Forum menu
Sounds like my situation ! The clinical role is love/hate but increasingly the hate is outweighing the love. The inertia I understand, it is sometimes easier to just keep turning up. The IT job showed me how stressful the other job is which is why I think I'll carry on with it.
We're looking at the figures this afternoon but I think my decision is made.
I don't usually reply to anything on STW these days but your situation struck a note with me. I can see that your decision is more difficult than mine as you are loosing the clinical all together. I would also find that difficult. When your job has been a lifetimes vocation, then personally I think there is a little bit more to it, than just loosing a role that defines you. Maybe I'm wrong. I think once I'm out of the love/hate element of my job the only regret will be that I hadn't done it sooner.
I worked far too hard for far too long, it (over) filled my life & had a negative impact on my personal life, so at 52 I decided to close my small company & seek adventure. I was a bit scared & excited at the same time as a life without a 4:45am alarm & a 10 or 12 hour work day seemed completely alien to me. Three years later the company has gone and I'm into my second year of having adventures, experiencing cultures I knew little about and meeting & spending time with some truly incredible people. I have absolutely no regrets.
Every single one of us is different with different needs & wants. If work is important to you then that's great, it really is. I thought work was important but after a lot of soul searching I realised it really wasn't, my sanity & happiness is and doing something that truly stimulates & engages me is the way forward. If you can find people & activities to keep you interested & interesting then you'll have no regrets. Money is an issue but I don't need nearly as much as I thought I did if I make my choices carefully.
OP, good luck with your decision & let us know how you decide to proceed.
It's amazing that some people are able to retire in their early 50's, good financial planning in their early years. Unless I win the lottery I'll retire when I'm 67 but I work from home and still enjoy the challenge.
A couple of my club cycling buddies tell me they sometimes miss work.
It’s amazing that some people are able to retire in their early 50’s, good financial planning in their early years.
Luck is the key element.
Whether that's lucky to have worked for an employer with a DB Pension, got a large inheritance, won lottery/pools, bought a house in the right place at the right time etc etc.
Also don't forget that many who retire young were DINK's with consequently two full incomes for +30 years (and associated pensions).
Also don't forget that folk my age got automatically enrolled into work pensions, and pretty much everywhere had them. I'm nearly 60 and I've 20 years of DB Pensions, along with the rest in DC Pensions - do not underestimate the value of DB Pensions (example, mine all have plus inflation rises every year).
It’s amazing that some people are able to retire in their early 50’s, good financial planning in their early years.
I agree there is an element of luck but mostly the luck is linked to when you were born. And still required a lot of work and/or risk.
What has helped those born (typically) say between 1965 and 1975 now retiring in their late 40s, early 50s is both the sustained growth in property and the stock markets over the past 25 years.
But as I said, luck isn't enough.
Luck is the key element
Luck's a major factor, not having children is another. Two adults earning reasonably over 30 years with only their own outgoings can easily save a packet unless they are very extravagant. When my wife and I lived in Japan we spent roughly half of one of our salaries on our living expenses and certainly felt we were living well. (OK getting the jobs in Japan was a bit of a lucky break but OTOH we did miss out on the UK housing boom as a consequence.)
Of course I'm backdating this to starting in the 1990s (or thereabouts) when houses were still basically affordable. Eg my first flat was under 3x my starting salary (which was nothing special). People starting out now don't have anything like the same level of opportunity.
24th December 2024. That’s me done. All signed off. Started at 16 and was told as a 16 year old apprentice to join the union and the pension scheme. Seemed a long way off then but now looking back…. Will lose 27% of my final salary pension by going at 56 but I don’t care. There’s a lot going at my place and the company are struggling to recruit and realise the experience that’s going out of the door. They are now looking at letting you take your pension but then keep you employed on a part time basis. I’m sure next year is going to fly by.
e
Hopefully will drop from FT in my civil service job next autumn at the age of 60, go partially retired. I can readily continue and perhaps even expand with my paid pre hospital care work, as it's very sessional and mostly associated with specific events. I really enjoy the event work and it can be exceptionally challenging at times, so that's likely to keep me interested whilst I run down the 'day job'.
Going part time will mean many more days to enjoy myself, doing tours and trips with the Mrs and having paid handsomely into the CS pension scheme for 36 years already, I can take a significant part of it without penalty at 60, while looking forward to stopping work altogether before long and collecting the rest, plus state pension too.
But it's the time to do things that really matters most...
Will lose 27% of my final salary pension by going at 56 but I don’t care.
But what will be your actual net income once your state pension kicks in?
I watched an interesting video on YouTube recently and he lays this out well, rather than looking at gross income, look at net income. About half way through he talks about the lady taking her work pension early, worth watching.
For me and the OH with a mixture of DC/DB pensions, full state pensions and other incomes we really need to work out the tax implications, and currently both of us will be retired by 60 at the latest.
55 in March, recently split up with my wife and sold the house. Money tied up for 12 months to gain interest and make sure I don't waste it. Planning to hand my notice in to my boss come spring. Plan to head to Europe and non schengen countries to try and stretch out 6 months of exploring. Excited yes, scared yes, but as already said how long have we got? Could be financial suicide, but ***k it!
I retire at the end of May after 46 years continuous employment, albeit with a number of different employers. I will be 62 which is the sweet spot for my DB pension - I will only lose the additional benefits which would have been accrued if I had continued to work until 65.
I have been with my current employer for 33 years and when I joined I made the fortuitous decision to transfer in the various pensions from my previous employers in exchange for a fixed percentage of my final salary.
I can’t wait, bring it on.
Currently 49 but my wife is a few years older and retires today. The question now is how much longer I need to work before I can stop. She has suggested I go part time but that feels like I would be saving less into my pension now and therefore delaying when I can totally stop. Appreciate people posting as it has given me food for thought.
As for part time, that depends a bit on the rota. I wouldn't fancy working 5 half days a week! Bear in mind also the take-home pay may be a lot more than half, for just half the hours. It might be a good bargain to take.
That video ^^^ was a good watch . I was planning on taking a big tax free lump sum when I go, financing the purchase of a small boat for retirement cruising. I’ll have to have a good look at how it will all work tax efficiency wise.
I might watch a few more of his YT videos as he talks sense.
I will be 56 this year, but decided to get out of the corporate life when I was 44 and been working in the field of climate change ever since. Doesn't pay as well and still with three teenage daughters to get through school/Uni, will mean I will have to work longer than anticipated. Probably can't afford to retire to 65, but then my job is incredibly interesting/worthwhile, I get to meet lots of very interesting people and most importantly is flexible enough to help me deal with a variety of health issues I've encountered. I have a colleague still working at 82!
55 here and financially in a good place with savings and pensions but I enjoy my job a good deal, I don’t have much stress and get well paid, so probably working until nearer 60. Well that’s the plan but who knows. A colleague passed away 2 days ago in their late 30’s a couple of weeks after a cancer diagnosis.
That video ^^^ was a good watch . I was planning on taking a big tax free lump sum when I go, financing the purchase of a small boat for retirement cruising. I’ll have to have a good look at how it will all work tax efficiency wise.
I might watch a few more of his YT videos as he talks sense.
Have a play around with his retirement planner, linky below.
I'm currently aiming for 60 (51 now), I've felt it was achievable from my own calculations but playing around with calculators and the planner in the link then we should be better off in retirement than we've ever been prior, although having no dependants (no.1 son finished uni and has settled in nicely with a company who seem to treat him well and enjoys the work, no.2 son currently job hunting) and the mortgage paid off by that time helps considerably 😀
Depending how I feel I might ask to go part time, although quite happy to fully retire if it's not an option. Fortunately I've never had an issue keeping my work and home lives separate and I've always had multiple interests outside work, to the point work gets in the way.
Will have a look at that calculator, looks good.
Many of the various online links suggest a pot in the region of£1M is required for a comfortable life with moderately decent toys.
That seems a pipe dream for many of us, I wonder what a pot of more like half that actually means in reality..
56 and no plans to retire. I could downsize house and take pension now and be reasonably comfortable. I was lucky. Joined a FTSE100 into their DB pension. 22 years in that scheme (before it closed) plus at least 10% into AVCs from the start means that Mrs TiRed and I can have some time off. But I like my job, have a vocation for science and would miss it greatly. I’d also like to do more teaching in academia and some research. But more time to ride would be a nice draw. Son2 is off the payroll and will be well paid after two years of training. Starts in two weeks at EasyJet. Son1 is heading for academia and is midway through a PhD and a lifetime of travelling penury.
I recently just missed a round of redundancy at work, it would have been optimal time to go (paid up pension to 60 taken immediately) but not for my role. I’m not sure I’d have taken it either.
55 next year (2024), mortgage paid off a while ago*.
Been on a 4 day week for 3 years now, initially for "me time" but now needed to support aging parents.
I would prefer to work till 60, both kids through uni, at which point I can take my private pensions with no penalty for about £20k a year. Would also allow MrsMC to drop to 4 days a week now so she can have some "me time", otherwise there is a real risk the effects of her disability will stop her having any kind of enjoyable retirement when she gets there.
If my parents need more support, I can theoretically partially retire at 55 and be no worse off with a three day week and my reduced pension, but I'd sooner they spent my inheritance on any care and support they need - it's their money, not mine.
*lucky to have paid it off, but that luck involved some hard work, some careful budgetting and some big risks.
I'm on the cusp.
I was 60 a few months ago and thought I'd be finished by then. Based on my forecasted pensions and savings, I could finish now and have a comfortable but fairly frugal retirement.
However, I'd really like to do some exploring - Norway/Lofoten, Iceland and Patagonia/Andes are all on my bucket list and I'm pretty sure my income wouldn't cover those sort of places unless I plan on dying early as my savings won't last!
Theoretically, I'd be rich if I could leverage the equity in my house whilst still having somewhere suitable to live. Maybe I could move somewhere much cheaper to live, like Thailand 🤷
Anyway, I'll just keep working on a week to week basis at the moment. I'm bored of work but at least it isn't all-consuming and I won't miss it when I'm finished. In an ideal world, I'd be made redundant with a large payout but I'm not expecting that to happen...
Never understand why more people don’t take a mini retirement or sabbatical in their late 30’s / 40’s while they still have energy.
Horrible to see people work to hit their number and get hit by health issues or death shortly after.
I think about retiring all the time. Not going to happen though, 50 next year. 9 years left on mortgage.
alot of you responding are very lucky. and I'm jealous. I'm looking at dying before retiring.
43 here and my main drive for work is to make sure I retire early. I am very focused on pension contributions but it does bother me this is locked up until 58. As I get closer I’ll focus more on Isa and hopefully bridge over to 58 with using ISA and or low stress job.
That’s the plan anyway but it does concern me I am wishing away the next 10 years.
Silly question and slight hijack, but how is it possible to turn my current £30k pension pot and a few k in an LISA into 500k+ in the next 25-30 years (I’m 32). My wife is in broadly the same situation so we only need to save 50/50 (neither one will need to support the other hopefully).
At the moment we will be mortgage free in our early 50s without any further moves/ upsizing. However our first (and probably only) child will be in her early 20s at the same time, so will likely be supporting her until then as well.
Seems like an insurmountable gap, which means I won’t be retiring pre 70/ state pension if that still exists!
It's mentioned up there^ You need to concentrate on net income not gross and you'll need a lot less of it than you might imagine. When planning, we usually default to 'what I/we earn now plus n% p/a for inflation'. That's simply not true and results in a pot value that is both incredible and often unachievable.
Most of your big costs should be gone: eg kids and mortgage. You'll also find not going to work usually saves you money. Clothes, travel/commuting, food, fancy coffees - these all add up. I'm not suggesting a life of sack cloth and ashes but most people spend a reasonably significant amount just servicing 'work'.
Read Your Money or Your Life for a decent background. I'm not really one for self help books but this one makes a good few points. I read it years ago and it opened my eyes.
Alwillis, throw your figures into a compound interest calculator like this and you might be pleasantly surprised.
https://www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/compound-interest-calculator
when I was starting out with my pension I was advised to put the money in higher risk funds for the first number of years as the potential returns were greater and seeing as you don’t have a lot of money in the fund at the beginning you don’t have a lot to lose and it can boost your fund in the early years. Some people can be too cautious in the early years. Please note I have no financial qualifications to support this.
Silly question and slight hijack, but how is it possible to turn my current £30k pension pot and a few k in an LISA into 500k+ in the next 25-30 years (I’m 32). My wife is in broadly the same situation so we only need to save 50/50 (neither one will need to support the other hopefully).
Bottom line, earn more so you can put more in - and hopefully your employer (or if self-employed, you) matches.
While we've always both earned good money, and we've also spent it, whether on us or the kids/grandkids - never worried about how we'd manage in retirement EXCEPT we've both always taken full advantage of the pension 'benefits' at all our employers. I reckon if we'd have lived more frugally (or not had kids) we'd have been able to finish years ago, but we're only here once and more than happy with our decisions.
In your case, are you both taking advantage of paying in the most that your employers match?
Also +1 building up both pots, as you're taxed individually - see the YouTube video I posted earlier in the feed.
Wife and I just turned 40. Both in good jobs, no kids living in the NE so relatively cheap. Retirement might not be for a couple of years 😉 but we took the choice to drop hours and do 4 day weeks. Sadly I changed job and went back to 5 but am planning to try my luck again in spring.
I'd recommend it if you can afford it. The 4:3 balance is very different to 5:2. Permanent bank holidays. It didn't cost all that much (40% tax). We made the decision as both our dad's died within 18 months of retiring. Both similar circumstances dying within 6 months of a cancer diagnosis.
There's a lot to be said for not waiting...
Jonba that is a very good point and a few have done this at my work. I will certainly do that at some point probably in around 3-5 years time.
@alwillis also if you haven’t already move your pension to a lower cost passive (assuming you don’t want to play with stocks and shares ) provider such as Vanguard, Fidelity etc. Something simple like a Vanguard Lifestrategy 100 wrapped in one of their retirement bundles (gradually moves shares to safer albeit less aggressive bonds as you approach retirement) and inside a SIPP. <br /><br />
That, maxing out your employers pension contribution - basically free and tax free cash - and an ISA for any spare savings should be most people’s default - IMHO.
For my last 10 years (43 to 53), I worked (on average) 6 months on/6 months off. I was an IT Contractor so could make 6 months of fees into a reasonable annual salary. Some engagements went on longer than 6 months so I simply extended the following fallow time to compensate.
A* - recommended...
After spending the time off thinking about it and doing our sums, I am going to resign the clinical post tomorrow.
@polarisandy - I probably cannot articulate the profound effect your inertia comment made, thank you so much for taking the time to post. It resonated that is EXACTLY where I am with the clinical role. I am sure I will miss it at some point but COVID significantly impacted the enjoyment I got from clinical work (at one point, all I saw were complaint patients - you can imagine how soul destroying that was).
Re:That video posted earlier
He made a point that the tax free element of a pension does not have used at the start of the pension, or as a lump sum and spreading the use of the tax free element is good tax planning. The example he mentioned was when talking about a DC pension.
Does anyone know whether the same flexibility is available for DB pensions?
I have about 20 years contributions to the old Civil Service pension which will provide me with what I understand to be a "25% tax free lump sum" which I've always assumed I'd get as soon as start claiming though, for other reasons, that's actually very tax inefficient for me (and I don't need to cash at the moment).
So, does anyone know whether I can defer to tax free element and/or spread it out over a number of years??
(I'll double check with the pension administrator but such flexibility would be very useful to me!)
whether the same flexibility is available for DB pensions
I am not familiar with the CS pension, but most public sector schemes are similar. The older schemes had a mandatory tax free lump sum that you had to take when you took the pension - usually around 25%. Newer schemes (and you can be in more than one depending on how long your service lasted - I am in three different schemes) give you the option of how much you want as a lump sum and ow much as pension.
You can usually defer when you take the pension too - so if you dont want to takemit now, you can defer it and yu should get slightly more when you do actually take it.
or other reasons, that’s actually very tax inefficient for me
Trying to undersatnd this - it is tax free? It might affect benefits I suppose?
The email was sent at 9am today with finish date of 1st April. I am off today on leave so we'll see what it's like when I next go in......
My overwhelming emotion this morning was relief, so I am hoping that means it was the correct decision (fingers and toes being crossed as I say that)