Warning: this post may cause a little envy… but only a tiny bit 😏

[Flowerofdestiny]

Does anyone in their 50s actually exist who does nothing all day?

I feel a bit silly asking this, but I’ve been wondering…

Does anyone in their 50s exist whose kids are grown, who doesn’t work full-time, and literally has days completely free of obligations?

I’m genuinely curious: is it as boring as it sounds, or actually a little paradise?

I feel a bit nosy for asking, but I’d love honest answers 😅

Nope! Over 50 but will be working until I drop !

Why would no paid job in a fucked capitalist system mean no identity?

Quoting myself to say that this is just a statement of fact about me, not a suggestion that it's the right way to be. I would like everyone to have a life that reflects what they truly want.

You really love tax don't you! I feel sorry for people like you when you retire and realise your big important job and tax contributions mean very little in the long term. It probably would have been better to all along have been an open-minded person and understand there can be purpose and usefulness in many areas of life. Not tying your self-worth and your estimation of others to a fairly arbitrary system of work and pay that is far from telling you the whole story about a person.

Sound bliss.

I was thinking a pension drawdown over that amount would be taxable and that the tax free allowance isn't much to live on a month. No need to be nasty when someone doesn't get it - are you like this with everyone or just those your addressing from behind your keyboard

How did you retire at 42? I'm 55 and can see no end to the 50 hour weeks I'm doing - just slowing down would be nice.
Hubby pretty much the same and both with chronic conditions.
Genuinely interested in how people stop working at a young age incase it gives me a useful idea.

Doesn't that mean you could only take about £12,500 (personal allowance)from the pension each year without starting to pay tax and have to take the rest from your ISA's?....even if you allow for the 25% tax free drawdown this rate of withdrawal would mean your pension lasted 60 years assuming no capital growth and more likely at least 80 years with growth. Wow you must have good genes to live for that long😂!

I only work a few hours per week as had children in my 40s and DH worked away. Now late 50s.
My DM is widowed and I feel obliged to see her almost every day, and on days when I don't see her, to have a long phone call. I love her so that's not an issue but I never really have a "free" day, plus I feel I shouldn't really be enjoying myself as DH works full time. I see a friend maybe once a month for coffee.
Does anyone else feel this guilt?

Dsis has not worked since 1999 when she was late 20s. She was dismissed from her job following a criminal act at work (narrowly avoided prison) and then said she felt too traumatised to find another job. My parents subsided her and paid the mortgage on her London flat for years until she was mortgage free.

She sold the flat and moved to a rural location in a cheaper part of the country with her DH. She bought a large house for cash with the huge equity from the flat sale and remains unemployed to this day. For reasons I’ve never understood she has also been able to claim benefits for the last 20 years. Her DH works 15 hours a week in a low paid job. She takes several holidays a year and does some voluntary work at a theatre in the nearest big town and a city farm as she loves animals. I usually get a WhatsApp message from her 3-4 times a year with a picture of an exotic location and the caption ‘guess where we are?’

Our parents died recently and we have both inherited a substantial amount of money. She is desperately trying to find ways to hide her inheritance from the taxman so she can continue to claim benefits (thankfully I believe this is impossible) despite now having enough money to comfortably live on for the rest of her life🙄

Having the choice is everything! However, bit risky at this age to get into the habit of doing nothing.
Guilt has nothing to do with it. Find things that will stimulate you and give you some pleasure and satisfaction.

I’m lucky, in that, as quite a shy person, I have calls on my time (grand children!) that force me to do things. But we still make the effort to travel a bit, have the kind of dog older people aren’t supposed to (border collie) and are absorbed in packing up, sorting out the family home prior to moving.

Keep busy with things you enjoy, look after your health as best you can and live for the day (but try to have little things to look forward to!

Off to try to practice what I preach 🤣

Not in her 50s, but my mother retired at 60 and was very happy doing her own thing for many years. She was a super active and organised person though, so didn't do much sitting around and always had many projects on the go, an active social life, served on about a hundred committees etc - I think she was busier after retiring than while working.

I'm 58 and most people I know in their 50s are still working, although many - myself included - have gone part-time due to health issues or caring for aging parents. I don't think I know anyone who's fully retired yet - but I'll come back to you in ca 5 years 😂

Oh, nothing so strategic, I promise 😄 Just idle curiosity about what those quieter years actually feel like!

We’ve been very lucky I suppose. Homes were affordable when I bought young and my house is now worth more than double. We were both given voluntary redundancy and this cleared the small mortgage remaining as we’d always overpaid. We saved like mad. We live extremely frugally and watch every penny. This might sound miserable but I enjoy it. We live very very well. It’s easy to live like this when you have the time. I’m always bank switching, moving savings around. Our bills are tiny.

We travel cheaply. We’re free to go at the drop of a hat. I spotted flights to Malaga next week for £40 return so off we go! For longer travels we spend maybe 4 months in south Europe. We take our dog and drive. Property is cheap to rent by the month.

I worked full time from the age of 21. I took early retirement at 55 due to ill health. I was so burned out I did little but sleep for the first year. Now I can do what I want, when I want and if it doesn't get done - there's always tomorrow - until there isn't and then I won't care anyway!

Freedom from the alarm clock is priceless! I’m loving retirement.

I retired early at 60. Sadly, the taxman still extracts money. The difference is only that I pay less tax because my income has dropped. I find the constant accusation of non-contributing quite surprising.
I found it hard to adjust but now spend my time volunteering, household chores and hill walking.

Obviously I would also prefer it the taxman didn't want to extract money from me, but surely you don't think it unreasonable that older people are subject to the same tax thresholds as younger people?

Do you mind telling us what you did for a living @DysonLover1 ?

im early 40s and no kids and I’m desperate to stop working in 10-15 years but I don’t think my job would allow that sort of savings

I do now on school holidays. The six week stretch got a bit boring this year, tbh. I walked the dog several times a day, did housework, gardening, cleared out/rearranged cupboards, went riding and made lots of jam etc. Not sure I could be content with that full time. I might keep chickens and grow veg to sell in the future, maybe rescue a couple of ponies.

I read an interesting article about retirement a while ago that said it can be disconcerting to no longer be able to state your job title. I can empathise, having done the same job for over 30 years. It’s not my entire life or my entire being, but currently it’s the biggest part of my life and at the forefront of my existence. Everything needs to be organised around the job, pretty much like every job, I imagine. Once I retire, I wonder if we’ll run out of stuff to talk about! We tell each other a lot about our jobs/days at work. Going to be interesting.

I mean this sounds ideal haha (as long as you have the wealth) but sadly capitalist society thinks jt must be paid work until death.

My mum was a massive career woman. She’s retired now and has an extremely busy and fulfilling life. But no one cares what job she used to do. It made her rethink a lot of that. It literally means nothing later on.

Luckily i have a well paid husband (I will add I actually earned more though when I “retired”!) plus sadly my dad died when I was in my 20s and I have received inheritance. You’re right though…some don’t value volunteering, running a home and quite simply, relaxing. We are only here once so why work if I don’t need to 😊

Can I ask why anyone would want the population to retire at 50? Why nudge the population to do this?

Or so you mean it's someone trying to bring the country to its knees by telling MNers to give up in the prime of life and potter - make the UK the Island of the lotus eaters?

Things are going the other way in terms of government policy in pretty much every country which has the concept of state pension and state pension age. With the ageing population in most "wealthy" countries it's unsustainable for stopping work at 50 or even 60 to be the norm rather than the exception. There just aren't enough people under 50.