View Full Version : Time to retire?
Originally planned for a couple of years back but put on hold courtesy of economic crisis.
The dilemna.
Go at the end of the year and buy the little house in southern Italy.
Go in a couple of years time and buy the bigger house with the olive/fruit grove.
Stay on till 65, and hopefully have a bigger pot(not belly) for a very lazy but shorter retirement.
Added wrinkle, I love my job BUT know that it isn't the B-all.
davepreston
19-04-10, 11:50 PM
the day you wake up and hate the idea of going into the job you loved is time to leave, stick about a bit longer till ya cant be arsed with it, then leave to grow spagetti trees :)
BanannaMan
20-04-10, 06:04 AM
Go at the end of the year and buy the little house in southern Italy.
Go in a couple of years time and buy the bigger house with the olive/fruit grove.
Stay on till 65, and hopefully have a bigger pot(not belly) for a very lazy but shorter retirement.
Which option is what you really want?
You love the job so all 3 are viable options.
20 years from now which will have been the right choice?
Me I would go till the end of the year and buy a little house to retire in, but I could be happy with that. Not everyone would be.
In the long run what's going to make Bri and Mrs. Bri happy?
Dicky Ticker
20-04-10, 07:01 AM
Bri, I,like yourself considered my options and went for early retirement.My decision was based on medical grounds but even more than that the fact that like aged colleagues were dropping like flies around me. The number of people I have known who have carried on to"Increase the pot" and not lived long enough to enjoy it is unreal.
Okay I may have tightened my belt a little and changed my lifestyle but I get along in a fair degree of comfort.
Bills become a lot less and if you have already got your house and car it is surprising how Little you actually need to live on when you don't have the expenses involved in going to work.
The one thing I would advise is be careful how much money you have in the bank as Mr Tax man will still want his bit of wedge.Spend your money on the material things you want before you retire.
Go for it mate and live to enjoy it.
I'd go as soon as poss, you don't need lots of money to have an enjoyable lifestyle.
timwilky
20-04-10, 07:29 AM
I would love to retire early, but not enough in the pension kitty, I can understand why some of my colleagues bought land in the far east whilst working there with the intention of retiring to a low cost warm climate. (Oh and with plenty of local women to love them long time)
it all depends what you and mrs bri want to do really. if you can afford to jack it all in and go live in the sunshine i'd do it!
a friend of my dads retired for 6months whilst in his late 50's but found himself so bored over winter, he went back to his IT based job 2/3days a week. where over the summer he goes down to like 1 day or maybe a couple of afternoons just to keep himself ticking over. i dunno if that situation would be possible in your work? could you wind it back a bit see how you enjoy your free time?
but i'd def want to make the most of it while you can, remember thats why you've worked so bloody hard over the past fews years!
husky03
20-04-10, 07:50 AM
if you can go now go-there's a guy i work with who is in the same boat as you, decided he was gonna stay on, went for a routine health check up and ended up having major lifesaving surgery-he's decided that he's now gonna go and enjoy his pension cause who knows whats round the corner.if you've done your bit your more than entitled to enjoy the fruits of your labour.
keith_d
20-04-10, 07:58 AM
My ideal would be a gradual phasing out of work over a couple of years. Four days a week this year, three days a week next year, then retire.
tigersaw
20-04-10, 08:22 AM
I feel your dilemma. I set my sights on retiring at age 50 early in my career, and began financial planning for it long ago. Now as that age is close I hadn't banked on these t*ssers in power changing the minimum retirement age with the stroke of a pen and taxing the cr*p out of everybody as well. It very 'do I don't I' for me too, I like my job too, but hate the early mornings (either 3:50 or 4:50). Not sure what I'd do after work, though my brother owns a bar in Teneriffe..
Mmmmmmm.
Tigersaw gives a valid reminder. If I'd wanted to go this year I'd have had to let the Tax man know before April 1st. Thanks to a change in the law, as of 1st April I can't draw from my pension pots till I'm 57 - Oct 2015. I could still go this year with what's in the bank...
Dicky T and one or two others have mentioned the health issues that can arise with age etc. Courtesy of a WOMAN driver winters are especially painful, and the warmth of a foreign climate does make quite a difference. And if its warm and dry, bike riding is more fun. Having loads of pills to take every morning suggests it won't be a long retirement if I wait till 65.
Love for the job; it's a fun job, and more importantly I work with some great people. The 15 engineers I manage are a caring bunch of guys, both for each other and hugely supportive of me. I feel an almost parental Duty of Care for them, and would .... fret a little over them if I left - I know, stupid.
Some have said go as soon as poss and just enjoy life. With so many family members popping their clogs in the last few years it's a very tempting option.
And Mrs Bri (Barb) would go tomorrow.
Aaaaaarrrrgggghhhhhh! This is doing my head in. I need to get stuck into work and ignore this urge till it wanes a little.
P.S. I'll make sure a new place is big enough for those on bike tours.
Dicky Ticker
20-04-10, 09:38 AM
Bri---If you are thinking about it,to late the seed is sown------------just do it.
You can always find some little job to counteract any wrong decision where as keeping on working it will only nag at the back of your mind-----"Only if"
I was exactly the same but now three years in I know I made the right decision.
thefallenangel
20-04-10, 09:38 AM
I work with quite a few guys who could afford to leave tomorrow however they know every year they stay on they get another couple of grand a year pension so it's worth them staying.
You got to get a piece of paper and write down the amount of money you need to live off realistically, allowance for any problems and add 10% on and you should be fine. Once you reach that target then either begin slowing down on work or just pack in completely.
Bri - put it this way. We none of us know when we're going to die. You could live another 40 years or you might live another 4 weeks. When they get to the pearly gates I doubt that many people really wish that they had spent more time in the office.
If it was me, I'd be out asap as long as I had enough to get by on.
timwilky
20-04-10, 01:13 PM
My main issue is my employers will not permit an early retirement as our scheme is in a bit of a mess and the employers are putting in a huge amount to clear the hole over time. I need to be at deaths door and get it on ill health. As others have noted, those that tend to do a full term kick the bucket soon after.
Tim, a few more nights out with DP will see you out on medical grounds - or in the Betty Ford Clinic.
Bri, there's a lot of evidence to say that those who retire early live longer provided they remain active.
The gradually winding down theory is nice but if you're in an final salary pension scheme it might not be an attractice option.
Go as as soon as you can. Chill for while and then, if you feel like it, get yourself a part-time stress-free job that will suit to keep you active.
Bri, there's a lot of evidence to say that those who retire early live longer provided they remain active.
The gradually winding down theory is nice but if you're in an final salary pension scheme it might not be an attractice option.
Go as as soon as you can. Chill for while and then, if you feel like it, get yourself a part-time stress-free job that will suit to keep you active.
My ideal is house with olive/fruit grove, a few chickens, and a bike - oh, and take Mrs B along for the ironing.
A 5000sq/m Olive Grove will return about £3k towards the pension, and will also do as a part time job.
5000m2 is some olive grove!!!
5000m2 is some olive grove!!!
Mmmmm, about the size of a football pitch.
The locals all pick their crops together, or alternatively you let them pick your's and you take a %.
Bri, I would go. I'm a long long way from retirement, but you work to live, not live to work. I've never really understood why people hold their jobs in such high esteem. Maybe their social & family life doesnt quite do anything for them so they find solace in their work. Life is for living, and it sounds like you have a plan.
Do it. Dont wait for tomorrow.
vBulletin® , Copyright ©2000-2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.