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Original poster

Retirement - what, if anything, are you doing to prepare?

89 replies

Earlybird · 01/08/2008 12:46

I keep thinking I need to pay more attention to this because it is not as far off as it once was!

Would love to hear of what provisions people have made. Also, if you've got a pension or other retirement fund, have you made changes in how it is invested given the recent economic downturn, and if so, to what?

Any general ideas about the age you anticipate retiring?

I keep thinking I haven't done nearly enough, and what I have done is shrinking dramatically due to the market downturn, as the cost of living rises. Help!

OP posts:
WilfSell · 01/08/2008 17:45

star start

Tinker · 01/08/2008 17:46

Thought it was half your age??? Gulps otherwise

zippitippitoes · 01/08/2008 17:46

whatever the rules are for state pensions at the mo they will be changed in 2011 im sure and retirement in general it isnt viable now

life expectancy is so much higher and people are mostly fitter for longer

keeping fit is my attempt to insure my old age is less miserable

and of course trying to convince people that they would like to keep me

hughjarssss · 01/08/2008 17:47

I'm in my twenties and I was advised to invest 20% Wilf, so it sounds like you could be right.

WilfSell · 01/08/2008 17:47

Perhaps that's right Tinker

popsycal · 01/08/2008 17:49

oh mine is final salary linked too then

Tinker · 01/08/2008 17:50

Oh, agree that teh party's over re long relatively wealthy retirements for most of us. My mum was retired for about 20 years and her various pensions and benefits at one time were more than my net pay and she had no mortgage. And she'd only worked for about 25 years I think.

claricebeansmum · 01/08/2008 17:52

Wilf - i think you are right. I think that is also used for the % you should hold in bonds vs shares - the older you get the more risk adverse you should become with your investments.

expatinscotland · 01/08/2008 17:54

By contrast, my grandfather died 5 years after retiring from working for the railroad for 49 years.

People didn't used to live so long, especially not with complex health needs.

WilfSell · 01/08/2008 17:55

wot expat said

I shall be trying to lose weight, drink less booze and do lots more exercise to prepare.

hahahahahahahahahaha...

Original poster
Earlybird · 01/08/2008 19:39

As genes/family longevity are a projected lifespan indicator, I better get busy saving/planning. Most relatives have lived healthily into their '90's.

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 01/08/2008 19:43

And/or retrain for something you really enjoy and can do as a second career that you can enjoy well into later years.

findtheriver · 02/08/2008 14:14

Pension plan, into which I pay a ridiculous amount each month (DH likewise). We also have an income from property, and stand to inherit at some point (although as has been pointed out already, it's risky to rely on this).
Although I sometimes begrudge the amount I'm paying into my pension plan, I have no doubt it's the right thing to do, and I'm shocked by the number of women I know (intelligent people, too) who completely bury their heads in the sand when it comes to planning ahead. I know literally dozens of women who are relying totally on their husband to have a decent enough pension or havent even thought that far ahead! I know it's all about balance, and I'd never want to live in poverty now for the sake of saving for the future, because frankly, none of us know what;s round the corner. But I also know that I would HATE to spend maybe the last 25 years of my life NOT being able to enjoy the things I'd like to do. I know DH and I would love to travel, eat out, go to the theatre etc, so it makes sense to make provision for it. TBH I consider the pension I will get from my employment to be almost as important as the income I receive now.

notcitrus · 02/08/2008 22:00

Most of my retirement planning is based around not needing much money - so we hope to pay off the mortgage ASAP (ie before MrNC hits 60, or failing that 65). I'd be reasonably content on the current state pension level, but I doubt it'll exist by my retirement.

I joined the civil service the week before they closed the classic final-salary pension scheme (I did tell them I didn't care what my first posting was as long as it was before that date!). So as long as I work another 10 years or so before I retire, I think I'll be OK. MrNC has a collection of small pensions from various jobs and added some extra cash to a few of them in his 20s.

But most importantly our current lives are centred round surviving on only one salary - MrNC's. If it were my salary we could just survive with him getting odd jobs.

If we stay in London, moving to a smaller house/flat at some point should yield cash to invest, we'd get Freedom Passes and OAP discounts, and it's easier to spend less when you have more time. We also chose our current house for location and accessibility, as at the time I could only walk 100 yards or so, so should we get elderly and/or disabled, it shouldn't be too hard to adapt.

Ideally we'd be able to afford private health insurance after retirement as that (or dealing with effects of medical problems) are likely the biggest expense. No idea if we'll inherit anything - we're encouraging our newly-retired and downsized ex-workaholic parents to have fun, but extrapolating from grandparents, we're expecting care home fees to eat up most of what's left.

Original poster
Earlybird · 03/08/2008 15:23

notcitrus - sounds as if you have been/are being wise in making current choices that will benefit you in future.

The trickiest part of this is thinking 'how much is enough' and 'how much will I actually need'? I'd love to be in a position to live comfortably off investment income and pension rather than dipping into principal to fund living expenses. But, I'd need a pretty big pot of cash to do that.

There is little way of accurately anticipating how quickly/how much inflation and cost of living expenses will increase. For instance, I'm sure many pensioners (and others too) will struggle with recently announced huge energy cost increases. Unless you've 'extra' money available and can absorb big increases, I'm not sure how we're meant to plan for that.

OP posts:
1dilemma · 03/08/2008 15:33

I have deferred some of my salary to cover this
I have deferred borrowing a huge amount of money to buy a house and will do so when prices have dropped around 40%If it gets desperate we will move to Scotland for free personal care/drugs etc!!!

findtheriver · 03/08/2008 15:52

Earlybird - totally agree. It's really hard to predict that far ahead what the cost of living will be. My approach has been to err on the side of caution - and even though it hacks me off sometimes to be paying so much of my hard earned income into pension funds, deep down I know I'm doing the right thing. These days many of us will live a significant chunk of our lives in post retirement - it could easily be 20/30 years and I just know that I don't want to spend it in poverty.

expatinscotland · 03/08/2008 15:53

Exactly, Earlybird, that's why tbh I think part of anyone's retirement plan should include investing in retraining or the like so that a person has the ability to switch careers and carry on working or go back to work if the need arises.

Original poster
Earlybird · 03/08/2008 16:07

expat - agree completely about the retraining. But here is something to ponder: do employers want to hire older people? My impression is that they'd much prefer to hire younger. Am I wrong?

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 03/08/2008 16:09

i think legislation will have to change, if we are to carry on working.

BUT i also think the way forward for many older people is self-employment by offering a skill (particularly one that caters to other older people) and/or consultancy.

Original poster
Earlybird · 03/08/2008 16:18

Yes, agree about the legislation changing. If retirement ages are meant to be creeping up, we need to be sure workplace attitudes allow/support older people in working longer.

I've recently relocated to America, and we sometimes see ads showing pensioners who work chirpily as greeters at Home Depot, Walmart or McDonald's. But really, who could survive on those (surely) minimum wage jobs? Seems it's more to alleviate boredom than to provide an income source. And surely, people of those generations have so much more to offer.

Maybe your suggestion of working independently is the way forward.

OP posts:
zippitippitoes · 03/08/2008 16:21

b and q and homebase and places seem to employ older people but like you say it is not really exciting or well paid stuff

i definitely think there is age discrimination in jobs

and it starts well before retirement age

i am reconciled to battling with it now

and not even trying for jobs where they pride themselves on their dynamic workforce and fun

Original poster
Earlybird · 03/08/2008 16:27

Many corporations seem to think offering voluntary 'retirement packages' to their older workers is the first step in a 'humane' downsizing.

OP posts:
choosyfloosy · 03/08/2008 16:30

Final salary pension. So far 11 years in it. As soon as I am earning again I will aim to buy as many AVCs as I can lay my hands on.I also plan to work for as long as I possibly can (though probably part-time pretty much from now until the end).

Also plan to take up extreme sports at 75 and hope to die quickly.

zippitippitoes · 03/08/2008 16:30

well i imagine a lot of that is going on now because of the economic situation

not the best time to be job hunting