Early Retirement?
 

Another one bites the dust at work.......well actually they decided to take Voluntary Redundancy!!

The package is well worth it!! They have been here for 25 years and are on a final salary pension scheme. They are 50 years old and defo on something more than £50k per annum.

This got me thinking again.......I know wrong thing to do!! But our generation (I'm 28) won't really have such an opportunity. We will have to save up for our pension or rely on our employers and whatever package has been build by the time we want to retire.

So the question is has anyone made any plans for early retirement?

I've read that you should be saving at least 10% of your gross income but that won't be enough!! What else do people suggest or even better are doing?

Re: Early Retirement?
 

yeah i am still part of the best pension scheme in the countrty :) get to retire kind of at 40 :)

Re: Early Retirement?
 

I retired at 44, got bored after 6 months so started working part-time fixing bikes and buying/selling Mitsubishi Evos and other cheapie cars. After 18 more months even that wasn't enough to keep my mind active so I went searching for a job and a week later went back to work full time in my current job.


Also, I found that interest rates were so dire that my investments were worth far less than I originally anticipated and I could see the money running out in short order. I'd been relying on a decent rate of interest to keep me in pocket money, and not have to touch the capital for a long while yet. As it turned out it's just as well I was making decent money from working part-time or I'd have used a sizeable chunk of it by now.

I honestly don't see myself retiring again for a long time, I'd only get bored again.

Re: Early Retirement?
 

I've been saving 6-7.5% with my company for 30 years, plus saving hard for the last 20 myself, by means of paying a mortgage on a property I can sell and downsize from.
The plan is to give myself the opportunity to retire and self finance until my pension when I'm in my mid 50's.
If I could advise my former self, I'd not suggest I do anything different - the more you bung in at an early age the more it makes a difference

Re: Early Retirement?
 

There is a school of thought that suggests the earlier you retire, the longer you live.

I have been to plenty of goodbyes where the old codger leaving has clocked up his 50 years and then the news of his death seems to filter through after about 12 months and you wonder what has happened to all the pension he acquired.

As my own scheme is in deficit we are not allowed to take early retirement. But I am scheduled to get about £30k/year at current rates if I can make it another 16 years. Although the wife would be far better off seeing me dead before then as there is a good death in service provision

Re: Early Retirement?
 

Being in the 2nd best pension scheme, I'm not too far off, although I was a bit late joining.To get my 40years service in, I will have to work until I'm 58 at least.

Both my previous bosses took early retirement, at 55, but as Gordon & co have spent all our money, the chances of getting an early bath are impossible.

I don't think I could retire at 55, I'd have to have something to do workwise. Which is what both my former gaffers have done.

Some days I wish I could, but most of the time I enjoy being at work. Too many of my old colleagues have passed on, without using any of their pension entitlement.

What is worse, is when they die before reaching their pension.

Re: Early Retirement?
 

When i retire i am going to kill someone. Therefore i spend the rest of my days in the dry and warm, 3 meals a day, a little exercise and free sex if you want it! Its a great idea prision :)

Re: Early Retirement?
 

I will be 53 when I retire on full pension, however, I can see me getting bored with that and finding another job for a few more years!

Re: Early Retirement?
 

Original intention was to retire at 52 (next year) but the pension funds have performed so badly I can't see it happening before 60.

Been saving the suggested 14% for donkey's years. Also intended to sell up, and move to southern Italy. That would add another £150k to the pot, whilst the balance of the equity would buy a nice little Trulli somewhere near Bari.

Filling bags in Tesco with the other silver surfers is more likely if things don't improve.

Re: Early Retirement?
 

Yes, but then the € rate ain't so good for moving to Euroland any more :(