Pension stuff, how's it all looking ? HAve you prepared ?

[Couchy]

I’ve started taking mine now at 56, there’s enough to last me till I’m 67 at a reasonable amount. Sometime before 67 I’ll downsize the house giving me enough till I’m 80 plus state pension. After 80 I’ll take the risk that state pension is enough. If not I’ll release equity from the house.
Of course several months into this plan I’ve taken a job on retention, local company paying me to be there when they need me due to my experience and qualifications. They pay me mileage if I do go out, this month it’s been 5 site visits of a few hours and a couple hours on the PC. That’ll do tbh

[Horse]

Of course several months into this plan I’ve taken a job ...

I retired at 65, taking my 16 years of final salary pension from a previous employer. 3 months later, emails asking whether I'd be interested in part-time work? Not a fortune, but it's helped.

Then, at 66, state pension started.

Filly took early retirement age 59, so reduced pension. Her SP age is 67.

So far, we're managing ok.

I have a couple of pots waiting... (post-Truss) waiting... (post-Trump) for them to bounce back I'll use them as draw-down if needed.

[Dodgy69]

I'm definitely in the camp of early retirement with less, than later with more. Time is more important to me.

[Yorick]

I'm definitely in the camp of early retirement with less, than later with more. Time is more important to me.

I retired here at 54 with 3 star pension.
I could have worked 12 more years for a 5 star pension

[weeksy]

Well the pension is looking a bit better again now and even though not quite back to where it was before it dropped like a stone, but it's certainly back over where it was about Xmas or so... Not a complete disaster then at the moment and means the plans i have are all still ticking over nicely.

[Bustaspoke]

I'm definitely in the camp of early retirement with less, than later with more. Time is more important to me.

Same here,I retired 2 years ago age 61,my biggest regret is not having the funds to retire at 55..

[weeksy]

I'm definitely in the camp of early retirement with less, than later with more. Time is more important to me.

Same here,I retired 2 years ago age 61,my biggest regret is not having the funds to retire at 55..

Well yes, retiring at 55 is a marvellous idea but not always realistic for many, despite having an awesome pension scheme from work, we got on the property ladder VERY late and therefore missed out on the massive gains people made in the 90-00s, so we've still got a mortgage that needs sorting before we can consider retirement as an option.
I still hope it'll be 60 though for me.

[gremlin]

We're thinking of putting Chez Gremlin on the market next year, to coincide with the Gremlinette finishing uni, which we are fully funding. If we can downsize and take a chunk of capital then we could retire...

but...

I'm slightly nervous of doing 'nothing'. I can't sit an do nothing as it is. The thought of taking up golf or the like fills me with fucking dread. I think a better compromise is to go down to three days a week, if my employer feels that's workable. A few mates have done it and reckon it's the way to do it. Just have to convince senior management that it's better to have my wise counsel and decades of knowledge for three days a week for a couple of years rather than me do a five day week for the next three months and then bugger off to visit Eastbourne to play bingo weekly and buy fawn slacks from Dunn & Co.

[weeksy]

We're thinking of putting Chez Gremlin on the market next year, to coincide with the Gremlinette finishing uni, which we are fully funding. If we can downsize and take a chunk of capital then we could retire...

but...

I'm slightly nervous of doing 'nothing'. I can't sit an do nothing as it is. The thought of taking up golf or the like fills me with fucking dread. I think a better compromise is to go down to three days a week, if my employer feels that's workable. A few mates have done it and reckon it's the way to do it. Just have to convince senior management that it's better to have my wise counsel and decades of knowledge for three days a week for a couple of years rather than me do a five day week for the next three months and then bugger off to visit Eastbourne to play bingo weekly and buy fawn slacks from Dunn & Co.

When i retire i will still work, but it won't be in IT, it'll likely be in bicycles in some way or form, but i'm not sure yet what route that will take. I know what i'd LIKE to do, which is run a DH race team... but the practicalities of that i'm not so sure about.

[Pirahna]

The thought of taking up golf or the like fills me with fucking dread. I think a better compromise is to go down to three days a week, if my employer feels that's workable.

The downside of dropping to three days is a week is that you're still going into the office and you still get the same amount of annual leave. All it gives you is an extra 2 days a week to sit looking out of the window at the rain.

Bin the UK and move to Italy, you like it there.

[Yorick]

The thought of taking up golf or the like fills me with fucking dread. I think a better compromise is to go down to three days a week, if my employer feels that's workable.

The downside of dropping to three days is a week is that you're still going into the office and you still get the same amount of annual leave. All it gives you is an extra 2 days a week to sit looking out of the window at the rain.

Bin the UK and move to Italy, you like it there.

Yeah, Italy is good

[the_priest]

Bounced back to pre-Trump "stupid git comments on taxes" levels. Still waiting for the investment to show greater increases, but it is definitely heading in the right direction at the moment, so no complaints.

[JackyJoll]

I'm slightly nervous of doing 'nothing'. I can't sit an do nothing as it is. The thought of taking up golf or the like fills me with fucking dread. I think a better compromise is to go down to three days a week, if my employer feels that's workable. A few mates have done it and reckon it's the way to do it. Just have to convince senior management that it's better to have my wise counsel and decades of knowledge for three days a week for a couple of years rather than me do a five day week for the next three months and then bugger off to visit Eastbourne to play bingo weekly and buy fawn slacks from Dunn & Co.

Working full-time for 46 years, then stopping is a sort of shock.

You get over it though. We take things on at the start of retirement, to fill in time or out of perverse guilt. Could be golf, committees, garden projects.

Couple of years down the line, you find you have a life to lead and might drop out of stray seagull rescue etc.

[Horse]

I'm slightly nervous of doing 'nothing'. I can't sit an do nothing as it is. The thought of taking up golf or the like fills me with fucking dread. I think a better compromise is to go down to three days a week, if my employer feels that's workable. A few mates have done it and reckon it's the way to do it. Just have to convince senior management that it's better to have my wise counsel and decades of knowledge for three days a week for a couple of years rather than me do a five day week for the next three months and then bugger off to visit Eastbourne to play bingo weekly and buy fawn slacks from Dunn & Co.

Working full-time for 46 years, then stopping is a sort of shock.

You get over it though. We take things on at the start of retirement, to fill in time or out of perverse guilt. Could be golf, committees, garden projects.

Couple of years down the line, you find you have a life to lead and might drop out of stray seagull rescue etc.

I retired in June 2023. Had a long list of things to do. Have achieved hardly any.

But I don't get bored, plenty of stuff to do.

Two points:
1. Plan. Find something to give you continuity. For me it was CFR volunteering.
2. Retirement = retaining. Things that had to be done evenings and weekends can be done anytime.

Oh - my old employer got me back working occasional part-time too

[Dodgy69]

I retired about 8 week's ago. It's bloody ace, but I think the weather is helping. No more groundhog day. I go swimming 9 till 10, 2 days a week then after swimming it's mil s garden for 2 or 3 hours, thoroughly enjoying it.

The wife and I have a day out or it's a motorbike ride or pushbike, today was towpath day to Llangollen, superb. Just keep yourself fairly busy and all is good.

[Yorick]

Every year I bang the maximum £20k into an ISA. Was thinking about a Stocks n Shares ISA but no rush, Then 2 weeks ago I saw the FTSE100 had dropped dramatically coz of Trump's taxes. I've never been a gambler with money. but I reckoned it would bounce back as the taxes settled down.
So banged the whole lot into Virgin S&S.

Just checked and it's gone up 6% in 2 weeks

Don't think I'll get into stock market gambling, but this win feels good
.

Screenshot (208).png

Now running at 13% profit in 5 weeks

[Mr. Dazzle]

You remember I said, if it was me, I'd be crystallising some profit on half those Nvidia shares......

Gypsy Rose Steer, that's moi.

Well it's been a whacky month or two, but they're now back to record highs.

Maybe this time it's the right time to sell 'em

[Mr. Dazzle]

You remember I said, if it was me, I'd be crystallising some profit on half those Nvidia shares......

Gypsy Rose Steer, that's moi.

Well it's been a whacky month or two, but they're now nearly back to record highs.

Maybe this time it's the right time to sell 'em

[Nordboy]

Well, things have escalated a bit since I last posted here.

I'm now just under 8 wks from my last shift in work and then 12 wks away from retiring from my 24.5 yr 'career'. My pension forms are in, and whilst they're not fantastic, I'm going earlier than planned so acceptable.

I also have another job to go to in the local council. With my pension and wage, I'll be taking home more than I currently do, and will now be paying into a new local gvnt pension. I expect to be working for at least another 10 yrs (I'm 55 this year). Obviously, or hopefully I have the full whack state pension to get in many years time as well.

Oh, and we've sold our house and bought another!! Just starting this process, I forgot how stressful and how much hassle it all is, which then should release some of the equity we currently have. We'll use this to pay off any debts we've incurred and then have a fresh start so to speak. We have bought a house more expensive than we planned, so have another mortgage, but we're planning to pay extra to reduce that over the next few years. Worst case, we can downsize again (the house we bought is still quite big and not the downsize we originally thought it'd be )

So, it's all coming at me (us including the wife I guess?) at the same time, in for a penny they say.....Have we made the right decisions, fuck knows, but they seem ok at the moment, who knows what the hell's coming.

[weeksy]

Well, things have escalated a bit since I last posted here.

I'm now just under 8 wks from my last shift in work and then 12 wks away from retiring from my 24.5 yr 'career'. My pension forms are in, and whilst they're not fantastic, I'm going earlier than planned so acceptable.

I also have another job to go to in the local council. With my pension and wage, I'll be taking home more than I currently do, and will now be paying into a new local gvnt pension. I expect to be working for at least another 10 yrs (I'm 55 this year). Obviously, or hopefully I have the full whack state pension to get in many years time as well.

Oh, and we've sold our house and bought another!! Just starting this process, I forgot how stressful and how much hassle it all is, which then should release some of the equity we currently have. We'll use this to pay off any debts we've incurred and then have a fresh start so to speak. We have bought a house more expensive than we planned, so have another mortgage, but we're planning to pay extra to reduce that over the next few years. Worst case, we can downsize again (the house we bought is still quite big and not the downsize we originally thought it'd be )

So, it's all coming at me (us including the wife I guess?) at the same time, in for a penny they say.....Have we made the right decisions, fuck knows, but they seem ok at the moment, who knows what the hell's coming.

Sounds like an adventure that does