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

[Yorick]

Weird innit, as more of us approach retirement age some of us don't really need/want to.

If you've managed to find a balance then there is no reason to change anything to make way for more time or a new way of life, we've been living it for the last decade anyway.

I was just about to reply on this theme. Mainly as some folk are a bit scared as it's a big change and worried they'd be bored. So here's my brief story

13 years ago McAfee fucked my head up and was off sick 2 years. Went back on reduced hours but put no effort in as hated them. I was retiring in a year so didn't care.
So they called me into my usual monthly meeting with HR and Penny to check my mental health. Before the meeting started they told me they were paying me off. Basically a year's salary and I go quietly.
Walking to the car in the car park, I shouted "Yee hah, I've retired" . It was an amazing feeling knowing I'd never work ever again at 54

Driving home I phoned up and booked few trackday instruction jobs

When I signed the cheque a bit later, I told them I was leaving anyway

The next 12 months was more trackdays and planning our retirement over here. I had 2 long trips over in the camper, carrying loads of our gear to leave in my dad's spare room.
Each time Pen flew over for a week as she was still teaching

First year here was all go and so exciting getting used to retirement

A year later we bought this big place. First 2 years was busy renovating it and getting the AirBnB business going

Then life settled down and we never feel that we need to keep busy

Every morning I walk 5 miles with the dog. Once brekky is done that's the morning done. Then I usually have an hour on the sofa on the patio looking at the sea view and talking bollox here, like I am right now

Every Saturday we have long enduro ride and 1 or 2 other rides weekly

Once or twice a week we head out to a dog friendly beach and an hour play then off to a village cafe for tapas then home for a snooze,

This is a huge place and always a list of jobs so usually devote an afternoon a week to do jobs around the place

Often just spend an afternoon pottering in the garage

Some days do bugger all, but never bored

Pen's into yoga a a few mornings a week and volunteers twice a week at a donkey sanctuary.

It suits us perfectly as there's lots to do if we want to, but no pressure to do so

It's what you make it. Nobody will give you good situation

And every day is for us. Not working

If I won a big lottery, I'd never leave this house. It's absolutely amazing

Happy ? Oh yes.
Regrets ? Nope

[Count Steer]

Retirement seems to be a deliberate employment construct? Part of the cycle of a working life, but lots of industries seem to be outside of it, everything from writers, coaches, actors etc. As employees, are we conditioned to accept it, to keep the youngsters coming through and finally get rid of the dead wood?

My missus went a sort of hybrid retirement route. At 50 she was thinking about doing yet another OU degree (while working). In an unthinking moment I said 'You do like doing things the hard way, why don't you just go to university, ha ha!'.

So she did.

Chucked in a job that was better paid than mine (despite my, obvs, stellar career she'd out-earned me every step of the way - even had the cheek to join the outfit I was with at a higher salary at one point!

Went and did a degree in journalism. Used that and her career experience to become a jobbing sort of ghost-writer for business people who were full of ideas/experience but couldn't write well enough for publication. Got a few regulars and meant she didn't need to bother the cash reserves.

So, she semi-retired at 50 and I bowed out at 55.

....and we all lived happily ever after.

The End.

[weeksy]

There's never going to be a 1 size fits all. Yoriks sounds great for 3 weeks and i'd want to kill myself, then Counts sounds great in a way but i'd hate the cultural stuff he does.

I expect "get up and go MTBing in the rain" sounds awful to most on here

[Count Steer]

There's never going to be a 1 size fits all. Yoriks sounds great for 3 weeks and i'd want to kill myself, then Counts sounds great in a way but i'd hate the cultural stuff he does.

I expect "get up and go MTBing in the rain" sounds awful to most on here

'Cultural'?

Cultured...like yogurt.

I enjoyed doing the up and down steep things too - in the rain at times - just on 2 feet rather than 2 wheels. I used to do a tame version of the 2 wheels though.

Actually have wondered about getting a bicycle again recently.

[weeksy]

There's never going to be a 1 size fits all. Yoriks sounds great for 3 weeks and i'd want to kill myself, then Counts sounds great in a way but i'd hate the cultural stuff he does.

I expect "get up and go MTBing in the rain" sounds awful to most on here

'Cultural'?

Cultured...like yogurt.

I enjoyed doing the up and down steep things too - in the rain at times - just on 2 feet rather than 2 wheels. I used to do a tame version of the 2 wheels though.

Actually have wondered about getting a bicycle again recently.

Yeah you've been to village hall things, basket weaving, churchy type places from what i've seen. Whilst some of that may interest Mrs Weeksy at times... it's not for me.

[Skub]

My missus got a phone call last July from a mate of hers from China to tell her she is getting a state pension of around £500 a month . She is 50 years old and will get increases every year. By the time she hits 60 it’s projected she will have a state pension around the £2k mark along with free bus/rail/underground travel.

My wife’s parents are still alive. State pension for them is almost double of a uk state pension. Along with free public transport

I've had free bus/train transport for the last 10 years,do you not get that on the mainland?

I rarely use it anyway.

[Count Steer]

There's never going to be a 1 size fits all. Yoriks sounds great for 3 weeks and i'd want to kill myself, then Counts sounds great in a way but i'd hate the cultural stuff he does.

I expect "get up and go MTBing in the rain" sounds awful to most on here

'Cultural'?

Cultured...like yogurt.

I enjoyed doing the up and down steep things too - in the rain at times - just on 2 feet rather than 2 wheels. I used to do a tame version of the 2 wheels though.

Actually have wondered about getting a bicycle again recently.

Yeah you've been to village hall things, basket weaving, churchy type places from what i've seen. Whilst some of that may interest Mrs Weeksy at times... it's not for me.

As you say, different strokes for different folks. I enjoy learning new stuff just for the sake of it really - understanding how things are made etc.

As long as people can find their own sweet spot and not settle into a rut* everything is peachy.

* the only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.

Edit: Basket weaving!? Not me guv. I did/do loom weaving à la 'dark satanic mills' stuff - on a smaller un-mechanised scale (*puts on clogs and northern accent but more like a Scottish accent and wearing tweed* ).

[Sunny]

Today, it has finally occurred to me that t'other half, being a chunk of years older than me, will get some pension stuff coming through WAY before I will.

I've plotted out a timeline, and am starting to think I might actually be able to retire at a more reasonable age, provided he doesn't kick the bucket, ofc.

(And yes, I mean semi-retire - much like Weeksy, Yoz's life would bore me to tears in weeks).

[Yorick]

I forgot the most important part of daily life here

The afternoon nap

Sometimes we have 2

[Taipan]

I wouldn't mind Yoricks life, but only after he's finished painting the place and has moved out!

[Horse]

Today, it has finally occurred to me that t'other half, being a chunk of years older than me, will get some pension stuff coming through WAY before I will.

I've plotted out a timeline, and am starting to think I might actually be able to retire at a more reasonable age, provided he doesn't kick the bucket, ofc.

Similar, I retired in 2023 age 65, state pension in 2024. Filly retired in 2023, age 59. With a better pension than mine.

[IccyV2]

Retirement seems to be a deliberate employment construct? Part of the cycle of a working life, but lots of industries seem to be outside of it, everything from writers, coaches, actors etc. As employees, are we conditioned to accept it, to keep the youngsters coming through and finally get rid of the dead wood?

Yeah, there is definitely a lot of effort put into trying to get us to view life as distinct stages, it's almost religious, work hard, be frugal and you'll be rewarded by a nice retirement in comfort, that seems to be the carrot. I'll never know until after I'm dead, but was it a good idea to spend the money as I went along enjoying stuff, or should I have scrimped and saved and retired earlier to Monaco.

I expect a lot of my retirement (hopefully a long and healthy one) will be a mix of spending time with kids and grandkids (which gives me a huge amount of pleasure that I totally underestimated) and reliving some things that I've done before but I'd like to repeat in my own time, like taking a road trip in one of the nice cars down to Pamplona to watch the bulls run again.
But then I can do all that now so I'm a bit lost with what retirement is actually going to put on the table.

[Count Steer]

I'm not sure anyone on their deathbed ever said 'I wish I'd spent more time in the office'.

I guess there are those in some lines of work that truly enjoy what they do - find it fulfilling and rewarding (not just - or even - in the £ sense) and, for some it's also their social sphere but I'm pretty sure they're the fortunate few.

Unfortunately, for many, retirement is deep exposure to the 'total perspective vortex' and seems to engender a loss of meaning to their existence.

I think the organisations that encourage people to 'taper down' and provide a bit of guidance and support are to be applauded. Unfortunately most are 'Thanks, here's your gold watch, clear off'.

[Docca]

I don’t want to retire. I’m planning to take the money and return in a zero hours. The idea of lounging around the house absolutely destroys my soul. It probably (I think) helps that I’m a job where you can see the benefits being made to others. That’s rewarding.

If I was in an office cubicle just adjusting the monthly weenus- I’d be counting down the clock for sure.

[Scotsrich]

I couldn’t wait to retire. I had a hard time consuming job and frankly I’d had enough.

Soon as I got my state pension that gave a boost to my private pension I was gone.

I thought about getting a part time job but I like the freedom I never had to just take off in the car or on the bike. Maybe if I’d had time to do that when I worked I wouldn’t feel the same.

I did actually apply for a job and got a date for an interview but I thought about it cutting into my time and I cancelled it.

[Ditchfinder]

I think at least another 3 years FT and then should be able to do PT and do more MTB and biking on days off - reality will probably be catch up on all the jobs that need doing in the house and lots of Swedish Death Cleaning.

Eventually (8 years) we hope to be taking full advantage of the 90/180 rule and spending more time in France, local dog walks in the woods, MTB/green lane bimbling in the woods, skiing locally (1 hour away) and in Alps 9 (5 hours away) in Winter when the conditions are good - life's too short to ski in crap weather and on icy pistes. Hopefully my body hasn't collapsed before then so I can enjoy it all.

Dream scenario is that our neighbour in France relents and lets us buy his place (empty and too much work to make habitable) - we nearly got there pre-covid but he wanted a bit too much - he's nearly 80 now so hoping he can be persuaded in the not too distant- then I can have a wondershed and workshop and use our current storage shed as a kind of covered extension of the yard by knocking the front wall out and replacing with bi-folds. Would give us somewhere to eat when we have folks round as our dining area inside is only big enough for 4 at a push but the house sleeps 7.

The financial side is there or thereabouts but we could do with a few years of global stability over the next decade.

[IccyV2]

I'm not sure anyone on their deathbed ever said 'I wish I'd spent more time in the office'.

Have any said they wished they spent more time retired sat in front of the TV in a nursing home waiting for their supper?
Or sitting cold with a blanket wrapped around them because gas prices are too high to put the heating on.

Retirement when you've got choices is perhaps a nice place to be, but there are a lot of people that have no provisions over the state pension and I wouldn't fancy that to be honest, I'd rather work on a bit longer in the office.

[weeksy]

I'm not sure anyone on their deathbed ever said 'I wish I'd spent more time in the office'.

Have any said they wished they spent more time retired sat in front of the TV in a nursing home waiting for their supper?
Or sitting cold with a blanket wrapped around them because gas prices are too high to put the heating on.

Retirement when you've got choices is perhaps a nice place to be, but there are a lot of people that have no provisions over the state pension and I wouldn't fancy that to be honest, I'd rather work on a bit longer in the office.

I don't think that's a scenario though. People have either got enough or not. Working an extra 2-3 years is unlikely to take their pot from £0 to £1m. If they could afford to put that much in, they would have done so already.

So whilst you're talking about a scenario, it's unlikely that both are likely/possible within a certain person.

[IccyV2]

I'm not sure anyone on their deathbed ever said 'I wish I'd spent more time in the office'.

Have any said they wished they spent more time retired sat in front of the TV in a nursing home waiting for their supper?
Or sitting cold with a blanket wrapped around them because gas prices are too high to put the heating on.

Retirement when you've got choices is perhaps a nice place to be, but there are a lot of people that have no provisions over the state pension and I wouldn't fancy that to be honest, I'd rather work on a bit longer in the office.

I don't think that's a scenario though. People have either got enough or not. Working an extra 2-3 years is unlikely to take their pot from £0 to £1m. If they could afford to put that much in, they would have done so already.

So whilst you're talking about a scenario, it's unlikely that both are likely/possible within a certain person.

Probably but it's a multiplier, for every year you've got an income coming in you're not using savings, so three extra years working means three years where you're not using up savings and if that gives you a couple of years in retirement then you've gained five years of sustainable living instead of five years struggling.
It's probably not a picnic either way but sitting at home shivering and miserable won't be fun, I'd rather go to work and have the extra coming in.

[Yorick]

sitting at home shivering and miserable won't be fun,

There are other options. I've met many folk here who shut their house down for 3 month and live over here instead. Or others just have long hiolidays here.