Pension stuff, how's it all looking ? HAve you prepared ?

[Mr. Dazzle]

Can't have it every which way though, gotta give them that pound of flesh Either now, or later. But not typically both if you plan vaguely sensibly.

That's the key really, which I probably mentioned on page 1! Think well ahead and do stuff now.

[Count Steer]

Can't have it every which way though, gotta give them that pound of flesh Either now, or later. But not typically both if you plan vaguely sensibly.

That's the key really, which I probably mentioned on page 1! Think well ahead and do stuff now.

That's fine for some of us that did/had the opportunity to but there's definitely something fundamentally wrong at the sticky end of the spectrum. Paying tax on over £12750-ish doesn't leave much scope for wise investing if you're on £20k/stuck in the 'gig economy' or are living on a state pension + a small workplace pension so you end up struggling, needing benefits that are paid for out of taxation while the state pension system slowly fails. It's like picking yourself up by the socks.

So, scrap NI, cut VAT, bump up the bottom tax threshold to £20k, balance the tax take at the other levels etc.

I realise I'd never get elected on my manifesto but really the whole personal tax/benefit system needs a drains up simplification exercise.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Or get the government to stop spending so much money

[Count Steer]

Or get governments to stop wasting so much money

FTFY.

It would be interesting to design a society from scratch and see what the tax/spend options might be. I suspect it would be a bit like an exercise we did at school to see if we could beat evolution....come up with an improvement to the human body. It had to be feasible ie you can't be bulletproof etc. Every proposed 'improvement' had a downside and I guess the same is true of societies and governance.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Prof. Alice Roberts did a documentary about that once, it was pretty good. Might be on iPlayer.

Beating evolution that is, not redesigning society. Although come to think of it, there's probably some overlap

[JackyJoll]

Or get governments to stop wasting so much money

FTFY.

It would be interesting to design a society from scratch and see what the tax/spend options might be. I suspect it would be a bit like an exercise we did at school to see if we could beat evolution....come up with an improvement to the human body. It had to be feasible ie you can't be bulletproof etc. Every proposed 'improvement' had a downside and I guess the same is true of societies and governance.

If there had been guns before there were people, Mankind might have evolved to be bulletproof.

[Taipan]

Well the ex-pats tell us your money goes further in warmer climes,, which is good news as last night my Wife told me she does want to retire to the sun but possibly keep a small place here as well. I still think she'll change her mind if grandkids come along but she is adamant that we'll be Nanny and Grandad Spain and a villa with a pool will be good bait to get them over...

[mangocrazy]

Well the ex-pats tell us your money goes further in warmer climes,, which is good news as last night my Wife told me she does want to retire to the sun but possibly keep a small place here as well. I still think she'll change her mind if grandkids come along but she is adamant that we'll be Nanny and Grandad Spain and a villa with a pool will be good bait to get them over...

Strike while the iron is hot. Decide which part of Spain you prefer and start hassling estate agents. Once it's a done deal it's much harder to back out...

[Taipan]

Well the ex-pats tell us your money goes further in warmer climes,, which is good news as last night my Wife told me she does want to retire to the sun but possibly keep a small place here as well. I still think she'll change her mind if grandkids come along but she is adamant that we'll be Nanny and Grandad Spain and a villa with a pool will be good bait to get them over...

Strike while the iron is hot. Decide which part of Spain you prefer and start hassling estate agents. Once it's a done deal it's much harder to back out...

Not ready for a couple or few years yet, but we're going to Nerja for a holiday/shufti in August.

[mangocrazy]

Well the ex-pats tell us your money goes further in warmer climes,, which is good news as last night my Wife told me she does want to retire to the sun but possibly keep a small place here as well. I still think she'll change her mind if grandkids come along but she is adamant that we'll be Nanny and Grandad Spain and a villa with a pool will be good bait to get them over...

Strike while the iron is hot. Decide which part of Spain you prefer and start hassling estate agents. Once it's a done deal it's much harder to back out...

Not ready for a couple or few years yet, but we're going to Nerja for a holiday/shufti in August.

I'd definitely buy before retirement, get yourself settled in and any expenditure out of the way before heading into retirement, even if only a couple of years before quitting work.

[Dodgy69]

For me, the trouble with sunny place's is they get too hot.

[Horse]

For me, the trouble with sunny place's is they get too hot.

And their insects seem to have an extra 'vicious bastard' gene

[JackyJoll]

I'd definitely buy before retirement, get yourself settled in and any expenditure out of the way before heading into retirement, even if only a couple of years before quitting work.

I can see how that makes it less of a gamble.

[mangocrazy]

There's also the fact that retirement itself is a venture into the (comparative) unknown for most folks, so it's a good idea to be in a stable situation with any property abroad before entering retirement. Dealing with the onset of retirement and the purchase of a property abroad (and the associated upheaval and learning curve) are best not done together. IMHO, of course.

[Pirahna]

There's also the fact that retirement itself is a venture into the (comparative) unknown for most folks, so it's a good idea to be in a stable situation with any property abroad before entering retirement. Dealing with the onset of retirement and the purchase of a property abroad (and the associated upheaval and learning curve) are best not done together. IMHO, of course.

Sounds like I took the wrong approach. I sold up in the UK and set off in a camper van to find somewhere to live. Ended up in Spain, the best move I've ever made.

[mangocrazy]

There's also the fact that retirement itself is a venture into the (comparative) unknown for most folks, so it's a good idea to be in a stable situation with any property abroad before entering retirement. Dealing with the onset of retirement and the purchase of a property abroad (and the associated upheaval and learning curve) are best not done together. IMHO, of course.

Sounds like I took the wrong approach. I sold up in the UK and set off in a camper van to find somewhere to live. Ended up in Spain, the best move I've ever made.

Nah, if it worked out for you it's a winner. You were going for it, and you made it work. Well done you. Tiepin wants to keep a footprint in the UK and seems more conservative in his attitudes and my comments were based on that.

[Taipan]

We have elderly dependants, so wont make any moves until they've, well, died. Then I think we'd like to just head off in our campervan and have a mooch about and find a place with the right vibe and spend some time there and if its fits, buy a place. There are of course other factors, such as selling our home here, or maybe rent it, but not sure about the landlord thing, but do realise the uk property market is much better than say the Spanish one. TBH I'm not good with planning when its all hypotheticals, so I guess i'll have to how life is at the time...

[mangocrazy]

Definitely agree about scoping out the possible areas you might buy into in advance. Touring round in a campervan would be ideal.

When I bought my place it was as a result of having a holiday in the area with a bunch of friends (9 of us!) and that crystallised my thoughts and desires. I'd been talking about buying a place in France for years (decades, even) before and I had this overwhelming feeling that if I didn't do it then that I'd never do it, so once the holiday had finished I made plans to head back a month or so later on the bike and hit up all the estate agents in the area, having first done some Internet searches while back in the UK.

I was there for about two weeks and when I found the place I eventually bought it was so obviously what I was looking for and and still (just about) in budget. If the place doesn't tick your important boxes and actually 'talk' to you then move on. If you find yourself thinking mainly about downsides then the property isn't for you.

[Bwana]

I'm chucking it in at the end of 2024 and I'm winging it as I go. Looks like the practice may be sold and I'll stick around for the transition. I'll continue on at a local shelter doing surgeries until I'm too old and shaky to not gut them accidently.

At the rate we're fucking the environment, I probably don't have to worry about cash lasting me the rest of my potential life. Cheerful thoughts!

[Taipan]

It's a big nope from me, I could tell you all about working abroad, but living abroad in retirement isn't for us, in fact in my experience for the majority of people it doesn't last forever, we don't want to spend the rest of our lives away from friends and family.
Even Ronnie Biggs came home in the end

I get that and I think we'd miss family, especially if we had grandkids, but its the winters, I just cant stand the winters...