Is retirement all it's cracked up to be?

[madroid]

If you have actually retired, are you enjoying it?

All things being equal, without, for example, health problems are you actually enjoying your free time? What do you do? What does your day look like?

I imagine there's a 'honeymoon' period where you relish not having to get up to go to work, catch up with all sorts of things... but then what? What have you got into?

I'm medically retired.

I'm 44 and I have multiple health conditions some serious. I mostly use a wheelchair but I can walk a bit.

I spend my time playing in a band (have always played in brass bands and now have time to practice)

I also am able to look after my health much better than when I was working as I was often in considerable pain when I worked as I had to move around a lot.

I'm doing a lot of swimming (about the only exercise you can do if walking/running/weight bearing is a problem). Starting wild swimming which is free.

I also visit my elderly mum and while I can't physically care for her (she's more able bodied than I am!) I help sort out admin and interactions with the modern world.

for htose who retired early - did you take early retirement. I am in my 40s and pay in DB pension but it has been put up in line with state pension age ie. i can only get it out at 67. So I wont have much of a pension before hand.

I think this is key. I count my blessings that DH and I have good occupational pensions. I have a range of hobbies, voluntary work, meeting friends, lunching, enjoying GC and holidays. Currently away for a few days sightseeing. Life is good, so far

No, I didn’t. I retired at 53. I am Gen X not Boomer and whilst I am fortunate to have two old DB pensions from jobs in my 20s and 30s one of which starts paying at 60 and one at 65, the DB pensions scheme I was in was closed down and I was switched to DC pensions for the rest of my career.

From my 20s the government started moving the goalposts on pension access age, when I started working state pension was supposed to be age 60 for me, but it’s now going to be 67.

I always knew I wanted financial freedom and the option to retire early, so I paid enough into pensions to get the maximum matched employer contributions on offer and then diversified into BTL and ISAs and sharesave schemes offered by my employer.

I never bought a big house in order to keep my mortgage small and pay rises went into savings before I got used to the extra money.

This has given me a buffer of savings to live on in retirement before my pensions kick in. I am not a big spender (I have had the same car for 10 years and it was 4 years old when I bought it).

We are trying to reduce debt sensibly. For example we stopped signing up to new cars via PCP because we wanted to get out of having a constant monthly car payment. We took a car loan each to buy decent used cars, but at the end we'll own them outright. The cars will be run until they die, at which point we should have enough in savings to buy a new used car outright.

I use a credit card for cash back and points but it's paid in full every month. We overpay our mortgage (lucky to be on a good fixed deal) and I'm hoping to get it paid off in the next 10 years.

We both save into workplace pensions and get the maximum employer match. I do a sharesave as well. Even then I still look at pension pot calculators and think that it's going to be very tight. We don't live a luxury lifestyle by any means but we aren't going to be taking multiple holidays a year as we won't be able to afford to.

I won't be able to access my pension for 7/8 years (private one -defined contribution) and 16/17 for state pension.

I did start paying in young, always paid more in than minimums and put any payrise into it. And bonuses.

So currently living on 1 day a week salary to cover costs. (No mortgage)

My dad (75) is actually doing open university second degree. That keeps him busy.

You must have very low living costs then? Are you paying car insurance, energy bills, food etc out of that?

I've just worked out my daily net wage and 2/3 of it would go on energy bills and council tax before I'd even got to insurance, fuel and food!

And then totted that up over a month I should add!

Well for me, no car (i live in London) - small flat so low elec costs.

as i said, i always put majority of payrises into savings/pensions and therefore always lived fairly frugally and not got used to higher standard of living. Only buying one place to live helps alot too i suppose. No moving costs/trading upwards so extra mortgage. I was a high earner before i went 1 day a week so pro-rata its fine to cover my costs (and i have option of overtime which also goes into pension)

not having kids and always working at a professional career where i could get good payrises as i qualified helps a long way towards retiring early.

I think "fulfilling" is key word. My grandma retired early (at 55 years old) and she really deceased mentally and physically. She's old now, so dementia is kicking in etc., but her retirement was pretty much daytime tv, no social life. Too scared to chat to neigbours, only relied on family taking her somewhere out or visiting her. It's so vital to stay active physically and mentally, otherwise it's horrible.

but her retirement was pretty much daytime tv, no social life
Did she have a social life when she worked?
I know so many people that don’t put any effort into having a social life and/or are flakey, I do wonder how they will be when they retire.
Friends and a social life have always been a big thing for me. I had counselling years ago and had to make a pie chart of my life, I made sure I allocated a big slice for friends and another for hobbies and I’ve stuck to it. I guess people with a massive job slice of pie may do less well with retirement.

It's not always the man who stays at home watching TV - my mother did while my father was out and about taking day trips in his own and socialising. He went out and about on his free bus pass, went to the seaside and local beauty spots - not much money but plenty of planning and ingenuity.

You don't have to have tons of money to enjoy retirement - I spend mine on hobbies, art classes etc - but I haven't had a holiday for 6yrs and only two in 15yrs. It's not a priority for me. Happiness in retirement comes from doing things you enjoy that don't cause financial stress. I'm not going back to work so I have to make what I have stretch to fit.

@dinglethedragon a great attitude to have!!

I love retirement. I continue with patchwork, baking, gardening and dressmaking, all of which I did before but I added knitting during lockdown.

I'm doing what I always wanted to do. Arthritis isn't much fun but I am glad to be alive.

All makes sense. I like pottering about. I love my garden - it's large and unruly and I spend most of my spare time battling with it. I'd love to have the time to be able to grow fruit and veg. I love reading and spend as much time as I can trying to make headway into my pile of books. I have a couple of charities that I volunteer for but I would love to have the time to be more active within them. I like going for long walks with the dogs.

Don't get me wrong, I like my job. But it does so often feel that it gets in the way of me being able to do the things I really enjoy! Whenever I have a week of annual leave (we don't go on holiday, which I am fine with because I am quite a homebody) it often feels like I am trying to desperately squeeze in as much as I can before going back to work.

Oh and dressmaking as well. I have a box full of patterns and fabric that I keep looking at, guiltily.

My honeymoon period has lasted ten years so far, and I'm not bored with it yet.. I fill my day with house, dog, grandchildren, garden, internet browsing, shopping, chatting on the phone to family and friends, reading, eating (and no, I'm not fat), music, maybe a bit of TV, and the DP. It's a privilege to do what I want to do, not what someone else wants me to do.

No, not really. Had some colleagues at work or knew few neighbours, but since she retired it has stopped completely and relies only on family visits.

Just got chatting to a neighbour when I was putting the bin out. Said I'd had a rubbish day at work and she laughed and said she'd had plenty of them in her time and that she didn't miss them!

We also got chatting about her and her H having taken off at short notice on a camping holiday. She looked really happy and sounded like she'd had a great time. Came across as someone who is really enjoying her retirement and she looks to have a really nice balance in her life.

Today's Telegraph claims you'll need a pension pot of nearly £600k plus state pension to fund a "comfortable" retirement.

According to the latest projections from the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA), a trade body, someone who wants a “comfortable” retirement would need at least £37,300 a year (£54,500 for couples), which would fund three weeks in Europe a year, theatre trips and regular beauty treatments.
The minimum income needed for basic living would be £12,800 a year, or £19,900 for a couple.

Is your mum actually unhappy - or is it your perception that living as your mum does would be miserable ?

@ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea she's been miserable all her life - the kind of person who revels in misery. But my comment meant I would be miserable - I don't understand choosing to live like that - the point of the thread is surely that we need to make the most of retirement?

@daffodilandtulip
Oh, I agree. I veer between 'can't wait to retire' and terror that I will waste my final years sitting in the sofa on MN!

My DH took early retirement during the first lockdown - enabled by a decent inheritance. He takes the dog out each day and goes shopping, does household tasks but the rest of the time he mainly spends on the sofa watching TV. Sometimes we'll go out to lunch, spend time with adult DC or go away on holiday but he does very little socially by himself .

I'm planning to retire myself in the next couple of years and have spent a lot of time planning how I will spend my time, which friends are likely to be available to do things with, what activities I may take up etc as I really don't want to let that time just drip away .

What a refreshing post. I'm like you, I consider I have a good life and need very little to maintain it. I actually feel sorry for those who consider staying home and doing things which don't cost a fortune "a miserable existence".

@Aslanplustwo @Zippedydoo123 , i love my quiet life! as drama free as possible (which means no tv, i do try to stay current by watching the news weekly).
i walk loads, meal plan and consider cooking a variety of foods my post retirement hobby (although not good enough to really share or perform for others). manage the house and yard. take care of dh and pets for most of my days. yes we holiday once or twice a year.
i touch base with a couple friends (online) daily and might meet up monthly with others but no i don't "need" much to be content, healthy and happy.