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?

I retired at 58 because my late husband needed care. I'd cut to a 4 dy wk but was getting the same amount of work in 4 as I'd had in 5dys, thanks to my boss who saw a way of saving money. (When I finally quit, he advertised a 5 dy contract, but for less money...I've had 6 replacements in more than 7 yrs.)

I really didn't want to go at 58. I lost a substantial amount of money as a result, both in the wages loss and the cut in my pension. If I'd had a choice in the matter, I'd have worked until I was 60.

I've been left with guilt because DH - understandably - wanted me at home sooner and some of his friends very helpfully told him that I was being 'selfish'.

I have a reasonable works pension - much, much better than some - but if I'd been able to work full-time until I was 60, I'd have been comfortably retired instead of 'okay'. (My final wage was less than 40k because of my 4 dy week, and I was the main breadwinner.)

I retired at 57 and love being home. I made damn sure I would have enough no ey to be able to enjoy retirement first though. Hindsight is wonderful but you made the decision at the time you must have thought you would have enough money surely or you would have considered working a few more years. You can always go back to work even if part time to get more money.

You don’t have to say but would good to know what your pension is each month or year.

Also, did you get to take a lump sum?

Sorry, are you saying that your pension was based on your final wage of 4 days, rather than the previous 5 days you had been doing?

Well none of us have perfect hindsight, so no point worrying now. You might have died in the meantime - I don't mean to sound cruel but no-one wants to be the richest person in the graveyard.
I personally haven't - 66 now, will probably work to 69 or 70. I think it keeps the brain young. I see people decline rapidly when they retire, and just can't see the point of it. I can have holidays now, lie ins, read books, go to the gym every day. I have good work/life balance.
So don't beat yourself up - just get a job if that's what you feel.

Looks like OP retired from this thread too early as well.

I don't want to give misinformation here. I believe that there was some calculation whereby there was an average of some of your highest paying years. (Possibly three years...not certain now - I'm coming up for 66.) The 4 dys had an impact because of the way our wage increases went, if that makes any sense. [ETA There was a stepped/staged wage increase at one point.] Had I not dropped down, it would have been my highest wage.

I can't remember the specifics, but the rules changed in my lifetimes. (I was a middle manager in a secondary school in Scotland.)

There was also a wage increase just after I retired, so I'd have been much better off if I could have stayed on a 5 dy wk and held on until 60.

That's true. In spite of my moans about the loss of money, it's a good job that I retired when I did - I was widowed when I was nearly 61.

I did go back and do a bit of supply teaching, but it wasn't possible to get a suitable position in my area for any length of time - once I'd dealt with the funeral and so on, I was able to get the odd day or two here and there.

I was a "senior manager" in a finance company - so a good job but nothing like the pay for Directors and VP's. I just got used to putting away my annual bonus into my AVC's and invested them well instead of opting for some poor performing NEST type fund. No inheritance (still waiting LOL - not really). We did downsize a couple of times to free money up, so live small and reduce the outgoings.

Yes, I have a student loan to pay for the courses, but that doesn't become payable until I finish (hence stretching it out and taking a year off every other year) and then it's only "charged" as a 9% tax on my income over a certain level, and gets wiped out when I pop my clogs.

Work was soul-destroying. An endless cycle of development planning, self- appraisals, appraisals for team members, appraisals for colleagues, fights to get decent compensation for my team, diversity training, KYC training, money-laundering training, anti-fraud training, etc, etc, team meetings. I only spent 50% of my time doing th job I loved. The rest of the time was torture.

But you knew the financial when you decided to go and you can work again. It’s not like a blanket ban.

People who say that working in retirement keeps you fit and healthy are missing the fact that you have to be relatively fit and healthy in order to keep working. Causality is a two-way street.
I work in my seventies because I love my job but I’m also generally physically healthy, with the health problems that I do have being relatively easily controlled. I couldn’t do it otherwise.

I don’t think you made any error. You don’t get offered redundancy, you get made redundant. Sure you can try and find work but due to the years out of work, your age, your sex, and the crap jobs market your chances are not good.

I would stop comparing yourself to other families handing out large lump sums of money and start with finding activities you enjoy. 58 isn’t too young to retire.

You do get offered redundancy, it’d called voluntary redundancy. And I’m fairly sure the op knows what happened better than you do.

Yes well I used to be the one cutting hundreds of staff. ´

The offer of redundancy is just a nicety to try and get people to go without a fuss. If they refuse, then the next step is usually to make them redundant anyway.

I gave you some flowers because this must come as a shock to you that some offers are not really voluntary offers.

We’ve had a few people retire recently- all have regretted it. Some just dropped to 3 day weeks- they’re much happier. We’ve an ageing workforce though, people have been there decades.
Get a part time job OP.

People who say that working in retirement keeps you fit

If you're working you're not retired!

Do you mean working beyond the state pension age?

That's only half true.
Companies that need to save money offer voluntary redundancy.
Sometimes it's worth taking if you can get a good package.

If not, you can hang on, and they will decide who goes to balance the books.

And it's the JOB that becomes redundant, not the person. So there has to be a reason like restructuring to make a job redundant.

I don’t know any retired person who regrets it.

Take it from me, we never ever offered redundancy to a good employee we wanted to keep during a restructure. We only offered it to those we would not want to keep. It’s a sort of warning shot across the bow to find another job before you are forced to.

And yes I know the cuts are to places not faces, but upper management meetings we would literally decide who needs to go and who needs to be kept on. That’s the truth. Then we’d write it up to look legit and legal.

When I retired the voluntary early exit package was announced. It was not offered to individuals, it was up to individuals to apply.

There’s a strategy behind that. I’m sure they didn’t allow everyone to apply within the company. There would be criteria set out to make a targeted offer look not so targeted.

Western society has an obsession with retirement but people need money and also a purpose in life which a job fulfills.

The people who live the longest generally have an activity that drives them every day - I think we age quicker without this.

There is always one 🙄

I honestly do not feel a lack of purpose since giving up my job. I have some personal projects I’m working on. I don’t think I’m ageing any faster either.

I was an academic and I dont think people like me ever really retire. I did consultancy for a few years and sold antiques online. I still sell a bit but now enjoy doing online tutoring at postgrad level. I only take international students because I find them more hard working and respectful. Uk students often have too much of an "i pay your wages I want some service" attitude and think I am going to write it for them.

Nothing wrong with personal projects like doing up the house or garden. I just like the idea of a good steady income on top of my pensions. It pays for things like my cleaner and my ability to keep the heating on without worrying about the expense.