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

[JackyJoll]

In Feb last year, I was moaning:

The later scheme has paid nothing yet, because there are Additional Voluntary Contributions. No money can be released until the AVC money is settled in an annuity (or whatever the pensioner does with it). I did not know that, until they sent the forms last November.

Yes it has taken this long for the fate of the AVC money to be negotiated.

It took from New Year until May, before they started paying.

[Bustaspoke]

I'm sure you enjoy your weekends?
It's just like weekends every without thinking about work on Monday.

^^^ This ^^^

I no longer have to think about getting up for work at 04.25,no stress wondering if I''ll be alright commuting 15 miles in the ice & snow at at 05.15 in the morning.
One thing I did back in 2017 was take a 13 week sabatical,(I was going to pack it in the year before but agreed to stay if I got the next Summer off).
The 13 weeks started with the TT & finished after the Classic TT.When I went back to work I told them that I didn't miss the place,it also told me that I should finish as soon as I could afford to.One thing that surprised me when I took the sabatical was that I stopped mountain biking,I think Saturdays spent on the mountain bike were some kind of stress relief from the working week,I also realised how much I dreaded driving,bit of a problem for a Supermarket Trucker
Retirement's not for everyone,that sabatical gave me a good idea that it was something that would work for me

[Yorick]

Lots of folk think/say that you need to keep busy. Bollox. You don't "need" to do anything. I love a lazy day as much as a busy day. I decide what I do.

We have a big place here and always lots of little jobs to do. Again, I decide when they get done.

So far today had a long walk. Then lovely salmon baguette.
Now sat on beach front while she has foot massage. Next thing planned is meal out tonight about 20 yards from where I'm sat .

[Taipan]

I'm really crap at time managment so always end up feeling busy cos I can't oranise anything. So I'd probably even mess up organising doing nothing and not have time for anything!

[mangocrazy]

The trouble with a lot of people is that they don't retire until they're old and by then they're completely hardwired and can't stop being who they have been for 50-60yrs

The problem doesn't start at retirement; the problem starts way before that. We are programmed endlessly into believing that we are defined, almost totally, by what we do; our chosen profession/work/career. If you're not in paid work, you're regarded as being either a sponger or on the scrapheap. This is reinforced by the in-work culture of performance reviews, bell curves, the threat of underperformers being 'managed out'; the whole nine yards. There is endless exhortation to be 'the best version of yourself you can be', but not for your own benefit - for the benefit of the company and its bottom line.

And when all that stops for many folks there's a massive hollow in their life that somehow needs to be filled, and subliminal feelings of guilt that they're not somehow still part of that human sausage machine.

My credo has always been that work was there to pay the bills and that as soon as I stepped out of the office door (whether literally or metaphorically) then work stopped and 'my time' began. The idea that I would take my work mobile and laptop with me on holiday or leave them switched on over the weekend was ludicrous. There had to be clear delineation between work and play and I insisted on that. When I walked back in to work on a Monday morning I'd not given the place or the job a thought all weekend, and that to me was how it should be. And when the time came to retire, that served me well, I think.

[Yorick]

The trouble with a lot of people is that they don't retire until they're old and by then they're completely hardwired and can't stop being who they have been for 50-60yrs

The problem doesn't start at retirement; the problem starts way before that. We are programmed endlessly into believing that we are defined, almost totally, by what we do; our chosen profession/work/career. If you're not in paid work, you're regarded as being either a sponger or on the scrapheap. This is reinforced by the in-work culture of performance reviews, bell curves, the threat of underperformers being 'managed out'; the whole nine yards. There is endless exhortation to be 'the best version of yourself you can be', but not for your own benefit - for the benefit of the company and its bottom line.

And when all that stops for many folks there's a massive hollow in their life that somehow needs to be filled, and subliminal feelings of guilt that they're not somehow still part of that human sausage machine.

My credo has always been that work was there to pay the bills and that as soon as I stepped out of the office door (whether literally or metaphorically) then work stopped and 'my time' began. The idea that I would take my work mobile and laptop with me on holiday or leave them switched on over the weekend was ludicrous. There had to be clear delineation between work and play and I insisted on that. When I walked back in to work on a Monday morning I'd not given the place or the job a thought all weekend, and that to me was how it should be. And when the time came to retire, that served me well, I think.

My old boss used to laugh and say that I needed retraining after a week off

[Dodgy69]

I had 2 months off the winter before last. There is something slightly odd about being out of work and doing what you want, (tatting about) whilst all the neighbours are at work. But it's something I could easily get used to.

[Horse]

I'm struggling to find the right word for it, but possibly guilt(?) about quitting work when you're perfectly capable of carrying on?

Partly, the decision was made for me. The last two years I've had two shit projects to run, the second far more grief (and unwarranted abuse) than the first. I don't want that again, so took the easy option.

I will be able to make all three of our kids well-off

Make a decision, tell them now what they're getting (until you and Mrs P die and they get the lot) to help them get established.

That's what we've done with Foal. When he gets a mortgage, he'll get a £20k donation. The rest of our savings is there to cover our needs.

[Horse]

There had to be clear delineation between work and play and I insisted on that. When I walked back in to work on a Monday morning I'd not given the place or the job a thought all weekend

My job has constant reminders while off the clock, so that demarcation isn't so simple.

The flip side is that - for me - it's varied and interesting, and I'm often seeing 'crossover' ideas.

[cheb]

I heard it described as 'retiming'. You decide what you do, and when.

I gave a nice list earlier, but how much actually happens remains to be seen. Only one has a minimum time - I have to log at least 20 hours a month for CFR.

That's availability and not call outs I take it?

One of the reason I left my driving job was the tacho regs didn't play nicely with Coastguard hours. It took me years to get a straight answer from them about my tacho status when at home on rest but on call for the CG.

Yup. I can be doing other stuff, while waiting.

I've only just started, still getting practical experience, have had shifts with calls and some with none. One other local CFR said recently they had seven calls in a day.

No tacho to worry about.

Good stuff. The CG stuff tends to be rare out here, once or twice a month on average.

[Mr Moofo]

I actually really enjoyed working. Then , one day, I realised basically I was on a hiding to no-where. The Japanese were going to pay me until I was 65 whether I moved the earth for them, or did absolutely nothing.

When you are sitting on long haul flights, you have a lot of time to think about life work balance, missing social events, missing w/es, days lost to jet lag. Admittedly , you also got great travel experience, eating out, the fun of dealing with other cultures etc.

My role was to create a global business. The Japanese didn't want global. So one day, I decided I didn't like work and it was all completely pointless ( other than the money). So I left.

I now volunteer for the RNLI and Coastwatch - have become part of a community ( I have moved 9 times since 2002 - including 3 country moves) which I had never done before. I can go into pubs and shops and bump into people I know!
It's a step change - as I said of the wife on a particular reflective day " I used to present on strategy to company VPs and Presidents and argue about business investment, development and direction. Now all I do is pick up dog shit"

TBH - me and the dog are enjoying life. I'm not bored. But I do have to a accept I am no longer in by 20s, 30s, or 40s

[Mr. Dazzle]

I work with a guy who's retired. Oxymoron I know

He is (forcibly) retired from the parent OEM and now works for us. "Left the mother to come and dance with the daughter" as he phrased it.

I reckon he's a pig in shit. He basically just gets to be a consultant with a fairly young dynamic company who'll give anything a go, but he also has "a man" in every department at the mothership cause he worked there 40 years. Best of both worlds.

[Mussels]

I feel semi-retired already, getting up before dawn for two hour commutes is a fading memory. Now it's up at a normal hour, coffee and potter around before sitting at my desk to do some puzzles for a few hours. Retirement would be almost the same but I'd have to buy my own computer to do puzzles.

[David]

My state pension has just ripped to around £175 per week..swmbo'd has around £185....currently we can't claim pension credit( that may change shortly) We have a council tax demand of a little over 2k...I could do with a time machine to go back and tell the youf to think a bit forward........

[Mr. Dazzle]

Obviously I can only speak for a fairly narrow demographic, but all the young new starters at work seem well clued up on this stuff. Certainly more than I was.

Doesn't mean they're necessarily saving, but at least they're choosing not to now

[Horse]

Obviously I can only speak for a fairly narrow demographic, but all the young new starters at work seem well clued up on this stuff. Certainly more than I was.

Doesn't mean they're necessarily saving, but at least they're choosing not to now

From a recent conversation, the challenge of paying for rent or mortgage overwhelms possibilities for saving.

But there's no harm in reminding them to try and tegularly put by a small amount early and getting it as a habit.

[Dodgy69]

For many young folk, the auto enrollment into a works pension doesn't seem to do as intended and they just opt out. Cost of living in the uk and wages not keeping up are to blame I think.

[Count Steer]

Obviously I can only speak for a fairly narrow demographic, but all the young new starters at work seem well clued up on this stuff. Certainly more than I was.

Doesn't mean they're necessarily saving, but at least they're choosing not to now

From a recent conversation, the challenge of paying for rent or mortgage overwhelms possibilities for saving.

But there's no harm in reminding them to try and tegularly put by a small amount early and getting it as a habit.

At least paying a mortgage is a form of saving, assuming the market doesn't completely crash. The current rental market is like burning bags of £20 notes to keep warm!
I suppose the other thing is to look carefully at job options, sometimes a higher headline figure isn't as good as the job where the employer contributes a decent amount into your pension.

It does feel like something has to give soon though, there's a big problem coming down the pipeline. The UK is looking more and more like the USA...we'll have an big chunk of the population living in trailer parks.

[Bustaspoke]

I suppose the other thing is to look carefully at job options, sometimes a higher headline figure isn't as good as the job where the employer contributes a decent amount into your pension.

That's one of the reasons I ended up Supermarket trucking,Final salary pension.
Then,about 10 years back they canceled the Final salary scheme.
At least the Sharesave paid well

[Cousin Jack]

I am one of the lucky ones, final salary pension and index linked too. Before you all start sticking pins in a little doll labled 'CJ' just remember that in my 20s and 30s I was getting a LOT less money than I would have been able ti get in an equivalent job outside.

It was a choice back then, massive security and a good pension versus big bucks now. I chose, or more accurately, drifted, into the secure job, and was reluctant (read scared) to jump into the big cut throat world outside.

It seems to have worked out ok in the end.