All this talk of over 50s returning to work has made me so down

[OneFrenchEgg]

I'm just over 50. I've had kids who are still at home, and I've never got to a well paid career yet but I'm trying. I don't have a pension to speak of. I want to save up and get some treatment as I'm so embarrassed (my whole life) by one part of my face.
But all today the radio had a phone in about people being encouraged to leave the financial and emotional comfort of their 50s and go back to work, and how they are enjoying having no mortgage etc or looking after grandchildren and maybe they could do a little pocket money job now they are too old to chase a proper job again.

I feel like I'm suddenly too old and I didn't realise. Like I've been dealing with life and it's run out. I still have a huge amount left on the mortgage. I feel like I've done life wrong. I'm so surprised at how much this has knocked me - is anyone else feeling the same?

For MPs they probably think at 50 it’s due to not wanting to work, after all they’re rolling in cash. Boris Johnson famously complained about a £240k/Yr salary as “chicken feed wages.” Many MPs choose to work past 50, but none of them have to.

I'd call myself semi retired, I'm 54 this year. I do work but not full time and sometimes take extended time off. I couldn't bear to have to work full time in a high stress role. Did it for years and I'm tired! I had my DC young so financially only myself to worry about. I do get asked occasionally to consider returning to my former role and the answer is always no! What I do now suits me and my lifestyle. I cut my cloth accordingly and don't actually need a lot. The one thing you can't buy is time and that is worth more to me than anything. I could carry on like this quite happily for years so don't know when I will fully retire. But nothing will tempt me back into full time 9-5.

My first 'proper' trip, was 6 months around South America, not a generic path at all and you're too busy doing things to want to have a hangover. Travelling older (for me) means I'm much less likely to go out of my comfort zone so the experience is completely different, now it's more about sunbathing and nice restaurants. Although that's not bad or anything, just different. I'm just glad I was able to have that experience when I was younger, and hope my kids get to have experiences like this too (if they want to, of course).

I agree with OP that I don't think many would be retired at 50 with grand kids. I'd be very interested to see what the stats are on this and where these people live

That must be very postcode specific. Same age and also in the NW and it's not very, very normal for me at all. And having a child have a child at 25 would be very out of the norm as well (I know it wasn't you who posted that). Most at that age are still finishing off studying/getting established in careers/living in not child-friendly rented accommodation/house shares.

Don't feel down OP, 50 is still very young you have many good years ahead of you

The only people I know who aren't working full time in their 50s are carers for their parents or childcare for their grandchildren. Or have a disability or illness themselves that means they can't work.

Why are we so short of workers all of a sudden?

It’s unrealistic op so please don’t feel that way.

Brexit.
People planning and being able to retire from work, i.e. doing what governments have asked them do: be prudent, look after yourself.
Brexit.

www.theguardian.com/business/2022/dec/04/why-are-so-many-people-leaving-the-workforce-amid-a-uk-cost-of-living-crisis

Thanks @Newnamenewname109870 @Mamaneedsadrink I do feel a bit better reading this.
I have panic moments about old age sometimes and had always felt like I had time on my hands to change things - think todays talk show hit a nerve.
cuppa no pension as I've never had enough money to contribute. Worked low paid jobs, kid became ill and disabled, gave up work for a while, just always battling some immediate finance issue and not the one years ahead. I think there's about £15k in it.

@kitcat15 I’m 59. I know no one who had a child in their 20’s.
I was the earliest in my friendship group at 30. Plenty waited until late 30’s. I had my last at 42. Children tended to be squeezed into late 30’s/early 40’s rather than 20’s. Even my baby groups were full of mums in their 30’s.

That didn't take long did it?

WTAF! I’m well over 50, primary age kids at home. When they’re old enough I will need to go back and retrain to get a new job and fill the coffers for retirement. I haven’t even contributed enough yet to get a state pension.
Also say you live to mid 80s, and retire in mid 50s, that’s 30 years of retirement to fund. 30 years! Would have to be very frugal for any cash to last that long.
So I’m with you OP. A long way to go!

63, still working, no sign of an end to it. No private pension- gave any extra to the dcs (who blew it and in one case became very entitled and is still demanding). Have paid off mortgage but the roof is leaking, the carpet and furniture absolutely threadbare. I also have done life wrong.

Yeh it's v possible to be a grandparent early 50s?

My dad was 26 when I was born and I was 26 in 2009 when I had my daughter. Now age 13/39/65

My mil was 28 when she had SIL. SIL was 19. MIl became Nan at 47. Now age 18/37/65

In fact everyone one in my family became grandparent before late 50s. Everyone has 2 degrees. SIL is now a teacher.

Frankly think it's ridiculous to have kids in 40s with ancient 80 something grandparents then have to work FT until age 70 to fund uni fees and weddings or later if more than 1 child.

But everyone makes their choices !

It gets me down too, but for a different reason. I’m in my early 40s, so absolutely in the thick of my working life and I fantasise about early retirement. No idea if it will be feasible for me, but it’s nice to dream. Instead, not only is life getting more expensive all the time and it’s getting increasingly difficult to save, but the message coming across is that early retirement is selfish and unethical.

To your point, though, I think they keep saying ‘over 50s’ to exaggerate this phenomenon for effect. Most of these people leaving the workforce early by choice are going to be late 50s at least and most of those will be helped along by redundancy I would have thought. This is the pattern I have seen in older colleagues at least. They tend to be the last cohort who benefitted from db pension schemes up to or almost up to retirement. In fact, many left precisely because of the recent closure of db schemes (that younger colleagues had never had access to). The early 50s I know are in a very different situation.

Statistics show that for those currently in their 50s, the average of childbirth (not first child) was around 30. Those saying that no-one had children in their 20s are wrong, it's just their circle. I'm older but know lots of different people and some had children in their teens and some not until their 40s.
The only people I know personally who retired at 55 are nurses who could get their pension and then work a couple of bank shifts a week to make up their money. Nurses in their 50s now are in a new pension scheme and generally work until 60+. I do know professional people with a big enough pension to retire at 60, but not early 50s. I think there are more people in their 50s not working due to health issues.

@OneFrenchEgg One of my jobs recently wanted a new optical assistant, I offered to interview and had two women in their 50's who were competent, reliable, learnt the skills quickly and were happy to work after school.

It's also interesting and you can career progress too.

That is interesting - when I left school careers advice was awful (May just have been my school) and equated to 'what university are you going to apply to?' With no support for what you may do or if it was the right place.

Bitter?

I retired at 57 with ill health retirement.

However, even if l could return to work ( which l can’t due to my pension rules) l wouldn’t just to fuck off Rishi and CUNext Tuesday.

Stress is the main reason the over 50’s cited for leaving work which has led to the shortage. Brexit is the other reason. The capacity to deal with work related stress is much harder in your 50’s than in your 30’s.

They need to sorg out shit working conditions.

I'm a bit younger than you OP but I don't know many people who feel completely comfortable with their pension pot. Most of our friends are struggling to get on the property ladder whilst paying high rents and cannot afford to increase their pension contributions. It's something that we all know if important but if you don't have the extra money then that's that.

What are you currently doing career wise and what are your future career plans?

@Cuppasoupmonster

Same. I won’t be travelling in my 50s. In my 40s perhaps as my 3 will be in their 20s by that point. I may of course still travel in my 50s if I fancy it.

I did follow a similar path to my own mum in terms of how old we were when we had kids. She never stopped working though. She trained as a nurse when she left school and by the time she retired in her late 50s had climbed to Nurse Consultant on an NHS band 8. Bought her council house years ago in the midlands and the rest is history. She bought another property and also rents that one out.

Mortgage free, hefty pension and three adult children and teen grandkids. She’s 60 now and does moan about being bored but I can’t feel too sorry for her she’s currently in the Italian Alps. 🤦‍♀️ She did have a bit of a giggle about Rishis suggestion.

I retired due to ill health 12 years ago age 45. Even if I hadn't finished then I would be finished now because the department of the Civil Service no longer has an office within 50 miles of where I live. I would have lived on my redundancy until I could draw my Civil Service pension when I was 55.

It's time the free hours payments for preschool children were changed so grandparents could be paid for looking after grandchildren, the same for carers allowance, make it the same as carers in care homes get.