54, had enough of the daily slog so I'm not going to do it anymore....

[erikbloodaxe]

Well I have plan at least.

1. Sell this house
2. Buy little house
3. Give notice at current job.
4. Find remote PT job
5. Earn enough to cover outgoings (no mortgage thankfully)
6. Spend my time doing what makes me happy.

I'm not spending what time I have left bloody working full time. The time between now and retirement will just be wasted years.

Wish me luck! Adventures here I come

Sounds amazing OP. Enjoy it!

I live in a flat & I own a share of the freehold, I have the impression that's almost the norm for flats these days?

@yepgoingforarun

Healrh and fitness good. Children 24-30.

It's a shame that so many posters here aren't doing work they actually enjoy!

Some people love their work and don't want to retire, or do a phased retirement by cutting down from 60-65, but doing some work after that.

The crux of this OP is finding that perfect job that is remote and part time.

You've been very cagey over your skill set/ career or your pension pot.
Surely this dream to sell up, and travel, has to be grounded in the reality of a job?

"Middle aged woman wants to find a remote-working role, part time, so she can travel more ."

It's not really ground breaking stuff is it?😀

Just get your pension sorted first. I have a feeling you've not!

@DozyDelia

I don't need to love a job, it's a means to an end, nothing more nothing less. I'm glad you love your job, I love my life away from work and want more of it. I will find a job that suits my needs.

I'm not being cagey about personal details. I haven't asked for advice.

My parents and grandparents died early seventies so I doubt I'll be around much after that.

I've no idea but you are talking nonsense!

I think lockdown opened the eyes for many people and many are now reassessing their priorities.
I watched my parents "do the right thing", as many in their generation did. Work hard, move to nice area, continue to work hard to fill it house with stuff that the media tell you that you need to be happy/successful, keep at it until retirement and you will get the fruits of your labour. Reality, missed out on life experiences with children/grandchildren, retired and found they were too old to enjoy long haul travelling and began to have rapidly failing health.
Well I have zero intentions of living my life for someone else. Mortgage will be paid off within the next couple of years. DC have finished uni and are cracking on with their lives. I have already career changed to low stress, remote working part-time job. Have plans to reduce to 3 day week when mortgage is finished and will spend long weekends travelling/doing what I want/hobbies. Part time working/retirement for over 50s is the way forward. Let Hunt/media whinge all they want, it will not make a jot of difference to me or my lifestyle.

DH and I do like our jobs and they have a remote working element as well. However, in recent years we have been treated more and more like pieces on a board to be fitted into various slots, and there is a great deal more admin than there used to be. Our support services have been replaced with barely intuitive IT systems and we are expected to spend more time dealing with an increasing number of demands. Therefore we are talking about retiring earlier than we envisaged.

I didn't actually say I loved my job!

I do like my work very much (I've been self employed for over 20 years) but I can work as much or little as I want to. DH loved his work, so we didn't retire until the usual retirement age. One bonus of that is a super pension and a very good pot of cash.

I know you didn't ask for advice as such, but a few posters have suggested you consider long term wealth as part of your plans because it's the one obvious thing missing from your list of 'wants' for the future.

Fine, if that's all been considered and you are happy that it's all sorted.

I'd not go too much by the lifespan of your older family- it doesn't always follow that their lives dictate yours!

The Banks of Mum & Dad are closing for business?

I don't. Being content in life is more important than the amount of space you have to be content in. When it comes down to it we need very little. There's lots of good furniture that also doubles as storage. There are many ways to use a room that are more effective in terms of storage than the traditional British way of furniture against the walls and an open space in the centre. Check out IKEA, Japanese apartments and tiny house living for inspiration. Make the most of the world beyond your front door. The local pockets of green space, community centres, local shops etc. There's no need to feel hemmed in.

you just need to do the maths right and double triple check it
i'm 55 and just taking my NHS pension early ( when I started normal retirement age was 60 so I'm taking it 5 years early so there is a reduction for taking it 5 years early), my Dh will be state pension age in 4 years ( roughly 10K as untaxed) mine is 12 years away ( roughly 8K as mine will be taxed) so we have 4 years when our income will be 18K less than max, and 8 years when it will be 8k less than max. I will also get a lump sum equivalent to 3 years pension

However we do not need the max to live on, we have paid our mortgage off a couple of years ago, my NHS pension will pay for us to live covering all reasonable annual costs, what myself and DH earn in next few years as P/T and self employed will pay for all the extras holidays , newish car in 3-4 years from now. we are generally fairly frugal in that we don't spend a lot on clothes or entertainment or TV packages but we do spend on decent food and we like to travel a bit but not long haul or 5 star hotels, more exploring little unknown areas from a nice apartment or B and B , we like history, antiques and gardening i'm involved at church. my calculations for holidays etc mean we need to earn around 6-8 k after tax for the next 4 years then nothing more.

The lump sum will help with DD at Uni, we live in Scotland so no tuition
we have other savings and once DD is at uni we will downsize probably not a lot of equity as may move to more expensive sunnnier area

you need to do your sums check your pension is index linked etc and that you can afford not just day to day expenses but also central heating breaking
also as you get older you probably find you need to pay more people to do simple DIY and maintenace or gardening that you used to do yourself, but by that stage you maybe spending less on travel etc

for many people living with less money more simply and content with simple pleasures is a trade off against working more for more money and it depends on you and your circumstances whether it is possible

the best advice to young people is never ever opt out of a pension unless you are in danger of starving, and always live below your means and save if you can especially in the good years saving when your kids are between 0-5 years is very hard. buy the biggest house you need not the biggest house you can get with the maximum the bank will lend you, if the house you need and like costs 400K don't buy a 600k house just because they bank will lend 600K

lifestyle inflation is the enemy of savings

Ignore the negativity on this thread OP. You do what is right for you - I don't understand all these people giving you sage advice based on THEIR lives. MNers would have a blue fit if I told them my circumstances, and yet I have just decided to leave my part-time job at the age of 64. Not as bad as it sounds as I'm not in the UK and superannuation kicks in at 65 here, but I will be living on a modest inheritance plus any temp/casual work I can pick up for the next year. I can live on the smell of an oily rag, at my age I don't actually NEED much at all, and the freedom to have the whole day to myself and not have to plan life around a job is far more important to me than money. I took voluntary redundacy five years ago, and haven't worked full-time since, so I know what I'm talking about. I started work three weeks after my 16th birthday, had no children so had been constantly working until five years ago - and I am so over it.

There’s a couple of people on here who are just jealous OP! They forget they are benefiting from the taxes you’ve paid all your life!

I've been observing my parent and my in-laws and other retired people I know and their behaviour. The ones I have observed are all relatively fit and healthy, and have never had anything major wrong with them. What I have noticed is that they all slowed down massively from 75. They all retired at either 60, or 65 on the old state pension and went for it playing golf, travelling and a few of them bought places in the Mediterranean. Also, I have elderly neighbours who partied very hard. However, these very fit and healthy retirees are all slowing down massively. At mid and late 70's, my PIL says she cannot go overseas anymore, it is too much. My neighbours, similar age say the same. My dad, who is early 80's and goes down the gym every day says travelling is now too much bother and hassle and he just wants to stay local.

So, everyone I know slows down massively by 75. They had around 10-15 to enjoy themselves, but it's now too much. For me, that means I get age 67-75 to do the things I want to do, if I am lucky.

There is no way I am waiting for that.

the freedom to have the whole day to myself and not have to plan life around a job is far more important to me than money
I agree....and just imagine the look on J *unt's face if he read that.
The wealthy and powerful are nothing unless they can keep us the poors obedient & with our noses to the grindstone

The whole day to myself and not have to plan life

Who actually gets that... seriously.
Assuming you have no caring duties, no paid or volunteering job.... You still need to
get the car MoT'd
go to medical appointments
choose a wifi provider
walk the dog
trim the hydrangea
fix the car
cook dinner
meet your friend for lunch
buy new pants
put stuff on the shopping list

I mean, there's always stuff that needs doing.

I like my work better than shopping or cooking, come to think of it.

@Thesharkradar

Thankyou for your reply.

Well, I don't have a car, so no issues there. I see my doctor on average once every 10 years, I don't have a dog, I already have a wifi provider, I don't have a garden, my cooking skills are very basic as I don't enjoy doing it. The other things on your list I have to do, whether I work or not, and it's a lot easier to stay on top of them when I don't work. Surely that's not difficult to understand???? If someone asks me for coffee I don't have to work out when I can meet them, then ring and cancel when it turns out I have to work all day instead of half a day, and if someone suggests a day out I can just go, rather than having to try and get time off. Of course there's always stuff that needs doing, but it's a hell of a lot easier when you don't work. It's great that you like your work, but I've spent nearly 50 years being bored in the workforce, and I have no intention of doing it any more.

no prob😄
(I think it might be a bit area dependent?)

I have no car not pets either. It helps massively. Frees up the schedule no end plus helps the dough.

I do have mild autism and blood pressure though for which I am on medication. I work part time as I had my son late at age 41 and am now 59.

Totally get this. Sick to death of work. I use the word no frequently as they want to grind us into the ground for their profit.

I'm divorced and selling marital home soon. Kids will be independent then. Thinking of taking some equity from the house, packing a bag and going backpacking for 6 months like I did in my 20s. I need a break from life.
Get sabbatical from work so I have an income to go back to

I love my job and only 2 days a week.

i also love my 3 days off but… they aren’t like yours! I exercise, garden, lots of dog walking and yes… meet friends for coffee/ lunch.

But aside from meeting friends for the odd coffee or day out… what do you actually do all day?

This sounds amazing. I think it's brave and brilliant.

I've just been wandering round my house thinking that if we were to downsize I'd literally just pick my favourite pieces of art, pottery, jewellery, clothes and books and walk away.

We are considering consolidating assets into one really nice apartment - city centre penthouse - (not London!) which we could do mortgage free because we have a property each to sell, and just using it as a base for travel.

Between being away I'd do volunteering, courses, visit friends and family and just potter. I might also do consultancy in my current role.

We reckon we are about 8 years away from making this happen in our mid fifties. I'm working my arse off and ploughing as much as possible into all kinds of savings in the meantime while still making sure we get some travel in.

Have you ever enjoyed a job OP?

For the vast majority of my working life, I have really enjoyed my work.

aside from 6 months In a job that I didn’t hate but it gave me no joy or satisfaction - and I definitely made me feel a bit “bleurgh”. The thought of 40 years of having that feeling…. Awful.

I am now in the ridiculously privileged position of working in a job I love two days a week. Because even with a job I love, I bloody LOVE my days off too. But not sure i would enjoy either so much if I didn’t have both if you see what I mean