When do you plan to retire?

[deebyhi]

Just thinking... I'm 40 and the thought of this job full time for another, what... 20-30 years is filling me with horror.

We have a small mortgage as we've only had one house (about £150k left).

I pay the minimum into my pension.

I have three young kids.

What's everyone's plan? What should I be doing now? Clearing debt? Overpaying mortgage? We do have a credit card that we are paying off (few thousand).

The thought of doing my job at 70... it just can't happen haha

I have worked part time for years. I am 60. I will have to work until 75 to get enough savings together. Depressing. Self employed so will do 2 days once 67 and do three days now.

Saying that though it is good to be busy.

I’m 66 and still do a few days’ consultancy here and there. I have a decent private pension, have just started receiving my state pension and have a holiday home which I will sell in a few years’ time. I treat the consultancy as a paid hobby which gives me a bit of bunce.
My thought is that you should find a job you enjoy now before it’s too late. And pay as much as you can into a private pension.

I’m done, finished last April at just gone 57. Life often gets even harder for middle aged women, as though we haven’t done enough already working full time and child rearing, now we have grandchildren and elderlies to care for.

Not even going down the bloody physical changes, menopause, osteoarthritis etc

lucky enough to have stashed in my pension all my life and DH supports me being “unemployed”. I don’t intend to draw my company pension until 60 but I’m done working.

never been as busy, not all good busy either sadly. The dreams of Pilates classes and boozy lunches are inevitably replaced by endless medical appointments with the elderlies and domestic grunt work at home.

TBH I would rather be working than that.

I had my ds late. Just as well as no energy for grandchildren on top. My parents died years ago so no burdens there.

I am 53 and retired. But my health isn't the best, so would have still been working if it weren't for that. But I was originally planning to retire around 63. That said, if you can afford it, do it. I don't think you will regret it, and if you do regret it just go back to working. 🙃

I believe you are correct. I really don't want to be working much older than 55 but will see what the situation is when get there.

I do think that some kind of part time work or volunteering is a good thing as it keeps you in a routine and the extra money is useful.
It's quite a jolt to suddenly do nothing at all and also to realise that your pension is it there will be no more bonuses/share options/big pay rises as as PP said, big things still have to be paid for.

If all goes to plan, in 5 years, at 60.
I'm NHS and can still take a big chunk of my pension at 60.
I might flexi-retire, and do another couple of years very part time if I have to, but will definitely be gone before 65.

I would like to try and retire around 55. My salary is average but we have saved hard over the years and invested in two rentals. Hope to sell up and move into one of them (by the sea) and live off my work pension, some savings and income from second home.

Retired at 54

I have more than 35 years NI contributions

Paid into pensions, savings, investments

I may return to work in the future, doing something completely different to my previous job

The earliest you can take a LGPS is 10 years before the state pension age, so it will be 57 by the time I retire. It may be even later for you as I’m mid 40’s.

@Addvinegarsugarsalt have you done a pension forecast the 2016 changes can catch you out.

https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

I’m 44. The current plan is to push on in a decently paid job I don’t particularly like and doesn’t inspire me in order to retire at 60, but recently I keep coming back to the idea that I’d be better off finding a lower paid job that makes me happier in. Going part time is another thought. Either of those would mean I could tolerate work better and not be so obsessed with retiring asap (but still with ages to go).

Things like all the chopping and changing around wfh and hybrid stresses me out and has me thinking I can’t hack another 16 years of full time office work. I want more control over my own destiny.

If changing career for the long haul, I’d rather do it asap for obvious reasons but I would put part time off for a few years at least to build up savings. Hard to know which way to go.

State pension age I imagine. Hopefully I can be mortgage free by 60 (I'm currently mortgaged until 68). If I can do this then maybe I can work part time before state pension age.

Propertylover

Thank you
I have checked my state pension forecast
It says
"£10636 per year
Cannot improve your forecast any more"
Plus the year that I can receive the pension in the future

I'm posting my forms tomorrow to claim my work pension from my 56th Birthday

At 40 I too was horrified at the prospect of waiting until 67. However, at 57 I took voluntary redundancy from my well paid but very boring corporate job during Covid. I then completely changed my career, working for a third of my previous salary, but in a hugely rewarding job.

I was planning to ride it out to 67 but two years later my DH became ill with his third lot of cancer which unfortunately is terminal, so I've had to give up work to become his carer. Im in the process of drawing my private pension to help make ends meet as his PiP and my carers allowance don't stretch far. Im 60 and worry about how I'll manage if I live to an old age, as the private pension will run out and the state pension isn't huge.

I’m 40 this year and keep joking to dh that I’m ready to retire 😂
I don’t need to work financially but I do enjoy it. When I’m 50 I plan to go part time, hopefully I may have a grandchild or two by then aswell (even if not I will just appreciate having the extra time) with a view to stop working at 55. This may of course change, who knows what’s around the corner - but this has been my plan for a while. Dh doesn’t ever plan on officially retiring although at 46 is pretty much part time anyway. He owns his own business and really enjoys his job.

64 and already part retired. State pension will kick in at the end of next year, but the works pension covers my outgoings and I am now in the sweet spot where I can retire at any time I want. I am a manager's nightmare!

My mother retired at 70. I want to work into my 80s if I can.
I started working when I was 16 and well, basically love working, being part of an organisation, having colleagues, a commute that encourages me to read. It also makes me want to take pride in my appearance and I wish this could continue for as long as possible.

I think you are in a VERY small minority. I intend to retire at about 62, and have NO intention of working past that. Neither does DH.

Working til 80?! Fuck that! No-one I know wants to do that. (Not people in the normal world with normal jobs anyway.)

I'm 44 and still waiting to start a proper job! My jobs have all been part time just for the money type ones and I haven't worked at all in the past 15 years. When DH retires in a few years it's my turn to work.

I agree. I live in house that was once surrounded by 2 eighty year olds and a 100 yr old. They were fit , healthy and great people to aspire to.

I have a friend ,whose a guy that wants to work until he dies.

Our common denominator is that we are both Sagittarius.

I was beginning to think I was odd. I'm 62, I love work and have no plans to retire. I also want to keep my mind active after my mother's horrible death with vascular dementia. She didn't keep her mind active after retirement and it terrifies me.