend, sounds a bit sad but it helps massively doesn't need to be anything complicated. Mine goes back 9 years and you can see where your money has gone it gives you confidence to go when you want. Good luck 👍
 
Paddy O'Dors said:
Work's always a means to an end. Put a roof over your head and bring your kids up mainly. If you no longer have that burden then why bother?
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^Exactly this.

Mortgage is a thing of the past - only the youngest still at home.

Couple more years, tops, to work, then me and the missus will each need one of those passports with extra pages as we take to the skies for destinations many and varied.
 
Matt Hopkins said:
100% agree with the bit I've put in bold.👍

Unless you already do start keeping a spreadsheet of what you actually spend, sounds a bit sad but it helps massively doesn't need to be anything complicated. Mine goes back 9 years and you can see where your money has gone it gives you confidence to go when you want. Good luck 👍
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Good advice. We're not good at budgeting if I'm honest, and (these are connected things, obviously!) until recently servicing debts has been the main drain on finances. But that is easing and in another 2-3 years the mortgage will be gone and we'll be debt free hopefully. What the teenagers choose to do next (uni etc) will also have a big bearing on things. It should all become a lot clearer in a couple of years hopefully. In the meantime I'm also going to pile as much as possible into the pension pot, given the tax relief available and the piddly interest rates offered on savings. I may even prioritise that over paying off the mortgage, depending on rates when my deal is next up for renewal.
 
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Paddy O'Dors said:
Work's always a means to an end. Put a roof over your head and bring your kids up mainly. If you no longer have that burden then why bother?
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Definitely how I feel. I'm interested in my work and it gets my brain going. But, my area is big IT infrastructure, the cyber security aspect of it and as a manager I do a lot of the strategy and policy side. It is a challenge, how can I change a huge organisation in a way they will accept and a realistic timescale? It keeps me interested, but can be a pain in the arse too. Having those battles to improve stuff.

Once I retire, it can't be something I continue an interest in. I'm not going to run a massive home network and loads of home servers, just so I can go about securing and managing them. Out of work, I'm happy with a laptop and a raspberry pi for a permanent home presence. Everything I currently do at work will be forgotten. With some nice memories and achievements, but retirement day 1, it becomes a thing of the past.
 
Matt Hopkins said:
What's more manageable though? A house with one less bedroom? Smaller garden is probably one. From my experience it's bathrooms and stairs that prove to be the main problems. So no matter where you are the bathroom will probably need adapting, stairs can be overcome with a stairlift which are surprisingly cheaper than I thought.
Also as I said in my post imagine living in your house for 50+ years having good neighbours then moving in to your downsized house only to be surrounded by helmets.
Probably could be a topic for another thread lets keep it on track and be concerned about Gilly fading into obscurity :D:D
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But if you're moving to an estate with lots of bungalows (and I'm not talking about the Pallion/Millfield cottages) then most of the people living there will also be similar demographic. My parents live in such an area, and its pretty quiet populated by mainly retired folk
 
JJH said:
Semi retired at 52. Kept a couple of easy to run generally hassle free businesses just incase the semi retirement didn’t suit me.
3 years later and I’m ready to retire fully.
At 55 there’s so much to do whilst still healthy and there’s no better feeling than not being on the ‘clock’
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Great attitude. Have a like
 
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Is part of it you couldnt see your role possible on a part time basis gilly? If so i get that.

But look at a few milestones.

50
55
60
65

Do you really want to be doing 5/6 day weeks at each of those when theres a whole world to see and money in the bank mate?
 
SPUFF said:
Is part of it you couldnt see your role possible on a part time basis gilly? If so i get that.

But look at a few milestones.

50
55
60
65

Do you really want to be doing 5/6 day weeks at each of those when theres a whole world to see and money in the bank mate?
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I agree I hope to be able to take it a bit more easy then and have more long weekend away, go places etc .

That’s different to retiring though for me. I hope to be still working past 65.


I could do the role I’m doing now in my 60’s / 70’s. On the tools might be a different story like.
 
Gillythedilf said:
I agree I hope to be able to take it a bit more easy then and have more long weekend away, go places etc .

That’s different to retiring though for me. I hope to be still working past 65.


I could do the role I’m doing now in my 60’s / 70’s. On the tools might be a different story like.
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Fair play gilly. Clearly enjoy it more than I have of late.
Latest crisis looking better, thanks for your kind words.

Hope you can get a decent balance sorted as were a long time dead.
 
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