Would you retire At 50 if you came into money?

[Quarks69]

My Work colleague is not enjoying her job at the moment. Sadly her mum died and so she has come into an inheritance which has paid off her mortgage and leaves her and hubby with a clear million. They have no real work pension so this is it. He wants to retire early but he says it’s not enough. As someone who also dislikes her job, I think she should jump at it, life’s too short etc, but she’s not sure. Thought I’d see if you think this is enough to stop work with? Not that I’m jealous or anything 😊

I absolutely would. I’d love to at home more for my kids and I’d also love to be able to offer child care to them when they have kids as I always struggled for it and it hindered me staying on track with my career

@FinallyHere

Both DH and I are past retirement age, still working and enjoying at least 80% of our work. There are two questions to which we don't really know the answer

1. How much do we need to life comfortably got the rest of our lives?

1. How will we replace the highs that come when things go well at work, the "yes" feeling of being invincible.

Those are such good questions to ask, particularly the second one! I find it hard to replicate that high in other areas, and I'd miss the validation from other people.

If you could live off 4% of it a year - 40k, then youd be roughly living off the interest.

So interesting reading everyone’s replies. It comes down to trying to work out how long you are going to live!

That £30k per year for 33 years doesn’t take into account interest on the capital as it decreases each year

Even at 1% the interest on 970k would be £9k
Then the interest on 949k will be £9k and so on, so in reality the money would increase even as they spend it and last them well into their 90s

Scbchl

Where can you get 4% interest?

I think you’d struggle to find 2%

It’s not enough income to retire on, but I’d definitely change what I did if it made me miserable. Having no mortgage would give choices. But a million won’t go far over 40+years

Also very interested in @Scbchl 's investments which can be relied in paying 4%

It’s not enough to support them (in maybe a style they are used to) for the next 40 years it works out at 25k per year which is pretty modest. Mortgage free would help but maybe switch to part time or a job they do enjoy. It can give them so time rather than completely stopping. That’s my opinion anyway, everyone sees things differently.

Yes we would both retire from FT work. Mid 40s... see a IFA, and study something really interesting, get PT job on the side. Yes please!

I retired from teaching at 52 and haven’t regretted it for a minute. I topped up pension with tutoring and exam marking till I was 65.

Scbchl also doesn't seem to have taken inflation into account.

Hell yeah!

But I live frugally, I'd consider it worth cutting back even more if it meant retiring.

@ivykaty44

Scbchl

Where can you get 4% interest?

I think you’d struggle to find 2%

The stock market

id retire like a fucking shot

Definitely if don't like work. Sod the care home comments. That could be another person's income for 15 years. It just needs to be managed.

Can I ask what these mystical, low stress, lower paid or part time jobs are for 50 somethings..?

No - after three separate periods on furlough I realise how much I love my job and just being out and about BUT I am luckily that I really love my job, it is part time and I can more or less choose the hours I work.

I know lockdown has made life much more challenging but I really enjoy my job and the focus it gives me - I work for a charity so I feel I am doing something 'worthwhile'. I genuinely miss it, I am over 60 so probably could retire but have no plans to do so.

Yes but I would need to fill my days with lots of things to do. I'm not one for sitting on my arse watching drivel

I'm mid 50s so a million is about 100k a year until I'd retire (give or take).
So I Would retire. I'd top up my pension a bit and buy a couple of rental properties to give me an income but not a massive overage. I'd invest my time in local volunteering opportunities. I'd expect the decrease in travelling snd work costs and the fact that my DC are on the verge of spreading their wings and leaving home to decrease my outgoings overall. Definitely worth a try though!

No. Absolutely not. I like working.

I wouldn't retire but would certainly try and find a job that was more enjoyable and fulfilling, even if it paid much less or was fewer hours.
Life really goes by so quickly and if you love working then fair enough, but personally I want to enjoy my life while I'm fortunate enough to have age and health on my side. I don't want to be having a crap time now, to save for a distant future. Of course I'm not spending every penny I have! You have to strike a balance.

I really envy people who have a job they love. Its my ultimate goal to have a job that doesn't feel like work.

Dh and I have retired, we are early 50s.
I have two different volunteer roles, go to the leisure centre 6 times per week (aqua fitness, table tennis, gym, badminton), exploring the area (moved back to uk last year). Dd is 14 so some time spent ferrying her about, school stuff etc.
None of this at the moment of course!

@QueenPenny

Definitely if don't like work. Sod the care home comments. That could be another person's income for 15 years. It just needs to be managed.

Can I ask what these mystical, low stress, lower paid or part time jobs are for 50 somethings..?

Seconded!

Re boredom

I had two aunties in a similar situation, but single and childfree. They also didn't have enough hours in the day. Big on literature, one wrote a play, the other a novel. Neither made money but they loved it. They also did volunteer work one afternoon a week so not much.

By the time you've done all that and spent time with friends and family, there's still not enough hours in the day.

If this couple are childfree they might just use their home to cover care costs.

No a million is not enough for a couple to retire on at 50. It just is not. They’d run out a decade or two before they die.
It is enough for them to cut working hours for one of them to part time though. Then at 55, both can go part time. Then at 65 both can fully retire.
This is taking into account mortgage free, a holiday every year and future inflation eroding the value of the pound.

50 yo teacher, counting down the days until I can retire, she should go for it!