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Original poster

Can you do your current job until 68?

208 replies

CrystalVision · 17/09/2023 19:14

Me and DH are trying to work out plans for the future. I'm 44, he's 48. I'm high up in an office based professional role (think Head of HR) and he's a builder. I'm trying to get to a Director position as I think I'll be better protected against younger (cheaper) whippersnappers doing my job but I feel like this will be completely exhausting in even 15 years time, never mind 25. It's even worse for DH as building is a young persons game (his words). The reason we're worrying is that we've recently moved and to afford it, the term is currently running til we're 73. Obviously we're trying to overpay and will reduce the term when the five year rate ends, but it's got us worried that we won't be able to work at the same rate we do now when we start to approach retirement. Two kids (4&6) so at the point we might be looking to drop hours, we'll be part funding university! Are we the only ones in this position??

OP posts:
UpUpUpU · 17/09/2023 19:15

I very much doubt it. I am a midwife and work on my feet for long shifts. They exhaust me now so can’t imagine doing it into my 70’s!

PrivatePercy · 17/09/2023 19:17

I’m a HCP. I’m not sure I can last until 60 tbh.

TeenLifeMum · 17/09/2023 19:18

I doubt it, I’m exhausted at 41! It does worry me.

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Zampa · 17/09/2023 19:18

I also have an office job so hoping that I'll be able to do this into my 60s, maybe dropping down to fewer hours as I approach 70. I'm very worried that as soon as stop work my brain will atrophy so want to carry on as long as possible.

continentallentil · 17/09/2023 19:19

No.

I don’t see why you can’t be head of HR at 70 though (if they’d have you)? It’s going to be less tiring than working FT with a 4 year old.

He’ll need to find something else though, agreed. Has he got his own company? Can he build to just bring back room and trouble shooting?

FictionalCharacter · 17/09/2023 19:19

I’m already in my 60s, retirement age is 66 but I’ll definitely have to work until I’m 67 for family financial reasons. You’re definitely not alone - State retirement age will be 68 before too long and plenty of people won’t be able to retire early.

VariationsonaTheme · 17/09/2023 19:21

I could but I’m not going to.

GoodOldEmmaNess · 17/09/2023 19:23

I'm 60 and do an 'office' style job, sitting at a computer and trying to concentrate on manipulating words. Until recently I took it for granted that I would carry on until 68. But I find it increasingly stressful to try and concentrate at full power. It probably has a lot to do with some very stressfu events in my life. But I think that aging takes its toll too. As you get older, your 'cognitive reserve' declines and you are less able to compensate for the effcts of stress.

I think I will end up cutting my hours - and even then it will be hard to conceive of continuing until 68.

Pushkinini · 17/09/2023 19:23

I probably could do my job until 67, but I'm not sure I want to. I'm 51 now and the thought of doing this till retirement is not something I relish. I will definitely have to do some sort of part time work though as years of part time work when the DC were small have resulted in a pretty crap pension.

Original poster
CrystalVision · 17/09/2023 19:24

continentallentil · 17/09/2023 19:19

No.

I don’t see why you can’t be head of HR at 70 though (if they’d have you)? It’s going to be less tiring than working FT with a 4 year old.

He’ll need to find something else though, agreed. Has he got his own company? Can he build to just bring back room and trouble shooting?

No, he hasn't. Did have many years ago but got screwed over by his business partner and very narrowly avoided having to declare bankruptcy. So he works for another very good friend and has done for about ten years but has zero interest in going back to being a business owner.

OP posts:
watchingsmurfs · 17/09/2023 19:26

I’m in the same boat OP.
Mortgage currently due to run until age 73. My plan is to try and overpay as much as possible with the aim of bringing that down to at least 65. Still not great and won’t be easy but hopefully once the kids are out of FT education (a long way off!) there will be more room in the budget to pay it down faster.

milafawny · 17/09/2023 19:26

currently an A&E nurse, if i could progress to management, maybe. A band 5 "on the floor" nurse, absolutely not, 12 hours on A&E breaks me now at 40. Im doing an MSc currently to go into leadership, but i considering going into nursing education instead. But at the minute, i dont know.

mnahmnah · 17/09/2023 19:27

I’m a secondary teacher. Managing 34 teenagers at a time at aged 67? Cannot imagine it! The problem is, I do love my job, so I don’t want a ‘plan B’. But I’m exhausted now at age 44! But as a PP says, my children are only young now and add to the exhaustion. That won’t always be the case. I quite like the idea of being a registrar conducting weddings when teaching gets too much.

TellerTuesday · 17/09/2023 19:27

We've had this discussion recently too. DH works in construction, he's 36 and already knackered. I work in an office and think I could easily work until into my 60s but DH will have to find something else from 45/50 I think.

Findyourneutralspace · 17/09/2023 19:28

I’m 46 and knackered but worry about what I can do instead. I don’t have an OH so it’s all on me and it’s a worry.

Aposterhasnoname · 17/09/2023 19:30

I think anyone in a physical job obviously can’t keep going forever. My job is half walking round and half desk work, so I can almost certainly keep going for as long as I need to. Whether I want to though, is a whole different question.

Isseywith3witchycats · 17/09/2023 19:31

Im 67 and still working part time (3 days 5 hours a day) to supplement my state pension, but my job apart from one day a week is mainly computer based, i sell for a cat charity on ebay and monday is packing day for sales , so mondays is the only day really that is physical, i like my job and as long as i carry on making money for the charity i intend to carry on working till im at least 70

FreshStart12345 · 17/09/2023 19:34

Definitely not, but then I've based my lifestyle on only needing to earn 20-25k, and although could afford right now a much nicer home, I've chosen not to move and would rather focus on being mortgage free asap and making home improvements instead. my plan has always been to work until 57, claim private/work pension and work very part time to top up wage until state pension kicks in.
Anything extra I earn over 25k to me has been bonus money - nicer holiday etc, but long term outgoings I've always focused on keeping low.

Did you factor this all in before you moved and took out a higher mortgage? My worst nightmare would be being tied to a job I hate because I have to earn x-amount to pay the bills

Original poster
CrystalVision · 17/09/2023 19:34

TellerTuesday · 17/09/2023 19:27

We've had this discussion recently too. DH works in construction, he's 36 and already knackered. I work in an office and think I could easily work until into my 60s but DH will have to find something else from 45/50 I think.

This is our situation. I've actually got a really great job and I love the company I work for. I'm hopeful my years of experience will stand me in good stead for my 60s but like a PP said, it's the cerebral decline I'm worried about! I see men doing this a lot in my industry (very male dominated) but not many women...

OP posts:
Notquitegrownup2 · 17/09/2023 19:34

I could, but I changed my job in my 50s because of exactly that thought.

Can you plan to move house again when the kids go off to Uni, to give yourselves some breathing space by downsizing or trying a cheaper area?

Cupcakekiller · 17/09/2023 19:35

No! It's not physically demanding but way too stressful. If I have to work till I'm in my 60s, I hope I can afford to go down several grades and go part time.

amylou8 · 17/09/2023 19:35

I'm 47, I'm self-employed and my job is quite physical, lots of lifting and being on my feet for hours on end. I'm feeling it now compared to 10 years ago and do worry about doing another 20+.

Passthecake30 · 17/09/2023 19:36

I work in finance and dp is a builder and it was just the other day that I was saying the same thing, as I’ll be too knackered by the time I’m 67! A lot of people move down to 3 days a week a few years before so maybe I’ll do that… we’ve paid off our mortgage with savings (and currently topping those back up). We have 2 teens, one that will probably go to uni when we’re 53/56 respectively. The other one will hopefully get an apprenticeship so we might have to help him out with driving lessons and a car as we’re fairly rural. I think dp will work as long as he can but hopefully he will start being a more more sensible, do kitchens/bathrooms instead of clambering on a roof etc.His pension is not great but I guess with his skills he can do (and will probably want to do) odd jobs for a bit.

Idratherbepaddleboarding · 17/09/2023 19:37

I could probably do mine until 68, but I think DH will have been replaced by a younger model by then (by his work not by me 😂). DH is 8 years older than me though so I intend to retire at 60 if he retires at 68 or at least go part time or by the time I retire, he’ll be 76 and we won’t have had chance to do the nice things people do in early retirement.

My parents both have physical jobs and are really struggling at 63, they’re knackered after work and by the time the weekend comes and it seems really unfair that if they were born less than 10 years earlier they’d be retired at their age.

Turmerictolly · 17/09/2023 19:37

As well as overpaying the mortgage maybe try to put money aside for the dc education £100 each a month will grow nicely by the time they're 18 if you put it in a decent fund. We put away the child benefit from one years old and now ds has £23K in the account at 18.