I want to retire

[RosieLeaLovesTea]

Hi all I have been working full time for 24 years and I want to retire. I am so envious of people that are retired. Am I the only one? I have to work another 10 years to get a full state pension as somewhere beefier 2016 my employer opted out. I checked my HMRC account online. m. Such a bummer. I thought I only had another 6 years to go.

You can check your pension pot on the gov.uk gateway. If you have worked for 40 years, chances are you’ve got all the contributions you need. It’s very much worth doing and Money Saving Expert has advised people check before April as you can top up going back so many years before April, after this date you lose the ability to back date for a longer period. (Disclaimer, not 100% of the backdating thing and number of years, but do google it).

Im 35 years in, another 10 years to go

Yes second checking MSE. I’m so grateful to Martin Lewis as I had some missing years. I think I had to pay in about 3000 to £5,000 but it was massively worthwhile. If I live to predicted age of 83 it’s in the tens of thousands. Full state pension currently £11,500 per year if that helps your planning.

To those young ones saying they dread working more decades - life whizzes by so fast, if at all possible find something that fulfils you more. Or same job different place with people you enjoy more. I know it’s not always possible but good luck.

I retired last year at 43. I was offered redundancy and just thought fuck it. I absolutely love waking up each day with no feeling of dread of another day sat blah blahing in my soul destroying corporate job. My NI contributions are complete for a full state pension, my mortgage is paid off and we live so simply that DHs pension is enough for us to live on.

The 'Meaningful Money' podcasts are great for understanding retirement planning whatever your circumstances.

I would also love to retire but still got about 35 years to go 😩🤣 what a slog.

I'm planning to retire next year, 1 year 3 months to go, 285 working days....not that I'm counting. I'll be 53, will have enough to last till I can get my pension at 55. Pay off the mortgage this year as well. Planning to downsize. I won't have loads but will have enough and I just want the freedom to do what I want. Might get a part time job eventually when the DCs are at uni.

@suki1964

it sounds like you are still a couple of years off and maybe the 1964 is a clue.
I hate to burst your bubble but the retirement age is changing again , and will include your birth year .

They are starting next year( or possibly 2026 ) to add an extra month before you retire so if birth in January you wait an extra month before you can claim , Feb birthdays 66 + 2 months , March 66 + 3 months and so on until the retirement age hits 67 .
Basically new retirement age is soon to be 67 .

I retired at 55 and took one of the pensions I had built up at work. I started pension payments at 20 in local government. I studied at night school as it was called back then for years. Lived in shared accommodation so lots of shared living expenses till I was 30, so could save a lot doing this and put money in to TESSA which was the financial product that proceeded ISA, then moved to ISA. Met DH at that point we did some risky investing. It paid off. We don’t do such high risk stuff now. We have final salary pensions, I think that’s very rare now.

Unless you earn mega bucks or get help from parents then investing is a way to retire early but it can go very badly. We just happened to be right time, right place, right investments apart from the day DH lost 25k. It’s been a ride that’s for sure.

@Maggiemargherita its 35 years for a full state pension and you state you are 43. Go on Government gateway and check your NI status.

The other thing to note is in a couple of years people will have to be 57 to take their works pension unless retired early through ill health as it’s rising from 55.

@PensionMention I’ve already checked and I have enough years for a full state pension. You don’t necessarily need 35 years of you began contributing pre 2016. I started a recent thread to check this was correct. I think I’ve paid for 29 years and that’s was enough

How old are you OP? 24 years isn’t much really when you think of life expectancy in the mid-80s. Even if studying first most people start work full time at 21/22 which gives 45 years or more to state pension age….

You definitely need 35 years to receive " full " new state pension.
You might have read you get some ( you qualify to start to be able to claim once you've paid in 10 years )
But its 35 years to receive the full amount.

Its,worth knowing that you carry on paying it after 35 years and keep doing so as long as you are working.

Your ni isn't for you , it's not a pot of money sitting , waiting for you to retire.

What you have paid and are paying is for those getting it now .
When you retire , those still paying in will pay yours .

I don’t think you do always need 35 years. I’m actually 3 years short which I can live with but I still wouldn’t have contributed 35 full years if I were to work for another 3. The 2016 stuff is quite complicated and gave extra credits. You only need 30 years if you started before 2016 and weren’t contracted out.

My DH turns 60 this year and is hoping to retire by the end of the year. He's been working full time since 18 and he is in a stressful job so I'm hoping the numbers add up. I'm 54, also worked since 18 but took a few years out when children were pre-school and have since worked part-time, so I will carry on for a few more years but don't want to leave it too late and miss the go-go years with DH! Kids are still dependents (6th form and Uni) and this also adds a curve ball to retirement plans.

24 years is nothing. By all means retire when you wish but you haven’t been working very long.

I will have full state pension entitlement at end of this tax year. Just about to turn 53 and my plan is to go at 55 or earlier if redundancy is offered - dealing with a lot of health issues and have managed to save enough to act as a buffer til state pension and mortgage has 12 more payments to go. I won’t be loaded and hopefully PIP will remain in existence but I don’t have the health for elaborate holidays and even if I did husband won’t be retiring til much later

@Neversaygoodbye have you checked your forecast? Child benefit automatically gives you NI credits so you may not have the gaps you think

Agree! I’ve been working 34 years full time and still have 17 to go!

Hoping to at least go part-time in about 5 or so years.

If I go right to state pension I'll have done 50 years . Am regretting my lack of ambition in my younger years now . Just turned 60 and will probably have to keep going until 70 .

I have 47 years of NI contributions and have called the DWP who have confirmed I have 35 non contracted out years so I am eligible for the full state pension on my 66th birthday. Presently 65.

I am retiring in seven months but my employer is trying to persuade me to stay and do a year part-time.

DH is a bit younger than me and would be happy to carry on infinitely.

@RosieLeaLovesTea
You could start to put as much as you can afford into a private pension plan, but get professional advice on which one is best for your circumstances. This may enable you to go earlier.
Could you go part time, even for a couple of years to recharge your batteries?

I'm 45 and have been working full time for 25 years. Even before that I worked on all my non school/uni days so have been working since I was 15, really.

I still have at least 15 years to go, I reckon....

To all the young people here .... make sure you are paying as much as you can into a good private pension. You are never to young to start.

similar to me. Check your forecast, you might be in for a surprise.

I think a lot of folk need some kind of sabbatical, rather than to actually stop working and retire.