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Retirement
- Thread starter Shieldsman
- Start date
Darlo1973
Striker
There's a lot of early retirements planned based on this thread!
I say get out as early as you can, congrats to anyone who can.
But I wouldn't be for working flat out in your 40s etc. and sacrificing enjoying life.
Just lost an old schoolmate yesterday morning. Heart attack at 39, younger than me. He's the third out our primary school to go. (Tragic accident at 21 & cancer at 35 the other two)I'm from a small village and we're all still in shock will take a long time to process it.
I've lost touch with most of my primary school class so don't know how many are still with us, but from my university class of 30 people, two died in their 40s. One from cancer and the other from a sudden heart attack - despite being super-fit and healthy. Just dropped dead while clearing out his garage.
Your 40s is the decade when you start going to more funerals than weddings. I lost two other friends in their 40s to the Big C in recent years plus my brother.
Unfortunately, retirements in your 40s or even slowing down, is beyond most people when it should be their highest earning decade with mortgages left to pay, kids still hanging around and pension funds not big enough.
It's in your 50s when you start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully mortgage and/or child free and pensions/savings start growing thanks to years of compounding.
Charlestonian
Striker
This thread is a really interesting read.
I’m planning to clear my mortgage by 58, I then plan to work 5 more years to 63, just saving like mad basically, to pack in then, Mrs C will probably retire and return within the NHS earlier than that, and go part time as part of that.
I’m planning to clear my mortgage by 58, I then plan to work 5 more years to 63, just saving like mad basically, to pack in then, Mrs C will probably retire and return within the NHS earlier than that, and go part time as part of that.
I think people need to focus less on the "you might die tomorrow" and more on the "you almost certainly won't die tomorrow" and the "unless you already have a terminal or life-limiting disease, you are a quite a bit more likely to live beyond 80 than die before 70".
I cannot think of any time worse to be in poverty than old age. Good memories don't heat the water or pay the grocer.
I accept that people need to enjoy themselves when they are younger, but like anything, it's about balance.
Youthful fun doesn't have to cost much either. I remember walks in the park and rolls in the hay as fondly as any expensive holiday, and more than any possession.
I cannot think of any time worse to be in poverty than old age. Good memories don't heat the water or pay the grocer.
I accept that people need to enjoy themselves when they are younger, but like anything, it's about balance.
Youthful fun doesn't have to cost much either. I remember walks in the park and rolls in the hay as fondly as any expensive holiday, and more than any possession.
Personally I'd rather retire earlier and risk running out of money than work longer and not be healthy, or live long enough,to enjoy it. I'll be retiring at 58, and if I end up skint fron say 65 until the state pension kicks in at least I'll know I've had a good 7 years.
All my relatives who are 70+ can't spend the meagre pensions they have. My mam is constantly offering to buy us stuff, as are the in laws. None of them are minted, or live frugally, you just get to a point where nights out,holidays etc stop
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The Fitter
Striker
Retiring at 60 to become an international coin trader, but starting to wind down a bit next year to 3/4 days a week. I'm not interested in money, I only need enough to live a simple lifestyle and I'm happy with what I have. Kids are both grown up and doing well and I've got the Christmas card from them saying "Thanks for always putting us first Dad" That'll do me.
Ned Land
Winger
I concur with this. I started to invest when I was in my 30s but didn’t find a strategy that I could consistently stick with until my 40s. Youngest child was born when I was 40 so we only started to earn 2 decent incomes about 10 years ago.
Without being over confident I now look at spreadsheets and accounts and I’m amazed at how much the mortgage has reduced, and how much is accumulated in investments. Although I am very wary of stock market fluctuations so I don’t get too cocky.
The best decision I made was to join a DB pension scheme about 30 years ago so investments have always been a bonus.
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Tuono
Winger
Same as me, I find it strange people put money before almost everything else. If someone gave me loads of money I wouldn't object but I have enough to live on and I'm happy doing what I do in my spare time so why graft longer to stick more money in the bank. The other mans grass isn't greener as far as I'm concerned, it's just green, same as mine.
Darlo1973
Striker
it's not called the "miracle" of compound interest for nothing. I just wish I had started my pensions earlier in life but I spent most of my 20s in temp jobs, I got screwed over by the first proper pension I had so didn't start putting money away properly until my early 30s yet my pot has grown to over £300,000 and now makes more money per year than I do from working.
The trouble is knowing how much is "enough". Is it £500,000 or £750,000 or closer to a million?
Ned Land
Winger
I’ve posted before re: starting a SIPP for my son. There should be 50ish years of compounding.
I have some projections on a spreadsheet regarding what amounts I *might* receive but as a starting point I based a monthly income target on my current monthly net salary, minus mortgage and pension/regular investments.
Darlo1973
Striker
I was recently decluttering my hard drive and found a spreadsheet I did in 2001 ago for retirement projections when such a prospect was in the distant future, I hardly had any savings of any kind and was still renting. I way overestimated how much I would be earning my now (I decided at one point that the management fast track wasn't for me) but underestimated how much the value of pensions, investments and equity would eventually grow.
I know loads of 70+ for whom your experience bears no resemblance at all, including nearly of my relatives who have hit that age.
My parents are much closer to 80 than 70 and they are active. My mam doesn't go on holiday abroad anymore, but that has more to do with the cost of insurance than any lack of desire to go on holiday abroad. She makes up for this by haunting the coastal resorts of Great Britain with literal busloads of other biddies.
Nobody knows how the future will turn out. But humans are generally terrible at predicting it. Mental heuristics tend to favour the choice that says "eat/drink/shag/spend RIGHT NOW!!!", because most of the brain is more primitive and animalistic that the bit we think of as Me.
There is nothing wrong with having a bit left over when the reaper comes. There is nothing wrong with being able to treat kids/grandkids/charities/etc. There is little worse than an impoverished old age.
Canister
Full Back
From my enda it looks like you might have a bit of a jobe on trying to rigg that. You might have to just neil and pray that you don’t end up Browned off from all le fees
Darlo1973
Striker
Doesn't matter if it's in Scottish Widows or a SIPP. It's the underlying investment which matters.
42
Striker
I think this is possibly where health & wealth inequalities come into play.
My parents are in early 70's, and are in decent health & fairly active. Dad has a decent index linked DB pension, then 2 state pensions & a 6 figure sum in the bank which is currently generating decent interest. The savings will very unlikely ever be touched (decent inheritance for me). They have about 4 foreign holidays a year, alongside a few UK weekend trips & national holidays bus trips & that. They'll likely continue for at least another 10 years before health starts to deteriorate.
Inlaws are 3 or 4 years younger. Never had much, flitting between benefits & low paid work etc. Now that they're of state pension age, they've got more money than they've had in their lives but struggle to do anything as they've not known anything else. Also combined with the fact they've not really looked after themselves so are a bit knackered which makes getting out & about difficult. So for the first time in their lives they've actually got savings which is just increasing as they can't spend it.
If you haven’t got a mortgage then there is no way you have to have 3 grand a month after tax like. I know everyone has different lifestyles but most won’t need that. That’s about a 45k a year salary with no housing costs. So while working if you have something like a 700 quid a month mortgage to have 3000 after that you would need a salary of about 65 grand to be comfortable.
TheWanderer
Striker
Retirement is for enjoying life, holidays, seeing the world, enjoying some of the finer things in life which you've not been able to do due to a job.
Might as well keep working until your grave if you're barely getting by, and not really going for it in retirement IMO, but people are different.
42
Striker
I think the point is that you can enjoy a good retirement on a lot less since you no longer have the same outgoings. Most people do tend to overestimate how much they need in retirement. Another thing to factor in is front loading your pension income to earlier years as later on you'll need less as health reduces
