What do you want in Retirement?

[Retirementvisions]

I have just been reading the thread on pension pots. Some people are saving big sums for their retirements. It has left me wondering what are your visions for retirement?
Do you plan on cruising the world full time?! Etc

My pension plan is a modest private pension to top up state pension. I will downsize the family home to a small manageable home and release the equity.

I want to live in a nice area within a vibrant community to dip in and out off. I want peace and nature. I'd like the NHS /care system to be running well. I'd like good healthy food at home and to eat out occasionally. I'd like to be able to go on walks and explore the UK. I will probably read more and do a few low key/cost hobbies. I don't foresee loads of world travel at that stage of life. I'd like enough money in the pot to pay for a decent care home should it come to it.

To those who are saving what are you saving for? 🤔 I'm a bit worried I'm missing something... or being totally boring and unimaginative!

I'm hoping for a patch where the children are self sufficient and I am still at work where I can spend money on travel. Then i want very similar to OP - but i want enough to eat out and go to the theatre a lot.

My dad retired at 65 and was dead by 68. Mum retired at 60 and thankfully has had over 15 years of retirement but not without health worries and the loss of dad. They had planned to travel.

I'm early 50s. Have a decent pension pot from one job I did for over a decade and a small civil service pension. I decided to work part-time - my kids are still school age - as I want time now to do the things I love. If I end up working until 70 so be it. At least I've done lots of things I couldn't have done if I'd worked full time.

As others have said, I want to be healthy. I have no desire particularly to live to a grand old age - but whilst I am alive, I hope I will still be able to be independent.

On my non working days, I find it easy to do 6 or 7 thousand steps without specifically going on a walk. On some working days I don't manage 600 steps. So one thing I want to have is more time to move.
I hope that I might have grandchildren at that point so I hope I will be able to support my dc in practical ways with their lives. I want to carry on my volunteering. I want to take up new hobbies, and that might include different, additional ways of volunteering. I want to visit so many different parts of the UK that I've not spent time in. Yes, we will hopefully fit in a couple of bigger trips when we are young enough to do so, but that isn't planned to be world cruises or even annual adventures.
To the poster who said they would rather do them now - it isn't easy for most people to be able to get a month off work to really make it worthwhile to travel great distances, hence people waiting until they retire.
I want to have the time to spend more time with friends - whether that is getting together for food, or a coffee, or an evening, or a walk or even a short break away. Sometimes, between us, we are looking at weeks or months away to try to put a get together in the diary. I hope that becomes easier.
I don't envisage retirement being that expensive - but then, I am a cheap date in so many ways

I can't see DH retiring - he loves his job too much and is self employed at it. Hopefully he'll wind down a bit.
So to a certain extent, I plan my retirement as a single woman, albeit also a carer to someone younger than me (but don't receive carer's allowance).
I hope and am planning to retire on the same income as I have now and mostly look forward to the quiet life interspersed with a few lovely holidays until I'm too old for those.
Then I shall sit google-mapping various routes to Geneva whilst binge eating bacon and egg sarnies.

I am reasonably frugal no mortgage or debts my idea is more time for hobbies and walking in countryside helping out at church groups like drop in cafes etc, some travel mostly Europe off peak, just nice comfortable room not the ritz not into sun bathing like museums and art galleries meeting frends for coffee, maybe painting as a hobby
both myself and DH now have 35 years NI so both full state pensions I have a reasonable NHS pension DH only has savings, when DD leaves school I want to downsize not tiny as DH hobby needs a double garage large shed and I want a craft room we both like our own space so 2 reception rooms is a must

I want to:
Be healthier - more exercise, walks, time to cook more from scratch, less stressed from work
Be more social - more time to meet up with friends, find new friends, join groups locally for things that happen in the week and I can't easily now do
Have time to learn - maybe OU courses or MOOCS
Have time to give to society - to contribute in some way, volunteering perhaps with something physical like gardening, or something like working with an advice helpline
Be more creative - more time and energy to put into music (creating and performing); and books (writing and reading)
Travel - less of a big issue for me, but maybe some travel on a solo basis
Finally - have some fun !

I'm not sure that what age your parents live to has as much baring as people think. Three of my gps died in their early 50's one was late 80's. My parents are both late 80's but for example my dm barely worked since she got married and had an easy life.
Also lifestyles, diet and medical treatment have progressed. My dps didn't do any excercise since my ddad retired, or indeed before, in their early 50's, but my dm remained 'busy'. And although things like obesity is more rife it's not hereditary.

interesting posts, especially those about not putting things off, such as travel - which has always been my plan.
My plan has always been to retire at 60ish, DW is older and already retired. We both have /will have final salary pensions, small private one to bridge me from 60-67 ) And then to have a few years travelling - a couple of big, long haul trips (SE Asia and South America, not high end) and then maybe 3 months in Europe and another 3 in London to go to galleries and theatres. So travelling trips over about 5 years whilst DW is hopefully well enough to do so.
We have a house that’s big enough for the children comfortably so when they are ready to go, downsize and bung them some equity.
After that, I’ll be very happy to go on walks (live on the coast and love walking), read, potter, make marmalade. Let’s hope we both get there and in good health!

while there are some sad cases of people dying imediately after retirement that is not what happens for most. Though the average age of death for a woman is about 80 from birth if you make it to 65 the average is nearer 86,

Figures from 2020 show that the average life span for males aged 65 is 18.8 years ie 83.8 and for woman 21.5 ie 86.5 and if you make it to 80 the average life span is then 9 years more

on the law of averages 15-25 years in retirement would be fairly normal and for most half at least will be with reasonable health, family medical history life style etc all play a part but statistically for most it would be wise to plan on 20+ years

There are some really inspiring plans coming through. I'm definitely going to get some of them in my plan.

It is also a good reminder to balance living for now and living for the future. It is a fine art and I'm going to work on it.

DH will retire at 55 in 3 years and I'm going at 55 in four years (NHS). Neither of my parents made it to 70 and DH parents have sat on a fortune and done and spent next to nothing. Now early 80's their world has shrunk massively and frailty means many opportunities now missed.
We plan to travel very regularly, hobbies, eating out, GC. Probably a 15-20 year window to spend and really do what we want. God willing.

I retired 5 years ago at 58. Dh still works.
I'm really fit and healthy, we walk a lot and I go to the gym 4 times a week.
We aren't interested in beaches or cruises, and enjoy city breaks in Europe and exploring countryside here.
We've done a couple of big road trips to USA and Canada.
Planning to downsize in 2 weeks to release more money ( we own our hone) and do more travelling.
Love gigs, theatre, eating out.
Dh has 3 grandchildren but we don't do childcare

Loads of travel, great food, seeing my grandchildren (if I'm blessed with them) and fantastic sex with a younger lover.

Travel, extensively. First up overland to Australia by motorcycle

@Mushroo

If you want vibrant I would cross Bath off your list, it's pretty but vibrant? No just full of misbehaving hen parties

I almost wish I was a bit older reading some of these posts. The emerging ideal seems to be stay fit, healthy and sociable and retire young (in 50s) after building up a maximum sized fund since graduation when you are still active enough to travel to interesting places and enjoy the world.

I’m just making my plans now. Will retire this year age 58 (husband a few years older, he retired at 58 too). Have a big garden and a new potting shed so anticipate growing lots of fruit and veg. Fruit and nut trees were planted a few years ago in anticipation. Chickens too. Make my home better suited to old age. After a life time of a desk based job, do a yoga teacher training course and teach a few hours a week. More time in gym. Travel to various long haul destinations.

I have potting shed envy.

I am hoping for:

• health
• friends - this is hugely important to me as I'm single and imagine I will remain so
• spending time with DC and grandchildren if there are any
• enough money to have the odd lunch out and buy a good coat - not bothered about expensive travel
• a sense of purpose - whether that's continuing to work part-time, volunteering, supporting DC
• reading!
• access to nature - where I currently live I have this and great access to amenities/a city so I could see myself staying here

@BestIsWest it will be my woman cave, there may be a gin cocktail in there at the end of a day’s gardening.

To be young enough to enjoy it!

I have name changed for this.
My DH and I retired last year mid/early 50’s. We have 1.5 million in pension pots and are drawing an income of around 70k a year from the pots. We bought an electric car outright and don’t have a mortgage. We use about half the income to live on and half on holidays. I would be happy with four holidays per year my DH would like to go on ten or more so we comprise on about seven or eight.
. We’ve joined a really lovely spa and he’s joined a fancy golf club. I still see my girlfriends one day time or evening each week. I like to have a day at home once a week on my own when he goes hiking or golf.
We both enjoy going to the cinema and have Cineworld memberships.
We go out for lunch once or twice a week during the week. We try and think of weekends in the same way we used to and do our weekend activities to keep them special and separate them from the week.
My DH would like to move in five years (around the time out grown up DC Will hopefully move out). I am not so sure if I want to move areas. Our house is worth a fair bit as it’s in the south east but there’s no financial need to move as our bills are fairly low.
We spend a lot on my private health, move was almost 9k and my DH’s 1k. Hopefully we will continue to keep this.

Now I’m green with envy @Scottishflower65. Woman after my own heart.

I’ve recently discovered a dash of ginger cordial is fabulous in a g&t.

I genuinely can't think of anything worse than retiring. Im nearly 50 and frankly want to work for as long as possible.

I definitely think my overall happiness will be severely impacted by retirement.

I retired in my fifties and am now 56, DH is younger than me so will not retire for two minimum but maybe four more years.

My week has involved two shifts in a charity shop, changing displays and sorting stock. A hike with my hiking group, plus a stop for a very nice lunch. My friend popping in for lunch and a chat, also retired early. Another friend coming round for dinner, a quiz night and hosting a big dinner for Chinese New Year that took two days to prep. I did work as a cook for the first two years at a lunch club twice a week for low income and homeless people but it shut during covid and has reopened serving sandwiches instead of a two course hot dinner. So they just don’t need so many volunteers. I also plan on assisting with fund raising for a charity my friend runs.

When DH retires we will be buying a camper van and travelling round Europe. We also plan to buy one in America and tour for a few months and then sell it. have a lot of family in America and friends so have six stop offs all over the States.

My plan to do voluntary work and hike has worked out well. DH and I have defined benefit pensions, some of the last to get them I would imagine.