Retirement???

[arry]

I took a new job in 2020 that was the absolute pinnacle of everything I could ever have hoped to achieve in my career. On paper it was so 'me' and should have seen me happily plugging away until I got bored of it then retire very comfortably - pension contribution was 25%.

The job didn't work out anything like it was on paper. I was bored within months and found it deeply unsatisfying.

My mindset changed from what it had always been - enjoying my career and work-life and wishing to retire only when that changed - to can I stick it out here another 10 years and then retire (very) early.

I've moved away from the role now and back in a decent company that I really enjoy working for. However, the experience has chastened me. I'm now very much a balance between the two approaches and have scaled down my retirement aspirations so that if my outlook changes again, I can realistically afford to retire and just do what I want for work - consulting 3 days a week, maybe.

Much like ThunderGuts - my hobbies aren't expensive. I can move from SE England and release some house equity, too.

The hardest part of all of this is having to balance the wife's expectations - she still seems to think we're going to be converting an historic building into a plush home with high end fixtures and spending 9 months a year abroad. Not for me thanks, I'd rather take the divorce early doors and save the quids in the long run

[P.]

[Weisse Schlange]

I'm retiring at the end of this year at 55.

Lots of years in Power Stations and oil rigs mean I'll be well off when I finish up.
As much luck as judgement mibbe ?, who knows. Wee schemie from Tranent ends up loaded lol,

Selling up in East Lothian and moving to the Scottish borders, and buying a donkey.


Am trying to plan it that my pension also funds some sort of retirement for my two lads when I snuff it. Cause they;ll have fuck all in the way of pensions.
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Hing Oan

[A100man]

[pepperami]

[Fat Angry Scotsman]

[Polarbear]

My pension took a sodding great hit in the 2008 debacle but I still retired when I did because the house was paid for, the boat(s) were paid for. Wifie still works so that's some of the bills paid for.

I don't have a large income but then I don't have any large outgoings except marina fees (£1000 a quarter) so I don't need a big income and that is basically the key to retiring isn't it. If you want to travel the world, go on cruises and holidays then you are going to need some serious cash, I did all that when working and nowadays I doubt if my monthly outgoings ever hit £1500 except on rare big puchase times.

It's all I want in life now.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[P.]

[pepperami]

[quote="Diggs"]

[A100man]

[Fat Angry Scotsman]

[P.]

[ThunderGuts]

If you have a bona fide stable and long-term WFH job that pays reasonably and don't mind living like a hermit, there are some impressive pads around in the wilds of Scotland and other rural patches of the UK. Heck, even whole islands can be had sometimes for less than you think. But those are fairly significant constraints. I can imagine an author, poet etc. setting up shop there, but if you have family, want to go for a pint in the pub, don't want a 200 mile round trip to get your bike MOT'd etc.. then you're a bit stuffed.
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TG.

[A100man]

[Diggs]

Our plan is for 'er indoors to retire when our last sprog is through University and we've downsized so don't have a mortgage any more. Hopefully that will be when we are both 61. I want to keep on working until I'm 67, albeit for 6 months a year only. At the moment I am lucky because I can do this easily in my line of work as 3 & 6 month contracts are common. The plan is for her to do pole-dancing, squid-weaving or whatever whilst I work, then for the 6 months I am not at work we feck off to the sun to spend the money I've earned. When our State pensions kick in at 67 I can pack in work completely and presumably sit in a pool of my own piss until I die... All assuming nothing goes wrong in the meantime
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Now - Speed Triple, old ratty GS550, GSXR750M
Gone (in order of ownership) - Raleigh Runabout, AP50, KH125, GP125, KH250, CBX550, Z400, CB750FII, 250LC, GS550, ZXR750H1, Guzzi Targa, GSX750F, KH250 x2, Bimota SB6R and counting...

[P.]

[stinkwheel]

Mrs stinkwheel and I both work in the same field. Our plan is once the mortgage is paid off, she's going to quit her job and we're both going to do mine between the two of us.

Going directly into retirement kills some people.

That means we effectively have half the working hours we currently do and we'll have the extra time to ourself while the other is at work (they only get one or other of us). However, when we have time off, it will be together. When we're on call, it'll be shared between us and therefore half as onerous.

Work are quite into this idea because they get the benefit of a whole hell of a lot of experience and we are both good at different aspects of the job so they are getting a great package.

From our point of view, we both get a lot more time to do our own things and a lot more time together. Currently on call rotas tend to clash more than they don't. We'll also be paid more because there will be two tax-free allowances to use up and I'm pretty sure if the company car is shared between us, it can be classed as a pool car.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[A100man]

[Skudd]

[Hetzer]

The number of people I know, who 'did the right thing' from day one and are now fucked. Some of whom I told, right on that day one, that they'd end up fucked. They called me a cynical bastard.

"The power of accurate observation is often called cynicism by those who do not have it."

Bernard Shaw.

I screwed 'The Man' from day one and have absolutely zero regret. For me, it worked, like a charm.

Commiserations to those who thought they were doing the right thing; you were lead by hyenas.
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"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"

[Bhud]

[Kawasaki Jimbo]

[Tierbirdy]

I have no idea how I'm going to retire, I dont understand pensions at all. Im paying into my work one, no idea if itll be worth anything. Probably gonna drop dead before getting it anyway with retirement ages increasing.

My biggest fear is renting all my life. Try as a might I just cant scrape together £30k+ for a mortgage deposit, so stuck renting forever more then coming up to retirement and having no home, so having the insecurity of renting as a retiree, and the only places you can afford to rent are some hideous council run "sheltered living" scheme prison block looking monstrosity, reeking of piss and unwashed old people, and having 80yr old Betty wandering the halls like a zombie banging on your door because shes riddled with dementia but not quite enough to be put in a care home.

Basically probably just gonna work til I die.

[notbike]

I'm nearly 29 and have been unofficially 'retired' since 27, although technically I'm just unemployed until further notice. The 9-5 life didn't afford me any of my assets though.

I used to be up at night wondering how the fuck I'd ever own a property, even a little one, despite working 40 hours a week at a mind-numbing keyboard-monkey job. I never came from a privileged background, my family owned no assets and were in debt. With that in mind, I worked out that I'd have to spend decades just working very hard, even getting a weekend job ontop of my 9-5 and would need to go full hermit, no social life, no expenses, and no fun, just to own even a small property within proximity to somewhere I could work.

Anyway, fast-forwarding, I'm glad I broke the mould but I'm also very aware of the fact that it could've been wildly different, and that most people face the same reality that I did back then when it comes to retiring and being able to own their home.

Having said that, although I'm massively grateful for the privileged position I'm in, this 'retirement' shit has got very fucking boring very fucking quickly. It's been about a year where I've achieved not very much and I'm bored stiff. The novelty of doing whatever you want whenever you want with as many fun-coupons as you want has worn off a bit.

I've just got into a relationship with a lovely woman and she's such a well-adjusted individual. With that, I've felt the urge recently to get off my arse and get working again. Realistically I don't need to financially because I could sustain my lifestyle for many years, but my brain is completely understimulated these days and I kind of miss the buzz of being in a working environment.

I'm still very employable, as I've found out, getting interviews left right & centre, so I've at least got that to go off and it's motivating.

I've also adopted a world view that you can walk into absolutely any-fucking-thing and wing your way to the top. It feels good. Dunno what the future holds, but I definitely don't want to slowly decay over the next fifty years doing a lot of things but achieving very little.

[Kawasaki Jimbo]