What was the reason that made you retire?

[BeeCucumber]

I work part time and I will soon reach state pension age and I can retire - but I’m not sure if I want to. As there is no requirement to officially retire at 66, I wonder how did you know when it was the time to leave?

Didn't like my (already part time and low paid job, as I have downsized my role/hours since the pandemic). Had some unexpected inheritance the equivalent to 10 years of my small p/t salary.

Rather than spend it on upgrades of things I'd never have had otherwise (eg new car, fancy holidays, bigger house) I decided to use it to stop work 10 years earlier than planned.

At 50 instead of 60. I have 3 weeks notice left to work. I can't wait.

I may go back to work in some capacity in the future , but retirement is wasted on the old. I'm going to enjoy the freedom while I can and before illnesses hit.

Life's Too Short.

Long commute
Job changing in a way I didn't like
Manager making it obvious my face no longer fitted, so I decided not to hang around while they manufactured reasons to get rid of me.

I still haven't decided if I have permanently retired. Caring responsibilities and the stress that goes with it did it for me though I'm not out of my fifties yet. I'm what is considered economically inactive. However with an elderly parent who needs a lot of attention, a young family member who needs support in day to day living, and a grandchild, I'm perfectly active and contributing to society in all sorts of ways. My husband is currently FT from home but plans to go part time soon and get in on the act in his grandad role. And he has set a tentative date to retire fully 5 years before his state pension starts. His health is not top notch, and neither of us want to risk him getting no retirement at all. I'd love him to retire sooner.

Corporate Batshit, and having my hours and day off changed with no notice , having my holiday refused and book to suit the company, customers being aggressive and rude , lack of security and violent shoplifters and no bank up from management. I just burnt out

Forced on us by footfall dropping in the high street, plus all our main suppliers started selling direct to customers via the Internet, with much bigger budgets than us, killing our online trade. We were almost at pension age, so liquidated the business. Bit sad, as we didn't want to end 30 years this way, but it turned out to be the best decision. 18 months later we had lock down, which would have totally wiped us out and cost us a lot of our pension savings. Plus we have both had a few health issues which would have made running the business very difficult. We enjoyed our business so don't wish we had retired sooner, but so glad we did, when we did.

I retired to help with childcare for my DGC.

My physical health deteriorated, and my mental health took a nose dive because of the impact of my physical health.

I was in a job where stress is unavoidable, and I did not have the energy to manage it due to it all being used up managing my physical symptoms.

I was already on reduced hours, but It just became unsustainable, and I took my work pension and bailed.

Brexit "retired" me from the long term career that paid off the the mortgage and built my pension; I moved on to a part time job; could afford to retire at 65 and didn't enjoy work enough to want to stay on.

I had a wobble for about 3 weeks and now love being retired - it's like every day has that Saturday feeling (but without the crowded shops etc).

This is all very helpful. I'm looking to go on my 65th birthday - I will have to self-support for two years until my state pension kicks in and I have only very very minimal private pensions so I'm going to spend two years being very poor, but this thread has helped me realise there's so much more to life than work.

Go over to the Over 50's section of Money Saving Expert.

There's a brilliant forum on there of people who are attempting to live on low pensions

Wow 😮 a carbon copy of my feelings and experience . I know where you are coming from .

My Contract is not being renewed and I’m due to leave in September. I’ve had some health issues this year and a bereavement. Feels like it’s time to go

Reading for ideas to inform my plans... outline plan to go p/t at 60 and retire at 63. Would love to retire fully at 60 which seems quite old enough but at present can't see my way to it.

Hunt decided the NHS had to be 24/7 regardless of ability to staff that. So my great western trained front line B6 team of 8 FTE staff became 20 in the space of a chaotic year, all 3rd world recruits, some with evidently bought qualifications. I was the last to go.

I can do any amount of stress if it's due to being front line NHS, but when the stress is the incompetency of your fellow workers, and a management who refuse to acknowledge there's even a problem, no.

I left at 60. Since then I've been doing bank at a private place (on 50% more hourly pay...). I miss my earlier NHS team but I couldn't get out of the new one quick enough.

I knew, from my early thirties I wanted to retire early and we planned, from a financial perspective, accordingly. I actually really enjoyed my job and the people I worked with, but I knew I wanted a different life.

I love my early retirement. I have traveled a lot more, visited friends and family, socialise more, actually have hobbies and time for family, etc. My house is in a fairly good decorative order and I have got rid of so much clutter. There have been times, especially with the “Tuss budget”, COL and increased energy bills when I have been a little concerned but there are so many things you can do reasonably cheaply or for free. I am fitter and healthier. My life is so much better now.

However, retirement can be difficult for some people. My boss, despite having a really good financial retirement package found it a difficult adjustment for nearly two years. I have also known a couple who found retirement difficult and who divorced less than two years after retirement.

For me, however, I knew it was the right decision. It is a big change and can be challenging but also rewarding.

@Fordian

What you have described is a disaster waiting to happen. How does someone buy qualifications ?

A certain sub-Saharan country has a well established reputation for dodgy dealings, shall we say.

One of my new colleagues arrived brandishing a post-grad diploma in CT scanning, a course that takes at least a year in the UK. Having ascertained that she could not identify the orbits (eyeballs) on a head CT, I discovered her qualification was US$400 and one weekend.

I was working with more skilled HCAs than many of my 'professional' colleagues! It was often them who alerted us to unfolding catastrophes so we could jump in to avert it.

I think there are several reasons:
-The endless dissing of the NHS by red top papers prior to Covid, putting people off training.

• Brexit causing the departure of so many excellent Polish, Spanish and Portuguese staff.
• The move to 12hr days that are actually 14+ away from home. Try them, post 60.
• The removal of the student bursary for HC degrees so older (often better) people could no longer afford to apply, since reinstated....
• The Tories recognising the oncoming black hole in NHS staffing so I believe the HCPC were told to turn a blind eye to overseas qualifications. None of my colleagues were made to produce evidence of the modules they'd studied, or their specific grades. They just weren't scrutinised. Some of them openly stated which of our other colleagues 'trained' in certain hospitals with no training programs in place. They all knew.

It was verboten to call out the emperor's nakedness. But, eventually, a (rare) incomer, after I left, whistleblew. The dept is now under investigation.

But I won't derail the thread any further!

I worked as manager of childcare setting. Various incidents with a child and parents reactions triggered a mini anxiety episode resulting in medication and time off. I returned to work and decided to retire. 22 years there and the bureaucracy, Ofsted, lack of support, some parents and children took their toll.
Best decision I made!

I'm retiring from my teaching role next July at the end of the academic year.
My reasons are having cancer (now in remission), ongoing health issues, entitled children, unrealistic and demanding parents, Ofsted pressure, and just pretty much sick of the education system after 29 years.

It's been something I've struggled to come to terms with as for 24 years I loved my job.

I'm hoping to get a part time job doing something I can forget about once I've left the building.

I worked as a Teaching Assistant for several years before & during Covid.

Didn’t intend to retire until 65 but the way TAs were treated during Covid meant the job was never the same for me afterwards. Management only cared about teacher safety not TA safety despite most TAs being older than their teacher colleagues & some being vulnerable. It felt like no attempt was taken at all to keep us safe (our school was open throughout Covid for the children of key worker’s & children with additional needs & was staffed almost wholly by TAs with no protective measures taken at all).

I stayed for a year or so after everything went back to normal but my heart wasn’t in it any longer so I left & am doing voluntary work I enjoy instead.

I'm going in a few months - will be 62 and 3/4.

Main factors are - want to spend more time on my pastimes/hobbies, fed up of constant changes in IT systems and starting to struggle to keep up, I'm lucky I can afford it.

I will miss my colleagues who are lovely and I have worked with them for many years but really looking forward to having more time and not rushing everywhere.

I retired for the early retirement package 8 years ago. And have had 4 (mostly part time) jobs since because I love working. I'm not sure what I'll do when I reach state pension age.

Just been made redundant (basic governement statutory, thank you to the rich company that just took on 6 senior managers at a 600K wage bill and obviously has to find the money somewhere!), at 62 and was planning on retiring in the next financial year, but it might be now (we've been working hard to ensure we have enough on which to retire)! I am applying for roles where I am too experienced, cost too much, don't fit their profile and I will not bore you with other comments made, including that I should be grateful to be employed at my age and reduce my salary expectations accordingly! I have been honest, applying for contracts, short-term roles, maternity covers, but seems all of these are code for try before you buy and wanting employees beyond the date they specify, so you don't fit they dump, they want you, they'll employ! Thank you Labour for helping companies employ in this way and this will become fairly standard for women imo. Decision seems to have been made by society for me, despite the fact my skill set and experience is in demand, employers just seem to want the cheapest and I am not devaluing myself! Maybe I will claim Job Seekers for the first time ever, never having relied on benefits at any time since starting full time work at 17, but I am sure the excellent job centre staff will be able to help me lol!