To give up working at 52?

[caniquitwork]

I am a teacher, but I've had enough.
I have a small teacher's pension- small because only paid in 15 years and even then mostly only part time. Have some other private pensions which will eventually pay out about £1000 a month, but not till I'm 60. Would not touch teacher's pension until then either.
So here's the aibu part - I have a house I own outright so no mortgage, but to live on until 60 I have about £250000 I inherited. Would obviously invest but don't think interest would be enough to live on, so would also just withdraw from the pot iyswim.
Would that work? Would it be selfish- should I keep this money safe for my children?
No dh in the picture. Keep
going round in circles. Wouldn't mind working in another job to supplement but worried if I could even find anything.

I did it at 56 after 40 years of work. I've never looked back.

Just keep your outgoings to a minimum. You can always get a part time job if you think it's necessary or let a room.

Great for ages 52-60, but doesn't leave anything apart from some interest and a very small pension from age 60-67.

I retired at 56 (nearly 57) from being a teacher; I had 32 years service and took the pension at 57, obviously losing a fair bit....But it was the best thing I've ever done. (And I was also mostly a grammar school teacher, but getting more & more frustrated - at least I left whilst still enjoying my job - most days!) I thought I might need to find some part-time work, but nearly 12 years on I haven't found I needed to.

So go for it!!

Of course it does there will be considerable interest plus the teachers pension from aged 60 as previously stated?

You will easily be able to find work in local authority admissions, or as an examinations officer for a college, or even admin for adult education. You won't need to deplete your savings. Or ad-hoc invigilating as a top up (that's often zero hours) and could be a good gateway entry role to give you more confidence away from teaching

I def would if I could. If you can make the numbers work do it:)

Do it!! Life’s too short

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https://portfoliocharts.com/portfolios/golden-butterfly-portfolio/

@ozyin did you have to retrain?

Absolutely not

Career change? Yes! Do it

You can't have been working more than 30 years

You're going to live potentially 30-40 years more

. Retirement is not meant to be longer than your career

A change is as good as a rest

Go! Enjoy some time to yourself while you look for some new job that you’d enjoy doing. I presume you’re kids would inherit your house, so they’ll not be left with nothing, life’s too short, go enjoy it.

Isn't retirement something you do for 10-20 years before uou die?

It's not meant to drag for 30 years

Why shouldn't you be retired longer than your career if you can afford it? I'm 49 and not working at the moment and believe me, if I could afford not to work again there's no way I would!

Go for it! I did at 54 and haven't regretted it yet - now aged 60. Very little money but had enough to pay my way. Was stressed out every day at work and feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

Clue’s in the title

Terrible idea. Nowhere near enough money to retire.

In any case, state pension age may raise to 71 to everyone born after May 1970.

Couldn’t you buy a flat to rent out with the 250k, so invest the cash into something that creates a passive income. Then continue to teach but as a private tutor. My understanding is any money you take cash in hand - never happened 😂

Go for it OP. I realised a couple of years ago at 61 that my time was more valuable than a few extra pounds and reduced to working two days a week.
I had costed it out and with savings could afford to live reasonably well until my state pension hit. I have private pensions but haven’t taken anything from them yet.
I was lucky I guess that a year later I unexpectedly inherited 50% of a large house that was subsequently let so I have rental income too. But I was very happy to survive on my savings.

I wish I'd replied first and told you to post on Money Matters. This thread appears to have gone entirely mad.

I'm not going to try and address the mad posts, but I will add to those saying DON'T buy a BTL. The current legislation is problematic and they're going to tighten it up.

The title of the thread says 52

Bad idea right now. But 250k invested in a low risk portfolio will yield around 7500 pa after fees and taxes.

Definitely. Seen too many die in their 50s. Leave and live.

I have under similar circumstances. Got a job in a nice school doing invigilation. Lots of travel and hobbies. No regrets whatsoever. Who wants to be the richest in the care home?

Thank you for the tip. I’ll definitely be bearing that in mind.

You need to protect your lump sum as SP and Occ Pension will not be enough to maintain the lifestyle you likely have whilst currently working. But life is too short to stay in a job you are not enjoying. I believe you are underconfident and will have far more transferable skills than you realise. Retire and work PT; start with low paid work if absolutely needed (retail, hospitality) - just don't stay out of work for more than 3-4 months recovery time after leaving teaching. You should be able to finish in the Summer, have a holiday and start with a temporary Christmas job if nothing else but you can progress from there.