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Retirement

Crook said:
It was a shit deal they were offering, That's why I presumed they'd pay up anyone daft enough to take it.

They only offered 6 months money, I've been the 17 years.
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That is not so bad, especially if you can work your notice, doss about and get paid.

Looking ahead to my career, I do get the feeling I'll be in not-give-a-shit mode for the last year.
Darlo1973 said:
A well timed redundancy is like hitting the jackpot. My last one was when I had already had my final interview for the job I was moving to. It wasn't a lot of money as I had only been there 3 years but it was a nice leaving present which paid for a big holiday between the two jobs.

Been at my current place for 8 years this summer. If I can hang on for another 2-3 then I'd be willing to accept an offer to go away. Maybe not retire permamently but taking a year out sounds like fun.
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It is a nice dream but I don't think I'll ever have that now.

The place where I missed out I had been for 15 years. Moved somewhere else and was there 2 years before a better job that I have now has come up and I have been here nearly a year. When I joined I said 3 years minimum and I still think it will be 3-5 years. With 9 years left I'm looking at either this for another 4 years and then a 5 year post elsewhere. Or make this a 4 year and do a pair of 3 year jobs. It all depends on what is available. The job market in my sector is very cautious at the minute.

The good thing of that is with a 3 month redundancy period and then work slowly ramping up at the next place over 6 months, you get a 9 month low stress spell. Starting somewhere new, with a blank diary and clear to do list is great just for a general mental refresh. The downside is, if I'm looking at 5 years maximum in any job from now on in, then I'm never going to get that big payout. 4-5 months with a very good deal is the best I can hope for.

Or there could be a big disaster in my final year and I get a pay off to fall on my sword. Probably best not to hope for that one.
 
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Well that's a year finished under my belt . I don't sit with a calculator all day but I've kept a monthly tally then just there done a yearly tot up .
I know we are all different and our business is our business but if anyone wants to ask owt . Pm me .
I left with a modest lump in drawdown and some money in a few investments ,all recent due to a management buyout ,so I would say judging by some posts on here I'm a budget pensioner with just myself to fend for .
 
JAZZMANB said:
Well that's a year finished under my belt . I don't sit with a calculator all day but I've kept a monthly tally then just there done a yearly tot up .
I know we are all different and our business is our business but if anyone wants to ask owt . Pm me .
I left with a modest lump in drawdown and some money in a few investments ,all recent due to a management buyout ,so I would say judging by some posts on here I'm a budget pensioner with just myself to fend for .
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Has your total pot (everything you have) gone up or down in the last year? Just as a % no need for any figures 👍
I'm not sure how many people on here are actually retired it seems to be more just dreaming/thinking about it.
I would say I'm a budget pensioner as well.
 
Crook said:
My employer put out a Voluntary Severance scheme at the beginning of Feb to 'close' end of March. All depts/staff considered, but none guaranteed.

I applied, just found out yesterday that mine is rejected. I was going to leave this summer anyway and retire (I'm 59 in Autumn).

My current job pension provider wants 4 months notice to pay out pension on time for leaving date. My employer only needs 1 month's notice to terminate contract. I'm conjuring all sorts of petulant evil plots in my head.

What would you do?
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I wouldn't even hand my notice in. Just stop going to work and see how long they pay me for. Probably end up as a settlement agreement anyway.
 
Matt Hopkins said:
Has your total pot (everything you have) gone up or down in the last year? Just as a % no need for any figures 👍
I'm not sure how many people on here are actually retired it seems to be more just dreaming/thinking about it.
I would say I'm a budget pensioner as well.
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Gone down but by about half of what I've spent living .
I finished work aware that I would have to spend my pot ,that fig would be lower but the whole Trump doesnt look great on the numbers temporarily.
I wasnt sure of how much id spend etc but it was something i was happy to do to walk away from the hassle and stress at 62 . If you could stop working and not feel it I'm sure we'd all do it .
I was fully prepared to have nowt come state pension .
 
JAZZMANB said:
Gone down but by about half of what I've spent living .
I finished work aware that I would have to spend my pot ,that fig would be lower but the whole Trump doesnt look great on the numbers temporarily.
I wasnt sure of how much id spend etc but it was something i was happy to do to walk away from the hassle and stress at 62 . If you could stop working and not feel it I'm sure we'd all do it .
I was fully prepared to have nowt come state pension .
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Thats my view. Im 58 but with a final salary pension and lump sum. I reckon absolute worst case scenario is having to cut back a bit for a year or 2 before state pension if my lump sum is looking a bit too depleted.
 
DaveH said:
That is a real bummer not to get it. A large redundancy payment when you are going anyway is living the dream.

After being assured there would not be another round of redundancy at my last place, I resigned. A week or two later another was announced and people working their notice were excluded. With 15 years of service, I would have had over a year of wages. It would have cleared my mortgage.
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We are onto round 3 of the mutually agreed resignation scheme. There’ll be nobody left soon! I’m going to apply, it’s 9 months of wages iirc, up to £30k of which is tax free.

I’ll stick it into my SIPP and semi/retire at 55 or 56 before the age increase. Then I will defer the LGPS until I’m 60 (less of a reduction).
 
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Ned Land said:
We are onto round 3 of the mutually agreed resignation scheme. There’ll be nobody left soon! I’m going to apply, it’s 9 months of wages iirc, up to £30k of which is tax free.

I’ll stick it into my SIPP and semi/retire at 55 or 56 before the age increase. Then I will defer the LGPS until I’m 60 (less of a reduction).
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Nice. That is one thing I will be considering. I think I'm the same as you, 3-4% hit per each year I retire early, so holding it off for a year or two is a consideration.

The bulk of my pension is defined benefit, but there is also a small defined contribution part of that. Various rule changes and me putting in a bit extra (reducing what tax I pay) has built up £7.5k. Not much in the grand scheme of things. But if I can grow that to 2 x the personal tax limit (around £24k), then one consideration is me retiring at 58, living off savings or where ever I invest the mortgage payment when that is paid off, but for two years pull out up to the tax limit from the DC part. Then claim the defined benefit part after that, which would boost that by 7-8%.
 
DaveH said:
Nice. That is one thing I will be considering. I think I'm the same as you, 3-4% hit per each year I retire early, so holding it off for a year or two is a consideration.

The bulk of my pension is defined benefit, but there is also a small defined contribution part of that. Various rule changes and me putting in a bit extra (reducing what tax I pay) has built up £7.5k. Not much in the grand scheme of things. But if I can grow that to 2 x the personal tax limit (around £24k), then one consideration is me retiring at 58, living off savings or where ever I invest the mortgage payment when that is paid off, but for two years pull out up to the tax limit from the DC part. Then claim the defined benefit part after that, which would boost that by 7-8%.
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I assume that you were a member of the USS? Which is part DC/part DB. Have you left the HE sector? It’s sh@gged financially.
 
Ned Land said:
I assume that you were a member of the USS? Which is part DC/part DB. Have you left the HE sector? It’s sh@gged financially.
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USS and I am still in HE. I am assuming that I am going to finish my career in this sector, but there are worrying trends the way finances are going.

At least the area I am in (cyber security) is the one most people don't want to get rid of. No Vice Chancellor wants to be the one standing up admitting they axed their security team and have just been brought to their knees by ransomware. Where I am currently at, the security team was initially outsourced and they moved to in house to gain greater capability for less. Hopefully that is a decision that will not be reversed. Just take each year as it comes is the best I can do.
 
DaveH said:
USS and I am still in HE. I am assuming that I am going to finish my career in this sector, but there are worrying trends the way finances are going.

At least the area I am in (cyber security) is the one most people don't want to get rid of. No Vice Chancellor wants to be the one standing up admitting they axed their security team and have just been brought to their knees by ransomware. Where I am currently at, the security team was initially outsourced and they moved to in house to gain greater capability for less. Hopefully that is a decision that will not be reversed. Just take each year as it comes is the best I can do.
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Your skills should be transferable too.

After doing the same job for 25 years I’ve found that my skill set is becoming outdated, though I still get asked about contract work via LinkedIn.
 
Been putting the garden furniture together today to put the finishing touches to the garden for another summer. Just need a few days of sun now, I'm not asking too much.
 
Ned Land said:
Your skills should be transferable too.

After doing the same job for 25 years I’ve found that my skill set is becoming outdated, though I still get asked about contract work via LinkedIn.
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Yeah. I'm not particularly concerned. If it all goes belly up and I find myself out of work, there are other jobs in the sector I see regularly I can go for, or industry. I was a linux & network admin, then IT ops manager before I moved into security management. With all the experience I have I would find somewhere and should be ok financially for at least 6 months. To be honest the thought of just taking 6 months off does appeal, but I'd have to add that (and possibly more) to the end of my career.
 
People who have a SIPP, likes of vanguard …
Missus has a small pension and S&S ISA , do you pay your quarterly fees to the provider by direct debit or let them sell some of your fund to cover the costs ?
Never know which is best ?
Cheers
 
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