Did anyone else have a "fuck it, I'm retiring" moment?

[MrsMoastyToasty]

I'm in my late 50s, mortgage paid off, have worked since the age of 18. I'm so close to jacking my job my job in .

I'm worried about taking the step, I have private income & widow's pension (i was widowed at 42) but I am only 50 & as my business is successful - I am terrified of giving it up & then not having enough & then needing to go back to work & having to build another business from scratch

@2ndtimefinances -do you actually want to give up work at 50? Do you enjoy running your business?

It just seems too young to retire.

@LornaDuh I do but it is very full on, not something that can be done part time either. I also have an injury at the moment but when you commit to something & you're self employed you just have uo get on with it.
Also juggling work & my adult DC (SEND) can be very stressful - DC is unlikely to ever live independently so I do have quite a lot going on anyway

Ahhh, that makes sense.

I've decided that in 2025 I will reduce my hours again by another day.

Good for you!

A slow easing into part time is the way to go.

Finished yesterday & feel really excited for the plans I have. Best leaving card I had read:

*A WISE WOMAN ONCE SAID:
"F •CK THIS SH•T"
AND SHE LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER
*
Nails it really! 😀

I realise this is a zombie thread but very useful to me as I had my F it moment last week. Tbf I’ve been thinking about it for 18 months (I was 59 last month) but a combination of feeling absolutely knackered, work expectations increased but salary hasn’t, too many people I know either seriously ill or dead around my age and the numbers working out I just thought I’m going.

I had considered reducing to three days but as others said I would be doing the same work over fewer days and not being paid for it - and the fact we have holiday embargoes twice a year and are expected to do weekends and evenings without proper compensation during those times I just thought F this sh1t.

Finishing end of April, will have a few months off and then pick up some work.

There is no way on earth I will be bored. I have a hundred things I plan to do.

Good for you @chimichangaz

@chimichangaz exciting times.

I have 88 work days to go. I tick them off everyday. Wish I could go at Easter/April but need to pay off a kitchen refurb first.

Lots of things planned before I retire so I can tick them off as I go through the weeks.

Enjoy..😊

One of the first things I did was work out how many working days I have left!

Because I work four days a week and I have two weeks holiday in March plus we have Easter just before I leave (I may have planned that deliberately....) I actually only have 46 working days left.... Quite a sobering thought.

When I was coming up to retirement I had a retirement countdown app on my phone. At any point I could see how many days, hours and minutes I had left

I am in the slightly ridiculous position of not knowing exactly how much money we'll have going forward!

Our pensions are largely Oz, which, surprisingly, doesn't have an agreement with the UK regarding pension income transfer. It's done on an ad hoc basis!

DH retired 18 months ago; I left my chaotic, stressful & increasingly dangerous NHS HCP job 18 months ago, and now work bank at a private place, often more hours than I really want. I could probably jack it in, but the idea of having no additional income coming in worries me, ridiculously.

We aren't doing as much as I thought we would, to be honest. Keep thinking we should grab some 'cheap' winter sun in the Canaries, but I'm a bit scared of flying, so we don't (despite having flown internal Chinese, Indian & Indonesian airlines in my 20s and 30s!). This cold, drear weather isn't helping my get up and go, either!

DH is more structured; gym 3x a week, a ukelele band, regular structured catch up with old work mates, reads a lot, has a 30km walk planned in May.

I need to sort out some direction!

@Fordian definitely do the last minute deals for winter sun. If you really can’t face flying then there are cruises from Southampton, but honestly I would fly in winter. Just tell yourself it’s 4.5 hours for 7-14 days sun.

My advice is try to build up activities that don’t tie you I.e. you can miss them if a better offer comes along. Going to the Cinema on a weekday afternoon is a pleasure.

I see this thread started ages ago but I had this moment 2 weeks ago.

I want to leave in the summer. With 3 months notice I have to wait til April to hand notice in.

I did some calcs today and I can claim pension at 57 (am 56 now) and get about £14K a year plus a lump sum. I have no mortgage and I think I can just about cope on that. Am I mad?

I will probably get a p/t job to top it up...

I wish!
Planned to work full time until the age of 55,then cut down to 3 days.
Unfortunately my husband had to give up work at the age of 48 due to health reasons. So,as I'm the chief breadwinner because DH only gets a small amount of benefits, that is no longer feasible. I'm 56 now and can't see it happening for several years.

No you could work winter on agency , save on your heating and take summer off .

@shortsaint

I'm at the same point as you. My husband has had some heart problems and I want him to retire because I'm worried he won't get to enjoy his retirement. He is 62 . We would get a lump sum and a pension of about 14 k plus some savings which would tide us over until 67 .

No shade but why I will probably get a p/t job to top it up.. not just go pt instead at your current job?

With the three months' notice and a summer departure, I expect she's a teacher... where jobs, pt or ft, tend to sprawl beyond reasonable hours.

I'm retiring from teaching in July at aged 56. I'm already part time and teach 4 days.

I want a job I can walk away from every day and forget. I want a job that on a Sunday, I don't have to turn on my laptop in order to make sure I'm ready for Monday.

I don't want a career anymore, just a job.

I'm also willing to give up 13 weeks holiday a year so I can go on holiday in weeks that are cheaper. I'm so sick of paying 50% more for a holiday during school holidays.

My budget works out at around £15k per year day to day costs (no mortgage, single person) and I then plan to get a job/jobs here and there to pay for holidays etc.

work out what your costs are and if it works for you then go for it!! I decided I could either stick it out and be unhappy but well paid or take a financial hit but have my time and freedom. I think I chose well.

So glad this has popped up! I was planning on doing 2 more years, to finish work needed around the house. My husband is keen to retire this year and I've now hit the wall with corporate bullshit after management started January with a 'let's gee everyone up by nagging about all the pointless admin they need to do in addition to their normal work'. I thought about reducing my days, but as per others, I'd just have the same workload, get paid less to do it and be even more stressed out. We're getting our ducks in a row and plan to hand in our notices when we put annual bonuses are paid at the end of March. We'll have less money, but we've passed the point at which trading money for time is a worthwhile deal.

Thanks for your replies (and positivity), I am not a teacher but work in an education field.

If I went p/t I'd need a legitimate reason and I'd only be doing the same for less whilst they save money.

I also sick of the corporate crap. Many men in their 40s waving their willies around with eyes on the prize whilst never listening to experienced staff.

I'm post menopausal, not respected, and increasingly mouthy about it. Which has also got me into trouble (not really but I was picked up on it by one of bosses - yes I have 3 and they all want different things) - sensing I had some 'rage' issues.

Well I am post menopausal and sick of being being either told what to do when it's unachievable, has been done before and failed - or asked to just find money out of nowhere, wasting my time in the process. Oh, and never being thanked despite hitting all targets and any good ideas never credited. Rage indeed

Me! Just this week actually...I'm 57 later this year, DS1 currently 15, DH self employed. I've been retiring/not retiring- retiring/not retiring for almost 2 years now. My biggest fear was boredom...but this week I thought 'so what'?? I'm bored some days when I'm working lol

IFA confirmed before Christmas I have sufficient pension to meet my current outgoings til I'm 102!!

So feck it...I'm outta there! It does helps that work has been particularly difficult this last 8-12 months...so it's definitely the right decision.