Realistically, what age do you expect to retire, if you're in your 40s now?

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State pension age will be 68 if not older.

I already know I'm slowing down. I'm very experienced and good at my job so I can get away with it for now but I know I'm not as productive as I was when I was younger.

My parents retired young (in today's terms) at 59. They've had a healthy, active retirement but now, in their early 70s they and their friends all have health issues that would make a full-time job difficult if not impossible, even though they are generally "well" for their age.

I don't know how it's possible for most people to work to 68, certainly not anyone in any sort of physical job.

So, doesn't extending retirement age just mean we'll have lots of people "on the sick" who would previously have been claiming their pension?

I know people can/should be making provision to allow them to retire earlier but I think for most that's a privilege for the relatively well off and many manual labourers/care home workers etc don't fall into that category, Could we really have 68yo care assistants etc?

Oh am just 51.

I work 30 hours a week -don't know when I will retire fully (I'm 55) - Trying to save as much as possible. DH thinks he will never retire - just as well because he doesn't have a pension.

I expect to be doing deals well into my 70's. This means working 3-4 days a week, sometimes 1 hour a day or 15 a day, it varies. Sometimes I will be on the phone, behind a computer or travelling at 10pm at night or 5am in the morning. But it's not going to be solid you know. About 10-20 weeks a year. Two days work could bring me in £12k, never less than £3k, and my knowledge increases as I get older. In between times, there will be plenty of fun. Why retire when I love what I do.

I'm 46 and still have 17 years left on the mortgage so 68 sounds about right. I'm not sure how healthy I'll be or who will employ me, but if I'm still around I'm not sure I'll even want to keep on (my job's already stressful).

My mother is 73 and still works part time cleaning (as did my nan before her, well into her 80s)

Father in Law is 83 and still works part time - in a factory too.

Both are physical jobs but both want to work part time. Both have had some health issues too but maintain that working keeps them young.

DH gets some pension at 60, I will be 65. Hopefully between downsizing to release equity and his pension we can both at least work part time...

I separated 3 years ago and had to take a new mortgage out on my own (I’m 48) which won’t be paid back until I’m 67, so I’ll be working until then. Before the separation we’d paid the mortgage off so I had to reassess my situation.

My Mums 70 and she seems old - loads of aches and pain, but I hope if I keep working it may keep me feeling younger (I live in hope)

70? I hope to work very flexibly in my 60's and work less... But yeah I'll be working forever

I plan to retire at 62. I have a private pension which will kick in at this age, then another private pension which starts at 68.

My mortgage will be paid off when I’m 50, so I plan to Ramos up savings for the last decade.

My job is stressful and exhausting, with a lot of travel. Even if I am still in good health in my 60s I don’t think I would have the energy or heart to keep it up

I don't want to retire. I want to work for money. I'm a carer for my dcs, so can't work. I love earning money. I can't see I will ever retire.

About 75! I have no savings and my pension will be crap. Happy days. Hoping for a lottery win.

I'm 47. Paid mortgage off at 44 due to inheritance. I have an NHS pension I can access at 55 without penalty (and will), and have invested my inheritance with the sole aim of being able to leave nursing asap. Would quite enjoy a few hours a week in a library, florist, garden centre etc thereafter for a few years, and mostly hope to travel. DH is a high earner, also ploughing money into his pension and plans to go at 55 from his current role too. Losing parents suddenly at a young age has shaped my plans completely.

I have a small final salary pension which kicks in at 55.
Then a better pension which kicks in at 67.
I have some inheritance which I’m trying to save.

I’d like to maybe go part time at 55 or 60.

There is less physical work these days though. A manual job is already the exception not the rule, in 30 years time I imagine there will be even fewer. This will probably just reflect changes in the labour market which will see more and more people running their own business rather than taking salaried jobs. A bit shit for the uneducated people in between though. There will probably be a lot of older unskilled workers claim job seekers (or UC, whatever you want to call it) or disability or working part time etc. I can understand why they’ve done it, it’s unreasonable to expect to be able to retire while you are healthy enough to work but that doesn’t really take into account that a lot of older people, women and lower class people in particular aren’t educated and so have to take jobs that require a degree of manual work.

I'm 39 so it feels a long way off for me. I really enjoy my job, so maybe would drop to part time hours in my 50s. I can't imagine stopping before I'm 60.

Mortgage will be paid off by the time I'm 43 (no help from anyone, we live in the north and have overpaid our mortgage for several years). I'm putting max employee allowance into my pension and once the mortgage is paid off, we'll be investing our mortgage payment into either property/shares/both.

I'm just trying to do what I can to get myself in as best financial shape as possible for the future.

Both my Dad and FIL are still working in their early 70s, jobs are non manual. My job is the same, so expect to be able to carry on a while if I wanted to. I appreciate that may not be an option for many.

My mortgage is paid and I have a public sector pension. It's usually praised as being enviable but will pay peanuts. I'm part time and permanently skint with pretty much zero savings. I expect I will work until I drop. It's a scary prospect - I have colleagues in their mid / late sixties, have known them for almost 20 years and the cognitive decline is noticeable.

I could probably think about going at 55. Mortgage will be ten years gone by then. I plan on having a sabbatical in a few years to go travelling for a couple of months.

Will probably go part time when we return, all being well.

I'm going to work for as long as possible. Maybe not full time, but I enjoy what i do and it keeps the brain sharp.

As long as I can. I'm 47 maybe 65 or 70.

Not sure how to access NHS pension at 55 unless you’re an old scheme psychiatrist

The huge penalties per year for taking out before state pension age mean I will be 67+ with 45 plus years paid into the scheme before they let me go. I’d lose more than half of it going at 55.

Doubtless state pension age will be over 70 by then so I’ll most likely never see it unless they decide to let me retire on ill health. Certainly no lengthy retirement in relative good health to look forward to.

I'm early 50s and plan to retire around 65 if I can, I don't want to retire any earlier. Private pensions since my 20s so I'll be ok til I get my state pension.

I can't think of one person I know who retired and didn't deteriorate either mentally or physically really fast . No way am I retiring!

Hels special class status

I have no retirement plans. I'll carry on working as long as I can. It means I can afford luxuries such as a couple of decent holidays every year. I expect that when I have to stop working, it'll be due to ill health, which will mean I won't be having holidays either, so I won't need the income and can probably live (or have to live) on whatever pension I'll be eligible for at the time.

I think retiring is giving up. I am self employed and intend to carry on working until I am 70 at the very least.

I don't see the attraction of retiring at 59. Which is a bloody good job as I'm not far off that and recently returned to full time work (was a SAHM for a long time then a carer for elderly parents).

I don't want to spend 20 years playing golf, going to day time Pilates, volunteering at the local charity shop. I'd far rather be working so wish people like OP would stop talking down older people.

OP - you're in your 40s ffs!