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?

Only 40 years! Most of us in our fifties will have worked for 50 years.

They should teach how to maximise earning potential in schools. Warn young people how to avoid debt and credit which is thrust upon them at a young age, and how to get into the habit of saving.

So you think people can't retire in their 50s because they haven't saved and got into debt? I have saved plenty and have no debts but by the time I have paid towards my children's university education their will not to be much left to retire early. Maybe a couple of years but that's it. As for schools teaching everyone to "maximise their earning potential" that would probably involve everyone working in the financial services and there would be nobody left to work in any of the caring professions for example. Hardly great for society in the future.

their there

@chrisie16 67 is when everyone retires who is not well off or does not inherit. Of course you can stop working at 26 if you have the money, we do realise that. We are really not that stupid.

Soen I think in fairness that life back in previous generations was somewhat misleading TBH. Many women still worked but had less opportunities and so would often do School Dinner ladies,cleaning ,shop work and so on .Those who were at home ,usually had large families or were middle class with well paid spouses .I also think expectations today are higher with more people wanting to own their own home ,run a car each go on nice holidays and so on .

In the post apocalyptic wasteland, your pension and savings won’t exist any more.

What a comforting thought!

I'm approaching 53 and the thought of retirement fills me with dread. I work full time and absolutely love it. My (completely robust) mental heath would cease to be so if I didn't work.

But we're all different, I guess. I think that loving what you do must help massively

They should teach how to maximise earning potential in schools. Warn young people how to avoid debt and credit which is thrust upon them at a young age, and how to get into the habit of saving.

But not everyone can afford to save.

What happens if all your earnings go on your essentials and there's nothing left over?

We can't all earn megabucks - someone needs to earn the lowest wage.

@dottiedodah
Probably been said a million times but the problem is we aren’t dying like we used to,
My exMIL has been retired since 55, does fuck all all day sits in a chair reading getting fatter and is about to have another major operation on the NHS. What’s the point the woman is 80

I also think expectations today are higher with more people wanting to own their own home ,run a car each go on nice holidays and so on .

I don't agree that expectations are necessarily higher. People weren't so bothered about owning their own home in previous generations because they could live in council houses with low rent and the freedom to decorate the house and live it as you would do if you owned it.. That has changed and now they have to rent from private landlords which is no near as good so no wonder people are keen to buy. They may rely on cars more but then public transport is not as good so in a lot of places it is a necessity rather than a luxury.

Yes I would be quite happy to rent from the council as people used to. Having a secure council tenancy in a decent area as in the past, is very different from a series of short term lets,
But if you are over 55, I know where I live the council has too much sheltered housing. It is not the cheapest option as you pay a service charge for the warden, but it is fairly easy to get.

It is true about things like holidays and cars though. My gran used to see it as a big trip to go on a coach trip to the seaside. But standards of living have risen. So unsurprising that people are no longer satisfied with a holiday in mablethorpe in a b and b with a shared bathroom and travelling there by coach.

I don’t agree with talk that it’s all down to modern greed, for want of a better word, because we expect foreign holidays and two cars and large houses and eat out every week. I haven’t been abroad in years, we don’t have a car and our house is only two beds. It’s down to house prices, wages that haven’t kept up, the fact that we expect to live longer, and the reduction of the state pension and the collapse of decent work pensions. Added to that, we may have semi-dependent children struggling with the same issues and paying off student loans. Added to that, our own semi-dependent elderly parents who might live hundreds of miles away who also need support.

Inliverpool1
What’s the point, the woman is 80.

Nice....

The council sheltered housing was helpful for my parents when they divorced - my dad has one and as he has got older it has been helpful as he has someone come in to help him. It doesn't seem to cost too much and he gets this pension credit as well. He is in his late 70s though

My plan is to see the kids settled in homes and jobs, then drop dead only half joking, I've got no desire to reach my 70s, I'll be fucked, skint, and don't want to be a burden or be in constant pain.

What’s the point? The woman is 80. How charming.

It’s attitudes like this that are responsible for a lot of the unhappiness on this thread

My exMIL has been retired since 55, does fuck all all day sits in a chair reading getting fatter and is about to have another major operation on the NHS. What’s the point the woman is 80

Jesus. So when we reach a certain age should we all be euthanised to make room for the next generation?

If you're going to go down the road of entitlement to NHS treatment being based on living a healthy lifestyle, you may as well privatise the entire health service and be done with it!

The problem with teaching people to maximise their earnings isn’t the issue. The problem is shit wages

I know that lots of people are on the poverty line and cannot save as they are choosing between eating and heating. BUT. There are plenty of well-paid young professionals (my friends) who earn twice as much as me, £60k and up, and literally piss it all away going for dinner/drinks every night, flying long-haul every few months, car on finance, Domino's every night, walking into Zara and "accidentally" coming out with £300 worth of clothes. One of my mates spent around £400 per month just on drinks in bars.

I'm 26 and quite proud of the fact I've managed to save 30k in a few years while renting a flat and earning on average 30-35k. I have friends on way higher salaries who have saved absolutely nothing. Not sure how they're expecting to ever buy a house - get parents to stump up deposit? Wait for grandparent to die?

I do think people should be taught in schools how to save - my husband used to be terrible with money and it was like a revelation to him that constantly buying coffees, videogames and Nando's added up to a significant amount.

Yes there is a lot of ageism. Do you also think there is no point keeping severely disabled people alive who can't do much apart from reading?

As you can tell by my name I can't wait either! 8 years for me , well 2569 days to be precise - I have a countdown clock on my phone I'm that desperate! I would be a few months off retirement had they left it at 60, and boy would I love to have that! I feel for you - and no, it doesn't get better after the menopause

As an add on, my grandma lived to 98 and lived in her own home with carers coming in three times a week until about three months before she died. My granddad passed in his mid eighties and she lived totally independently after that.

Of course people helped with shopping and basic tasks but she wasn't dependent on outside help until she reached her nineties.

Age is but a number. I have customers in their nineties at work who are fully independent and will happily walk several miles a day no matter what the weather.

@ItIsWhatItIsInnit £60k up is way above the average wage. If I earned that ever I would have saved loads.

You see I believed that age is but a number bullshit.