Over 50 and not working by choice. Would a ‘mid-life MOT’ tempt you back?

[PuzzledObserver]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64083802

The phrase “not on your nelly” comes to mind.

There are reasons - good ones - why I retired early. They still apply, I’m not bored, I don’t feel my life lacks meaning, and finances are OK. So I’m finding difficult to think of a reason to rejoin the workforce.

How about you?

That’s good mine is woeful. I want to keep building something else anyway as SE but so many women just leave in 30s, then few left in 40s and 50s

Completely irrelevant to the thread. Have some manners and start your own if you want to drive your own agenda.

Anything that helps you do what you'd like to is surely to be welcomed?

Absolutely - but that’s not the feeling I got from the article. It read more like they are trying to persuade people to do something they’ve decided they don’t want to do. Granted news articles can be a very long way from the reality.

I literally cannot wait to retire. Got at least two decades to go. If I can give up work any sooner without it having a negative impact on the household, would do it in a heartbeat.
I used to think I'd be fulfilled by work but I've never found my niche. I'm very jealous of people who genuinely enjoy their jobs.

I'm mid fifties and have gone back to work after a break due to ill health. I consider myself very lucky to have got a part time, work from home job, with decent colleagues and the chance to learn some new skills while also making use of my extensive experience. I don't want any 'career development' and I'm not prepared to put up with pressurised work, long hours or abusive colleagues.
If employers want to tempt people back, they need to look at what they are offering.

I think it’s for people who will want it rather than those who really don’t

If there’s help there I’m for it

And I know people who have cashed in pension pots and living on them until state pension kicks in. The government were warned some people would do this but ignored the advice.

I don't even earn that while working never mind expect to live off that in retirement! I have a large amount of savings and I think it would be my own choice whether or not to retire early and draw from my savings the equivalent of what I earn now (term time only shit wages clerical job).

That said, though, I do think that people should have to pay an amoutn of tax and NI if they take early retirement, a basic minimum. Why should someone sit at home after retiring early and expect public services to be paid for by others in work? Early retirees will still need to use those services. Theyy need to contribute.

Wasn't me who brought up Brexit. Suspect some people don't like robust pushback.

What a load of shite. The article is nonsense. What possible reason would someone return? The article gives no details for why on earth anyone would start again.

I work part time, so will need to work for many years, but I've upped my pension a lot.

@CurlyhairedAssassin You do pay tax on your pension unless your income is too low.

I'm mid 50's have retired from dentistry though not taking my NHS pension until 60 I have a lump sum in FSVC not NHS that I took at 55, divided into 60 equal instalemts to last until i'm 60 by which time DH will have state pension we will be better of than now
while the quoted figure is 25k for comfortable we are managing ok on less than 20k, we have no mortgage or debt of any kind bills utilities, fuel and food cost approx £900 a month plus £250 towards annual costs ( MOT car house insurance and christmas birthday presents) we set aside £80 per month for personal spends including clothes each ( my DD gets £40 herself and I gatekeep the rest for essential clothing etc ) and have £150 towards family outings, eating out and holidays total about £1550, we have an emergency fund for car repairs broken appliances etc and some savings
we have enough furniture etc to last the rest of our lives apart from bedlinen towels etcmaybe a new mattress or sofa but certainly no new tables chairs wardrobes cabinets etc, the kitchen cupboards in our house are 135 years old they will not need replacing
we both work about 16 hours a week to save for luxuries a new car, better holidays new tech etc
I would rather live frugally than deal with going back to NHS politics while not a minimalist I am not a fast fashion person that needs new stuff when what I have functions perfectly well, we have no expensive hobbies

Surely his pension would be greatly reduced if he started drawing it early?

A physical mot would surely be money better well spent !
they have them in other countries

£35k is a very good pension. He must have been earning a fairly high earner.
That is more than I currently earn working full time.

That said, though, I do think that people should have to pay an amoutn of tax and NI if they take early retirement

Tax is paid on pensions.

You can ask your GP for one. The NHS does not push them as they make no real difference to health outcomes. The people who would attend are largely not the people who need them.

On a slightly different note - I was just offered a dream job at 52 that I wanted at 30. With remote working etc it’s now possible. The boss is a similar age to me and I think gets the value of older women. Not sure government would help with that - that was an intelligent woman sorting stuff out herself!

Think they meant ditch the 25% tax free, with some pots that can be huge.
NI isn't payable at all, whatever the income.

Which would just lead to loads of people retiring early before the 25% tax free was ditched.

And I have paid NI since 16 years old, way more years than anyone younger will pay it.

I thought the baby boomers were selfishly occupying jobs that the younger people needed?
Then, when they retire, they are selfishly hoarding assets or lazy or malingering.
Can't win.
I retired early, with much joy, and have sessional work in another area now.
i will never go back. Not that they'd ask me - they're too ageist and I'm too unwilling to take any more shit.

Yes, governments really aren't good at the law of unintended consequences. They were warned about people accessing their pension pots early, after all. Now they've seen the results of that.

I left work at 56 to care for my wife. I'd had a good job, reasonable salary and lived on site. Since my wife died, I've done various part time jobs partly to afford the lifestyle I enjoy and partly for the interaction one gets in the workplace. I'm in the process of leaving my current role as the demands keep growing. I have no intention of returning to either my previous profession, or any other full time role. Employers seem to think of people as property to use as they wish. Not for me thank you.

If you retire in your 50's though, you have, potentially, another 40 years of living off your pension and the state. The first 20 years of so will be excellent, lucky you. However things change. If you want any kind of choice in anything, healthcare, social care, you will need to fall back on the state, unless you have a large house you can sell or significant savings. Both DM and her husband were in care homes at the end of their lives, the bill was £3000 per week for the two of them. Savings don't last long at that rate. And a pp saying that they wouldn't need to spend anything on their house ever again is just nonsense. Things break down, kitchens, bathrooms, boilers, need replacing, you may need adaptations in your house, different kinds of chair, stair lifts, accessible showers and baths, and as you get older, cleaners, gardeners, food deliveries. Believe me, with four elderly parents, they have spent tens of thousands (hundreds in the case of care homes) in their final years, do you expect the state to pick that up?