To feel like this IS actually a decent safety net?

I would consider it a huge amount of money. It would go a long long way to paying towards my mortgage, some future proofing with investments and a couple of nice holidays. However - I earn approx £100k/year. I wouldn't even consider working less that what I currently am because of this money. For that, I'd have to be given so much that I would entirely pay off mortgage and still have the missing earnings every year until retirement. So what, maybe 500k, probably more. It is possible that's what your brother is meaning? It's an extremely helpful sum, but it's not truly life changing like a ££millions lottery win or something, letting someone buy supercars and foreign property.

I have much more than that in savings and I would be thrilled to add that infusion to my nest egg. your brother is an idiot.

you also need to change how you think about money. Having this does not mean you should reduce your hours or as other people have suggested go splurge on a holiday.

This is a life changing amount of money, if you treat it very carefully. Invested wisely, this could form the basis of a comfortable retirement some day. Spent now by working less, it will not go nearly as far.

That is an amazing gift OP. I hope it brings you good security.
I have a good job but this sum would be incredibly impactful in my life.
If your brother would like to send some of his pocket money my way ...😁

That's a lot of money, especially in your circumstances where it will pay off your debt and a significant chunk of your mortgage. Tbf I think it would make a big difference to most people in the country, including higher earners. If I were you, I'd give myself a small amount to enjoy (maybe £5k) (assuming that's appropriate given the wishes of whoever gave you the money), pay off all your debt, pay off a good chunk of the mortgage (if your mortgage allows this) and then consider dropping your hours. You may find it's possible with a smaller mortgage payment.

Wow, that's a fortune and much more than a safety net.

Your bro sounds like an ungrateful and pompous arse!

Not enough to retire on but a fabulous sum of money which for the majority of people would be life changing. I think you need to hit the mute button on DB. He sounds like a chronic balloon popper and party pooper.

You got the same amount of money and it means very little to him because of his wealth but to you it will make a significant difference in your life. This is amazing. I’d happily trade places and take your money and put ear plugs in around such a pompous ass. Enjoy your windfall.

Ignore him he’s a horrible human being why would anyone ever say this? I can imagine if it was the other way round and you were the wealthy person he’s just a prick who thinks he’s better than you but he’s not he’s just a dickhead with a wealthy wife please ignore him and do what is best for you. Like most ppl have said most of us would love that amount of money especially as a gift.

Your brother’s wrong and while it’s a huge amount of money to me it certainly isn’t enough to go part time…

It’s a significant amount of money. But not enough to semi-retire. You should keep working full time and saving into a pension. Pay off some debt, max out an ISA, and then decide what to do with the rest.

At first impressions, your brother sounds rude snd condescending, but thinking more carefully, and being generous with the benefit of the doubt- perhaps this was his awkward way of trying to explain that while it is a cushion, it’s not enough to make you set for life. You need to keep grinding.

It's a large sum to most people! Lucky him if it's not. It's not life changing in the but a Lamborghini and a yacht way, but it's definitely life improving if you target it sensibly. It is an amount that could easily be frittered away, so do think about what would add value to your life. If you go part time do the maths and work out if you are happy to fund the difference with the £120k and how long that would last. If you pay off debt, you'll have more money free each month; don't just spend that extra mindlessly - it's easy to! Alternatively if your car is a mess/kitchen crumbling then invest some of it in there if that will add value for you.

Enjoy! Whether that's less stress or a car that doesn't break down.

About 6 years wages for me after wage deductions, would get me to pension age, so defo a lovely gift.

Odd - some sort of male bravado?

I think going part time because of it is probably a bit misguided however. You could eat away at the capital very quickly just paying extra living expenses.

Invest it all for the future IMO.

You could choose to spend on those things but many children make their own way in life without parents dishing them lots of cash

Enjoy OP
Amazing amount of money

Hadn’t thought of kids. If you have any of those this gift will very much be eaten into. University costs, driving lessons, house deposit……

You’ve still got many working years left before any pension would kick in. I’m assuming your income is modest if upon saving £300 per month you were scraping by. So going part/time is going to reduce that further. Yet you still have £200k on your mortgage. How much of the gift will you be eating into each month to continue to live?

Let me get this straight. You’re in your thirties. You’ve received a gift (tax-free?) of £120k. Most people’s feeling in that scenario, no matter how much money they have, would be gratitude to the person who gave it to them. Most people would also feel appreciative of the good uses they could make of that money. It would take someone on average earnings (a little less than £40k a year) three years to earn that before tax and NI, so many years to save that amount. Yet you choose to feel ‘crushed and flat’ because of remarks by you brother, who sounds like a prick. If I were the person who’d given it to you and I’d be turning in my grave (if it’s inheritance) that I gave £120 k of my money to a wanker and another £120k to a drip.

Inheritance tax is payable by the estate, not by the person who receives the cash

I hope the person who gifted the money to you doesn't ever find out how trivial a sum he finds it.
£120k is a large sum and the safety cushion it will provide to you is significant. For someone with less of a foothold than you have it could be lifechanging. So ignore him, continue to be genuinely thankful and gracious for this gift and use it to make good things happen in your life.

For me having the opportunity to work part time meant I got to really enjoy when the kids were younger. They are all being to leave home and it feels like it went in a flash. I'm glad we had the time with them. We were skint but had lots of fun.

Pocket money?! Give over!!

@muddyford None of us know how old the donor is and their state of health, so a potential deprivation of assets situation could arise. Every local authority has a team that looks into the medical and financial records of someone in care or who is about to receive care and if there was a reasonable expectation of care needed at the time the gift was made, the LA will treat those gifts as still available for the care costs.

And the recipient of the gifts may have to pay IHT:

https://www.evelyn.com/insights-and-events/insights/the-seven-year-rule-why-it-matters-when-making-financial-gifts/

Life is for living. I’ve spent a lot of money working part time and ad hoc and travelled and enjoyed myself. I don’t regret a single moment of it. I’d use some of the money for a sabbatical or once-in-a-lifetime trip and then save the rest. I definitely wouldn’t be fretting about pensions, mortgages or investments at your age.

In a cash ISA that £100k would bring in just under £5k per annum. You'd get more in a stocks and shares ISA potentially but when there is a downturn in the market it could be less. And if you're withdrawing it every year then over time inflation will have an effect. That amount wouldn't be enough for me to reduce my own hours and i'm on shit wages. It would be very lovely to have each year though.

Personally I would keep working FT. I would then consider what I wanted to do with any gains per year, on a year by year basis. eg if you invested it in a S&S ISA if it was a particularly good year you could withdraw some to go on a nice holiday. If it was a bad year you could just leave it invested and hope it gains in value again.

Your brother sounds like a pretentious, ungrateful knob. That’s a very significant amount of money! Don’t let his shitty attitude derail your plans or minimise the impact this sum will have on your life.