Have you retired or left the workforce early or are you considering it? We’d like to hear about your experience

[JustineBMumsnet]

Data shows that more people are leaving the workforce before state retirement age and economic inactivity has risen by over 500k - mostly in the over 50s - since the start of the pandemic (ONS). This will be for various reasons, including early retirement and we’d like to hear more about the experiences of those who have left or are considering leaving the workforce.

What are your reasons for leaving or considering leaving the workforce? How are you or would you plan to fund your lifestyle before reaching state pension age? If you’ve left, is there anything that would encourage you to return to work? Do you have any concerns about not working?

If you have experiences to share, please post on the thread below. We’ll be using responses to guide additional research on the topic.

Thanks,
MNHQ

Whoops, pressed post too quickly!
I find plenty to do, I volunteer twice a week, spend time with family, spend plenty of time researching and organising our holidays and weekends, I love being retired but I realise I’m in a very fortunate and comfortable position.

I have been retired now for17yrs. I was a teacher for 30yrs and up until the last 3yrs I thoroughly enjoyed it, but deteriorating student behaviour and total lack of support from SMT left me feeling very disillusioned. I have a chronic health condition which was made worse by the stress of the job, so after considering all the financial implications we decided we would be able to manage on my reduced pension. I took a 25% drop due to taking my pension early, so we spent the lump sum on a 'bucket list' holiday. Sadly, my physical health has continued to deteriorate but I've never regretted stopping teaching.
We had paid off the mortgage when the endowment policy paid out, so we had no major debt. DH was still in full decreasing to part time employment, so with my pension and AVC payments we were able to manage.
Then we received an inheritance which enabled us to move to the house of our dreams. Now we are in the fortunate position of being in receipt of 2 state pensions and 2 final salary pensions. We are able to save a little each month. We are concerned about impending cost of living crisis.

i'm 54, we are mortgage and debt free; I can access FSVC next April so will use that for living expenses until I am 60 when I get my full NHS pension and lump sum ( was an NHS dentist) I left just before COVID and can't face the bureaucracy and the box ticking which is about box ticking not what is best for patient. I spent 95-97% of my time doing NHS dentistry for less and less money as costs rose exponentially but fees didn't I was earning less from full time NHS work in 2018 than I was in 2008,
will use my PT self employed antiques business for holidays DIY etc ( have savings for emergencies on top of that DH gets state pension in 4 years we both will get full state pension from 55-58 might be a bit tight financially and need frugal living but them we will be quite comfortable ( not mumsnet comfortable at 80K) but plenty for food heat cars coffee out a european holiday each year day trips etc and a new secondhabnd car when we need it

Retiring from the workforce early means before 66. I started nursing at 21. People aren't on death row that long are they?

I will retire at 61 but will part fund from DB pensions and we plan to rent out a couple of campervans. DH planning to retire at 59 from teaching.

14 years ago I took early retirement at 50 from the Civil Service after 33 years of full time employment there.

The retirement package was too good not to take and I knew that there wouldn't be many more allowed to leave under those terms.

I got a substantial lump sum (used for house purchase deposit) and enough monthly pension to pay all my fair share of the bills.

I was planning to take up further employment after 6 months or so, but then we got a dog and I discovered that I really didn't want to work again and we didn't need the money.

DH also receives an Army pension and he stopped working a year ago. Mortgage paid off 4 years ago and we are financially comfortable but are very frugal. We will bemuch better off when our State Pensions start in a few years.

I'm late 50s and when I started work the expectation was normal retirement was going to be 60.
I'd like to aim for that.

On top of that, what we are being asked to do at work and the ridiculous understaffing and lack of services make doing the job I should be doing, impossible, so I don't want to continue in it as there is no job satisfaction any longer - no feeling of having achieved something or made a real difference.

I left my full time challenging role during Covid at the age of 59. I now work three days a week for a charity, earning a third of what I was, but I am fitter, healthier and weigh less than I ever have. I sleep all night, my house is in order, I see the grandchildren, entertain and meet friends for lunch. I also look out for my elderly mother.

We live on my part time wages, my DH's very low self-employed income (he has multiple health issues, but doesn't claim DLA) and my local government pension (£600 per month). Our income would be considered very low by modern standards but we are more contented than ever. We decided that we wanted to live long, but live well.

I left social work because it was killing me. The damage to my mental health has been significant. And physically.
I'm 57 and want to take my pension, small as it is.
I volunteer for a local charity and do some paid work but it's a struggle.
I get ESA which helps.
I have no inheritance from my dead parents. So life is tricky but I make the most of it

I’m in the fortunate position of exceeding the lifetime allowance soon. I have a contract that allows me to access my pension at 50, not 55, but I choose not to as I enjoy my work and it’s not arduous (mainly from home). However, the freezing of the LTA means punitive tax rates beckon and I’d rather quit than pay excessive amounts. I’m not the only one thinking this way judging by the exodus of older workers. They need to be incentivised - fewer workers mean inflationary pressures and highly skilled workers are walking out of the door which can only be bad for productivity. I’ll go part time if my employer allows it. DH is leaving work (sub 55) as he’s fed up with it. We don’t need two full time wages (thankfully) and hectic evenings and weekends. He can support the family instead and take a reduced pension at 55. We are both savers.

I am 55 and can't wait to retire. Every morning I wake up and don't want to do another day. I have been working for 37 years. My plan is to try and retire at 60 when I can take my NHS pension. Will try to plod along until then.

What are your reasons for leaving or considering leaving the workforce?
I’m hoping to leave next year, age 50 on a redundancy/ retirement deal. I feel exhausted and jaded by the merry go round of my workplace and feel it’s geared up for much younger people, wisdom, knowledge and experience is not valued. Like a PP, I have almost hit LTA so cannot further improve my pension (without punitive tax charges). My husband is older than me and my health is not the best so all in all, time to stop.

How are you or would you plan to fund your lifestyle before reaching state pension age? Private pension will be payable, topped up with savings / redundancy, plus living more frugally.

If you’ve left, is there anything that would encourage you to return to work? I might get bored, or want a bigger income. If so, flexible work that enables extended travel will be the key feature I’ll be looking for in employment.

Do you have any concerns about not working? Getting bored but I definitely want to give it a try to find out! Missing colleagues, stimulation and sense of purpose. I hope all can be fulfilled via other activities.

Good points here - the LTA definitely featured in my thinking, even this young. This cap definitely incentives part time earnings at the very least and a trend towards economic inactivity.

I also think there needs to be more emphasis on facilitated breaks throughout the working life. The idea of working for almost 50 years without much of a break, even if just for an extended holiday, or for taking some space off the treadmill for personal reevaluation, is distinctly unappealing to me. Workplaces that support sabbaticals seem more humane to me. Obviously this perspective is layered in privilege.

I decided to early retire after 32 years teaching secondary children. I was getting recurring cellulitis in one of my legs. I felt it unfair to keep having to take time off work with GCSE and A Level groups. I was 56. I was able to do this because DH ears enough to support us both. He was worried about my health and standing up most of the day was making my leg worse. This was 2 years before lockdown. I am now 61 and get my Teachers Pension. I have never regretted it and the cellulitis was less frequent after retiring.

I retired in January this year . Like others sick of the Corporate nonsense, and feeling so tired starring at a laptop up to 10 hours a day. I'd hoped for redundancy as the Company are relocating to London at the end of this year, but it was made clear there were no packages, so I decided to go. I'm 66 in October.
I took a levelling option pension from a previous employer when I was 60. I knew this would reduce at 66, but not by almost the entire amount which I've found out this week is the case.
So State Pension will be my income.
DH gets a fairly decent pension but our income now is far less and I'm not enjoying watching our account every few days to see if we will get through the month.
Luckily I've been a saver and the early pension was not spent while employed.
We like one holiday a year, not big on buying clothes etc but spend on our home and garden which we love.Smallish house so not worth downsizing.
I love buying for the Grandkids but have had to scale back on that.
Summer school holidays we could help more this year, which can be expected of you, and we found very tiring as some have Special needs.
If I was still working we wouldn't have been doing so much of that, so in all honesty I have mixed views so far.
I'm considering being a Virtual PA which a friend told me about to supplement the pension. We've already had to dip into savings for new boiler and other unexpected costs and you can't replace that money. I have a meeting with a Pension advisor re my private pension so far untouched , due to it reducing , the war, etc had an effect on all this.
But I'll have to take it to make up state pension. I know I'm luckier than a lot to have this option, but have been wise to save and not spend.
I feel to have time is wonderful, but I want to see places while we can and now wonder if we will be able to afford to, so have mixed feelings about retirement.

Im 50 and would like to be retired by 55. Our mortgage finishes is 2 years.
DH was made redundant at 52 and now works pt in a role he can do for years, so we've classed him as semi retired. I expect to do similar rather than full retirement as neither of us have great private pensions. We'd see the state pension as a top up.

OH and I are both 52, planning to retire at 54

What are your reasons for leaving or considering leaving the workforce?
Multiple reasons:

1. Life is too short to keep working if you can afford not to (DM died at 62, good friend died this year at 51)
2. I've been saving for retirement since turning 30 and reading Mr Money Mustache's blog about 10 years' ago gave me another push to make a vague plan a reality
3. I worked full-time while studying part-time (PhD) and trying to make time for family for 5 years. At the end of 5 years, I felt exhausted and physically in a bad place (2 stone heavier than I am now)... and I finished in March 2020 just as lockdown started.
4. Work through Covid was relentless, pay was frozen and I think my employer doesn't value me or my colleagues
5. I had a plan to moving to a work pattern where I work full-time and take the school summer holidays off... I'd stay a few years more if that was the case, but I've had push back so I'll retire as soon as I can afford it, at least a year earlier than I intended.

How are you or would you plan to fund your lifestyle before reaching state pension age?

I've been saving and investing a minimum of 10% (sometimes as much as 50%) of my gross salary from 30 years old as well as paying into DB pensions when I've had the opportunity to do so. OH has also always been a saver so we are on the same page, but I encouraged OH to invest in a SIPP and ISA, too. We became mortgage free in 2015 and rent a room or 2 on AirBnB - all of which is invested.

At 54, we can live off savings and investments, taking an income equivalent to net salary with annual increases. We'll run down out SIPPs and will have spent them all by 67. A small DB pension starts paying out at 60, and a larger one and both state pensions start at 67, and we'll be topping these up using the dividends from ISA investments.

If you’ve left, is there anything that would encourage you to return to work?

Not really - we'll be on the same income as working (without having to save any of that - so greater disposable income). So, why would we work? AirBnB income is not part of our plans, but if we needed some extra money, that would be the first place to get it from.

Do you have any concerns about not working?

No, we both have plenty to do and work means we have to compromise and choose between the things we love doing.

I retired at 58 after spending 35 years in the civil service.

I took my pension early, so it has been actuarially reduced. I worked part time for many years after having my children, so obviously the pension isn't huge, but for the last two or three years I made some additional voluntary payments into my pension which helped.

My husband is 10 years older than I am, so was already retired. His pension is more than mine and he also receives a state pension, so we are comfortably off.

Why did I leave? I had a 3 hour daily commute (at least) and worked long hours. I left the house at 6.45am, got home around 7.30-8pm and was permanently stressed and exhausted. Things had been manageable until a reorganisation that took place a couple of years previously. When I left they replaced me with two people. When they decided to do that, I did think about withdrawing my notice and saying I would do half the job, but by then I was looking
forward to retiring too much!

With the benefit of hindsight, it would have been better to stay on doing half the job. A year later, Covid happened and I could have worked at home, which would have saved me a lot of commuting time and about £4,000 a year. It would also have allowed me to carried on making voluntary contributions to my pension and not have my pension reduced because I left early.

I retired early this year almost 54. I have savings, rental income and private pensions from 55 that will see me to 60 when I get work pensions too. No I don't want someone to try and persuade me to give up any more of my life to work than I have already. No regrets I'm free from the shackles of having to work at last. I know too many people around our age with cancer or something else and some have died.
I haven't had a minute since I retired and am loving it. Three holidays and one festival without having to book/ask for time off. Without having to rush back to work or try and fit an event around working.
DH is retiring early end of next month. We downsized and it set us up for the final leg of early retirement - no mortgage/debt, enough for rental property to add to our pensions and savings.

I’m 62, have just got a years contract part time at a Charity. Suddenly just feel like stopping altogether. I don’t know if it’s Covid or just my age, but I find I get more tired these days. I’m thinking I’d be happy to manage on less , and enjoy just doing what I want.

And suddenly the idea of just being able to take off somewhere without the hassle of booking holiday is very appealing.
I’ve got a small NHS and private pension and savings. We rent rooms for extra income as we live somewhere always in demand. DH took early retirement 3 years ago, he has no regrets at all.

I retired early a few years ago. I had a fairly stressful job in the media, was getting burn-out and had climbed as high as I wanted to in the organisation.
A generous redundancy offer came along (my employers periodically shed old, expensive and cynical staffers to hire enthusiastic and much cheaper bright young things) and at that time I could take my final salary pension immediately. HMRC rules have since changed and you have to be 55 now.
Like a PP upthread I'd been paying additional voluntary contributions into my pension. I'd advise anyone who can to do this. It's very tax-efficient too.
So I went for it. I put most of my redundancy payout into my pension and then commuted some as a lump sum without affecting income too much. (Tax loophole)
My income did drop and I was the higher earner but DH and I found we were barely any worse off as working actually cost a lot - commuting, a second car, lunches, coffees, taxis, work clothes, idle lunchtime shopping, drinks after work.
DH worked for another 10 years before retiring and we're doing fine financially.
Personally, I never looked back for a moment after I had retired. I might have missed my colleagues but I made new plans and loved my freedom right from the start.
I was lucky in many ways, a supportive DH and no financial worries. But planning what to do with your new life is essential. The only thing you might miss is saying "I'm retired..." when asked what you do instead of "I'm a GP/political analyst/lawyer/ journalist." Many men now seem to switch off immediately when they hear that. 😉

I plan to retire in a few years at 55. DH is a few years older and will already be retired from his emergency services job by then.

We will both have good public sector pensions which will fund us well until state pension age - his will be a full pension with generous lump sum and mine will be reduced as scheme retirement age is 60 but better than it would have been due to recent ruling about public service pensions. We both realise we are very lucky to be in this position.

We plan to travel and enjoy life while we are still well enough to do so. May do some agency or voluntary work to keep our minds active.

Nothing could pursuade me not to go early. Mortgage will be paid off and kids will be on their own feet by then.

I retired last week at nearly 64, I planned to work till next March but Dm died a couple of months ago and I decided to go now.

Reasons, working in social care, so fed up of all the rules and regulations, constant inspections. Emotionally the job drained me and even though I had reduced my hours I felt like it consumed my life.
Personally in the last 3 years both my parents have died and I had a breast cancer diagnosis , plus working through covid.

I need to concentrate on my own health now, mortgage paid off recently and I’ve been saving for years so financially will be ok, Dh still working , probably for another 3 years. The relief of leaving was immense, I’m really looking forward to it.

DH and I retired a year ago - me 57, him 61.

I had had several episodes of anxiety and depression over the previous few years and work was the main factor in that - along with my then-undiagnosed ADHD, which meant I was living in a permanent state of overwhelm. I took the opportunity because we could afford to and I thought it would be good for my well-being, and so far it is.

We have substantial investments in both ISA’s and various pension plans. We are living from the ISA’s until the pensions and state pension kick in.

I have no desire or intention to return to full time work, either in my previous occupation, or anything else! The only reason I would return even to part time would be if it was something I really wanted to do for its own sake. I can’t imagine that, to be the honest. Or, I suppose if the economy went seriously bad and we needed the money….

I am volunteering with a community transport scheme and thoroughly enjoying it. I also do lots of social and hobby activities. Couldn’t be happier.

I was furloughed at 56 in April 2020 from a small company, then made redundant in September that year. If I'm honest, it was a relief because I was being bullied by a colleague, and the CEO knowingly allowed it to go on. That colleague had already been banned from the technical side of the company for bullying tech staff, and had bullied my predecessor. I'm a single mum and I'd clung on because the work was near my dc's primary school. The stress was horrendous.

I was out of work for 7 months during which time dc moved to senior school, then I got a new job in April 2021. New colleagues and CEO are lovely in comparison. Then was diagnosed with BC in Sept 21. Mastectomy, chemo, radiotherapy followed. Managed to keep working throughout and am now a year on and hopefully clear, but if it returns, I will quit.

Stress is the great accelerator according to the doctors so if it comes back or if the stress level in this job rises (or this company is sold), I'll stop work. If I'm not going to live into my 80s or 90s I won't need more pension than I already have, and seeing my child to adulthood is more important. I have 7 months left on my mortgage.

I am 53 this year and work for a SME, my role changed during Covid and is now completely WFH and a lot less stressful, but also boring. I am happy with the salary I negotiated and managed to reduce my hours and increase my holiday allowance. Over the next 12 months I will see if this improves my work life balance, however I think 55 will be my cut off point. By then all DC should have finished uni and be employed.
I already have some health issues and want at least 10 years to do my bucket list.
Finance wise my pension pot is not great, but I have a reasonable savings fund and a house that I could downsize.
DH has an excellent final salary pension but I have always paid my share so won’t be relying on that.