If you are a mum in your 40s or early 50s, what's your plan for career before retirement?

[Rekka]

Just that. I'm curious what other people's situation is.

I started putting pension/saving in the pot so late (in my mid 30s), I think I will have to work full-time until mid 60s. But in my field, unlike in accounting or HR, I haven't seen and can't imagine any female working into their 60s. Also most mums around in DC school seem to be all working part-time or not working at all.

I hit a bit of a career brick wall at the moment, but can't just quit and lay back. So I'm wondering what other people's plans are in the next 10-20 years.

I'm 41 and work almost full time. I think I'll be doing this till I'm about 90 at the rate I'm going! Luckily I really like my job though, so I don't mind if I have to keep going.

Dh has a great pension as well, but I know I can't rely on that!

I am 48 and have been paying into my NHS pension since I qualified as a Nurse in 1998. I shall be taking the 1995 section at 57 and then possibly doing 1-2 days a week until 60 and then fully retiring. I aim to use my lump sum to top up my monthly income until state pension age, mortgage will be paid off and DH and I will get rid of one car so less outgoings. I thank myself for never leaving the scheme now even though my contributions are circa £500 a month now i can see it on the distant horizon.

I work FT over 3 long days which is brilliant as I have so much downtime now so will continue this until at least 57, I would never willingly go back to 5 days a week.

I'm 51. Worked PT from 30-46. Then FT and have doubled FTE salary in the last 5yrs. Hoping to have mortgage paid off and kids finished with uni by 56, then part time to 60. Then retire on about £1900 pcm net. Husband should finish a year or 2 before and have about 3k pcm net.

Well this is timely. DH finished his contract on Friday aged 55 and doesn't have anything else lined up. I've been overpaying the mortgage like crazy and will pay it off next month. DS1 is at uni but we may his rent and that's a fraction of what we were paying for the mortgage.. I'm 55 and have always worked FT (2 kids 2 3 month maternity leaves as was the norm in my line). I've potentially got one more promotion in me but I may have already hit my ceiling. I'm thinking 5 years and I'm out - I'll max out pensions until then.

I always worked FT. I started making big money at 46, and had twins at 47. In my industry I’ve never heard of someone go PT, so continue working full time and minding pre-schoolers.
I’ve a vague plan to work FT till 60, when my kids will be 12, and then slow down somehow for a few years before retiring at about 63.
I’m putting the max into my pension. Mortgage is paid off and money set aside for kids schooling and uni.
I’m up for promotion this summer, and if I get it, that’s as high as I want to go.

My pension isn't great. I work part time now but plan to go back full time in a year or so. Won't have mortgage paid till 65 I'd say. I'll prob work full time till then.

Our youngest is 18. Dh and I are in our late 50s and starting to think about retirement. We have saved like mad whenever we could over the years, prioritising paying off our mortgage and paying into our pensions. Financially we think we'll be OK. The problem is energy and commitment. I'm thinking about going part-time when I hit 60ish. Dh is hoping to be made redundant at some point. In the last 10 or so years there have been several rounds of redundancies at the company where he works, and dh has survived them all. He has lost his vavavoom for work, and is just sticking on because he would be eligible for an awesome redundancy package. It's worth more than him looking for more interesting work at this stage. But before we retire we need to get the house in decent condition. There are still jobs to do, like a new kitchen, which would make retirement much more comfortable. And we need to work out what our lifestyle will be like, how we want to spend our time and whether we will be able to afford it.

Frankly, neither of us are interested in career any more. We just want to do our jobs well and enjoy retirement while we're still healthy enough to do so.

I’m 45 and run a currently small agency but as kids need me less I’m hoping to spend more time growing it. Will aim to work 4 days a week spread over 5 until I’m 60 then hopefully sell / transition out with a commission based income for another couple of years.

Got good inheritance coming (150k) when probate sorted end of this year plus existing investments (80k) and an average pension. Will fire more into pension definitely in case I can’t sell the business as planned.

I have no pension. I worked self employed for a few years on and off when kids were young. Went back to work for 3 years when they were older and paid into a pension which has just a couple of thousand in it.

Not worked for last 5 years due to MH. I’m absolutely screwed. I am 51.

DH has small pensions. I guess we will have to sell our house to survive.

I'm early 50's have dcs, no mortgage or partner.
I've just left my career job and changed to a low paid but DB pension job that I am hoping to stay in until around 60. I doubt my old DC pension will hit the magic million level but with compounding should be nearer that than zero at 60 and then will have a very small DB and state pension to add to it from 68.
I seem to be doing the opposite to everyone else, but after the last decade I didn't want to try and ramp my original career up and not a great time in that industry anyway.

48, worked ft in professional but not massively well paid role. Switched to pt last couple of years. (2 x teenage Sen kids who need a fair amount of support and can’t be left alone together). I Pay extra into my company pension to make up the shortfall. Mortgage is paid off. Current situation with money is ok but could be better.
Have a pension of 600£ week due at 60 plus the lump sump, my main and state pension will be aged 67.5. That should bring me to £2.5-3000k per month. Hoping to work FT in a couple
of years until I reach 60. Then probably take any old pt job to see me through to 67.5
However, health and choosing to work is an unpredictable thing, who knows what is around the corner. I won’t skimp now with the assumption that I will live to 99. I have seen my friends and my friends parents suffer very poor health and premature ends.
And..DH is 8 years older and I have to trust that he has enough pension to not leave all the bills to me. He talks about retiring at 60, which is fine so long as I dont have to compensate. I have worked since aged 14. He floated about with jobs until his mid twenties.

45..worked in the same career since 21 and been paying 13% into pension all that time. Have been working 32 hours for the last decade. Am hoping to do that until I retire from my current profession in 5 years. Kids will be 15 and 18 then so will still need to work for a few more years. I want to do something different to what I do now. We overpay our mortgage to try and get that paid off in under 10 years. Husband has good pensions from different businesses.

Just hit 50. Fortunately, I’ve recently received a lump sum that I’m using to boost my pension - years ago I would have had fun with it, but the clock’s ticking now. Am also planning to increase my days at work in the next two years to build it up some more. I can’t see myself retiring before 65, but that’s more to do with wanting to stay active and engaged. The idea of retirement terrifies me - I remember my parents aging almost overnight when they gave up working.

I was a SAHM for 20 years (3 kids with AN) then got divorced. I am still catching up with pension contributions (got nothing from exh) so I am probably going to be working in my poorly paid (24K) but rewarding role in social care until the day before my funeral 🙄

I'm 54, single mum to 4 adult children, started paying into a workplace pension about 10 years ago my NI is fully paid. Ive done a bit of stay at home, part-time, full-time whilst the children were growing up. It all a bit of a blur now to be honest. I'll probably have to work until I'm 70.

In early 40s, full time with young kids, busy job. No capacity to step up further at the moment, it’s a busy life I’m not going to lie. I hope the kids but gets easier as i get to later 40s and we can assess, but school fees and mortgage will require working till 60s.

if there aren’t step down options in my career I think I might do some training and do something else to work at lower pressure - key option is a. Dip ed and teach maths, or possibly become a 000 operator and do some shifts (I’m assuming by the time I’m 60 I’ll have seen a lot and be able to both handle the call content and be a good calm clear headed responder.).

I’m 58, had DD at 42 and been a single parent for 13 years. I’ve worked full time all my working life and only had 10 months maternity leave. You haven’t given the option that I’m hoping to do which is to (finally!) go part time at 60 and then retire properly when state pension kicks in at 67. Can’t afford to retire any earlier.

I'm 52, been self employed for nearly 30 years and full time hours, albeit flexible, all that time. Poorly paid but the flexibility is crucial.

Divorced and now remarried. Dh is 7 yrs older and (after giving up career to care for his late wife) in a poorly paid manual job. He's desperate to go PT but no chance for the foreseeable.

I have no pension to speak of, could never afford to pay into it, though NI is up to date. Now employed 1.5 days a week (termtime) at a school, so that's a small but significant to me pension building up now. Still self employed for the rest of my work.

Dh has several small pensions from various (poorly paid) jobs over the years. Mortgage is small but we can't overpay until kids are self supporting. Dd1 is at uni and dd2 is hoping to go next year. Both will max out their loans and work.

I worry a lot about retirement but really can't see much else possible at this stage than a variation on the self employed work I already do. If I inherit anything in years to come, I'll definitely be prioritising pension. We are going to see an adviser at some point to see if one or both of us can reduce our hours before 67.

I always planned to go nuts with my career and put all my efforts onto climbing the ladder as soon as my DC had moved on and out.

But now they (just) have, I honestly can't be fucked. I'm about to downsize which will clear my debts and reduce ongoing expenses. I'll keep cruising along comfortably off my current job, which I can (and do) perform half asleep, while enjoying the rest of my life to the full.

I'll retire around 60.

ETA: single mum, with a live-out partner. We'll live together at some point but both aim to be self sufficient.

Keep buggering on. I have so much exciting and well paid work ahead of me that I am so pissed off I can barely do because of needing to be on hand for me primary age dc. I can only hope that the hours I put into getting them back on track will free me up to clear my dept and progress financially and professionally. People don't tend to retire in my line of work if their health holds up, they just slow down a bit and I would genuinely be happy to keep going for another 25 years, which is a good feeling.

I’m about to embark on a masters which will also qualify me to di something different (but related) to the first 24 years worth of work. Bit nervous but I figure I’ve got 20 years left so might as well spend them doing something interesting. P

I will be retiring bang on 60. Civil servant, so will get a tax free lump sum and a monthly pension. State pension will kick in at 67 unless they move the goal posts again...

I am 54 about to take on a busy role and will be my last career move. I can’t imagine not working as I get so bored I really want to max out the next 10 years and enjoy my working life. Kids grown house paid so it’s more about me and my own journey; I’ve been bored in junior roles so a senior role appeals to me. Investments and pensions will all get maxed out as well. Exciting times.

I’m not banking on retirement to be happy.
I love my job, but I know I won’t be able to do it as much/well into my late 60s. So I am planning to drop two of my three specialisms gradually, as well as a day a week every 5 years. I’m also networking and planning to be able to access other employment options.

Money wise, I contribute to a work pension scheme, the mortgage will be paid soon and I save half my salary. I have an European passport and I can just move and live on my pensions quite comfortably, I am aiming to buy a little place somewhere in Europe in the next 10 years.

This is my plan and I hope it works. I just don’t have the money to max out contributions at the moment and don’t see that changing any time soon. I’ve been paying in small /minimum amounts since my mid 20s though (40 now) so hopefully that’s a solid bedrock, and I can work on increasing my salary and paying down my mortgage over the next few years.

I have always worked full time though and can’t imagine doing less.