I retired at 57, AMA

[PuzzledObserver]

Six months in, no regrets.

I've been working - at the mercy of the alarm clock! - since I was 16. Even through my university years I worked. I can't tell you what a joy it is to no longer have my life determined by that clock.

My time is now completely my own. It's a total revelation and I still haven't got used to it.

I revel in the fact that I can do whatever I want to, whenever I want to.

Of course, I'm forever grateful (and never forget) that I'm very lucky financially, to have this kind of freedom.

But I'm also very mindful of the fact that my mum never got to enjoy her retirement. Diagnosed with cancer aged 62, she died aged 66. So that is always at the back of my mind.

(Sorry for derailing your thread @PuzzledObserver)

@Shmithecat2 and others (not you!) who seem to be attributing the ops situation to no kids / an inheritance. Still possible, I was single parent, 6 kids, no inheritance. I did this via additional work. Many weeks for many years 70-80 hours. All late evening / nights for many years when kids were asleep. Giving up time then for leisure for time now. The OP acknowledges her good fortune.

@Shmithecat2 well I haven’t sat them down and quizzed them about it.

The older one is not sure she can afford it so will probably go back part time.

@Shmithecat2

So the key to retiring early is no kids and no mortgage. Right.

I retired early, with 2 kids and a mortgage.

Thanks for sharing your story OP. May you have the most wonderful retirement.

@CrimbleCrumble1

So the key to retiring early is no kids and no mortgage. Right No, I’m 52 and recently retired and have three DC. As soon as the youngest finished uni my DH and I retired. He’s 55 and we used some of the tax free part of the pension to clear the mortgage.

Again, how? Did you both have high salaries? Great work place pension contributions? When did you buy your house? How much was it? What were your pension contributions and your mortgage payments as a percentage of your income? You mention youngest at uni - did you contribute to their living expenses?

To be clear - I don't expect you to answer any of those questions. But without answering them, your input is pretty pointless.

[quote Scottishflower65]@Shmithecat2 and others (not you!) who seem to be attributing the ops situation to no kids / an inheritance. Still possible, I was single parent, 6 kids, no inheritance. I did this via additional work. Many weeks for many years 70-80 hours. All late evening / nights for many years when kids were asleep. Giving up time then for leisure for time now. The OP acknowledges her good fortune.[/quote]
the OP acknowledges her good fortune

Indeed. But I'm unclear as to how as stealth boasted to an AMA.

@bluejelly

Am hoping to retire at 56/7 as well. My job is incredibly stressful and busy but well paid. Appreciate I am lucky but I have worked incredibly hard since I was 23. I am also planning to volunteer.

Many people have worked hard since before they were 23 and still couldn't afford to retire anywhere near 56/7. What's your point?

I'm 41 and partner is 48
He can draw his main pension at 55 (military) and I have some randome drubs an drabs of pension

We have a rental property too which was my old house and when that mortgage is paid off in 4 years time it'll give a nice monthly income although we will still have to keep money aside for bills and repairs etc

The thought of working until I'm nearly 70 quite frankly fills me with dread 😟 I work in the nhs it's very stressful and I do actually want a retirement!

How much money in total do you have OP? In other words what do you consider to be a decent pot to be able to retire?

You have described a life which basically consists of pottering about. This is understandable in your late 70s & 80s, but you’re only 57. Do you feel old before your time? Is this really how you intended to spend the next 20 years?

“Many people have worked hard since before they were 23 and still couldn't afford to retire anywhere near 56/7.”

That’s right - some people have wonderful childhoods and others are abused, some people live to a healthy old age and others get cancer and die at 43, some people could afford to buy a house in their early twenties, their children’s generation are still renting in their thirties.

Since life is to some extent a lottery, doesn’t it make sense to make the most of what you’ve got and enjoy it while you can?

Would it help the people who can’t afford to retire at 57 if I carried on miserably in work for another 10 years? I can’t see how it would.

Perhaps you clicked on the thread hoping for a get rich quick scheme and are disappointed. Sorry about that.

Just to add another angle
People working until they are nearly 70 means less jobs available for the younger generations and there is huge numbers of unemployed young people especially after Covid

@PuzzledObserver

“Many people have worked hard since before they were 23 and still couldn't afford to retire anywhere near 56/7.”

That’s right - some people have wonderful childhoods and others are abused, some people live to a healthy old age and others get cancer and die at 43, some people could afford to buy a house in their early twenties, their children’s generation are still renting in their thirties.

Since life is to some extent a lottery, doesn’t it make sense to make the most of what you’ve got and enjoy it while you can?

Would it help the people who can’t afford to retire at 57 if I carried on miserably in work for another 10 years? I can’t see how it would.

Perhaps you clicked on the thread hoping for a get rich quick scheme and are disappointed. Sorry about that.

Not st all. I'm younger than you, haven't worked for 7 years, and probably won't return to work in any meaningful capacity. But I didn't post in AMA about it. You did. Because you have 2 incomes, no mortgage, no children and an inheritance. Not exactly a wonder, is it?

I retired at 50 after 6 months I was so bloody bored I got a part time job.

I had more fun looking forward to it, than actually doing it.

Do you think you need to be a particularly self motivated person to fill your days with useful activities (eg voluntary work, open university) rather than just sitting on the sofa watching TV or messing about on the internet ?

My husband took early retirement during first lockdown (due to particular circumstances, not planned) and he just seems to waste his life away sleeping and watching TV. Up until now I had been looking forward to retirement, but now I see it looming (I'm the same age as you), the idea is starting to terrify me now as I'm not sure I'm motivated enough to do all the things I had imagined I would do. I don't want to work another 10 years but neither do I want to feel I'm wasting my remaining years .

@Shmithecat2
Surely anyone can start an AMA? It’s not a sheath boast but how she did it. I am doing almost the same albeit a totally different route. I can say - many children, no inheritance, very poor (£ / abusive) upbringing, abusive partners, etc. Almost same outcome. It’s not a wonder at all. Different chances, opportunities, luck etc. Different circumstances / luck only.

I am definitely retiring soon . Am 58 have an NHS pension .And have a comfortable lifestyle and cannot see the benefits

@PlanetNormal

You have described a life which basically consists of pottering about. This is understandable in your late 70s & 80s, but you’re only 57. Do you feel old before your time? Is this really how you intended to spend the next 20 years?

I'm in my 40's Would be dead happy to potter

Shmithecat2
If you are looking for ideas of how you can achieve what the OP is doing, you could look at the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) community discussions online, including here on Mumsnet www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters/4165470-FIRE-starter.

OP
It has been interesting to see that some people want to know how you’ve done it, but others have asked questions about how you spend your time, how it feels to not work etc. May I ask if managing your ADHD is easier now you don’t have to fit within a rigid daily structure? I’m worried that without a routine I’ll be distracted and unfocused all the time.

@Rafting2022

How much money in total do you have OP? In other words what do you consider to be a decent pot to be able to retire?

I don’t think there is a fixed amount which would answer your second question (so I’m not going to answer your first) but I’ll tell you how we worked it out for us.

When we got married (2000), DH was earning £50K and I was on £38K. In the following years we both (him first, then me) retrained and moved into the vocational arena - for considerably less money, which then only rose with inflation. My final salary last year was £25.5K. But that meant that the pensions and savings we’d made in the first part of our careers were worth relatively more as a proportion of our income.

DH went part time several years ago - he would have been 56 at the time. A couple of years ago we worked out that our occupational and state pensions, once we get them, would be slightly more than the income we had at that point. And then we looked at our savings pots and realised there was enough to draw that same level of income from them until all the pensions were in payment, and still have a good chunk left over. So we knew we had enough for us. We have the same spending power now as we did the last few years we were working. It’s not extravagant, but it’s plenty to live comfortably and do the things we enjoy.

We have spent some capital to guarantee lower outgoings in the future, E.g. switched to an electric car (expensive to buy, cheap to run) and installed solar panels.

@PlanetNormal

You have described a life which basically consists of pottering about. This is understandable in your late 70s & 80s, but you’re only 57. Do you feel old before your time? Is this really how you intended to spend the next 20 years?

I answered a similar question earlier: Sat 29-Jan-22 20:25:24

In essence, no - but I needed a bloody good rest, and have plans to do more things as and when I’m ready.

The other thing I haven’t conveyed is just how much I enjoy what I’m doing and the freedom and lack of pressure. It’s not non-stop pottering in any case - I have 5 activities I do every week (4 with DH and 1 alone), we have 3 that we do together every month, and he has 3 monthly things he does without me. We go to concerts, cinema, to the leisure centre for swimming/gym, museums, art galleries, national trust places etc. We’ve joined 2 book groups, so I’m reading things I would never have picked up otherwise, and enjoying that.

But we do it as much as we want, when we want. If we want a busy active day, we can have it. But we can also enjoy watching the sky change colour as the sun comes up and getting better at identifying the birds which have started to come to our feeders.

@SunshineCake1

Dh retired at 47. It's been just over a year now. Going okay.

Did you get questions about how you'd afford it? I did and if made me not tell many people. Some people still don't know.

I’ve had some - and not just on here. I answer them honestly, although not necessarily with full detail. People have different circumstances and have made different decisions, that’s life.

To be honest, I am still rather bemused to find myself in this situation. I didn’t originally plan to retire early or to reach a certain level of savings. I just persistently put a bit away, and this is the result.

@Thisbastardcomputer

I retired at 50 after 6 months I was so bloody bored I got a part time job.

I had more fun looking forward to it, than actually doing it.

This still sounds good to me though! You have your actuarially reduced pension and you now work part time! so you have free time, you get out of the house! You have a schedule and you have more money than 'just' your pension.