When to stop saving and investing?

[ThatArtfulStork]

DH and I (largely due to inheritance) have close to £1m in pensions and investments. Late 30s, no kids yet, hoping to have one soon. £170k left on mortgage (3.5% - DH says we should keep this in place). DH is obsessed with how much we can make this grow by the time we are 65. How do I convince him there is only so much money we need? Household income £100k, we pay about £10k a year into pensions. His thoughts are we push for a very comfortable retirement from 65 onwards. Surely we can retire much earlier than that? I suppose my question is when is it enough and when can we stop and say we have enough?

Amazed you have this much on 100k presumably you had inheritance or similar
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You can get calculators that show you (or an IFA like we did)
My dh can be panicky abput money so I made a clear financial plan.

We arent dissimilar to you but we are older 41 with 2 children.
Our ifa has forecasted we can retire at 52 / 55 and live comfortably this includes private school if we want and uni / flat deposits for kids.

I think your dh is OTT but if in doubt make a financial plan it takes away the unknown.

Well, it sounds as though you would rather retire sooner on less money and him later on more money, so that's the conversation you need to be having, when do you actually want to retire. Then work the financial goals around that. Of course you don't have to retire together but again you both have to be reasonably in agreement about that too, no point one of you retiring at 52 if you want to travel the world together and the other wants to work for another 10 years. Children cost a fortune, care in old age costs a fortune if you need it, some proper planning with an IFA would probably help.

Given the amount of time you have left for that to compound, I would certainly be looking at returning younger than 65 unless you really enjoy working. Money is only useful for what it can provide for you - it isn’t there to just look at like a fishtank! No

Think about what you want to do with your retirement, then think about the sort of income you will need to make that happen. It is really tempting to just think “I need as much as possible” but with that mindset you might never find yourself able to make the move from building a pot to spending it.

a million in pensions/investments will give a pension income of about £30k pa

Obviously you still have many years of growth ahead of you but don't be too complacent.

This is my husbands point of view. He wants £100k retirement income. Also feels that because we inherited we have an obligation to leave something behind for our child should we have one.

Your household income is £100,000 and your husband wants to retire on exactly the same money as you currently earn? That is quite unusual. How did he arrive at that figure?

when you are age 30-50 and paying mortgage and possible nursery or school fees, you need the 100k income. But when you are retired, you’ll struggle to spend it (unless you really and to live on a cruise ship which I’d hate). Most people need less income in retirement.

look up websites on FIRE (financial independence retire early) which is a philosophy of save hard then retire. It is a bit excessive but might give ideas.

If you're planning to retire pre 58 then make sure you have enough outside of pensions.
With £1m invested at 30 I would be looking to enjoy life now and for a shorter/easier way into retirement rather than ploughing more and more in and planning on ft working until 65.

Apparently the amount we should have invested in 25ish years means £100k is sustainable withdrawal rate and the lump sum can be inherited.

No it wouldn’t, it would be 40k or more. I’m a Chartered IFA

Amazed you have this much on 100k presumably you had inheritance or similar

OP literally says in her first sentence that it's mainly from inheritance!

OP, I'd advise you and your DH to sit down with a financial advisor and make a proper plan. Paying fur a FA was the best investment my DH and I ever made.
We were able to retire much earlier than I anticipated.
What I would say is don't forget to live and enjoy some of your money in the meantime. Sadly retirement isn't always possible. I've lost 4 friends I was at school with and I'm only 57.

Bear in mind the 40% that is levied on pensions on inheritance now. I would divert money to other destinations if I had the chance now.