To think I retired too early

[hrenfe]

I always wanted an early retirement. I didn’t have a particularly stressful job but I didn’t enjoy it after covid as I was fully remote and my job was always at risk of being axed. It paid OK (£50k) and I had 35 days annual leave a year. No mortgage

Got offered redundancy at 58. Took it. Been retired a few years now. Whilst it’s super not to have to work, I can’t help but feel I took retirement a bit too early. Money is fine and DP (younger) still works.

However, we can’t really afford to do anything “big” that we thought we’d too in retirement. Had always imagined taking a big trip like a month in New Zealand but can’t really afford it.

Almost all of DDs friends have had big parental contributions to their weddings or big chunks of flat deposits given to them. We can’t do this. AIBU to think I should have just milked my job and worked another two years or so?

The obvious answer is to take a job, PT or FT, in your area of experience or not.

I retired 3yrs ago at 57 and still loving it plus we are financially secure enough to do whatever we want.
My OH is 3yrs younger but instead of retiring at the same time as me, decided to go PT in a completely different field to where he worked when FT.
PT Jobs seem to be easy to come by (he has swopped several times) and the money he earns is a nice bonus (he is also now drawing his company pension) and the freedom of knowing he doesn't HAVE to work is liberating. He is working in lower pay scale jobs but after the stress of the corporate world it suits him.

Umm yes? So get another job!

This. Being unable to imagine what you’d do if you weren’t working is a sure sign that you are not investing enough in your life outside work. These are the sort of people who will “ grow old overnight”, as a pp suggested retired people do, rather than those who are actively enjoying their retirement. I remember when I was working, whenever I met a retired former colleague, thinking how much younger they looked!

My dad took early retirement as was being made redundant anyway, but he’s on his own, has a good pension and has a busier social life than me!! But I’d hate my DP to be retired and I’m still working, especially if we’re not then living a comfortable life. Can you go back to work? When is DP retiring?

I retired/took voluntary redundancy at 50 and have not regretted it for a single second.
Media job, very stressful and I was burned out. Pension was ok but big redundancy payout helped a lot.
I’m not bored at all, I took some classes (French and painting) for a while and may well return to them again later.
But my life is as full as i want it to be at the moment.

For you maybe. Not everyone is the same. It's not 'allowing work to take over'. That suggests work is a bad thing. There are many many studies that demonstrate that work is good for us. I get loads of fresh air, I exercise, have hobbies, catch up with friends and family etc. But I am quite capable of organising my life to be able to do all of that whilst contributing to society and keeping my brain active through the challenges of work.

Its about balance and organisation or, as you call it, a mindset.

I'm one of those people who think retirement is a bad idea per se.

If you look at many fit people in their 80s and 90s, they are the ones still working- Judi Dench, David Attenborough, other actors, writers, musicians, and there are more in academia.

For some people who enjoy their work they don't want to stop.

I'm still working very part time, self employed, in my early 70s. It keeps my brain young I like to think.

Retirement was more an issue 100 years ago when many people were employed in heavy industry, manual work and physically needed to stop.

My dad was forced to retire at 65 (it was the law then) and he hated it. He had lots of interests but nothing replaces work for him.

Now, there is no mandatory retirement age because the benefits of work are well recognised. 65 now is not what 65 was a 100 years ago.
Which is another reason why the state pension age will creep up to 70.

Why on earth did you retire? You had a relatively stress free job that paid relatively well, etc, etc. Seems crazy to me, particularly if your partner still works. Done now though, but why not go back to work at something else? We frequently have early retirees looking to join us, as life on the retirement side of the fence is just not as green as they thought it would be.

Op, yabu if you didn't plan finances, it can't have come as a surprise that your dc might need money and you wanted to give it.

I can see how being a different age to your partner means lifestyles are different and YANBU to not fully understand the impact of this.

Regret is such a waste of energy.

If you want to earn more money, go back to work. If you don’t want to go back to work then you’ll have to cut your cloth accordingly.

What could you do to reduce the costs of travel? House swapping, pet sitting etc?

Are bored, or is it just the financial aspect?

Look for a job, perhaps 3 days a week.
Why not. You might enjoy it more when it is suiting your purposes.

An enjoyable retirement is expensive.

I'm sorry but comparing your average Joe or average Julie who is in the workplace (often on minimum pay) to rich and famous celebrities is ludicrous!

Most people would love to retire at 60 given half the chance. Bully for you if you're still loving working 'in your early 70s,' but for most people this is their worst nightmare, still having to go out to work in their bloody 70s! No way in hell I will be doing it.

I work part time now (20 hours a week) at nearly 60, and it pays quite well, but I have every intention of retiring at 64. I know I can afford to, and so can DH, as we have financial provisions. The thought of still working in my early 70s leaves me cold. DH feels the same. He is retiring at 65, (the same time as me, he is a year older than me.)

There is more to life than working. We have lots of plans for when we hit 64 and 65, and it does NOT include carrying on working. Completely different scenario if you're a rich, famous, privileged celebrity. I can't believe anyone has made that comparison actually.

I’m 62 and couldn’t imagine being retired. I’m lucky that I work from home and it’s my own business but I would get so bored, it wouldn’t be just about the money. You’ve got the perfect opportunity to start a little business of some kind.

Some of my temp jobs required an interview, but it was often just a chat or phone call to make sure you weren't really weird or something, not the same kind of interview you get for a permanent position where they need to whittle down the list.

I'm late 40s and I feel totally depressed at the idea of having to work until I'm 68. If I could afford to, I'd definitely retire early.

"A lot of admin/PA roles are crying out for people your age. "

Em, really? Why?
I'm a middle-aged admin person and don't see this at all.

It probably made financial sense to take the redundancy. Especially as they probably paid up your pension. But I wouldn’t have started to take my pension payments and would have looked for another (probably part time or less stress) job to get me through another few years.

"If you look at many fit people in their 80s and 90s, they are the ones still working- Judi Dench, David Attenborough, other actors, writers, musicians, and there are more in academia.
For some people who enjoy their work they don't want to stop."

OMG you can't compare them to people in normal jobs!

"I'm sorry but comparing your average Joe or average Julie who is in the workplace (often on minimum pay) to rich and famous celebrities is ludicrous!"

Cross-posted with you.

Obviously you have to go back to work? 58 is far too young unless you’re very comfortable which you clearly aren’t. I can’t fathom not being able to contribute to make things easier and possible for my kids. I’ve been planning and saving since long, long before I was even ready to get pregnant. We have enough for house deposits and/ or weddings. I will be working until I’m 70 to bolster our savings to make sure there’s enough to pay for our care and hopefully enough to make them really comfortable when we die.

I couldn’t agree more.

Yes where are these part time jobs that us oldies can just step into? I quite fancy one😂.Even some volunteer roles are like applying for a salaried job. It’s very hard even for young people to be considered for roles. I would far rather they were able to make a start on the career ladder than me make a come back! I retired quite early and felt a bit like you @hrenfe thinking maybe it was too early. I made my peace with it eventually.
We were comfortable for money. We also had plans to travel. We ended up with two sets of elderly parents needing support. We couldn’t really go anywhere for about ten years. That was our choice obviously. Now my DH doesn’t want to travel. I am looking at solo trips but currently renovating a property so we will see.

You can't predict what would have happened if you'd stated, maybe you would have been made redundant anyway.

You are still so young! You can still start again. What do you dream of doing OP?

Can you go back to work?

MIL did similar. Retired too early. She didn’t know it back then obviously, but the cost of living increases have massively impacted her plans.

Also, she’s really not keeping her mind active now and conversation with her is boring to be honest. I don’t think it’s good for her to spend so much time on her own! She really should have stayed in work as a lot of her social life and identity was connected to school life!

I think you’ll find that roles for 90 year old actors are quite scarce.