The Retirement Thread

[Drago]

Just come back from a walk with Lemmy. Treated myself to a full fat Pepsi as a reward (only allowed 3 a week cos I don't want to be an utter lard-O).

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Having retired has given me the time sit back and look at all the useless stuff, gubbins, paraphernalia and tat that I've accumulated over the years.
And I've finally realised that there is very little of it that I actually need.
Now if I had had that knowledge right from the outset, I wouldn't be faced with the hassle of trying to flog stuff for a fraction of what it originally cost.
Don't buy it in the first place and you don't have the problem!

Yes, we've got a house full of stuff we never use, the trouble is getting the family to get rid of it. If I try and have a serious clear out I'm likely to cause a family split and a divorce.

 

[jongooligan]

Daughter has announced she's doing a PGCE after graduating. That means my partial retirement will have to be extended another year before it can become full retirement.

 

[Drago]

Don't they get paid to do that? I'm guessing not, but I do seem to recall a while back adds on TV offering dollar to peeps who did their teachy certificate award.

 

[screenman]

Don't they get paid to do that? I'm guessing not, but I do seem to recall a while back adds on TV offering dollar to peeps who did their teachy certificate award.

My youngest got £17500 if I remember correctly.

 

[screenman]

Only for certain subjects now...

Mine got his 4 years ago for maths.

 

[screenman]

That was one subject they were (and I think still may be) offering bursaries for.

That could well explain why two of my tight fisted kids are maths teacher, well trained to be anyway.

 

[Dirk]

That could well explain why two of my tight fisted kids are maths teacher, well trained to be anyway.

That doesn't add up.......

 

[SpokeyDokey]

I got my work's pension statement in the post today - I still can't afford to join you lot yet

@Jenkins

Have you done a proper cash-flow forecast? You may be surprised at how little you need to live well in retirement - as long as you have no debt.

 

[Dirk]

@Jenkins You may be surprised at how little you need to live well in retirement - as long as you have no debt.

That is the key.
Do all the figures properly, so you know exactly how much it costs you to live.
I could not have retired whilst still paying £600 a month for a mortgage or owing money for car loans etc.
Even so, it's surprised me just how well you can live on a reduced income.
I would say that my standard of living has actually increased since I retired and is set to get even better when the state pension kicks in.

 

[Jenkins]

@Jenkins

Have you done a proper cash-flow forecast? You may be surprised at how little you need to live well in retirement - as long as you have no debt.

Unfortunately I'm in the position where if i took the early out, my pension & lump sum would be reduced by 5% per year that I took it before pensionable age (60 for me) and I'd have no other income until the state pension at 67 unless I could find a part time job.

Unfortunately round here most jobs revolve around the Dock and associated services (which I want to distance myself from having done it all my life) or shop work and after so many years in the Civil(!) Service, my attitude to customer relations precludes that.

 

[Dirk]

Unfortunately I'm in the position where if i took the early out, my pension & lump sum would be reduced by 5% per year that I took it before pensionable age (60 for me) and I'd have no other income until the state pension at 67 unless I could find a part time job.

Unfortunately round here most jobs revolve around the Dock and associated services (which I want to distance myself from having done it all my life) or shop work and after so many years in the Civil(!) Service, my attitude to customer relations precludes that.

Do you get a lump sum?
If so, couldn't you draw down on it to make up the shortfall on your pension if you went at 60?

 

[Jenkins]

There is a lump sum, variable depending on the amount of pension that is taken, but as I'd lose 30-35% of both going now the sum's don't quite add up. I did all the maths last year when they were offiering a round of voluntary outs and was just short - since then they've cut down on the benefits so it looks like I'm stuck here building up more years for a while.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

That is the key.
Do all the figures properly, so you know exactly how much it costs you to live.
I could not have retired whilst still paying £600 a month for a mortgage or owing money for car loans etc.
Even so, it's surprised me just how well you can live on a reduced income.
I would say that my standard of living has actually increased since I retired and is set to get even better when the state pension kicks in.

I got robbed of a year of this - got to wait until I'm 66 now. Lovely wife got hit for a 7 year extended wait. Cest la vie and all that.

I also got £3k chopped off of my SP as I was contracted out for a while although try as I might I just can't work out how my reduced NI contributions for the contracted out period resulted in a reduction of this size.

And HMRC will categorically not explain the situation either.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

There is a lump sum, variable depending on the amount of pension that is taken, but as I'd lose 30-35% of both going now the sum's don't quite add up. I did all the maths last year when they were offiering a round of voluntary outs and was just short - since then they've cut down on the benefits so it looks like I'm stuck here building up more years for a while.

Or retire, take the hit, and start a small part-time lifestyle business that makes up the shortfall?