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Retirement


43. My wife already does 4 days (5 days over 4 days) so we now both get a 3 day weekend to annoy each other. Probably knock it down to 3 days if it's approved in the near future. Dropping a day my take home pay hasn't taken much of a hit, paying a lot less tax which is telling.
It is that lack of hit I’m looking at. If I drop a day a fortnight, my wage will be a little lower, but higher than it was this time last year in my previous job. I would have been content on that wage, so why not work less?

One big thing I have noticed is that I used to work local and cycle to work. That could easily clock up 200 miles a month. Now I’m doing around 50. I need to make time and get more exercise. I’m around 5kg heavier than I was 3 years ago - though have had a spell with a few injuries. That is the real joy of being late 40s. Easier to get injured, longer to heal.
 
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@Darlo1973 This your appraisal?

Wasn't far off it.

Great fun having a manager who is younger than you, highly ambitious and who probably won't be in the same role in 12 months time. I've had 6 managers in the last 8 years all desperate for promotion so I just nod and agree with everything they say to get it over with as soon as possible. Just tell me what my goals are and I will agree to them as whatever they are they will change in the next few months following yet another reorg.

Only a few more years left of this corporate bullcrap.

The last time I changed jobs 8 years I go I deliberately went for a small company as I'd had enough of being in a huge corporate business. I'd only been here 9 months when we got aquired by one of the big boys. There is no escape.
 
Wasn't far off it.

Great fun having a manager who is younger than you, highly ambitious and who probably won't be in the same role in 12 months time. I've had 6 managers in the last 8 years all desperate for promotion so I just nod and agree with everything they say to get it over with as soon as possible. Just tell me what my goals are and I will agree to them as whatever they are they will change in the next few months following yet another reorg.

Only a few more years left of this corporate bullcrap.

The last time I changed jobs 8 years I go I deliberately went for a small company as I'd had enough of being in a huge corporate business. I'd only been here 9 months when we got aquired by one of the big boys. There is no escape.

I don’t miss the Corporate bullshit. However I always put people first and treated them with respect. Hated the politics and behaviour mostly above me and it was constantly playing a game until it was your turn.
Definitely less bullcrap in a smaller business.

Anyway keep knocking down those months and stick to the plan. ;-)
 
Travel basically when I can do and hopefully plenty walking adventures. Lots of things I want to do which I'm starting to give myself a kick up the @rse with and getting them ticked off. Health of my wife will continue to be rubbish so looking after her will get more demanding in the future. Mortgage free, by the time 55 hits we would just be working for the sake of it and being hit with tax far too much... No thanks
I’d get the big walks in asap if I were you, pushing 55 now and the hips and knees are starting to not enjoy them as much as they once did
 
Wasn't far off it.

Great fun having a manager who is younger than you, highly ambitious and who probably won't be in the same role in 12 months time. I've had 6 managers in the last 8 years all desperate for promotion so I just nod and agree with everything they say to get it over with as soon as possible. Just tell me what my goals are and I will agree to them as whatever they are they will change in the next few months following yet another reorg.

Only a few more years left of this corporate bullcrap.

The last time I changed jobs 8 years I go I deliberately went for a small company as I'd had enough of being in a huge corporate business. I'd only been here 9 months when we got aquired by one of the big boys. There is no escape.
I was aware at work I'd have part timers in ,semi retired. Working min wage in a not too difficult job but they'd had their stint and made a good living and were in a great place financially .
Me doing the I'm better than you game wouldn't really work .
I’d get the big walks in asap if I were you, pushing 55 now and the hips and knees are starting to not enjoy them as much as they once did
I've quite enjoyed the local smaller walks , stuff just threading there way around the edge housing estates and business parks etc rather than the big known walks . Places you drove past everyday . Coast ,Durham, weardale ,pit villages etc
 
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Last day today for me.
But I've agreed if they give me a couple of weeks notice then I will come in and fit kitchens and do roofing work for them if I'm not off on holiday somewhere. They don't have any chippies capable of doing that kind of work.
Congratulations enjoy your next chapter. December for me hopefully.
 
Paid the mortgage off today 😬

Still on sick and been diagnosed with POTS to go along with the other chronic shit , sick pay runs out today - 54 next week so looking at funding a year til I can start pulling from SIPP

Not sure what will happen with work , hoping for another voluntary exit scheme or possibly will be ill health retired but even if I’m just turfed will be ok financially - outgoings down to £600 a month now.

Keep thinking should I push myself and go back to work til 55 but really don’t think I can take the stress and need to try and get myself in better health just feels like a really shite way to end my working life
 
I don’t miss the Corporate bullshit. However I always put people first and treated them with respect. Hated the politics and behaviour mostly above me and it was constantly playing a game until it was your turn.
Definitely less bullcrap in a smaller business.

Anyway keep knocking down those months and stick to the plan. ;)
Corporate bullshit is the big killer for me. I have those idle thoughts, if I won the lottery would I immediately walk or would I see out the job for 6 to 12 months.

Then on Thursday I had two things going on. One was writing a business case for a technical project. It was being picked over by someone who did not understand the technical bits, but saw the word training in there and said it sounded like a training budget request and a business case was not appropriate. It was one day out of a 70 day contractor request, but they said they didn’t understand the other 69 days so would just address that.

I wanted to reply in block capitals if they don’t understand technical projects then perhaps they should step aside for someone vaguely competent and qualified to dd the decision making on them.

Then I had a low grade admin person chasing about two help desk tickets in my teams queue that were past the service level agreements. Both were complicated mini-project requests from other members of IT, and I am being hassled because they are not closed at the same speed someone wanting a password request is. Again a fuckwit who doesn’t understand my job judging it.

There are days I just can’t be arsed with the hassle of shit like that. I’m doing my job properly so fuck off and let me get on with it.
 
Corporate bullshit is the big killer for me. I have those idle thoughts, if I won the lottery would I immediately walk or would I see out the job for 6 to 12 months.

Then on Thursday I had two things going on. One was writing a business case for a technical project. It was being picked over by someone who did not understand the technical bits, but saw the word training in there and said it sounded like a training budget request and a business case was not appropriate. It was one day out of a 70 day contractor request, but they said they didn’t understand the other 69 days so would just address that.

I wanted to reply in block capitals if they don’t understand technical projects then perhaps they should step aside for someone vaguely competent and qualified to dd the decision making on them.

Then I had a low grade admin person chasing about two help desk tickets in my teams queue that were past the service level agreements. Both were complicated mini-project requests from other members of IT, and I am being hassled because they are not closed at the same speed someone wanting a password request is. Again a fuckwit who doesn’t understand my job judging it.

There are days I just can’t be arsed with the hassle of shit like that. I’m doing my job properly so fuck off and let me get on with it.

Easy to raise an IT ticket mate. Feel the pain and always respected the IT team.
It was the consultants that finally made me realise that I wanted out. Don’t get me started on that.
Won’t be long and trust me it becomes a blur very quickly when you are out of it.
I just couldn’t do the job I used to do now even if I wanted.

Don’t let it stress you out if you can. I was cooked by the end after years and years of keeping a Global Procurement team together with no additional resource that was needed. When I left I the team increased by 3.
My stress now is around which direction the wind is blowing on the reservoir and where to fish.
I'm leaning into it quite nicely. The best thing about work was the days off anyway. Don't miss it.

The Sunday night feeling with a glass a wine is difficult to put a value on it.
I sleep better than anytime before.
 
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I've worked out for the next 11yrs upto SP ( assuming it's not moved) age we can easily draw 1k a week without paying any tax. Once it kicks in that will change obviously if it's not means tested by then!! I can do that and keep a 2yr cash buffer to cover a market wobble. It's comforting to see the had work in saving now showing it's real value.
Some going that mate 1k a week
While retired and without paying tax on that
Be a very comfortable retirement
 
Easy to raise an IT ticket mate. Feel the pain and always respected the IT team.
It was the consultants that finally made me realise that I wanted out. Don’t get me started on that.
Won’t be long and trust me it becomes a blur very quickly when you are out of it.
I just couldn’t do the job I used to do now even if I wanted.

Trouble is every simple task which you could do in a couple of minutes myself becomes an IT ticket with a 5 days SLA.

You have IT professionals with 20+ years experience and are working on multimillion pound client contracts not given admin rights to their own laptop so they can't install a new printer driver.
 
Easy to raise an IT ticket mate. Feel the pain and always respected the IT team.
It was the consultants that finally made me realise that I wanted out. Don’t get me started on that.
Won’t be long and trust me it becomes a blur very quickly when you are out of it.
I just couldn’t do the job I used to do now even if I wanted.

Don’t let it stress you out if you can. I was cooked by the end after years and years of keeping a Global Procurement team together with no additional resource that was needed. When I left I the team increased by 3.
My stress now is around which direction the wind is blowing on the reservoir and where to fish.


The Sunday night feeling with a glass a wine is difficult to put a value on it.
I sleep better than anytime before.
That bottom paragraph is what I'm looking forward too the most.
 
I've worked out for the next 11yrs upto SP ( assuming it's not moved) age we can easily draw 1k a week without paying any tax. Once it kicks in that will change obviously if it's not means tested by then!! I can do that and keep a 2yr cash buffer to cover a market wobble. It's comforting to see the had work in saving now showing it's real value.

Well done.
You will soon realise you don’t even need as much as you may think.
Less of a worry box for you.
Trouble is every simple task which you could do in a couple of minutes myself becomes an IT ticket with a 5 days SLA.

You have IT professionals with 20+ years experience and are working on multimillion pound client contracts not given admin rights to their own laptop so they can't install a new printer driver.

Common sense corporate mentality mate.
Red tape and more reasons as to why you can’t.
That bottom paragraph is what I'm looking forward too the most.

It will come. 👍
You still are a miserable bastard when you lose though, thus not all positive.🤣
 
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Easy to raise an IT ticket mate. Feel the pain and always respected the IT team.
It was the consultants that finally made me realise that I wanted out. Don’t get me started on that.
Won’t be long and trust me it becomes a blur very quickly when you are out of it.
I just couldn’t do the job I used to do now even if I wanted.

Don’t let it stress you out if you can. I was cooked by the end after years and years of keeping a Global Procurement team together with no additional resource that was needed. When I left I the team increased by 3.
My stress now is around which direction the wind is blowing on the reservoir and where to fish.


The Sunday night feeling with a glass a wine is difficult to put a value on it.
I sleep better than anytime before.
Yes, consultants.

Spend 3 years telling the management something and get ignored or fobbed off. Then they get in a consultant on 8 times your wage, you chat to them and realise they don’t know what they are talking about and have been stealing a living never staying anywhere long enough to get found out (there are really good consultants but we used to only find crap ones), they ask about something, you share your 3 year frustration, they tell management and management suddenly get all excited about it. It must be true a consultant said it.

You get that mixed emotion of being glad it is finally happening, with the utter frustration of being ignored for 3 years but when you ask a highly paid useless temporary staff member to say it, it is the best thing ever.
 
Paid the mortgage off today 😬

Still on sick and been diagnosed with POTS to go along with the other chronic shit , sick pay runs out today - 54 next week so looking at funding a year til I can start pulling from SIPP

Not sure what will happen with work , hoping for another voluntary exit scheme or possibly will be ill health retired but even if I’m just turfed will be ok financially - outgoings down to £600 a month now.

Keep thinking should I push myself and go back to work til 55 but really don’t think I can take the stress and need to try and get myself in better health just feels like a really shite way to end my working life
Have you looked into the new rules coming in Apr 28 when you need to be 57 before taking from a SIPP? You fall into the bracket where you can take it at 55 but will also only be 56 in Apr28, unless my maths is wrong.
Last I read HMRC still hadn't decided how this was going to work, I did read somewhere where it was suggested once you're 55 you should put at least 2 years into drawdown to get around it, may be rubbish though.
 
Paid the mortgage off today 😬

Still on sick and been diagnosed with POTS to go along with the other chronic shit , sick pay runs out today - 54 next week so looking at funding a year til I can start pulling from SIPP

Not sure what will happen with work , hoping for another voluntary exit scheme or possibly will be ill health retired but even if I’m just turfed will be ok financially - outgoings down to £600 a month now.

Keep thinking should I push myself and go back to work til 55 but really don’t think I can take the stress and need to try and get myself in better health just feels like a really shite way to end my working life
Are you eligible for benefits? Unfit to work ,income support
That bottom paragraph is what I'm looking forward too the most.
I thought I would but quite quickly weekends don't exist to give Sunday the clout it once had . I'd imagine if youve say always done a quiz Sunday nights they'll fel better or whatever.
Tomorrow is a good case though my second drinking Sunday since I finished in April with the match
 
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