To dread retirement

Do you seriously think she’s better off than you? The state pension next year is less than £12k a year.

Can u get pension credit if you rent maybe.a single person discount on rates.maybe look into this at CAB or similar. Lots of volunteering, maybe NT or similar, I.was dreading DH retirement. However I have got cancer and chemo. Thought I w be bored ! DH has attended all my appointments ,and we go to a coffee morning with lots of nice people all.in the same boat. Our aunt lost her husband, goes on lots of cruises,days out Nt and hols alone 😔

Income tax is tax on income. Nothing different about how your pension is treated. Once you are state pension age you won’t have to pay national insurance.
It sounds as though you would benefit from phasing into retirement, perhaps by working three days a week. Then look to setting up a regular routine for the other days daytime and evening. Are you worried about not being useful, being lonely? Look for volunteer opportunities perhaps doing craft or hearing reading inaschool/nursery/library. Make plans, it css as n be an exciting time of life.

@citygirl1961 everyone who earns over the threshold will pay more tax but it's still worth working as you will end up with more money each month.

Plug the numbers into a salary calculator, as mentioned earlier you won't pay NI so that's a pay rise.

I assume your pension is final salary which means if you lower your income your pension goes down..I get why you wouldn't want to do that however having a pension & salary is great,! High taxation is only because you will have so much more income. You can use that to build up your savings.

Btw, understand the anxiety of not working as it's affects many people who worry about, how much is enough money? Use the next year to note exactly what you spend and that will give you reassurance.

Why not have a one time consultation with a fiduciary financial advisor? It might set your mind at ease.

You literally do not have a problem. You don’t have to retire but can easily afford to. It’s the dream! If you want to work then work. If you want to retire, retire. If you want to work part time, work part time. You have sufficient money and no responsibilities. You do know how many women have nothing but the state pension?

You can defer taking your State Pension and your work pension if you stay in work post retirement age. Once you reach retirement age, you don't pay National Insurance so you will actually take home more than you do now.

Quite a few women I worked with worked past retirement age when they could retire at 60 and they all said they'd never had as much money due to not paying NI and having free travel.

Which is why you need to plan. You've got some interesting hobbies which you could expand. You could join the U3A, or maybe ramblers near you. You could volunteer at the food bank or other charity. You tend to spend more when you first retire then spending tapers off. Look at your revised budget and plan accordingly. How about getting a dog? Or organising/reviewing some travel options Have a look at books that cover making the most of your retirement. Lifes short make the most of it. After 6 months you'll wish you retired earlier.

What pension scheme are you in? If you have a chunk in Classic, that does not increase beyond 60. Any hours worked to the value of that beyond 60 mean, essentially, you've been working for free.

When you say the Union is this from a handout or have you been able to talk to a proper independent financial adviser through your Union. I recommend this because there may be things that you can do to defer your pension, or work part time which will give you security. I would not take advice from colleagues, unless they know what your financial position is to the penny then their advice is flawed, even if it is well meaning.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/tax-calculator/

work out your income (pension, pension + working part time) and the tax you will pay

One of my family has done this. She works part time and deferred her pension and plans to keep going until (at least) 70.

I am retired.
I am not sure if you are more worried about the lower income or what you will be doing with your time.
Re income. First you will not need to worry about 'work clothes' or fares to work, so that saves some expenses. Then you will have more time to plan meals to make them more energy efficient (batch cooking etc).
If it's the time, then the usual advice is to join local groups. Set yourself some personal goals. Take up a sport to keep yourself active for as long as possible, etc

Don’t retire then, every year you work on your pension gets better

there are retirement seminars op
dont dread it
look at it as a new chapter
opportunities

surely you can defer your pension?

Your union explicitly told you that

If I take partial retirement I will still earn the same money now but when I retire fully I will end up with less after taking part of my pension.
If I stay on in the same job after retirement age (which is 67, I will be 64 in November) I will be taxed heavily on my pension which is already happening to someone at my work who is working beyond her retirement age,.?

Retirement is a massive change and it’s great that you recognise that and are thinking about it in advance. I think a lot of people get a shock when they stop working.

Any big change can feel incredibly unsettling and if you have been used to the anchor and security of work, it might be daunting to imagine life without it. The uncertainty of it all. The idea of getting older can also be hard to get used to all by itself.

You have time now to dream and reflect and then to plan. Could you write down all the advantages you have and all your worries. Sometimes that can help you pin down what the concerns really are - when they are spinning round your head, they can spiral.

Then think about what you want the next phase of life to look like. Brainstorm - no idea is a bad one. Then, once you have that picture of your future, you can look at practical steps to achieve it. Starting with the practical steps as others have said is no good if you don’t have clarity and direction.

It’s hard to do that by yourself so you could get a few sessions of counselling or even a book that has exercises to help you think about what you want out of life and retirement. It IS a big change and it’s so natural to feel apprehensive. Best of luck and I hope it’s a beautiful time in your life.

Put your projected income into a take home pay calculator to find out how much tax you'll pay rather than listening to hearsay from people who are not you.

If you gave few friends and no hobbies or ties to your area why not move somewhere cheaper. Use your lump sum to buy a flat or house. I'm Also CS. You can take a higher lump sum in lieu of reduced monthly income.

You must have known you would have ended up in this position though. If you've been In Cs for 35 years not buying a property wasn't the wisest move. I would either carry on Working or completely move somewhere much cheaper.

got made redundant and ill admit i miss the role, i keep tabs on the office and keep upto date on whats what, and yes its nice having the time available but that said i do miss the role

You haven’t mentioned your State pension.
One thing you can do now is to budget as if you are just living on your pensions. I did that a couple of years before I semi retired, and soon realised just how much money I as wasting!
Also, you really don’t have to stop working just because you claim your pension . Yes, if your pension + state pension + salary is greater than £50k, you’ll pay 40% tax on the amount above that, but you’d be on bcc a pretty good income! Plus you won’t be paying NI or pension contributions.

Think it would be very long days. Maybe if you keep busy thats different. We have a small dog so could bring him off. Winter be interesting! But I know people that love the freedom.