The joy of retirement, will make you desk jockeys a bit jealous ?

Round here i call all these photos “a lunchtime walk”

Four more years, four more years…

58 here. I get some teachers pension at 60.

I’m down to 4 days a week. But with teaching that means i still work 5 days a week. But i get time for 2 daylight rides on week days. I’m now in work about 160 days a year ?

I really can’t work out how to do 60-65. Do i stop a bit earlier and poorer with hopefully a working body. Or go later and a bit more secure financially

Where do I move to to ride like that from the door. Sick of road riding and sick of £6 pints.

@ampthill I took the money and ran from Royal Mail in 2009 , I was 53 . I’d been diagnosed with Osteoporosis and had crushed vertebrae in my spine . This coincided with RM wanting to reduce the workforce in our office. From then I had more jobs in the next 10 years than I’d had since leaving school. All part time , cleaning , van driving , shelf stacking , chalet maid in Whistler!

But as with all these things it’s an individual choice, looking back it worked out for me especially how the postie job has been ruined.

Health wise after my diagnosis and the consultant telling me I should never ride off road again I got a 2nd opinion from my GP . He told me carry on just be careful, so far I’ve had 15 years doing what is a way of life for me . Only you know you’re current state of health so like I said I got a kick up the butt literally so the decision was fairly easy if a little scary taking away that regular wage.

@phil5556 “I often wonder is 41 is an acceptable age to retire.”

Friend who did is now back at work. Think lack of friends in the same position didn’t help.

New leadership in place for 2 months – joyless workaholics – plans for retirement in 2026 brought forward – survive 2025 – that’s it, then I shall be joining the every day is a Sunday riders! 60 next year. Stocked up on bikes using the bike to work scheme – lucky to have some nice bikes.

@jkomo

Even mid Beds has ok riding from the door

Not just far from London

Not that expensive

Where do I move to to ride like that from the door. Sick of road riding and sick of £6 pints.

Tweed Valley. Even thd road riding is class.

4 years to go …. So looking forward to it 🙂

Tweed Valley

Nah it’s shit here.

No riding of any description, best to look anywhere else than here.

53 and planning to go next June, two months before 54th birthday.  Been working towards financial independence for the last 14 years or so and now it’s on the horizon it is a little surreal tbh.  Still seems hypothetical but I’ve applied for a redundancy scheme at work which coincidentally came up 2-3 weeks ago.  If I were to be accepted it would be the financial cherry on the cake.  If not we are still in a position to go, but will have to spend slightly less on the budgeted 2 bikes every 3 years in the modelling!!

Those pics are helping to persuade me further.

@ampthill

Could you drop another day to do a 3 day week when you hit 60 or 61?  Realistically would this then mean you then do just less than a 4 day week and 120 working days a year? Obviously no idea of your finances, but my wife and I are early retirees and don’t need much money to live as the things we both love are free (or cheap)…gardening for her, walking, cycling etc

Where do I move to to ride like that from the door. Sick of road riding and sick of £6 pints.

@jkmo – Stirling or Perth area.

I retired aged 50 but it didn’t stick. Financially I was fine but my mind still needed something else. I did some voluntary stuff (and still do) but was tempted into helping a mate out with his bike shop, at which point a whole new chapter in my life began. I’d not have done half the things I have, nor made as many new friends without. I’ll be forever grateful.

It was another 10 years before I finally gave up paid work but in the 6 years since then I’ve not hankered after a return.

Am I jealous of people who find a way to retire earlier than I will – **** yes!

Do I want to accelerate my life to the point where I’m retired – **** no!

In a predestined kind of way, I’ll retire aged X, and die aged Y. Hopefully Y>X. But I refuse to get drawn into wishing my life away to get to X any sooner than necessary. My prime objective is to get to X as fit and healthy as possible and have as many good times as possible between now and then.

But.I.refuse.to.be.jealous.of.people.old.enough.to.be.retired.

@convert – you’re absolutely right. FWIW, my early retirement was almost accidental, certainly not something I’d planned on or been looking forward to. Maybe that’s why I wasn’t ready for it.

@convert being retired, I totally agree. For most of us, being retired also means being old. Which does have its downsides…..

Been retired (more or less) since 52. Can get my works pension from next May, so that will make it more official!

Convert makes in interesting point.  In your early/ mid fifties there are new aches and pains, a fair amount. of life experience, often peak earnings and a realisation that retirement is not far away which starts to colour your thinking.  Also, at our age friends and colleagues start to get sometimes terminal illness, whilst others are experiencing the Fruits of their labour/decisions, which makes you think about making changes.

It’s very easy to star gaze positive or negative rather than enjoy the moment, what ever phase of life you’re experiencing.

In a similar position here to some of the folk above. 52.5 years but will have the chance next year to put my hand up.

The package would be 2 years salary and a decently modest DB scheme supplemented by a reasonable DC scheme. Mortgage pretty much clear so just trying to think my way through it.

Tbh, finding it exciting and terrifying in equal measures.

I think you just need to remember that there’s nothing preventing you going back to some sort of employment if you really miss it. Who knows what new doors that might open.

55 next May. Currently have a decent paid job, but it’s quite stressful and I’m a slave to fee earnings and marking my working hours down for feeing.  I’ve had days when I felt I could feel my heart beating out of my chest, such was the “stress”*

It was always a dream to retire at 55 and I wasn’t far off.

But, over the last 18 months, my Wife and I have lost all our parents, and with that came inheritance.  No mortgage, no debts. Grown up kids.

So, financially, it’s probably more viable then ever, but I’m very anxious now about having to potentially make a decision, and get it wrong.  I keep thinking, “one more year”, salary sacrifice most of my earnings into the pension and then decide at 56. But what would be different, realistically?

As above, I could probably go back in a few years as a jobbing employee, covering summers when others take holidays.  Or a part time job in B&Q.

I’ve been with an IFA for a while now and their advice and distance from the events of the last year or so has allowed a pragmatic view of things.

*as in deadlines, KPI and Audits and workload. Sending emails and preparing reports is not a stressful job.

I’ve been jealous of retired people since I was 14 and had my first part time job.

I turned 50 this year and then dropped my hours to 3 days/24hours from October. 4 day weekends are great, lots of mini adventures in the camper is the best bit so far. Will be another 3-5 years until I can stop all together but the finish line is getting closer.

I think you just need to remember that there’s nothing preventing you going back to some sort of employment if you really miss it. Who knows what new doors that might open.

As I said earlier in this thread, I’ve now been retired for 22 years….  when aged 55. It had always been in my plan to go before 60 and planned financially for that.

Soon after I left I started a couple of very occasional jobs…. one was doing some driving for a friend who managed a big car body repair shop. It was was quite enjoyable and amongst the average family cars there were some very nice and interesting cars to drive.

Also I did some golf caddying…. initially at Queenwood (google it). Very expensive, more new money, footballers, film industry and tour golf pros.

And then at Swinley Forest….. old money, posh. A very nice place.

Good exercise, met some very interesting people, who, in the main, were very enjoyable company.

It opened up some new things… I only did it for a few years and only when it suited me.

I mentioned going at 58 early next year very briefly above. I’ve found it challenging to come to terms with finishing work as it has always been a big part of my life but there have been a few key changes over the last few months and I don’t think I now have any reservations about packing it all in.

First of all I don’t do any of the “fun” stuff anymore – I’m a manager in a non-operational role and I’m not sure if I even could physically do it all again , but its that side and the buzz there that I’ve been missing most. My current job can be interesting, and is in a very specialist and unusual work area, but it’s almost all desk work. This change was probably the hardest to take and it’s been a few years coming to terms with it.

Then my office is moving to a much more inconvenient location for me (and lots of colleagues), whilst this is a normal part of working life it kind of sealed the deal, the final kicker was my employer pretty much disregarding my safety on a recent project which would have been fairly fatal for me in a bad way had it gone wrong. After that lack of support I’m pretty much done with them.

I have some inheritance to last me until 60 when my CS pension kicks in and I’m not sure I’m interested in working again – travel and doing my own thing (subject to Mrs approval) while I can seems more inviting. Also my body feels knackered, the thought of working in a shop or doing lots of driving again is quite horrifying 😉  TLDR – I’m old now and have realised this! ?

Lots of similarities with posters above so thanks.  Job has been most managerial for last few years working for a clueless and spineless managers who have little understanding of what, why and how. The industry as a whole is in decline (oil operator) so may not be many more chances to get the generous package.

Have had a serious health scare (as shared on here) so that also helps focus the mind.

Tbh, I think the main driver for uncertainty is we have a 12 year old so are somewhat limited as to what my wife and I can do for the next 5 or 6 years.

Have another 3 or 4 months so make a decision…

I can guess who Juanking works for :-).   If I’m right, im glad i changed..

@rockhopper70  I know you’ve said you are with an IFA but …….   I have DIY’d all our pensions / investments etc. and have been using modelling software to look at the financial side of things.  You can sign up to Voyant Go for a month’s free trial pretending to be a financial advisor and have as much information at your fingertips in terms as financial modelling as any financial planner / advisor.  You can run loads of different scenarios and plans.  IFAs are only using the same software.  Run a few monte carlo simulations and if it’s 80% plus I’d say go for it if you are convinced you want to retire.  Drawdown strategy is another thing depending on how you are financing your income – maybe an IFA is useful there if not confident.  Personally don’t trust anyone else with our finances and don’t want to give a cut of my returns to someone for something which is reasonably simple to achieve DIY with a little self taught know how.

And a fun sponge appears ?

@Wbo, The two large European outfits are at different stages, I’m in the one started last.

55 soon, but not ready to retire, job good and I’ll accumulate some more defined benefits – can see me going before 67 but no need yet. As mentioned earlier, accessing some of the tax free from my ‘spare’ schemes which have a pot from previously invested. No mortgage, but two grown up kids at home. Wife packed job in 12 months ago (worked for some poor employers) so is now working in a small shop one day a week that fit’s in with her hobby (like us working in a bike shop). I can’t retire yet as we’re OK on my salary only for now.

She’s got a very small inheritance from her folks which is invested, I’m likely to get nothing, not expecting it. Most of my wife’s parent’s money went in care fees – I’m expecting my folks to go this way too.  So it’s our money.  We’ll be OK if the kids leave home at some point.

One thing that is making me consider ‘retirement’ options etc, is I’ve seen too many folks ‘plans’ go to pot.

BIL’s mum and dad were dead before retirement (he and my sister have a very comfortable life with inheritance).  Two of my colleagues who retired in last few years, both partners been very ill and the travelling etc etc, is replaced by hospital appointments. Other BIL isn’t going to get an active retirement, he’s knackered now at 60 – tall bloke, slim, but never exercised after a few years in the Navy as a kid. Heart is weak. He’s also lost two siblings early so not looking good on genetics.

My parents still OK as they approach their 80’s – dad’s slowed down due to dodgy knees he won’t get fixed. My wife’s parents didn’t have a great retirement as MIL had a heart attack and stroke in late 60’s so spent 15 years quite disabled and needing  lots of help.

I’m on a time bomb with my spine – had it very badly broken 9 years ago (lucky to walk) – missing a fair bit of bone from one vertebrae, and get a lot of pain from it. I’m still active, so it’s OK, but it won’t be like that long term. Having the cash piled up in pensions won’t help me in 15 – 20 years as I’ll not be able to spend it.

Tweed Valley

It’s God’s Waiting Room here already, don’t need more oldies clogging up the cafe’s 🙂

A few points have really struck a chord with me. Most of my working life I’ve been viewing work as a means to an end. I suppose this has kept me motivated but on the other hand I am trying very hard not to wish time away. Funny old life.