To ask if you think you'll flourish or flounder in retirement

[The3rdMrsdeWinter]

Potentially 25+ years of setting your own agenda without the routine of work.

How do you think you (and your DH/DP if you have one) will cope?

I'm going to spend my retirement off my face on hallucinogenic drugs, I'm sure it'll be interesting

I don't think about it a lot. I don't take for granted I will get there so tend to live life for now. I should have a healthy pension though as I have always paid in and my employer contributes a lot (public sector).
I love my career but there are lots of other ways I could enjoy spending my time - volunteering in different capacities, doing another degree, travel, family (we have 4 children).

I worry about DH though, he is very shy and I think without work friends he may struggle.

Not sure many of us are going to get to retire, other than a final brief crumble

I hope to flourish. I do have workplace pension but I will have to budget carefully. However I am happy doing cheap or free things so should be ok. Health permitting of course

@The3rdMrsdeWinter

There’s so much to do and anyone who thinks otherwise lacks imagination

Oooo er!

StepMIL retired at 52, keeps busy, lots of hobbies but it has aged her.

Actually I have a friend who is an NHS community physiologist (not sure if title but that is basically what she does) - she is super clear that full retirement is deadly for Alzheimer’s etc, and thinks PT working is pretty essential to hold of the dementia epidemic that is coming at us (apparently). So perhaps not be able to retire for ages has its points. 52 is far too young, so not surprised re your MIL.

I hope to flourish. We're saving hard for it now (we're 37)

I do hope you're travelling now @Twizbe and not just saving hard.

If the last 13 months, 5 of which I spent on furlough, have taught me anything it is that I will have no problems adjusting to retirement. I coped pretty well with having bugger all to do, so I know I would be absolutely fine with an entire planet to explore and no deadlines.

Retirement : Bring it on!!

I think it depends on how decent my pension is by then
But hopefully flourish - I’d like to volunteer, maybe do a few shifts in a charity shop, go out for lunch with friends, go on mini breaks with my DP, get a dog, read, maybe get into gardening, maybe have an afternoon cocktail

Actually I have a friend who is an NHS community physiologist (not sure if title but that is basically what she does) - she is super clear that full retirement is deadly for Alzheimer’s etc, and thinks PT working is pretty essential to hold of the dementia epidemic that is coming at us (apparently).

What a depressing perspective. I don’t accept that is inevitable. If you build yourself a portfolio of activities which interest and stimulate you, be that hobbies, volunteering,travel, whatever - there’s no reason why retirement should lead to mental decline. If you sit around all day watching repeats of Countdown, maybe.

@Miasicarisatia

I'm going to spend my retirement off my face on hallucinogenic drugs, I'm sure it'll be interesting

I'm cheered that you don't need tons of money to enjoy retirement as pension threads on Mumsnet get rather intense and make me anxious as everyone seems to have a £1m pension plot and a portfolio of buy to lets

You don't need tons of money but you need to be on good terms with your dealer 🤭

Flourish. We can’t wait.

Flourish, I hope. I imagine myself having lots more time for friends (I'm not an, awful friend, we mostly all have young families at the moment) and recapture our youthful, commitment free days; lots of reading and gardening.

@Miasicarisatia

You don't need tons of money but you need to be on good terms with your dealer 🤭

I'm PM you later!

That's a joke btw in case anyone's finger is hovering over the report button

I think psilocybin facilitated psychotherapy will be all the rage in the coming years

I’d add to flourish and flounder with ‘fearful.’ I was 41 when I had my youngest and don’t know how financially secure I’ll be (single parent) if he’s still in uni when I’m in my early 60s. I’m putting aside money for all of them for those college years. I’m trying to belatedly build a pension having spent ten years aged 34-44 not working. I still have a huge mortgage which I’m trying to max out payments on while interest is low. As I get older, health issues crop up. I’ve no idea what my older years will look like. It worries me. Plus I’ve no ‘other half’ and will struggle being on my own when the children fly the nest.

I’m of the generation of women who saw their state pension age increased from 60 to 66. I harrumphed about this for years, but last year went part time down to three days as I had a small work pension which made up the difference. I love just doing three days and can actually see myself working indefinitely. My state pension kicks in soon, so I will actually have more money coming in than working full time. I also look after my darling two year old granddaughter one day a week.

Not sure what I will do in full retirement but am thinking of voluntary work and properly swimming again. I am sure something will turn up. Weather permitting I am actually quite happy sitting in my garden with my flowers and a good book!

This is such an interesting question.

DH is about 7 years out from full pension at retirement. He’ll be ~56 and I’ll be ~51. We’re in the ‘what if’ stages of planning. For me that means I am leaning toward recertification in my previous technical field and going for contract projects (3mo to 1yr). He will look for something less physically taxing (he is a firefighter and paramedic). And we are looking to relocate to a different area and perhaps setting up a boarding house type establishment for a niche group of people. (More for the stimulus and community vs. profit)

If we put a lot of work (and money in to savings) we would be able to move in to our retirement jobs pretty comfortably.

I am not sure I’m ready to embrace retirement, and I do have tendency to become slug-like with not a lot of structure, so that does worry me. Though I am feeling there will be a time when I am ready to leave management and high pressure to go more into project work at an individual contributor level. I can still earn really good money and essentially choose when I want to work. My mum did this and would work 6-9 months out of the year and enjoy the summers and have time do things she wanted to do.

The place we are looking to relocate to is a slower pace, coastal area, so want to be realistic about the time it would take to join the community.

Wow, that was long, but, yeah, I think we are thinking ahead to set ourselves up to flourish.

I also don’t accept an early retirement automatically means dementia. I retired at 52 and have a more rounded, stimulating life than the repetitive monotony of work, and I had my own business.

I have more time to spend on things that interest me, I’m more creative, do more exercise, am improving the foreign languages that I already know, and am more relaxed. What’s not to like?

@Mabelene

I also don’t accept an early retirement automatically means dementia. I retired at 52 and have a more rounded, stimulating life than the repetitive monotony of work, and I had my own business.

I have more time to spend on things that interest me, I’m more creative, do more exercise, am improving the foreign languages that I already know, and am more relaxed. What’s not to like?

Well done you, I entirely agree. I have friends now aged late fifties/early sixties who retired and relocated near to parents several years ago. They volunteer, they walk, they are involved in various activities in the local community, as well as travelling in their camper van (when allowed). And support the elderly parents.

If you have the funds and the inclination, retirement is a wonderful thing.

I’ve studied the link between dementia and retirement during my masters, and it’s more to do with social isolation. Not everyone who retires will have that problem.

My DF retired at 54 and lived until 86. My DM, who didn't work lived until 87. Neither of them did much in retirement - it would have bored me senseless. DM was the sort that if you said 'come over on Thursday ' she would have replied 'but we go to M&S on a Thursday '.
DH is prepping for retirement in the next couple of years. He has already taken on some voluntary roles which he is currently juggling along a full time job. He would also like to get a part time job once he retires from his current role. Speaking to his pensions adviser last year, once piece of advice he gave was do NOT get rid of one of your cars. He said he's seen so many retired couples fall out after making the decision they can manage with 1 car! I am not currently working but have a number of voluntary roles - one shared with DH, the others separate. I can see this balance will continue after he finishes work.
DH used to manage 6000 staff so saw lots of people retire (at 60) many of them with 40 years service. Some of them had no plans for retirement - no hobbies or interests. He was a great advocate for people going down the reduced hours route rather than go from full time to nothing.

I think rising pension age means more and more people will slow down at some point prior to that, by going part time etc, and not have so much of a clear end date for work.

I’m early 50s so when I started work I believed I would retire at 60. That obviously changed. If it was still 60 now I would have carried on full time, earning as much as I could. Knowing I only had a few years left. Now it’s 67 for me (currently) and I know I can’t do that full on pace for another 15 yrs. So I’ve already gone part time. But this means I will carry on as long as my health allows and I don’t know what age that will be. I’m a contractor so if I want to take additional time off at any point for travelling I can do that. In fact I have already done that.

Living longer doesn’t necessarily mean living healthily longer. The higher the pension age goes the more I think people will think to themselves that if they want to do major travel etc they need to do it while they’re still healthy. That is certainly my mindset. So no, I’m not waiting until my 70s to do it.

My mum is 74. She was reasonably healthy, active etc. Then last year she had an emergency bowel operation, ended up in intensive care. She recovered but it’s really taken it’s toll on her. When she was in intensive care I asked the doctor if she would be ok. The first thing he said was “well she is in her 70s”. People on here love to go on about how they’re healthier at 60 than they were at 30. Or talking about an 80 year old relative who still travels the world with a backpack! But ultimately you can do everything “right” and still be floored with an unexpected health issue. 70+/80+ is old. People seem very resistant to accept that.

I can't wait - am 51. Will definitely retire at 60, but if DH fully retires before then we may move location and I'd hope to find a less stressful part time job if that happens.

I want to do a lot of traveling- am hoping to do relatively cheaply by getting accommodation through one of those pet sitting sites.

I am nearing retirement but have just split with partner of 20 years so facing it alone . We had such different ideas of retirement. He had been practising for years just sitting watching TV. I have always been active and involved and hope to continue. Most of my friends are already retired so it will be good to go for lunches etc. I hope to have enough money to travel and to see friends dotted round the country. That said I have just applied for another job which I doubt I will get but if I did I would work a few more years .