45 years relentless work

[FireflyJar]

I've worked for the last 45 years all through 3 children - never stopping once. Woke up today and just thought, I've had enough. I have 1 year of small mortgage left, I hate my job and want to leave and never work again. AIBU to resign and live off my savings of £15k for a few years till my mortgage kicks in?
Can I survive on this wage? I jußt can't do another 5 years - I'm burnt out.
How much do I even need to live on? Am I mad to even think it?

Thought you meant 15k per year and thought oooh that’ll be a stretch!!

My friends death is not just an ‘anecdote’ but thanks for minimising her.
as long as you have Assets like a house your children will be fine. Stressing yourself to the day you die isn’t the answer. I would rather see my mum enjoy her later years then slog it out making herself ill just so my siblings and I can cash in. I don’t want a penny from my mother.

Have you got £15k a year, or just £15k?

How much is your mortgage? Can you pay it off in a lump sum now?

Do you have a pension?

Too many questions to give you an answer but it sounds like a mistake to eat up a small savings pot - you need greater financial security to walk away.

Attitudes like yours are why women are more likely to live in poverty after retirement.

I would go for it & then think about a part time job when you need it. Life is short. People spend so much time working & nowhere near enough time actually enjoying life. With 45 years of work, you’ve done your bit!

Resign. take a break
Look for something part time in a few months time

I've always felt that the transition from working full time to complete retirement was a bit batshit.

Have a look at money saving expert forum there is a great thread discussing how much you need to retire on. Have you no pension?

You had no idea of my circumstances when you posted your assumptions about me. How dare you assume you know my motivations without even asking? Do you understand the impact of watching a parent die when you are a teenager and the fact that may set up a need to ensure security for your own children? My youngest child has just done their GCSEs shall I tell them to fend for themselves and jump in a motorhome?

The whole idea of this thread was to provide ideas for the OP to work out a way forward. She may hate my idea and love yours or vice versa. So how about you stop rubbishing others ideas based on your mistaken assumptions. Maybe the OP has a strong need for security and would benefit from more planning or maybe she should just throw caution to the wind. Let's just put all options on the table and allow her to pick what will suit her personality and circumstances.
I am not going to engage with you further on this because this is not our thread.

The OP needs space to explore all the possibilities whether it's doing a Shirley Valentine and running off to a Greek Island or whether it's working until retirement.

I have 15k. I didn't really expect to live on this, but just to tide me over for a bit. My out goings on house and energy/water/ council tax/ TV licence/ internet are £450 a month and my DH pays the same . I just pay for my own phone and life and car insurance on top of that

We can downsize and have 100k in the bank in the future

That's what we did. It's nice to have a nest egg like that to invest

Goodness, pack it in and pack it in now!

I gave up being a physiotherapist - head of department. I touted my 'transferable skills' on a website designed for that, and was taken on as an online customer support worker. Within a couple of months and a couple of promotions, I was head-hunted to do specialised customer support, and am now working at the same rate I was as a physio with 35 years' experience.

This may not apply to you - but it would certanly give you £450 per month and some mental exercise.

And you may find a new career. Turns out I am a fab copywriter and ghostwriter - who knew?

What website Transferable please?

I mean ChristmasFluff! Transferable skills on the brain 🤦‍♀️

Do you have a spare room that you could rent out ?
You can earn up to 7k without paying tax per year
More info on www.gov.uk

This is what I did and what anyone who has worked, has an occupational pension (regardless of size), or a full state pension needs to do as there will be no additional state support such as pension credit. Can we afford to live as we would like to on what our income will be. For some that may mean working longer than pension age.

None of us can, or should be factoring in being killed in a car crash or other such accident as part of our retirement plans. Slightly different matter if you have been diagnosed with a health issue which may cut your life short, but even then, in service death benefits may need to be taken into account before resigning.

When someone is feeling stressed, it can be only too easy to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire.

OP has said if she downsized she'd have no mortgage and £100k banked.

Until it happens that is pie in the sky. Anything could happen. And it still isn't "her house, her money" - it is shared with her husband. He has some rights in this discussion too - perhaps he is tired of working too, perhaps he'd like to quit, and that £100k that isn't remotely banked yet is suddenly looking smaller.

The OP has also said "My out goings on house and energy/water/ council tax/ TV licence/ internet are £450 a month and my DH pays the same . I just pay for my own phone and life and car insurance on top of that" - so presumably she doesn't eat, buy clothes, have any entertainment or holidays, use cleaning products..... in other words, there is a hell of a lot more money being spent than she is accounting for. Either her husband buys everything else (in which case he may have something to say about paying for everything and then some), or she isn't being reotely realistic about her outgoings. She also may only have a small amount of time until the mortgage is paid off, but she also has on a small private pension - the state pension and a small pension aren't going to go far, and we have no idea what her husband will be relying on. It would be easy to burn through £100k (that doesn't yet exist) in what could be over 20 years more life. One big unexpected repair on the downsized property could easily eat through 25% or more of that money. And that is all assuming that they can sell the property and sell it for what she thinks it is currently worth.

Without a hell of a lot more certainty it would be foolish to rely on poor maths and guesswork to fund what could be many years into the future without falling into poverty just so one can quit without another job to go to. Making a mistake like this is reparable at 30, or even at 40, even if it leads to a few hard or lean years. Making the mistake at 60 means there is no time to repair it, no energy to do anything else, and could lead to the rest of one's lifetime in poverty.

I think the OP needs to be considerably better armed than a wing and a prayer before doing something like this. I am not saying don't make changes. Or even, don't do it. But it takes a hell of a lot more than "life's too short" from a bunch of anonymous posters. It takes proper planning and advice, and clarity about the future prospects. Without that you may find that no matter how short life is, it feels a lot longer than you thought possible. Poverty does that to people.

in what could be over 20 years more life

Make that 40 or even 50 years.

I absolutely get it though OP. After turning 50, maybe it's menopause, I'm so over having a job. I mean I like my interesting work and I'd do it for free, but I'm fed up of having the job be the centre of life and everything else fits in around it.

Good answer @Quveas

Op I worked 25 years in a job, was made redundant, got a new job and worried if I didn’t like it and left how would it look on my cv. My old boss said flipping heck you worked for 25 years they can see the commitment. So I think you could easily have a break for as long as you like. Also, if you didn’t want to go back to work that’s fine too. Well done for 45 years of work. Very impressive.

I totally agree.

There are two people involved in this and the needs of both can’t be viewed in isolation.

Posters are totally underestimating how far a hoped for £100k will last for along with how easy it will be to get another job when someone is in their 60s which the after working for 45 years the OP must be, assuming she started work at 16. The old adage applies in that it is easier to get a job whilst you have a job and there may be some flexibility with the OPs current role which could be explored.

Having been in a similar situation to the OP, although I was younger, it is essential to plan things through, otherwise a miserable retirement could well be the outcome.

A good starting point would be to check the state pension forecast, check private/occupational pension forecast, be clear about current outgoings as well as future outgoing from white goods, car, gifts, holidays, new kitchen, bathroom etc etc and get independent financial advice.

I felt the same, OP, this time last year. I couldn't take it anymore and just quit (after talking to partner), with no plans for the future. I was just burnt out.

I spent a good 6 months on hobbies, family and relishing my freedom. I was then ready to start working again. I only do temporary work now, doing 2/3 months and moving on. It suits me because I don't feel tied down.

People said to me "you're very brave" or "you're mad" to just quit working without a plan. I don't think I am either. I'm actually quite a cautious individual and like to plan most things, but sometimes enough is enough. Sometimes you have to listen to yourself.

For context, I am 56 with DC, partner (who has decided to take a sabbatical from work next year), mortgage.

I joined a temping agency, that was good never more than two weeks in one place