How do you gear up for 35 more years of work?

[MCGrindah]

I'm 33. If retirement age is still at 67 when I get there (as if), I should have another 34 years left at work. That means I should be looking at working longer than I've been alive so far.

This terrifies me.

That's 34 years of early mornings; commutes; getting home in the dark; being subject to the whims of employers, policies and governments. It's another 34 years of only having two down days per week which themselves get pretty filled up with life admin. It's 34 years with the only thing breaking it up is a couple of weeks annual leave per year.

Don't get me wrong, I like my job. I'm well paid, I have security, I have a lot of freedom. I'm aware that looking at 34 years working in low paid insecure work is much worse. I'm not looking to change job.

I'm planning on early retirement so I'm hoping I won't end up working for 34 years but I need to plan for the worst case scenario of course. I'm just wondering how on earth you get your head into the mindset of another 34 years on the same thing year-in, year-out without any breaks or downtime?

Amazing that capitalism has convinced us this is a good way to live a life!

God I know it's depressing isn't it ? . I basically don't have much left at the end of the month . I borrowed quite a bit a few years ago to extend house . I've got 11 years left on my mortgage so hopefully I'll be debt free then . I'll only be in my early 50s so maybe I can work part time then , I know I'm more privileged than other people I know some people will have to work right through to retirement . I cant work full time till my late 60s , I'm so tired now . I love my job but it's the little things the commute to work , parking , office politics etc .

I totally get what you mean. I work half days only but I have a severely disabled child (frequent night wakings, watching over every waking minute of the day, no break).

I am only 25 years away from retirement (where I will probably still be DD's carer - so no real retirement for me) but I have cried so often lately because I am so tired and run down from working and caring. the idea that I will have to do the same for another quarter of a century is just beyond me. I can barely cope now. how will I do it in 20 years time? but I don't think there is an alternative. Just keep swimming.
I'm in my 50's and was a sahm for decades
You don't have to be told how to live, and accept a lot of capitalism.
Life is for living, not working until you drop.

drab, not everyone can afford to live a life. it might be news to you but some actually have to actually work to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. nothing to do with capitalism at all.

My biggest worry is that DH will die before I get to spend any retirement with him. My retirement age is 67 - another 15 years. But DH is already 61 - which means he will be 76 before I actually get to retire. I feel sad to think I can't see us enjoying retirement together. I'd be happy pottering about at home with him, but I wonder how long we will actually have together.

You could save 25% of your salary (or more ) after you clear your mortgage. Every 4 years you work can be 1 year off the age that you retire.

I feel you though, I'm 39 and just remortgaged with a 30 year term. Trouble is, we need a big house for the 5 of us. Hoping that the DCs leave home one day so that we can downsize.

Sorry@ShiftHappens, I cross posted with you. My musings about DC leaving home are a bit insensitive after your post.

Very few people do the same thing for 34+ yrs. They get more senior so their role changes (a lot). The job changes b/c of new technology and priorities & regulations & business models. New companies take over the old business & introduce new methods and roles ("restructuring!"). Folk get bored so they retrain to do something very different. They have career breaks to raise a family. They save up & travel for a year. They get ill & can't do the same job they originally trained for. They get enough money that they can do what they like so they downshift (possibly with retraining, and lower salary, but more fun) into a very different line of work.

Especially likely to cut down their hours or move to a different employer after 55 or 60.

What's it called... "Portfolio" career history?

My dad has done the same job since he was 37, I suppose, although variable employers. So that's 40 yrs. But he's worked PT since age 65. And STILL doesn't want to completely retire!

@FormerlyFrikadela01 why cant you take your NHS pension until you are 68 ? Why cant you can take it at 55 like everyone else? All my friends leave between 55 and 60, take the pension then top up at bank for a couple of days

I'm in the 2015 scheme. If I retired at 55 my pension would be reduced by 47%. If I go at 60 it would be reduced by 34%. So yes technically I can go early, retirement where I need to do bank shifts to top up doesn't sound at all like retirement.

lljkk yes but it's still all just the treadmill of work. None of that stuff makes it better and can often make it worse. If you like work, great, but if the OP is asking about this, I presume she is not that person.

Also if you have friends that have all retired recently between 55 and 60 then they are no doubt amongst the last of the 1995 scheme which was a final salary scheme where taking the pension at 55 only reduced it by around 20% and you got your full pension at 60. Plus if you worked in mental health you got special officer status so your pension was even more. Theres a reason nurses strikes about the new pension.

If I stop and think about it, it panics me so I don't lol! I have gone part time since having my lo but still have work every day. I like having things to look forward to, a weekend away or a special event. That keeps my focus on my life outside work and not on it.

The robots are coming. There’ll be a lot less jobs to go around. Maybe John McDonell’s idea of a 32 hour week will be the only way forward.

On the other hand, so many people aren’t saving enough for retirement that we’ll have to work a lot harder and longer to pay for their pensions and universal credit.

But look on the brighter side - antibiotic resistance or climate change might have wiped a lot of people out.

Best not to think about the future - it’s a scary place

Wait until you are a few years off retirement and you may find that you are more reluctant to go. Work (reasonable work) is good for you.
Teacher here, I didn't retire until mid sixties and still do a couple of mornings at school. You really enjoy free time if you continue to work a bit.
My parents were both seventy before they finally retired and lived on for another twenty or so years.

Wait until you are a few years off retirement and you may find that you are more reluctant to go. Work (reasonable work) is good for you.
Teacher here, I didn't retire until mid sixties and still do a couple of mornings at school. You really enjoy free time if you continue to work a bit.
My parents were both seventy before they finally retired and lived on for another twenty or so years.

Theres a big difference between choosing to continue working into your late 60s/70s and having to work until then. I love working and couldn't imagine not having some form of employment but I get where people come from when you look at how long you have left until possible retirement and it seeming like a long long drudge.

I hate it when the inevitable poster turns up saying something negative about retirement

Many people think they will love it....and then do love it!

I know folk living happily (raising a family, even) on £14k/yr. (that includes any state benefits). If OP truly wants to not work as soon as possible, as top priority, she can find a way. It's all about trade-offs.

I have another 29 years to go before I can claim state pension and my occupational pension. At the minute I can retire at 67 but the goalposts will move again. I honestly don't see how the government can move it much beyond that as people will end up being worked to death and will drop in their tracks while still slaving away. I absolutely refuse to live a life knowing that all I have to look forward to is a lifetime of thankless toil. I am horrified that life for a lot of people seems to consist of endless work and then their bodies and minds fall apart and they die. Not much life involved in that.

On £14k to raise a family they must have no debts and next to no mortgage.

yup, and they spend about £5/yr on travel, raised many kids in a small house.
Just saying that we (ppl) trade off time & material goods even if we don't realise it. If OP wants to not be slave to perceived treadmill, she needs to think outside the box.

I’m 45 and am excited about hopefully working for another 25 years. I hope that I’ve got a few promotions in me which will see me through to my late 60’s and then I’ll hopefully be able to do consultancy work.

However I really love work and am lucky that most of the time it’s a pleasure rather than a chore

Currently 25 years in and probably another 25 to go.

I strongly doubt I will be fit to be on call a week at a time (Monday to Monday) up most of the night, telling people horrific news and sorting out their chemo etc when I’m well into my 60s. Doubtless it will be 70s by then as nhs pensions are linked to state pension age. Squinting down a microscope won’t be easy either with the inevitable age related deterioration in sight. Given my health this far, I reckon there is a reasonable chance of my never making it to retirement age. How depressing.

Just saying that we (ppl) trade off time & material goods even if we don't realise it.

The choice to do that is a luxury tbh. Most of us can’t spend next to nothing on housing. It’s just not an option. Rents are so high and unless you got a great mortgage on a dirt cheap house you’re going to be paying a fair whack on that too. £5/year on travel? Well that’s just not possible for most of us, is it? Your example family are very lucky and not the norm.

I suspect we all know someone living dirt cheap not on money they inherited. They just choose to have little trappings of material wealth.

If your mortgage is nearly paid off and you don't have children, you should be able to retire early.

Do you have a good pension? I'm working full time until 50, putting plenty into my pension, then will work just 1 or 2 days a week. Mortgage will be paid off.

Take a look at the FIRE movement. It's all about working towards financial independence so early retirement is an option.

I know folk living happily (raising a family, even) on £14k/yr. (that includes any state benefits)

a family? on that money?

I suspect we all know someone living dirt cheap not on money they inherited.

So where does the money come from?