To want to retire aged 46?

[imprincesspearl]

I’m not going to before anybody comes at me … but jeez, the thought of another fourteen years working does depress me a bit.

I am a teacher (secondary) and I think I’ve just been doing it for far too long (started in 2002) - I’ve lost motivation and interest. I can’t even really look at different schools as they are all much of a muchness.

I honestly would retire tomorrow if it was possible.

1million percent yes please, I'm 42. Last year very similar to you. Desperate for career change however can't afford it really without huge downsize and negatively affecting my families lives of which I don't think I could do. I've settled on using the rest of this decade to upskill myself on the side in my chosen field and then decide from there. I used to be able to retire at 55 in my profession however that has now changed, but mentally this number is still in my head. My pension should be decent by then and at least I'll feel like I've worked towards changing things and have options to jack it in if I feel the same. Kids will be grown and flown (most likely) so wouldn't be disrupting everyone's lives in the same way.

Thanks @Fgfgfg

I did look into it a few months ago but it just isn’t going to be feasible for a long time and by the time it is feasible I’ll be 54, which means qualifying at 56. I can look into it then for sure but it’s still eight years off which is a long time to be teaching feeling as I do. I’m stuck in it because I earn too much and it suits our lifestyle but I really don’t enjoy it!

You’re a teacher not a hedge fund manager. You might be able to stop teaching but unless there’s a ton of money someone has donated to you you are not going to be retiring at 46.

I refer you to the first line of my first post; did you read it at all? Or just read the title and jump in? I do wonder …

So what is the point of your post? Get a different job then🤷‍♀️

I feel similarly to you, op. I also started teaching in 2002. It's a long time to do such an intense job and though I still enjoy aspects of it, I think I feel main!y tired underneath the energy that I still expend each day in order to do a decent job. But, like you, it isn't that easy when you have family to give up a 50k job with school holidays (though I work a proportion of those to get prepared for the next term and to mark.) I am not sure what the answer is but am going to try and do some qualifications on the side during the next few years and think about career change once DC are a bit o lder. It's not easy though as DH works away a lot so most household and kids ' things fall to me so I don't really have the capacity to do more than I am currently doing just to maintain the status quo.

I think for my own insanity, I will work as I am for three to five more years and then either cut down hours, do tutoring or look for something completely different and draw down pension when. I can, depends g on how much I would lose.

teaching is a noble career but I feel !like the demand now is massive and it isn't mentally and emotionally sustainable for me perhaps anymore. Not sure I can do anything else though after so long and the buzz of the classroom when things are going well is brill!

I didn't want to derail your thread; my intention was to show I understand 💪Hope it gets better for you and you get a plan

I paid I to a Sipp as well as Teachers Pension. It meant I could retire at 57. I could have retired at 52 if I'd wanted to buy actually all my friends and DH were still working full time so I thought it a hit pointless being at home but no one to go out with as all at work still.

Social work! Lord above! Do not do this!! I left after 25 years as I had become little more than a financial gatekeeper for the local authority and real care for those in social need had ceased to matter.

What I did do is requalify via evening classes at college during my last 2 years at work and left at 50 to pursue a creative career that brought me great joy. Could you consider doing this?

Could you change role? There must be tangential jobs you could do. 14 years is a long time. I aim to change role/industry every 6-8 years so that it remains refresh. When you reach the point of not getting excited to get up in morning and go to work, that is the time to change! A change is as good as a rest as they same.

I feel you, I am 48 and being made redundant, finish in 2 weeks. I have zero desire to find another job, I will have about 3 months wages for redundancy but the thought of starting something new, in another new place, is just soul destroying. I've been working half days this week and i've been able to do shopping, housework, wash the car, started decorating, netflix and chill, etc. Cooking meals from scratch. Take my 16 year old for tea and to the cinema, I had forgot what he looked like 😂

I wanted to retire. I think i first checked my pension when i was 18. I think i was designed to be independently wealthy. Unfortunately my bank account disagrees.

That would make you 60 , so you plan to live off your teachers pension only until you also receive state pension ?
That will not come into force until you are 67 (and who knows if that will change again )

Added this , although realise it's based on 2026 averages .
Approximately £9,375
The average pension for teachers at age 60 can vary based on several factors, but generally, a teacher with a full 47 years of service and an average salary of £30,000 could expect to receive an annual pension of approximately £9,375. This is calculated by multiplying the average salary by the years of service and dividing by 80. Additionally, a teacher may also receive a lump sum amount, which can be significant in today's financial context.

moneymarvel.co.uk+1

There is no point to my post. You do not have to contribute and I’d prefer it if you didn’t. My post might be pointless but at least I’m reading the responses.

@Olive42 you’re not derailing at all. It is really difficult. Obviously I didn’t maintain the early enthusiasm and passion I had for long but lately I’ve just been counting down to lessons ending.

I don’t know what the answer is and I don’t think there is one to be honest. I’m not posting for advice on social work - it was literally a passing comment, it’s the only thing that does interest me but the training and the time is impractical at the moment and by the time it’s feasible I’ll only be a few years from retirement anyway so I don’t know why I’m being lectured at length for having the temerity to mention it.

But it isn’t stress levels. I’m not particularly stressed in teaching; I’m bored.

Indeed that is the tentative plan as much as I have made a plan. It might be closer to 63/64; I was a few weeks shy of 43 when I had DD so assuming she does go to university and does a standard three year course I will be 63, very nearly 64, when she graduates.

I worked in UK secondary schools since 2000 at 46 I moved to an international school in the Middle East. An absolute game changer. Do your research and the word is your oyster. Loads of us here have escaped the UK cold and paperwork. I have none of the behaviour issues that are endemic in UK schools

Behaviour is shite; it does get me down. But husband is the main earner and his job is UK based, one child is settled and happy in the UK school system, the other due to go up in ‘27. So it’s just not practical.

I totally understand how you feel. It doesn't help trying to juggle work & young kids, i know quite a lot of women who've found their enthusiasm for work perked up a bit once their kids were secondary age or older (and more independent).

Can you break down the time and build a plan for how you get to 60? Don't dismiss changing schools - the change can break the tedium, new people etc.
Eg:

• try and manage 1-2 more years where you are
• move and try to manage 3-4 years in a new school
• drop to part time & supplement doing something different - tutoring etc for a few years. I would try very hard to get to 25 years in the teachers pension if you can, it's a good scheme.

Look at things where your skills standing in front of a class of kids are useful - HR roles in learning & development, health & safety training roles etc, roles with the qualifications bodies.

Unfortunately unless you've got another (large) source of money, you are not going to be able to retire until you are 60 or so and thinking about it won't help.

don’t know why I’m being lectured at length for having the temerity to mention it.

I do not think you are being "lectured to at length" but those of us with experience of social work are trying to be helpful by letting you know the realities and how this might not be the best route to consider.

My way out was by retraining part time out of work via evening classes and other routes. You are already working part time so it might be worth looking into ways of retraining around this. Then you could maintain an income whilst retraining and be ready to slot into a new career when you leave teaching.

Don't move to the bloody middle east 🙄 its a war zone!

Why 14? State pension is 67

And what would you actually do if you retired??

Do more of that now.

I have nothing lined up for retirement yet, no plans and cannot imagine anything worse than retiring now. I’m older than you and working a lot longer than you, these are the good days I have no interest in retiring.

Why would you be being unreasonable? You can retire whenever you want as long as you can afford it.

Why not teach online. A friend does very well with his maths tuition.

You just sound exhausted. Can you take some time off to think about it? Get a life coach or do a short course and see how you get on?

I did leave teaching in my very late 40s. It took a bit of planning, but it was doable. I had started another career in marketing before I went into teaching, so I brushed up my skills and went back to that. However, my children were late teenagers and not in need of after-school care.
I have to say life improved enormously during the last 15 years of my working life.