Join me in a 2026 retirement countdown

[loveawineloveacrisp]

Next year is the year I'm going to hang up my corporate boots and retire and I can't wait. I'll be 57 and I want to finish just before Christmas, none of that arguing over who's going to cover the Christmas period nonsense.

Not really sure when I should let my boss know. I'm on 3 months notice so I guess that's plenty of time.

Anyone care to join me in a countdown?

Hopefully you have taken some if your pension. You should have done so at 60 ... your pension wont increase by not taking it, its lost money. Look at the Facebook group NHS pensions.

🎉🎉🎉

My first day back was a snow day for the school so took the wind out of my sails a bit 🤣
I did supply on Wednesday and will continue doing it fulltime until my pension is sorted. There is an issue and I didn’t get any payment from TPS. So in essence, unless I do supply I won’t have an income. So irritating.
The plus side is a weekday flight to Spain where is warm enough to sit out in the sun without a coat.
Last weekend I was in a pub in Cheltenham wearing my hat and coat it was so cold!

I retired in November and was headhunted for a job that I couldn’t say no to. It seems crazy at the age of 60, where I was unwanted and unappreciated in my last place, to be suddenly in demand and given a £40K pay rise.

I did same last year, was 57 too! Check your employment contract re notice. Also see if there is any ‘wind down’ options…I was able to reduce hours, but still at full pay, over course of 3 months.

Wow, amazing!

Hi all, I am hoping to retire in the next 12-18 months, I will be 52 . But it's a bit different for me as I am self-employed & a full time carer to an adult DC so I will still have my caring responsibilities. I could possibly finish sooner but am worried about my DC in the current climate if I retire sooner.
I was widowed in my early 40's so have a pension & then other income to live from, but I am struggling with the idea of becoming a Spender instead of a Saver. Also of giving up a lucrative self-employed role & then the financial circumstances surrounding my child changing & needing to increase my income again.
So difficult to make these decisions, as also aware of how short life can be & want to enjoy & have good time with my new partner
Good luck to everyone

32 working days to go. Thinking of booking a holiday to celebrate.

Getting so excited, 45 working days to go! Just feel like floating through work, as no decisions now will impact me, still a secret from majority of colleagues, can’t wait. How is everyone else counting down feeling?

All ready dropped to two days a week. I can retire at Christmas age 66. Will I fully retire? I’m not sure, I quite like my job and the extra money will be welcome on top of my pension (after tax of course!). Getting the holidays I want approved by my firm, might be a game changer though.

I can't decide whether to hold on til April 2027 to get another year of bonus. Seems silly not to.

I ‘retired’ in 2018 ie I took my teachers pension early and went part time. I’ve filtered down from full time, to 4 days, 3 days and am now currently working 2 days a week. I’ve decided to completely retire at the end of this school year and take my remaining pension. I calculated that I had to work 76 days this academic year, but with a couple of extra holidays that have been slotted in it went down to 74, I’ve actually got 41 and a 1/2 days left before the end of the year. Not that I’m keeping a record 😂. I’ll be just shy of 67 when I stop.

@loveawineloveacrisp, how significant is the bonus? You mentioned wanting to avoid Christmas leave. I was in a job with this stress and was so glad when I could walk away at Christmas however a significant bonus is hard to forgo especially to have a stress free start to retirement.

I'm aiming to retire in June 2027 but hoping the company will let me work on a retainer basis (with low workload 😀) for 12 months until my DB pension kicks in.

January is alll most done so only 17months to go. I'm single so my finances are solo which adds to the fear of not having enough. I have a financial review in Feb so perhaps this might help reassure me to take the plunge.

I was planning the same - hold on til Feb 27 to get another year’s bonus in, but this year’s one has just been announced and it’s so low it’s almost insulting so I’m currently in a “why bother?” mood 🤣???

Bonus should be around 10% of salary so not insignificant, and I can put it all in pension to avoid tax. But yeah, I'd have to navigate another year of Christmas leave.

January is almost done. I will never ever work a January again!

I’m on track for retirement via voluntary severance - but to get the severance I have to stick around till Sept. I’m looking forward to retirement but struggling with motivation at work. Even doing the bare minimum seems a massive effort!

Yippee!

This was me, just another annual bonus, just another annual bonus. I left end of 2025 so won’t get the 2025 bonus in March 2026. Gutted but you have to take the plunge one day.

That's made me think sod it to hanging on for the 2027 bonus. I don't want to work another January.

Hello all! Can I join? I only work part time (for a charity) but am retiring end of Feb. I’m a keen gardener so looking forward to having lots more free time just at the start of the growing season. Perfect!

You could have some holiday next January, male it less onerous. I always have a week off in January or February.

@LlynTegid yeah, could do. I think how long I stick it out is going to be entirely dependent on how my September goes as that's when I'll have to give my 3 months notice for the end of the year!

February! V jealous.

Congratulations OP! Sharing where I am in case its helpful. I retired on 31st December at 59, 60 this year. I gave my boss 12 months notice but was contracted to 6, I wanted to give him time to get used to it & find my replacement!

I was in a senior corporate role & tbh, had just had enough. It was 100% the right time. I ticked off days on the calendar & tbh, the year flew by! As I got closer, I stopped volunteering to take on new projects knowing I wouldn't be there to complete them & as a result, my workload finally started to ease off & I mentally started to step back. It felt great! Leaving at Christmas was right for me, the break melted into the New Year easily.

I have lots of things I want to try & things I enjoy which I want to spend more time doing, but I wanted to give myself 3-6 months of not having a plan & just seeing how I felt day to day. The plan was having no plan! I can't tell you the joy freedom brings..not setting the alarm, sitting in traffic, endless teams meetings, dealing with aggravation .. the list goes on!

Not missing work one bit!!