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Retirement

i8playoffs said:
The interest rate on those things is horrific. I couldn't retire early knowing my kids were saddled with that debt. Id feel guilty as.....

Different strokes for different folks. No right or wrong answers. Literally what works for you
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It's not real debt though, it's effectively a graduate tax. Which if they don't go onto to get a good job, they'll never have to pay it off, so you'll have wasted your money.
dangermows said:
People list things they'd do if retired/weren't a slave to the wage. One of these worker weebils comes along and asks 'then what?' as if to suggest it'd soon become repetitive/boring. Aye, unlike getting up on a morning and going to work, to do the same job, five days a week :lol:

The key point is choice. People will be doing things they want to do rather than have to do once they are financially able to retire should they wish.

Fairly obvious but I am sure some numb nuts will continue to struggle with the concept :lol:
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In fairness, most of those saying it are self employed tradesman types or those that have their own business. So to a degree they do have more choice than those of us who are employed 9-5. And if they have their own business, then their business is their hobby & interests.
 
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i8playoffs said:
The interest rate on those things is horrific. I couldn't retire early knowing my kids were saddled with that debt. Id feel guilty as.....

Different strokes for different folks. No right or wrong answers. Literally what works for you
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On the flip side, I know I would have felt very guilty if I were away enjoying uni, knowing my parents were working themselves into the ground to pay for it.
parttimer said:
I think if there is so little imagination, and no idea what they'll do when they retire other than sit around bored all day, they probably already have relatively empty lives tbh.
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It is probably a little unfair. My dad retired, loved spending time with my sister's kids when they were young and had a rich family life. But when they were not around, he watched telly. He had been into other hobbies and interests when he was younger. He made me a lego box with very tight fitting dovetail joints, very professionally done. But at some point he just seemed to run out of imagination and stopped doing things.

To be honest, that is my biggest fear in life. I'm late 40s now, fairly fit, very active and feel constantly far too busy. Less than 15 years I'll be retired and my fear is that I'll not be active or as mentally stimulated by then. Though if I was in that state, I'd be finding work torture too.
 
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TAD said:
I think the point is it gives you the choice. You are free to do that and free to walk out tomorrow if you have a pension and are financially stable. Good luck to you and can't wait till that's me.
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Very true.
A few of my pals are retired and love it (so they say), As you say, they are free to choose what to do each day which is defo the point.
 
Shack said:
I think the word retirement conjures up different images for different people. I like to look it as being financially independent (you may have heard of the FIRE movement). Once you achieve this you can make decisions and have choices in whether you want to work, do something different (change jobs, reduce hours/days etc) or pack in altogether. Having the ability to make choices is very liberating.

The biggest issue is knowing when you have enough in the pot to not have to work. That is the main reason people keep working (if they want to retire). I've found you never truly know you have enough and at some point you have to just bite the bullet.

My mindset was to enjoy summers doing what I want and take a short term job over winter. The issue is I now begrudge working full time so I'd prefer part time! There's no jobs out there doing what I used to do with part time hours though, so I need to make compromises. I ended up taking a permanent job last November but ended up leaving by April as I got fed up being stuck at a desk again 5 days a week. I missed going out on the walks with my dog and being able to do what I wanted. Once you have a taste of that it's difficult to give it up. I do feel that I need something to occupy my mind alongside the hobbies and interests I have but perhaps that's because it's only been a few years since I stopped working properly full time. I think it takes a while to get that work ethic out of your system or maybe it never leaves some people?
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We decided to retire in Italy & bought a place out here.

To be honest post Brexit , we have so much on our plates sorting out the banking / pension / immigration issues , getting paperwork for the dog , sorting out our new place , negotiating the mountain of Italian beurocracy for health, bills etc - and learning ( trying to ) speak Italian - I couldn’t fit a job in now !

But then the beautiful city , travel within Italy , food etc- gives us plenty of good things to ruminate on to balance the other stuff 😋
 
Slim999 said:
We decided to retire in Italy & bought a place out here.

To be honest post Brexit , we have so much on our plates sorting out the banking / pension / immigration issues , getting paperwork for the dog , sorting out our new place , negotiating the mountain of Italian beurocracy for health, bills etc - and learning ( trying to ) speak Italian - I couldn’t fit a job in now !

But then the beautiful city , travel within Italy , food etc- gives us plenty of good things to ruminate on to balance the other stuff 😋
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Might need to pick your brains about that at some point, if you don't mind...planning to do the same, though it won't be for a few years yet.
 
When I visit the work office I tend to chat to colleagues about retirement plans rather than work itself.

The fella opposite is 54 and he’s planning to retire ASAP, he’s had some time off with personal issues and I think that he’s struggling to work in a ‘corporate’ environment.

He’s also told me that his mother is getting by on the state pension exclusively, without any additional income.

It’s interesting to compare and contrast plans.

I think that I’ll pay for expensive holidays while I’m fully employed, then take U.K. and NW European holidays when I’m retired.
 
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Ned Land said:
I think that I’ll pay for expensive holidays while I’m fully employed, then take U.K. and NW European holidays when I’m retired.
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That is a bit of a catch 22 for me.

I want a long holiday in Australia (total solar eclipse in central Australia when I'm 60, so a really good target to aim for), but read a lot about wildlife in other areas of the world. I'd love to spend long holidays in exotic places watching wildlife. Currently I can't do it because of time. Will I have the funds to do it when I retire?
 
DaveH said:
That is a bit of a catch 22 for me.

I want a long holiday in Australia (total solar eclipse in central Australia when I'm 60, so a really good target to aim for), but read a lot about wildlife in other areas of the world. I'd love to spend long holidays in exotic places watching wildlife. Currently I can't do it because of time. Will I have the funds to do it when I retire?
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If there’s a specific trip then could you plan and save £££ accordingly and do it regardless of being employed or retired? I.E. save the cash into an account that’s earmarked for your trip, but actually travel when you have the time.

I’m not fussed about long haul journeys, I’m happy being near a quiet beach in the U.K. Plus when I’m older I might not have the stamina for being jostled in cattle class.
 
Ned Land said:
If there’s a specific trip then could you plan and save £££ accordingly and do it regardless of being employed or retired? I.E. save the cash into an account that’s earmarked for your trip, but actually travel when you have the time.

I’m not fussed about long haul journeys, I’m happy being near a quiet beach in the U.K. Plus when I’m older I might not have the stamina for being jostled in cattle class.
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I'm similar in some ways. A day walking in the Lakes and a pint in a good pub is great.

But, I always remember being out at night on a lake in north west australia, silently moving along the bank looking at all the amazing and different wildlife coming down to drink.

I want both!
 
The Great Soprendo said:
Might need to pick your brains about that at some point, if you don't mind...planning to do the same, though it won't be for a few years yet.
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No probs

It was easier for me as my wife is an Italian passport holder - hence I got the 5 year visa (permesso) on that basis

I've a feeling that it would have been extremely stressful otherwise.

I still keep one foot in UK - still have my tax / banking there - whilst the missus has banking here

It might get easier again when Starmer re-sets the relationship
 
Slim999 said:
No probs

It was easier for me as my wife is an Italian passport holder - hence I got the 5 year visa (permesso) on that basis

I've a feeling that it would have been extremely stressful otherwise.

I still keep one foot in UK - still have my tax / banking there - whilst the missus has banking here

It might get easier again when Starmer re-sets the relationship
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Thanks. I have an Italian passport myself (and my wife will soon have an Irish one) so we should be OK on that front. And language isn't a problem. It's all in the future but I do want to start working out how things work for getting pension payments there, taxation and suchlike. Healthcare I guess will be OK if we are both EU citizens and resident there.

For instance, I understand that they have set up a favourable taxation regime for immigrants moving to small towns in the south (or in the earthquake zones :lol: ) - where you pay a flat rate 7% on all income for 10 years. Could be quite lucrative especially if I can draw down heavily on the pension during those 10 years, though it might not be where we want to be of course. I expect I'll need some specialist advice on all that stuff. Otherwise I believe you pay tax on all income and there's no tax free allowance like here, so as a pensioner that would cost more I expect.

Can you be tax resident in the UK (like you suggest) if you live most of the year in Italy?

I should probably avoid derailing the thread on something so specific, but might have broader interest for other wannabe retirees I suppose! I think other countries have favourable regimes to attract retirees too.
 
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