Keeping going to 66/67 or beyond.

[mehefin]

Wondering if anyone wants to share their experiences of this.
I was born before April 1960 so get my pension at 66, less than two years to go now. I have worked in hospitality, admin roles and social care so always what I would call jobs rather than a career. As things used to be I would have gone part time at 60 but that was no longer an option.
At 60 I was still fine with full time work which got a lot more demanding when Covid hit but four years plus down the line I am constantly exhausted.
I considered changing jobs but with 20 years with my current employer losing that security seemed too big a risk and I didn't feel I had the energy to job search or give to a new role.
I've got to keep going so I have done a couple of things to make that easier. Over the years my role has become quite varied and I took on a lot of extra responsibility relating to Covid issues so I reviewed that with my manager and it was changed. Some things I dropped and others I was given time for during my shift when I had been fitting them in before so now I have less work to accomplish in the same time. This is actually the correct amount of work for the time and makes me realise how hard I had been working for a good few years.
Secondly I am using my annual leave to take an extra day off each fortnight, compressed hours are not an option. This really helps me pace myself through the weeks. The downside is no long break but I used those for trips or diy projects neither of which I have energy for right now.

I also have a couple of secret countdown charts to remind me there is an end😅

Thanks @Meadowfinch sorry I didn't make myself clear. My pre-stakeholder pension has no value because the money I paid in from contributions in the short period I was in the job was overwhelmed by charges before it could get going. The other ones do appreciate but they would do better if I could port them into one place to reduce the charges.

Similarly DH's pension has value but some years it doesn't grow at all despite payments going in and it can also lose value. It's still worth doing in the long term IF there isn't a stock market cataclysm and IF retirement is actually possible so that it allows us to do what is planned and actually retire.

If the sands shift under us and the state old age pension isn't till 80 or is removed from anyone with private provision (not likely but not impossible) or runaway inflation means it buys a bar of soap a month, then it will not have been worth depriving ourselves of money during peak expenses years to pay in.

I still think it's a good bet to pay into a pension and I do. But whether I still would if I were 25 and trying to get into a property market that starts at a quarter of a million, I honestly don't know.

@StMarieforme it's sickening isn't it? Mine is very wealthy, he's had time to remarry and have a new family. I always thought my turn would come when the children were grown up but I'm too busy working and saving for the day I can no longer manage to work.