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.

When I started work many moons ago I intended to retire at 55 but various changes to company pension schemes & the government constantly moving the goalposts means I am now 57 and still working with no end in sight.

if you can afford it do it!

I enjoy my job; it is fulfilling and intellectually stimulating, plus I like my colleagues. I have had to have stretches of time off due to a chronic illness and missed it.

It's very patronising to assume that anyone who doesn't want to give up work is institutionalised or lacking a home life. I work because I want to, not because I don't have a full life outside of work as well. I have taken several career breaks over the last 30 years, for family and for fun reasons, and enjoyed those to the full, but have still been happy to return to work at the end of them.

I wouldn’t. I would find a small part time job though. I need the job to give me some structure in my life.

100 billion percent yes.
I never understood people who say 'I couldn't not work- I'd be bored etc'.
Take up new hobbies, volunteer.... I could thing of a million worthy things i could do with the time I spend at work.
Don't live to regret not using the time doing the things you love in life

I promise you that when you have time, proper time for you, and an open mind a whole new world of things flood in to fill your life .

Galleries, museums, libraries and all the things that go on in them, National Trust places, open gardens, charity stuff, volunteering doing something meaningful, craft, recycling, courses, clubs - all the new friends you meet on courses and at clubs and the new and different ideas and opportunities they bring. Keeping fit, cooking and eating well. If there was a downside I would say - but I haven't found one. Good luck, go for it, I hope you love it.

I retired last year at 42. I've never looked back. Occasionally I'm bored so I have a nap and write a list of things I'm not really going to do and then it passes!
I recommend a hobby or 2. Meeting up with people when you can, and also meeting new people to keep life interesting.
And bloody enjoy it.

@RebeccaRedhat is it retirement though? Can it be called that at 42? Or are you just unemployed? Retired sounds more impressive but you don't claim retirement pensions.

I call it retirement, if inwas unemployed I'd be claiming benefits off the government and I'm not getting a penny. I've no plans to go back to work. I left work of my own free will with enough to last me, until I can claim my private pension at 55. I have the same standard of living as I has whilst working, and it's no different to the people in this thread who have retired in their early 50s and call it retirement. Most private pensions are not available until 55, and recent changes might even make it 57.

@Needanewjobsoon started investing young as a teen really, had my first job at 13 and started saving and also started my pension scheme at 21. Earned a decent wage but never much more than the UK average. DH has the same story except his salary was better. We had about two years where our investments did extremely well and granted our house to buy was much cheaper than now but we paid off our mortgage in our mid thirties. So we have had 20 years of investing. Small beans compared to investing but I will if the need presents itself will haggle. Also paid for everything on credit cards and then paid off in full. So trips to attractions, hotels, car hire have very often been paid using the credit card schemes, points and air miles.

Before me met we both lived in shared housing. This is one component that cannot be planned at all and that is sharing the financial burden with a partner. I look round our peer group and the best off by far are long term couples.

Once DH retires we will be travelling extensively. He is taking advantage of additional contributions and chucking extra in to his pension. Our investments made us 20k over the last quarter. We both work/worked in education so have decent pensions as well. Granted the period we were born in made it easier but it’s the investing that has given us such a different life. All self taught and never seen an IFA. It’s a long term strategy, DH did some high risk stuff when we started and had a disastrous day once where he lost 25k but as he said we have time to make it up and we did. Zero high risk now and only a small amount in moderate risk.

I would call what @RebeccaRedhat will be doing 'living on independent means' as she can support herself without help from anyone else. It's what I did before I could claim my private pension.

Looking through old census returns recently I saw a person in the 1900s describe their occupation as, 'I do as I please', so that's what I tell people now if they ask what I do.

Gosh, are you the retirement police? There is more to retirement than a pension. And far more ways to support yourself when you have decided to stop working. A "pension" is not a suitable vehicle for some people. I have barely any pension, but made other arrangements.

Once you've finished working and withdrawn from the workplace you have "retired".

I love this! I certainly do as I please.

I retired when I was 51.

I'm so glad I did.

Of course it can. If you intend it to be a permanent departure, it's retirement.

You can also retire from a particular career, and then carry on working doing something else (most sports professionals, for example). Or you can draw a pension and carry on working in your existing job - and therefore not be retired.

There is no defining link between retiring and pensions.

I'm 55 and if my mortgage was gone I'd retire in a heartbeat.
I do still have 2 dependent teens with additional support needs so I would have plenty to occupy me and for a change I might get some time to read, hike, do yoga, visit parents more regularly, cook new recipes etc.

I be so bored but we all different. Im 51. A hobby be good though. Think days would be very long.

You need to have something to do.

We love pottering and there is so much to do in the garden, walking Ddogs etc but we also like to get away in our Moho for a couple of days (midweek when places are not so busy). We go throughout the year so we are constantly seeing new places and revisiting old favourites.

Have often said we don't know how we found time to work.😉
Early retirement was a godsend for us.

I had 6 mths between jobs at home. Hated it. Days endless. I agree you would have to be busy. But Im sure if your job very pressurised be nice to be away from it.

@Mary46 do you think that was because you knew you were between jobs, and would be going back to work. I often wonder if knowing I’ve left my ‘professional’ life behind would mean that I’d commit to other interests in a way i wouldn’t if I knew I wouldn’t have time for them when I returned to work.

I think there's some truth in this, but I've also observed that Parkinson's Law (work expands to fill the time available) affects some retirees and suddenly, they are 'busy' if they have to go to the post office and order something from Amazon, whereas, when they were working, those tasks were fitted around the working life. (Not everyone of course).

On the one hand, it's lovely not to have to rush. On the other, I'm not sure it's good for wellbeing to slow down too radically, if you are a youngish retiree, and in good health. Personally, I'm definitely not ready to spend all day pottering in the garden and walking the dogs.

Yes think work a good routine I dont know found it isolating at home. Friends not free in the day. My friend is retired she not clock watching. That side of it is nice not rushing back to office after lunch.

I did (although I won't actually start getting my pension until 60, I have another source of income which has got me through the intervening years, and DH is still expanding his career) and very happy to have done so. My health is very much better, I've been able to pursue my own hobbies and interests, volunteer, get a dog, plan family life so that we do more fun stuff, and pitch in as my very old parents have needed support.

I had really had enough of work after 30 years. Lockdown was great for me, but I would have hated trying to stay motivated while working from home.

Me too. At 50 I’m really excited to be giving my career a good 10 year run with no children commitments before I decide at 60 whether to cut my hours or go for one big push before retiring

I didn't work for a few years when I was 50 and wasn't looking for a job, isn't that the same

OP did you decide to go ahead and retire? I'm wrestling with a similar decision, I'm 50 and taking voluntary redundancy, can't decide whether this is early retirement or whether to look for something part time for a few more years.