To not really want to work anymore?

[caranconnor]

I am 50 and although I have enjoyed working in the past, I would prefer never to work again. I feel I have done enough. It is not an option, I have to work for another 17 years. But anyone else feel like this?

I feel that my generation is being experimented on with the rise of the pension age. We will be the first ones through (if we make it)

I have no answers either. But do agree with you in housing. So many bloody people buying to let, means people line my ds (26) cant get on the housing ladder

Again: some radical changes are needed because the current set up is simply not sustainable. You can only starve and bully vast numbers of people for so long before there is an uprising. We have to hope it's via the ballot box.

I definitely don't think this is an experiment, but pure economics. Given the eye watering number of people that will be pensioners in less than ten years and it is just explodes beyond that, you can see why the age has had to go up. Everyone is living too long, and towards the end costing a great deal of money to keep alive.

I don't have the answer, but someone needs to address it soon and social care as well.

Jobs without the added children/elderly relatives is probably doable at any age.
Add either or both of the added pressure and it becomes something very hard to sustain as get older.

We need a reset, the whole country at some point. We need to agree how we manage older age, how we manage young families, what we want our communities to look like. I would start by paying mothers or fathers a living wage, as I fear the generation of tomorrow will look at the prospect of 52 years plus of working and the idea of having children as well in the mix, having seen their own parents struggle through it, and choose not to have children at all, the same is happening all over the world but especially in Asia.

By living wage I mean we should pay a parent to stay at home for the under fives or even older. Including a pension contribution for them. They can take the pressure off the whole family, help with older relatives, bring life back into our communities. Look after their own children (if they want to) It would work if we, as a country decided that parenting is worthy of our investment. Worthy of giving our children the best start in life, and a living wage for all that actually allowed people to make the best choices for our family.

It would be the biggest change in our time, but one worth doing.

A system could be set up for those parents wishing to retrain at the end and start a second career, incentivise companies to take on returning parents and job done. All this needs is the will to make a sweeping change to the lives of people in this country.

Considerme - this sounds like an ideal proposal but then people may have many subsequent children which would all need support. I think it's an easy to abuse system. Just thinking out loud.

But you're right, the issue of pensions and wages needs addressing drastically, not to mention moving towards automation.

Can you afford to put away £100 per month in a stocks and shares ISA? In 13-15 years you will hopefully have circa £20K which could be used to go part time or retire a bit earlier. Not guaranteed of course but worth a look.

Yes, automation and artificial intelligence is going to be a growing issue. Some think that it’s lower skilled and paid jobs that are more at risk, but that isn’t necessarily so. Law is one. A lot of jobs searching through documents and databases for legal precedents are going. I’m in a linguistic field. Jobs are disappearing due to AI. The change and development of software in just 12 months is astonishing. So, what are people going to do? What jobs can keep them going until retirement age?

Yes accepted the idea is not perfect, maybe a limit of two children or something??

It is the idea that people are squeezed so much for half a century or longer is not what anyone would call a quality life.

Once brexit is resolved one way or another, and we are able to get past all of this current stuff. This issue will shoot up the political agenda for sure. We need change.

Its all very well saying people should have saved and paid into a pension when younger ,but many just couldnt afford to! My friend who is 63 ,and working in M and S started back in her late 30s part time with the family .She needed the money (who doesnt)! And it went towards bills /M/G etc .Not bloody "pin money" FFS!

"as I fear the generation of tomorrow will look at the prospect of 52 years plus of working and the idea of having children as well in the mix, having seen their own parents struggle through it, and choose not to have children at all, the same is happening all over the world but especially in Asia."

this is exactly what I think should happen! One reason we are in the shit is the constant pyramid scheme of increasing population -> need more jobs -.> create crap to buy to ensure job > ruin environment > ruin mental as we all struggle in overpopulated world > live longer due to medical advances (which we need to start refusing) > panic because no one wants to do caring jobs --> create more people....

it's insanity.

An economics teacher once said to me that economists never want anything to be smaller - population - or cheaper - goods and property.

so the prospect of a world full of more and more and more people and more and more plastic crap seems to be the principle behind every country's economic view.

I keep meaning to read "Prosperity without Growth" but I doubt I'll find a library copy. Sounds interesting though.

I feel like that! I so wish I had earned more in my twenties and thirties so could retire early like my friend. I hadn't realised how I would feel coming up to the menopause.

I entered menopause at 32, now 34, and finding it really hard to cope with the exhaustion at what should be the peak career years. I love my job, I'm great at my job, and it pays well - but it's long hours, a lot of stress, and I'm constantly tired. I think about going part time but realistically I know I'd end up working the same hours as I do now, but just unpaid. I don't know what the answer is. I'd love a 4 day week. Every time I try and take annual leave, I get ill, simply because it's the only time my body has a rest. It's no way to go through life and I've another 34 odd years to go!

By experiment, what l mean is: we are the first set of people to have a raised retirement age. In 20 years time or whatever, there may be a conclusion that making people work to 70 or whatever is impossible. But it will be too late for the likes of us.

Again l’m not saying this will happen. But the retirement age has risen. Are all jobs suitable for someone in their 60’s? Has there been any sort of study of the social and economic impact of this? How will the raised retirement age impact on:

Older workers preventing younger workers from getting a job.
Care of the very elderly or preschool children as older family members often undertake these.
Impact on employment for older people who can’t do manual jobs anymore.
What we have is just a blanket raising of retirement age. But there is so much more than that to be considered

Agree with all you say Emoji. I don't think I could do my job at 60 let alone 70.

Menopause can really mess you up for years. I think we are only just beginning to acknowledge this as a society.

I'm 39, paying a decent chunk of my salary into a pension but will probably be working till I'm 70 (if I ever do get to retire) and the thought makes me despair. I'm tired and stressed already even though I have a desk job.

I never post on here but this really struck a chord with me.
I'm very nearly 50 and have just been made redundant but I really don't want to work anymore.
I've worked for this company for nearly 34 years, with the last 3 or 4 being the most miserable I've ever experienced, so I'm happy to go but I feel like I've done my bit for the world of work! Obviously I know I haven't really.
I live alone but have a modest mortgage and I am not in a position to give it all up quite yet and be financially stable.
As when I was just starting in the world of work, I didn't really know what I wanted to do and I still don't now.
It's hard and I feel really, really tired.

I do look back on my life with regret for all the money spent on booze, fags, coffees, unnecessary clothes, make up and other tat. That could have paid for a few extra retirement years!

You enjoyed it at the time @snog. Noone knows they are even going to make it to retirement!!! As for me, I probably wont be able to afford to retire but I wont be in teaching at 67 that's for sure!

Yeah but @Snog, look at those people who die with a couple of mill in the bank yet went through life looking like paupers.
You wouldn't want to live like that either, would you?

It's prudent to save and getting into the habit early is useful but if we're expected to work until 70(ish?), then we NEED a few treats along the way.

I so wish I had earned more in my twenties and thirties so could retire early like my friend. I hadn't realised how I would feel coming up to the menopause
I am very fortunate that I made sacrifices early in my career as has my oh which means that we will be able to afford to retire early and still by age enough money to enjoy a budgeted but comfortable lifestyle.

I saw do many of my friends and colleagues who opted to remortgage their house to afford extensions, full redecorations, luxurious holidays which they felt they deserved at the time because they worked hard. Like many of us, they were ambitious, imagined they'd be promoted, earn more and be happy to be in that high position until their 60s and felt they had plenty of time to pay their mortgage but are now in their late 40s/early 50s exhausted and desperate to slow down but not able to. It's very hard to imagine when you are full of mental energy in our 30s, even if sleep deprived and tired raising kids, that we could end up so utterly washed out 10/15 years later.

I do however agree with the effect of mental and physical deterioration once going into retirement. I've seen it quite drastically with family members and old colleagues. I do think that the best move is to reduce days as much as is possible and/or continuing with some regular activity afterwards that still challenges our brain and mind, just an activity that we control and is much less demanding.

DH has a military pension. I have work pensions. We will hopefully have inheritances...

I know that people aged 55+ have difficulty finding work after redundancy. Imagine millions of people aged 55-70 being paid unemployment benefit. What happens when the time they are able to claim this expires?

How will employers manage elderly workers needing joint replacements, with dementia etc?

Yet young people can’t get jobs as they have no experience. Millions of low skilled jobs will be automated. Most people can’t retrain. Not everybody can be a doctor/AI engineer etc.

@caranconnor If you are finding meno really hard have you thought about HRT? If it's not for you, at least look into lifestyle changes and things that can make you feel better. Exercise, healthy food, yoga, mindfulness- all of it can help. But you can also take HRT for life these days if you choose to.

Have you thought about career change or a couple of part time jobs alongside each other? I'd really recommend you see a career/ life coach who works with women like you, who can maybe help you look at various options so you find a job you enjoy rather than counting the days down to 67- that' s no way to live.
Working longer is shown to have physical and mental health benefits, but only if you enjoy the work.

What else could you do? Have you ever considered it?

I have a friend who trained as a counsellor in her 50s and only retired from it at 80!

I don’t regret spending anything l did on booze, fags, nights out or whatever. One of the things about being young is you just do not think about pensions.

I had a ball doing it, but l can’t give the young me hindsight