If you retired before 60, how much pension pot did you have?

[tiredofthisshit21]

Just that, really. Aiming for 57 and trying to work out if I should try and stay on a bit longer but I'm so tired of working.

I guess you are experiencing difficulty in switching from identity of being saver&investor to spender. I keep in mind that on an average I have around 12 years active before the natural ageing process will catch up with me. There's also a paradox of not gaining as much by being a saver at our age due to the compounding effect.

Yep you've hit the nail on the head and I think it's something everyone goes through when retiring. How much is enough? I know what my monthly spending is. I know how much money I'll have by the time i retire. There are fears around a market crash but I have back up savings in ISAs. It all looks sound but why do I doubt that I have enough?!

I saw people advising to read books such as Die with Zero to help in changing that mindset.
I would have worked longer, perhaps another 2 years, I was made redundant 2 months ago, and having to look for another job, and learning everything from scratch as we do in my profession in every new job, made me to panic. I already had done a lot of thinking and planning "just in case" so wasn't starting from scratch. I am fortunate that there's no mortgage too.
I feel so peaceful with my decision! Every day I think more than once how lucky I am to have this opportunity to use all those savings to make my life comfortable. I won't have the same income as when working but I am calm and very happy. I couldn't be happier tbh!

@timestressed that's great to hear. I won't have anywhere near my current income but I've been living off less than I'm giving myself in retirement due to focusing on building up savings.

Is your question here because you are about to retire any time soon?

@tiredofthisshit21 Monthly spend isn’t the full picture though is it? We budget for cars, holidays, weekends away, house maintenance and improvement, lots of other things will wear out in your very long retirement! You need money besides a pension based on £2000 a month. Plus taxes and labours new taxes!

@timestressed yes - in 6 months.
@MeetMeOnTheCornerI have a separate savings pot for all of that.

You need to know your outgoings and also any potential change of spending habits as well as the essentials. We now go on holiday for a couple of months a year, something we could not have considered when working. The time away is huge but the cost isn’t as bad as you think because you can do it in low season.

I have proper time to garden now, we have spent about £500 this year on plants. Think about what you want to actually do.

Ok time to sort my pension out. This thread all sounds like gobbledygook to me.

Your plans sound similar to mine OP. Aiming for £2k a month net. Although will have to work part time to 63 to make that happen. All DB + state. Are you single? Makes a MASSIVE difference to what you’ll need.
I think I’ll be fine on £2k with mortgage paid. I have friends who have retired on less and seem to be doing fine.

Will also have safety net/emergency pot of about £80k and possibility of downsizing when I get to mid 70s. It is exciting to start thinking about the next phase of life but I also find that bit hard after working for decades as I struggle with the idea of spending instead of saving.

Agree AI has been great at helping me consider options and tax planning.

No I'm not single. Husband will work for another year and has slightly more pension than me when he does retire.

We won't be going away for months at a time as I wouldn't leave the dog for that long but definitely planning multiple holidays which are all budgeted for.

I have an expensive gym membership which I plan to keep up and will be there most days. Other plans too - I won't be bored.

Which bits are confusing to you?