Retirement at 50?

[Otins]

Would you retire aged 50 if you could?

I am currently working it through with an IFA and I think I can afford to do it.

I have no children. I am in a relationship but financially independent and not married.

I had always planned to retire at 60 when my mortgage was paid off, but a recent inheritance means i am mortgage free now.

Would you retire this early if you could?

i have joked in the past that retirement is wasted on the old, and I could have 10 years now having fun, and I felt funds were getting a bit tight , i could go back to work aged 60.

My monthly 'retirement' income would
be around the same as my average monthly jncome over the last 10 years (self employed so it fluctuates) This wouldn't allow for luxury world cruises but a couple of holidays a year, plenty of eating out and culture, and some leeway for the occasional splurge seems plenty.

I could keep earning and have 'more' but it seems wasteful if I don't need more, and time is our most precious commodity.

I would in a minute.

If I had enough money to do loads of travel, maybe extra studying etc. If I was retiring to have a quiet life and a holiday once a year then no I wouldn’t. My mum retired at 55 and she aged so much faster than my dad who worked to 65. Things that I know she’d previously have just shrugged off became a massive deal because she frankly didn’t have enough going on in her life. If they’d both retired at the same time and she’d had loads of retired friends then maybe.

Interested in how someone can be ill enough to be medically retired, but fit enough for lots of travel, work on the house & gardening.

BIL has cancer, managed but not curable. He was medically retired from the NHS a few years ago and is currently cycling across France.

I semi retired a year ago at 55. I now work doing something I choose about 2 days a week.

Additional to money these are things I've learned...

1. It's easy for days to all become one. It's lovely to have a free diary to fill with what you want, but do do things or it can get quite depressing and groundhoggy.

1. I've got an elderly relative to look after so it's lovely to be able to make these choices and spend time with them.

1. You may choose to pick up some work. This will impact your freedom. Even some voluntary roles impact you more than you'd imagine. So don't immediately say yes to everyone and everything simply because you have the free time. Take time to establish what you want to do.

Amazing! I was a workaholic until about 45 and then had one arsehole boss too many, burned out and started just looking to retirement. I can't do it yet so I have changed roles and become self-employed which is a huge improvement but I'd still retire tomorrow if I could.

If you are mortgage free and feel it would suit you then absolutely yes!

DH and I both retired at 59 after paying off the mortgage. DH is 5 years older than me so he retired first - I too was SE
With fluctuating income so carried on for a further 5 years.

DH convinced me to finally give up at 59 too despite my fear and misgivings. We both have a reduced state pension now - due to being contracted out for several years, DH has a further 3 relatively small private pensions and I have 2 although one of those I don't touch as I don't need the money. DH saves well in excess of £1k per month and I save a few hundred. We already had some very healthy investments too prior to retirement.

Financially we are better off now than when we retired 10 years ago.

We take 3 expensive 5* overseas holidays per year and have spent around £50k on our house to make life as easy as possible as we have no intention of leaving here.
If something breaks down we just replace it. We change our car every 3-4 years.

We have never regretted early retirement for one single second despite both having great careers.

Our DD is well taken care of close to home - she has SLD - and will be a very wealthy young lady should she outlive us. We spend lots of time with her each week.

I understand your concerns totally but just do it. At 50, if you do feel you made the wrong decision you can always return to work or do volunteering. Life is too short to waste being a wage slave should you not need to be.👍

Absolutely! I would love nothing more than not to work. I think we should all be able to retire early. I know so many people that have t got to enjoy retirement so have basically worked then died or in I’ll health.

Enjoy!

Absolutely I would.
I retired at 56 and I cannot tell you how happy I have been since then.
I went as soon as it was possible financially. Would have gone earlier if I could.

I would love to know more about this- how do you afford it all on relatively small pensions? Do you mind sharing some figures?

That would be my dream come true .

He was a police officer who was seriously assaulted while on duty.

Unfortunately the assault caused a traumatic brain injury. Due to the injuries sustained he was unable to continue with the physicality needed for his role.
Subsequently after being in an induced coma, surgery and many, many months of rehabilitation he was given medical retirement.

Some 8 years on he is doing very well, although will always be on medication for his seizures and will unlikely run another marathon.

I hope this goes some way to explaining how someone can be awarded medical retirement from a career but eventually be well enough to garden, diy and go on holidays @EdgarsTale 😔

Not all jobs are equal and requirements for medical retirement awards are very much guided by the role you were employed to do.

@Otins please, so it asap.

I retired at 59, as did a friend. We both enjoyed 10 or so years of doing things that pleased us. After that, we both experienced serious health issues which now limit our ability to do most of that now.

I keep stressing to my daughter that it's the quality of the years after retirement that matters, not the number. This was brought home to her very strongly when a colleague of hers retired on a comfortable pension, only to die three months later.

You, along with all of us, don't know when bad health or death is going to strike. You may have 30 good years in front of you, or three. Take what you have and enjoy what time you have left.

This has really made me think. I'm 59, fit and well but lost my younger sister a couple of years ago so I'm acutely aware of how quickly that can change. I have a small pension that I could take now or which kicks in in full at 60 and another due at 65 which I could take now with a lower amount. I'm self employed and could take my pensions and work less or manage without working if I was frugal and if I had to. But I'm too scared. The sudden loss of income during the pandemic (my industry shut down completely) has left me terrified of giving up work. Something I've only just realised. I love my job and I feel too young. But I realise time is ticking away....

I can understand people carrying on working regardless of financial necessity if they genuinely love their jobs, but I'm always confused by those whose reason is that they'd be bored.

I have dozens of things I want to do and far too little time to do them all, how could I possibly be bored just because I've cut out 1 thing?

I'd go part time but not fully retire.

Nope I'm 57 and I want to stave off dementia for as long as I can. There's strong links between giving up challenging jobs and getting dementia. I will probably go at 61 with the next round of voluntary severance.

Absolutely not. I can’t think of anything I would like to do less. I’m 50 and I’m ramping up my career now my kids are older. I’ve one still in school and 2 at uni

i have no mortgage and could easily retire but I’m loving being able to give work everything I couldn’t for the last 20 years. In fact I currently work 4 days and am seriously considering going back to 5

This worries me too. I’d have to take up something equally challenging. I’d like to do a Masters on Shakespeare (this one specifically https://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught/courses/shakespeare-studies-ma). I don’t think sitting on your bum for decades would be very good for your brain.

I'd go part time to find lots of luxury trips and spa days and things like regular massages and grtting ny hair done more often so it always looks great 😆

I would but watch out for the loop hole with national insurance contributions as you won’t get a full state pension

You if you can do, then do it! My dad retired at 48, financially independent, and mom worked a few years more and then also stopped working. They’ve been retired for almost 20 years now and travel 2-3 times a year, do tons of sports/activies, have lots of friends and a vibrant social life. They both say they made the right decision, because they got to spend their money and do what they wanted to when relatively young.

Regarding staving off dementia etc…my dad is an avid guitar player and they play racket sports 4 times a week. You certainly don’t need a job to keep your body and mind youthful and healthy.

I am early 50s and have handed in my notice. Thought about it for several years but always ducked away from making the decision. Finally went through with it and am feeling excited and positive so I'm sure it's the right decision. NHS worker

I'm in this quandary now , when I was 30 I thought I'd go at 50, got to 50 and just wasn't ready it felt too young . Tried again over lockdown having enjoyed a long lazy summer . Then had a wobble about what I'd do in a long wet dark winter so went back to work . I'm now 59 and everytime I have a bad day I think right that's it , but I'm struggling to jump ship . I've worked 40 yrs and it just seems so final .

I wanted to do more travelling in retirement but got a couple of dogs over lockdown so now I can't do more than a couple of weeks holiday at a time . I'd never be bored but worry social contacts / friends all still work so I'd have to forge a ' day time ' friendship group as I'm single , although even if still married I couldn't spend 24hrs a day everyday with the same person .
I just don't know .

You can make voluntary contributions if you're short. They don't cost much.