Retiring at 55- would you?

[DonaNobisPacem]

DH’s parents both retired early at 55. They’re quite well off- nice house and a high income (£100k? Enough for nice holidays and cars anyway)

I’ve never really thought about retiring early- my own parents worked all their lives and I’m definitely not on track for it. But I wondered what other people thought. Have you? Would you? I think I’d worry about feeling a bit aimless but maybe you start other projects.

I think DH is maybe hoping to retire quite early because to him this just seems like what you do but we definitely won’t have anything like as much money as his parents and that makes a big difference.

I retired at 55, DH will join me soon.

We are well off and more so than people would assume, this is because we made some very good investment decisions when in our mid thirties 20 years ago and paid off our mortgage then. Plus houses were much cheaper. So we had all that extra money to spend and save and invest further. We did have decent enough jobs that put us in almost top 10% of earners and have defined benefits pensions.

We are basically massive nerds who took some risks all those years ago that paid off, it could have gone horribly wrong. We have a DS who is doing a degree apprenticeship so he has required zero money from us and my Father left his money to DS, it’s enough for a house deposit.

A militant tendency teacher taught me all about the evils of the stock market in around 1982 and in doing so inspired me to dabble in it as a teenager. DH also dabbled even as a teen, we have never gone to a financial adviser and the one time we tried a mortgage adviser she got us a worse deal than the one we eventually got with our own bank.

I do voluntary work, dance classes, belong to a women only hiking group and a quiz team. I’m currently decorating the house. So far two rooms plus new window being fitted this week. We have extensive travelling plans and will also move to a house which is why I’m freshening ours up with hopefully an acre of land where we will indulge our love of gardening, have chickens and maybe a couple of goats.

We endured some very close and upsetting bereavements of relatives and friends over a six year period, all younger than us and this was a big part of our decision making.

I did!
But I took my pension and returned to work on 2 days a week.
I get the same income as when full time.
Loving the days off.

I would retire tomorrow if I could and I'm 38.

Exactly the same as a pp that my FIL retired (planned for it) at 49. He's nearly 80 and he's done nothing really with that time, just become radicalised and more out of touch.

Yes, of course I would.

I've been flat out for more than 40 years (I'm now 60) and I'd love to stop. Why would I work for someone else if I didn't need the money? Why carry the pressure?

I could have a leisurely life, exercise more, cook better food, travel more, chill out more, spend more time with my ds before he goes to uni, spend time with my friends. See more sunshine !

I've only got 2yrs 8mths to go, and I can't wait. 😊

But their pension amount will depend what their salary was. If they were a Head Teacher on 100k, their pension will be very good indeed. Also they don’t have to make it last 30 years. They get the same amount paid out every year for life, no matter how long they live. That’s why a DB pension is so good.

I would if I could but with no assets it’s highly unlikely.

I took my NHS pension at 56 but I work full time in another field now and have a daughter to put through Uni. I'm 57 now and I think 55 would have been too early. My brother left work at 55 and moaned he should have stayed on longer.

An interesting topic for a lunchtime read!

We have a number of friends who've done this. They're well off, child-free and are living the life of Riley travelling etc. Why not if you can do it?

Back in the 80s my dad retired at 55 from his well-paid but rather dull job with a final salary scheme pension. He set up a business doing something he's passionate about and now, at 80, still keeps active and busy doing it (though reduced hours).

My DH (50) is in a highly pressured corporate environment and is also looking to retire at 55. Financially we'll be able to do it - house paid off, good private pensions etc - and like my DD is hoping to set up a business doing something he loves.

I, on the other hand, already do something I love and am self-employed, so can't imagine retiring soon! But at least I can flex my work to have more time when DH retires early (if indeed he does!).

I reckon the key, if you do it, is to remain active and interested in something - whether dabbling in a business or volunteering. Just rotting away watching daytime telly is a surefire way to age prematurely!

@LegendsBeyond she said she was a teacher, not a head teacher. But also, it's highly unlikely she'd have been a head teacher before 40. Not impossible, but unlikely. So on that basis only earning a high salary for 15 years.

And the salary of a HT is variable. Our head was on £80k, although that's primary and a fairly small one.

I'd be most interested from hearing from her directly as we can all speculate but I was genuinely interested in how a teacher managed to afford to retire at 55.

I retired at 56 after a long civil service career. I was a bit of an over committed workaholic and was finding it hard to keep up with a demanding job on lower energy levels. I'd never imagined myself retiring early and worried a lot about being able to afford to retire as we still have a son at uni. But I decided to jump and it's the best thing I ever did. My husband took the plunge too six months later. We've had the time of our lives since then. I feel fitter, happier, more in the present without the weight of work, and being able to be around more for family. I do sometimes worry about lack of purpose but if that becomes an issue, I'll do something about it.

I know I'm lucky that my pension pot could support this choice. I loved my job, but had poor quality of life overall. Realising what I would gain made retiring an easy choice.

She said she has a teacher’s pension, not that she was a teacher. Heads are also on the teachers pension scheme, She could have been SLT in secondary and on a great salary. Lots of my teacher friends have retired in their 50’s. It’s not that unusual.

I've got a good, albeit reduced, teacher's pension and my husband has an excellent police pension.
He still works (in local government) but will retire fully in a few months and pick up another smaller pension. We both plan to do some casual work (exam invigilating, possibly a bit of supply teaching for me) and next year, my husband, who is 65, will receive his state pension. So, all being well, we should be comfortable.

I would've gone completely insane if I'd had to stay in teaching a moment longer. Fortunately, I had the choice not to.

Yes, DH and I both retired young, earlier than 55. We could afford it as we had shares investments which did very well. We had our dc late so we were still very involved with them when we first retired (primary age and supporting through 11+, ferrying to sports and music activities in different directions). We were able to go away with the dc during most school holidays without worrying about taking time off work, including extended visits to see PILS overseas. We live in London so there has always been plenty to keep us busy - we love the theatre and exhibitions, and spend most days out of the house seeing something new, and lots of adult classes for hobbies. We've both done some studying at postgraduate level for fun (in STEM subjects), so we're in no danger of losing our cognitive abilities.

I don't expect we'd ever want to get jobs again, though we might channel some money into a business though I'd 9nly consider something fairly passive.

My mum retired at 60 and bitterly regretted it. She was an office manager in a very small company, had been there 20 years and practically ran the place. Retirement was boring, pointless and very lonely for her. Hobbies and shopping didn’t fill the void.

My kids will still be teenagers at that point! So no...

DH and I would in a heartbeat if we could but I can’t imagine us being in a position that will allow us to do that 😅 We weren’t in a position to travel before having children due to me having caring responsibilities for a number of years so I would love the chance to travel a bit with our DCs and show them some of the world.

DHs sister and BIL are on track to retire comfortably at 50. I personally think they will get very bored but they can’t wait for it 🤷🏻‍♀️ They hate travelling, have no hobbies other than gaming, HATE socialising, have no plans to move area or house as they hate DIY etc 😅 they are child free by choice and live away from both families in another part of the UK. They just think it will be nice not to have an alarm go off in the morning 🤣

dh and I retired at 52 and 53. Dd is still at school so I do some invigilation work as we are tied to exam dates- she will take her a levels next year.
we are both charity trustees (different charities), I volunteer in a charity shop, both go to the gym (different activites), dh does some mentoring and I am a parish councillor and involved in a lot of community events.
funded early retirement by living overseas for 25 years.

Early 50s here and retired, but not intentionally really. I took a career break until children were at secondary school, then got into supporting parents in ill-health. Then my husband took early retirement and were enjoying having time off together so it sort of morphed into retirement. We're always busy with dog walking, gardening, local committees and our shared hobby so it's never boring.

If I could afford to retire at 33 I would 😂

Lifes too short to be spent working, if you can afford it then do it.

Everyone I know will still have kids at school when they are 55, and would plan to give them some level of support through university

Also very busy running teenagers around all over the place. It's nice to both be able to go to their school meetings and events, and to be able to share the school run. I think I'm busier just now than when I was working!

Bloody hell, I'd retire at 45 if I could!

I plan to do the same as the civil service allows this. Several of my colleagues do the same and are loving the part time work but full time money.

Both of us absolutely retiring as soon after 50 as we can. We've worked hard for it, got good pensions and savings, so why not?