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Retirement is it boring

Those of us that got to work from home during and after lockdown have a fair idea of what it'll be like when we reach retirement...! :D
 
Being retired and in good health with a big bank balance sounds great but it probably doesn’t take much to make it less attractive.

Both my parents and in-laws aged massively over the lockdown period, to the extent that they barely now go anywhere. Conversation gets very limited as they only see the same few people. Inevitably conversations revolve around who has just died.

My folks both retired in their 50s and initially travelled the world. Ill health caught up with them in their 70s so I’m really happy that they had 20 years doing what they wanted to do rather than putting it off. Both sets of parents are now in the situation where they might as well have loyalty cards for hospitals as it’s the place they go the most.

As Dave said earlier it it really important to plan properly for retirement. We ended up paying a small fortune to an advisor about getting a SIPP but it was money well spent as it allows money to flow down to your children when they in turn hit retirement age.

Part of me has always fancied retiring to the countryside but ironically it’s probably totally the wrong time to do it as all the medical facilities and public transport is in the city.

I’ve got another 16 years to go before I can officially retire on my full pension (assuming there are no future changes). The idea of teaching teenagers whilst in my mid 60s is the stuff of nightmares by that stage they will probably be younger than my grandkids.
 
Just about to retire - this Friday actually - I am 57 next week but that’s 40 years nursing so my pension pot does not really go up much if I stay - I was meant to go at 55 and then covid happened 😞
There is money to be saved when I retire and join Colin - we can go down to one car ,
I can properly batch cook, will save in petrol , can go on a midweek health club membership , go to midday theatre and cinema and I have lots of ideas to
Keep busy . Going on tne bank nursing - just incase but plan to sit for 6 months in my pants and eat ice cream until I decide 😀. Horrible image for you all at breakfast 😀😀
Good luck with your decision - it’s an individual choice 😀
 
I kinda retired retired in my early 40s although I’ve always traded pinballs, restored them and been a bit of a wheeler dealer with my hand in many pies.
That said being an outdoor type loved going out on my bike/motorbike, classic cars and RC planes/drones.
Indoor Hobby side has been building mame cabs and a few V-pins these have been overtaken by spending most of my free time on big Bertha which has almost culminated into a part time job along with my ski instruction one.
My days are short and always I have things to do in fact I don’t know how people function on a 9-5 job how do you find time for hobbies but needs must I guess.
Embrace retirement and do all those things you have always wanted to do and start on your bucket list.
The older I get the more chilled and happier I find myself, in fact I am more content than ever and appreciate family and friends far more.
You get one bite of this cherry enjoy it while you can and without getting too morbid I have lost far too many friends lots of which haven’t even reached retirement.
The advice I have gave my friends is try retire at the very least at 55 unless of course your job is the reason you love life so much or the aforementioned needs must.
If you can put your hand on your heart every morning and say you can’t wait to get into work then everything is rosy, if not bite on that cherry and change your life for the better.
 
ailsaclunie said:
Just about to retire - this Friday actually - I am 57 next week but that’s 40 years nursing so my pension pot does not really go up much if I stay - I was meant to go at 55 and then covid happened 😞
There is money to be saved when I retire and join Colin - we can go down to one car ,
I can properly batch cook, will save in petrol , can go on a midweek health club membership , go to midday theatre and cinema and I have lots of ideas to
Keep busy . Going on tne bank nursing - just incase but plan to sit for 6 months in my pants and eat ice cream until I decide 😀. Horrible image for you all at breakfast 😀😀
Good luck with your decision - it’s an individual choice 😀
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Congratulations on your retirement I am sure you need the break after dealing with the covid outbreak
 
Colywobbles said:
I kinda retired retired in my early 40s although I’ve always traded pinballs, restored them and been a bit of a wheeler dealer with my hand in many pies.
That said being an outdoor type loved going out on my bike/motorbike, classic cars and RC planes/drones.
Indoor Hobby side has been building mame cabs and a few V-pins these have been overtaken by spending most of my free time on big Bertha which has almost culminated into a part time job along with my ski instruction one.
My days are short and always I have things to do in fact I don’t know how people function on a 9-5 job how do you find time for hobbies but needs must I guess.
Embrace retirement and do all those things you have always wanted to do and start on your bucket list.
The older I get the more chilled and happier I find myself, in fact I am more content than ever and appreciate family and friends far more.
You get one bite of this cherry enjoy it while you can and without getting too morbid I have lost far too many friends lots of which haven’t even reached retirement.
The advice I have gave my friends is try retire at the very least at 55 unless of course your job is the reason you love life so much or the aforementioned needs must.
If you can put your hand on your heart every morning and say you can’t wait to get into work then everything is rosy, if not bite on that cherry and change your life for the better.
Click to expand...
Good advice Colin I do have interests and have wanted to set up a workshop with lathe, milling machine etc and bugger about with pins. arcade cabs, cars etc , and have been sitting in a boiling office for 2 days in a dev meeting and tbh it’s not for me anymore. So will likely do it at the end of the year.
 
ailsaclunie said:
Just about to retire - this Friday actually - I am 57 next week but that’s 40 years nursing so my pension pot does not really go up much if I stay - I was meant to go at 55 and then covid happened 😞
There is money to be saved when I retire and join Colin - we can go down to one car ,
I can properly batch cook, will save in petrol , can go on a midweek health club membership , go to midday theatre and cinema and I have lots of ideas to
Keep busy . Going on tne bank nursing - just incase but plan to sit for 6 months in my pants and eat ice cream until I decide 😀. Horrible image for you all at breakfast 😀😀
Good luck with your decision - it’s an individual choice 😀
Click to expand...
Nice one Ailsa!

It was the same for Clare - she was a midwife and when we looked at her NHS pension, it was a no-brainer. NHS Pension service is not helpful at all - All they kept telling her was how much money she would "lose" if she retired at 55 rather than waiting until she is at least 60. However, what they fail to tell you is that actually you are better off taking your pension earlier. I worked all the figures out for Clare and she was astounded, and it helped her make the decision to retire at 55, and we've had a blast these last 3 years (It's her Birthday today!!!).

When we ran the calculations, it worked out that she would be better off for the next 25 years, by retiring early, then after that she starts to gradually lose out. But the big advantage is 5 years of not having to work, when she's still relatively young and very fit and healthy, and I'm still here too!

The way the NHS pensions service illustrate your pension benefits is rather misleading, and is done this way to "con" people into working longer than they really need to. What they don't tell you is that by retiring 5 years early you will received 5 extra years worth of pension payments - obvious right? But they never actually take this into consideration, they just show you your pension at age 60 (or more), then show you what you will "lose" by taking your pension early - they forget to add back on those 5 extra years of income that you get by retiring early. They also forget to take into consideration the fact that don't pay 5 years extra INTO your pension. When you strip that out as well, the calculation really was a no-brainer.
 
T
AlanJ said:
Nice one Ailsa!

It was the same for Clare - she was a midwife and when we looked at her NHS pension, it was a no-brainer. NHS Pension service is not helpful at all - All they kept telling her was how much money she would "lose" if she retired at 55 rather than waiting until she is at least 60. However, what they fail to tell you is that actually you are better off taking your pension earlier. I worked all the figures out for Clare and she was astounded, and it helped her make the decision to retire at 55, and we've had a blast these last 3 years (It's her Birthday today!!!).

When we ran the calculations, it worked out that she would be better off for the next 25 years, by retiring early, then after that she starts to gradually lose out. But the big advantage is 5 years of not having to work, when she's still relatively young and very fit and healthy, and I'm still here too!

The way the NHS pensions service illustrate your pension benefits is rather misleading, and is done this way to "con" people into working longer than they really need to. What they don't tell you is that by retiring 5 years early you will received 5 extra years worth of pension payments - obvious right? But they never actually take this into consideration, they just show you your pension at age 60 (or more), then show you what you will "lose" by taking your pension early - they forget to add back on those 5 extra years of income that you get by retiring early. They also forget to take into consideration the fact that don't pay 5 years extra INTO your pension. When you strip that out as well, the calculation really was a no-brainer.
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Thanks Alan - I never thought of that 😀 I stayed the extra 2 years because of covid but I need to now get my health and fitness sorted to enjoy my retirement - I have already joined a gym and bought a bike and hopefully at next years pinfest - there will be less of me 😀 I think the other factor that convinced me was that I have paid the full 40 years national insurance and my state pension is at its maximum - if I live long enough to get it 😀 plus I am on bank if I have calculated all wrong - looking forward to having the time to try some of your curry recipes and cooking better too 😀 x
 
AlanJ said:
When we ran the calculations, it worked out that she would be better off for the next 25 years, by retiring early, then after that she starts to gradually lose out. But the big advantage is 5 years of not having to work, when she's still relatively young and very fit and healthy, and I'm still here too!
Click to expand...

AlanJ said:
What they don't tell you is that by retiring 5 years early you will received 5 extra years worth of pension payments - obvious right?
Click to expand...

I came to exactly the same conclusion. Worked out that taking the pension at 55 rather than 65 results in a significantly lower pension, but in terms of total money paid out by the pension, it would take me until aged 79 before taking the pension later would result in more being paid out. Fortunately, I'd also paid off hte mortgage and saved up a bit (and we don't have kids), so actually stopped working a couple of weeks after my 52nd birthday, and will begin taking the pension this time next year, when I'm 55. If money does get a bit tight, there's always the option of a low stress part time job, or potentially short term contract related to what I was doing.

Losing my brother at 42 (motorbike crash), then brother in law at 52 (he went to bed one night and didn't wake up) really brings it home that we're not here forever. The other factor is that from 55 to 65 you're likely to be far more healthy than 65-75 or more, so more chance to actually do interesting stuff while you still can, rather than retiring at 65. For me it's pinball, table tennis, kayaking and playing cricket among other stuff.

@ailsaclunie - congratulations on your retirement - I'm sure you'll love it. Also I really enjoyed your appearance on the @Gonzo podcast. Look forward to catching up with you and Colin at Pinfest soon!
 
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