Do you ever fantasize about being a pensioner?

[JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff]

Only slightly lighthearted!

I know the years are short, shouldn't wish it away etc but fucking hell, I'm tired and I sometimes imagine living with just me and DH, no babies around, not having to get up for work and spending my time making the house look nice and doing light gardening and listening to Radio 4.

Anyone else? What is your retirement like? Mine involves fishpaste sandwiches and playing the lotto once a week

..... I should say, I am 39 and thus have approximately 3783627 years of working life unless I get made redundant first or my job gets taken by a robot

Yes. I'd love to read, chat to people and potter.
My world of work is very isolating.

Haha yes I have my retirement all planned out in stages with various appropriate dogs depending on how fit I am.

I am making sure I have enough money to go to Switzerland if I need to!!!

Both my parents are now retired and in full health.
Mother does craft, gardening and decorating the house, with Radio 4 on all day.
No one is quite sure what Father does.
(They have a very big house and he lives at one end, mother lives at the other, they meet at meal times).

I’m very lucky as I am a teacher and have the summer holiday to get a slight idea of what retirement is like.
I’m holding on for my pension. I could possibly go at 63.

I switch between looking forward to all that free time to do things I'd actually like to do - maybe some interesting course or voluntary work or gardening and worrying that I'll get some kind of debilitating illness/ chronic condition that I'll live for ages in pain and not be able to do anything except watch daytime TV and worry about whether I'll have enough money to pay for my nursing home fees.

Yes, mostly because of the not working thing. I am 41. I've been working for 20 years. I've still got another 25 to go and I'm well over it now! I need a lottery win...

I've just retired. Much earlier than I thought I'd be able to. It's taking some time to adjust to, I dont really feel needed any more, and not seeing my lovely colleagues each day is tough. It's the little things like being really irritated with DH and there not being someone else to moan to. Am trying to keep busy and am sure it will be great in the longer term, but so far I'd say it's overrated!

I was told years ago, that the difference between being a pensioner and retired was financial planning.

DH has historically been away Monday to Thursday for large tranches of time, so........

My retirement involves DH ( eight years older) retiring first and playing all the golf he has missed out on, me finishing work at 2.00 as per, not working Friday and going for a walk into town, having a pint for him and a wine for me in front of an open fire in our "not so local, local" then getting a bus or taxi back.

It involves me reducing to 18 hours a week,from 20 so I can work three six hour days and we can go away for long weekends.

We as a company (staff of 30 ,management team of 5) have purchased software that will allow us to work from sunny balconies as we get older... (broadband dependent)

We intend going to a lot more rugby matches.

You watch one of us will die, before we can realise our dreams.

Given I am supposedly not getting my state pension till 68, and my mother d at 69 (the year after she retired, she retired when my Dad did), grandmother d 72, her mother d 64 etc, I really can't see me retiring. Quite sure that before I get to retire the retirement age will be moved once again to 70 or 72

I think I'd get bored, when I go on holiday it takes me half a week to acclimatise to not working.

My dream is to retire when I'm 60 which is not that far off. It'll be me, the wife, our dog, a campervan, endless visits to the kids and grandkids and somewhere along the line I become the best home baker in Scotland.

I never used to fantasize about retirement. I thought I'd just keep on working, but got made redundant at 60.

The only thing is, it's not a case of pottering and listening to Radio 4! Today I drove to the post office, then another 9 miles to buy a particular toy for dgs Christmas, back into the local town for a hair appointment, then Tesco's, home for a quick lunch then out again to U3A monthly meeting before coming home and cooking dinner.

Life is just as busy as it used to be! The only difference is no one tells you what to do!

Ah peagreen, sorry to hear that.

I am just returning from work presentation in another city 3.5 hours from home, have been up since 6am so 18h day so far, and was up last night x 3 with the dc.

Pottering sounds nice right now.... along with being able to go to bed and stay there for more than 90 minutes!!

Oh the books, the books I will have time to read.

I have a tottering pile of them.

Not about being a pensioner exactly but being retired yes.... my parent's have a great life and I'd love that, but in reality when I'm 65 it's going to be all very different 😔

Yes! I am so keen for retirement retirement.

DH is going at 65, the plan is for me to go at 60, I can go earlier, but run the risk of getting bored.

We spent so much time apart that we need to settle into it slowly.....

I won't have Radio 4, but I will have coffee on the patio every morning that the sun shines and then wander off to the corner shop to buy the paper and then come back and have more coffee.

My mum is retired. Life of bloody Riley. Pilates, spot of cooking, odd shift babysitting, spa days, 6 x foreign hols per year. Gardening, sewing, suduko.

My dad works part time so they don't see too much of each other but he manages to get loads of time off too when it suits him he hikes quite a lot too

I’m looking forward to getting my life back when DC grow up. Unfortunately I’ll be nearly 60. Can’t decide if it’s worse to be young but stuck with DC, or have my freedom but be old?

Thanks for this.... >

I am now going to spend the rest of this week deeply envious of people who are already retired...

Not the retired bit, the not leaving the house in the cold bit.

I'm a pensioner but still running three companies and enjoying it:)

But OP I'd love to be your age again.

Wanna swap;?.

Oh yeah. I make endless mental lists of the travelling I’ll be doing, the courses I’ll be taking, the books I’ll be reading, and so on.

Of course in all likelihood it’ll be the joint rubs I’ll be trying, the chair lift I’ll be choosing and the kids’ requests for money I’ll be hearing.

Still, one can dream.

Now you see Justaboy, I would and I wouldn't.

Would love certain parts of being a Mum again (most of it to be fair) but really want to capitalise on the sacrifices DH and I have made to get here, DS never suffered, but I was at times very lonely.

Kissing, you made me laugh out loud in a sleeping house.

Sorry LoveMany!