I don't want to work anymore!

[ettieb]

I'm 55 and have been working since I was 16 apart from a couple of years off when my son was little. I'm so over working. I don't hate my job.. I've worked there a long time... with lovely people.. my boss is great and I can choose whether I work from home or go into the office or a bit of both.. so I know I'm very lucky but I just want freedom to do what I want when I want. It doesn't help that a lot of my friends are retired and do lovely things which I want to join in with. I can't believe I've got to do this for another 12 years... there are no options for me financially to go part time. We are on holiday at the moment in Devon.. nothing fancy.. just a caravan and cooking for ourselves mostly as we can't really afford to eat out... but I'm as happy as Larry... just knitting.. doing crosswords.. generally bimbling around doing my own thing. I just think I wanted to moan!

Mainly because my husband has a good salary, in addition though my Dad is generous (my parents were always generous, but since we lost my Mum, I've been a practical support to my Dad, and he appreciates it).

Retirement would be amazing if money were no object. There is so much more to living than spending the majority of it tied to long hours and low pay and drudgery. I would retire immediately if I didn't have to spend most of my time at work. I bitterly resent that the reality for a lot of people is that by the time most of us are finally able to afford to retire then we are facing our twilight years often in poor health and the time for living our best lives is past. I want to live and enjoy life and not wait until my late sixties to finally have a life that isn't dictated by an employer.

I agree.

Its important to remember that people who throw barbed wire and not happy in their own lives. Change how they make you feel to pity for them and your mindset about your own life will completely change.

I am 61 and more and more tired of working even 4 days a week. I find begrudging spending my time working, but I need to. I wasn’t like that until the last couple of years. Age 60 as it was once would have been perfect for me. I have so many things I enjoy more outside work now, quite solitary like gardening or walking with my dog, but for me it’s the pace and freedom, having worked without a break since being 18 that I am longing for.

I'm almost 52, can get most of my NHS pension and lump sum at 55 and am literally counting the months. DH is also out at 55. He is a high earner, we've had no mortgage for several years and invested an inheritance solely for this purpose. I don't want to be a wealthy pensioner like PIL with money piled in the bank and limited life experiences. We want to travel more God willing.
Neither of my parents made 70.

you will be a very wealth pensioner @cptartapp because you can afford to retire at 55 with a good pension, compared to people in the private sector who have to work till they are 65.

The burden on young people (and all workers) paying towards these early pensions) is terrible.

Please don't underestimate the luxury of your position being paid for by working people who go on to 65.

I never wanted to work- not for someone else and not unless ot was doing something I absolutely loved anyway. Despised it right from the age of 16. Vowed to myself at 20 that I would only work until kids came along. That meant I would be working for 10 years and I pretty much hated every day.
Then I’ve had kids and ever worked a day since except for myself when I choose. We have a very comfortable life. It does mean I have to rely on a man though so not everyone is comfortable with that, but that was our long term goal (we met at 18) and we’ve both worked towards that.
Not sure if I will go back to working for someone once the kids are completely independent. Hopefully not! So I totally get where you are coming from. It’s such a shame that many of us spend our previous one and only lives having to do something we hate. Time is the most valuable resource there is!

Me too. I was 50 this year. My DF died suddenly of a heart attack aged 53, 25 years ago. He had such a lot he wanted to do in his retirement, garden and pottering, never got to do it, never saw either of his children settled or met his grandchildren. I always knew he was much too young but as I get closer to his age I feel it even more keenly. Life can be over in the blink of an eye and what do we spend our days doing? Is it something we enjoy or just something we have to do to pay the bills? It’s in our hands to do something about it or choose the safe option, not easy.
Enjoy the rest of your holiday OP x.

I have retired at 55, I am doing 2 voluntary roles and belong to a women’s hiking group.

@Querypost I am very sorry to read about your friend, between us DH and I have had six friends die all before 55. It’s one of the reasons we decided to retire even earlier than originally intended.

@Mia85 Defined benefits final salary pension and decent wages plus investing. We have never had a financial adviser. DH and I both started investing in our teens for fun. We both work or worked in academia. We did buy housing in 1999 so that’s just pure luck at being born when we were. We were apart from one high risk debacle where DH lost 25k good at investing. We are far better off due to those investments. When DH retires in about two years we are buying a motor home and travelling across the UK and Europe. Plus we may do the same in Canada. We would buy one there and then sell it before returning. I know that European travel is limited to 3 months for us.

We are very practical. Fitted our own kitchen, built our own patio, I always do all decorating, it’s saved us thousands, DH taught himself how to plaster, I can do tiling. I am also incredibly cheeky and get discounts. We went out to dinner last week twice and we were given complimentary dessert in one place and a complimentary drink in another, didn’t ask. People seem to like us. That may sound weird, arrogant, odd but it’s true and if you are liked people will do things for you.

@IsleofSkies I think your comment to @cptartapp doesn't reflect the nuances.

You mention that people in the private sector have to work till they are 65. People can take their occupational DC pensions from age 55 (soon to go up to age 57) in the private sector, unless their specific pension scheme forbids it. They don't "have" to work till they are 65 (though clearly people may have all sorts of demands in their lives which they need to work out how to pay for).

I also noted that @cptartapp mentioned they'd invested an inheritance, and that DH was a high earner. So in this case they've had personal circumstances which enable their choices - that doesn't seem relevant to whether or not other people work till they are 65.

Is there anything you can do to make working more bearable for you OP? I know you’ve said PT isn’t an option but could compressed hours work, or downsizing your home to release some equity to enable you to work PT etc?

I know plenty of people who sit all day and moan at work. They are doing nothing! Lots of people don’t suit retirement but lots do. OP sound like she knows what makes her happy, she just can’t afford it yet.

It's the usual "gold plated public sector pensions" dross dressed up...

Well i retired in my 40s, i spend my days doing whatever takes my fancy and no i haven't aged decades in the last decade.

I feel the same. Realistically I will need to work until I am 70 before I can afford to retire. I've worked my arse off since I left university - and before as I had to pay my own way so always had multiple part time jobs - and I feel knackered. Also I am aware that at 48, there are fewer work opportunities as employers want younger and cheaper staff. This situation won't get any better - stats show that wages for women peak in early 40s. I just can't imagine how the next 22 years are going to go. If I think about it, it feels quite bleak.

I'm in the public sector and our pension scheme is now linked to state retirement age. In theory you can take it at 60 but you then get a huge actuarial reduction so to get a decent pension you have to wait until state pension age....the days of public sector gold plated pensions and being able to retire at 55 on a full pension are over. The vast majority of nhs employees who have all now been forced to migrate over to the 2015 scheme are going to end up working until we drop.

This.

The golden age to be born in terms of being able to retire early was post-war up until about 1970. So, the baby boomer age. For those born before, the war ended a lot of retirement plans, and for those born after 1970, you missed the whole final salary pension, cheap housing property boom. I'm not sorry I'm not older, but like you, I feel resentful about the fact that by the time I can afford to retire, I'll most likely be in poor health. Or dead! And I am someone who has actually made retirement plans and been paying into a pension, millions haven't been able to afford that.

64 here and longing to retire. Worked out.

This. I could only retire early due to inheritance. Don't get my lgps for another 5 years.

@DoubleTequilaSunrise start aging at 55 just by retiring ?? Don't believe that at all. My mum stopped working due to pains as she was a manual worker. She is the happiest woman ever and had been retired for the last 5/6 years, working has taken years off. She's in great shape, she's actually lost weight. She volunteers most days and has an abundance of friends and family she sees.
My Dad was forced to retire due to health and I asked him this week if he misses working full time and he doesn't. He goes for a daily walk, meet friends in the park and does home working which covers the basics of food.

They were VERY frugal growing up and are enjoying their well deserved forced retirement, they're not at pension age yet either but somehow they manage and take annual holidays. Their health is at peak (thank God)

Maybe look into taking a sabbatical, early pension if you have a work pension. Or as someone else said save more. Add more into your work or private pension for the next couple of years. You can do this and you will love it ! Seeing how happy and free my parents are is so liberating.

My pension will be reasonable. Not particulary good. The reason I can take it at 55 is because I have something called 'special class status' which means I have worked as a nurse without a break of more than five years since I was 18. This scheme has now been phased out so I am lucky in that respect yes. The part of my pension from 2022 onwards is not particularly good and I can't get it until 67. The idea that any of it is gold plated and will make me wealthy is laughable.
Without the invested inheritance, years of no mortgage and DH being a high earner there's no way I could afford to retire at 55. Pension or not.

I went part time - slightly screwing up my pension, should have taken better advice - but it was worth it, just going down to four days a week made a huge difference, the working week was much more manageable and every weekend was like a bank holiday but without the traffic. It made such a huge difference.

I think so many problems would be solved if everyone did a four day working week, when I am in charge it will be the first thing I do. Five working days is carved in stone and it needs looking at imo.

Huge amount of stress relieved, better home work balance, more jobs created to fill up the vacancies, for people with childcare needs it reduces the burden of paying for childcare, more opportunities for weekday leisure pursuits so good for the hospitality sector, flexibility for doctor and hospital appointments.

How did you afford to retire at 46 having worked only two days per week prior to that? That is impressive. What was your career?

I think so many problems would be solved if everyone did a four day working week, when I am in charge it will be the first thing I do. Five working days is carved in stone and it needs looking at imo.

Huge amount of stress relieved, better home work balance, more jobs created to fill up the vacancies, for people with childcare needs it reduces the burden of paying for childcare, more opportunities for weekday leisure pursuits so good for the hospitality sector, flexibility for doctor and hospital appointments

Every country needs to follow the Netherlands. They have the right idea!

Netherlands. According to government data, at only 29 hours per week, Netherlands has one of the shortest average work weeks in the world. The country ends up having 4-Day work week despite not having official rules for it.