Has retirement been what you thought…

[RetiMent]

Just that really. I’m seriously considering taking VR (I’m 58). Has it been what you thought? Looking at the positives and negatives, advice welcome, thank you.

I retired early and I am really enjoying it. I was lucky and was able to get Voluntary Redundancy, which enhanced my works pension. I have also paid additional voluntary NI contributions to enhance my state pension. My DH was able to retire at the same time.

Before taking early retirement you need to financially consider your position. We had paid off our mortgage and had savings. In my experience, money is key to having a good retirement. Really look at your outgoing/in-goings and be realistic. We have a flexible budget, which we review every six months.

For me the Pros have been:

• Time to travel (abroad and in the UK). We have visited so many wonderful places.
• Explore hobbies, I enjoy dance classes, my husband has taken music lessons.
• Take on new projects, since retirement we have decorated the whole house and declutterred every room (still more to do). We have helped my oldest son buy a house and have decorated this (before he moved in).
• I am much fitter, I have time for exercise and sleep. I don’t feel stressed about work, etc.
• I have more time with loved ones, particularly grateful to have had so much time with my Dad before he died earlier this year.
• Chance to try something else, I do some volunteering once a week which I really enjoy.
• Time to learn new skills or study, I have undertaken a short course in Jewellery making and local history.

The Cons

• You could become less active (especially in the Winter). I am fairly self motivated but it is not always easy.
• Lack of structure, we have developed our own plans. I still do daily “To-do” list and set yearly objectives, but I realise this would not work for everyone.
• Some people find it quite difficult to be with their partner most of the time every days. You do hear of couples divorcing in retirement.
• Social interactions may reduce. Most of my friends still work (fortunately they mostly work part-time). I do miss my work colleagues and obviously see them a lot less. I have also made new friends.
• You may have a sense of a loss of status from not being at work. My boss found this very difficult.

Good Luck in whatever you do.

@LittleLlama this is really helpful.

In terms of finances how did you know you had enough to retire?

You come across as impressively organised, had you thought a lot about how it would look before you retired or because of the redundancy was it more figure it out at that point?

All other things being the same, prosperous employment is much better than impoverished retirement, at almost any age.

How much have you spent in the last 12 months? You need that much pension plus a safety margin (30%?).

I retired at start of 2022. Prices of everything almost immediately shot up!

It took five months for work pension to start paying, because there was AVC. Can you bridge such a gap?

Even better. I was worried about being bored and lonely but now I wonder how I ever found the time to work.

Agree with @HeddaGarbled , I was worried about being bored but I can't believe how the time flies.

Same here. I retired at 60 and never looked back.

Not quite for me. Retired this year at 62.
Dm managed a fracture and was in hospital a while right over my retirement, and missed Ds's wedding to boot.
So my retirement is now busy going back and forth and managing her meds and taking her to shop or appointments, she's no longer driving.
Seems to be improving now and I don't go daily. We get on really well so it could have been worse after reading about some mothers on here.

My husband wonders how he had time to work...
We are both 58. He worked as an engineer in heavy industry for 49 yrs and retired last December.
I am teaching still and will look to retire in 3 yrs. I am not ready to spend all my time with him, as much as I love him.
I will read the rest of the thread looking for tips!

@tinytemper66 your husband is 58 but worked 49 years??

Sorry 40 years 🤣

My husband retired this year at 65. We do a lot of separate things as well as doing things together. I couldn't be with him constantly.

I like it but had got used to my routine, also early but was retired by 55. Now DH has joined me and it took a bit of adjustment, I was also very unwell just as he retired and in huge amounts of pain. I volunteer two days a week and also go to U3a classes.

We have settled now and all good. We plan on travelling a lot next year in a campervan, to be bought early 2025.

I regret going in October this year. It was a few things that have made me wish I'd worked until Jan. We had planned financially that I could go at 65 but dh then found out he'd been overpaid at work so from January that's going to be recouped. Also I realised how bloody idle dh has become (he's working two days a week). He's in such a rut. Get up. Walk dogs. Come back have tea and toast. Do fuck all. He's even given up doing the washing up or hanging clothes out. He won't cook (he can, just doesn't.) I'm so sodding lonely. (Given up craft classes because of cost) all my friends work. I'm going to look into either a job a couple of days a week or volunteering just so I can see people.

@GOODCAT

It is very difficult to know if you will 100% be fine financially. You set a budget and hope for the best (and plan for the worst). I have a DB pension (and that gives us some certainty around income).

The COL crisis (following the Truss budget) was a shock. However, we used some of our savings to insulate our home properly and install money saving equipment, something we should have done sooner. I was also a little extravagant, especially at Christmas and we have cut down (for example, reduced the number of people we buy gifts for by more than half).

We did plan to retire early and have saved/invested in our pension accordingly. Getting Voluntary Redundancy was a bonus. My husband was also a trustee of his company pension scheme and so had a lot of knowledge about pensions and financial planning.

After 45 years of starting at 8am, it was a bit of a shock, for a few months.

Used to it now and like it.

I retired in aug at 58 and there are no downsides .
A word of caution though in that my social life has massively increased and therefore my spending . Many holidays booked and more interests taken up . I love the sheer freedom , time do just ' be' . Reading and coffee early morning on the decking in the summer with nowhere to be brought home how lucky I am .

Almost all positives for us, retired 7 years ago when DH was 60 and fed up with his work, I'd been made redundant in my late 50s and was working part time on various short term things, so was half way to retirement already. We'd never been big spenders, had good savings, no mortgage and work/private pensions to tide us over until state pension kicked in. Parents no longer with us after some stressful last few years.

Never been happier! Time for volunteering, creative pursuits, improving skills and travelling in our ancient camper van. You do need to have interests outside work and not miss that 'status' that work brought - like others what I don't miss is getting on a bus full of coughing people on a dark winter's morning.

Seize the day and go for it!

Retired a couple of years ago at 57 and loved it from day one.
My biggest enjoyment is not setting the alarm and not having to get up so early.
I keep busy and have never once wished I was still at work, of course it helps that I am financially secure which makes all the difference.

Following as I'm 59 this year and realised all the 60 HR weeks I missed so much for 5 yrs and you can't buy time back.
I suspect I need the structure of work and may go PT.

I retired a few years back at 57. I was a bit worried about it as sadly felt that work defined who I was. But absolutely no regrets. The freedom from the tie of work is just so liberating.

I did combine it with moving countries mind you, so there was a lot to occupy me.

Retired at 56 , 8 years ago never regretted it

Do you mind sharing how you spend your time now?

Certainly, we walk, meet with friends , go to the theatre, have days out at the local NT properties . Library , market, charity shops , jumble sales , shopping , cold water swimming , beach , knit and nat, dancing , going out for lunch with my friends.

Retirement terrifies me. I'm 58, and am counting down the fact that I only have 9 working years left. Currently, the years seem to be flying by. The problem is that I am always at my best when I am very busy (I work two jobs) and when I have too much free time, I get very undisciplined and lazy and tend towards depression.

My friends tell me that by 67 I will be ready to give up work, but I am frightened with the COL crisis that I won't have enough money, and that I will miss not being out in the world (One of my jobs is in events and is very social).

I loathe living in the suburbs, so I will definitely be making good use of my freedom pass to go into Central London for culture as often as I can.

I retired at 50 and I found it hard at first but now I am so busy I feel like there are not enough hours in the day. I would go for it if I was you