I’m pretty sure that the start age for the national pension will be 67 and not 65 too!
And just to reinforce what Eddie said. If you don’t want stress keep away from the “rent to buy/landlord- tenant” scenario, it can be a minefield so you’d need the services of a property management company and a specialist solicitor, neither of which are cheap!
There are several points here that would (should) come into consideration.
!) Pension, where do you stand with regards to a future retirement? I’m not asking for figures, you have to do some thinking about the future.
I won’t go deeply into my details, as I’m not particularly proud of them, but I am suffering from both of the above. 1) Pension. Most jobs I had in the past were either without a company pension, or in one case, contributions were refunded when made redundant. Pension between the 1950’s and 1980’s were either rare, or voluntary. If I did the sums, then I would have been worse off with take home pay after deductions, and not much better off when I retired, so it made sense to me at an earlier age to turn down any pensions schemes that might be offered. Also, when you know you aren’t going to be happy staying with a current employer then you become cagey about pension schemes. Now I rely on standard DSS pension, though supplemented earlier by earnings related contributions.
After being made redundant twice, I became self employed - no choice, thanks to Thatcher - jobs were few are far between, and I was fed up with being under management that didn’t see where the future lay, or how to run an efficient business. The idea that you are your own boss turned into a misnomer, as you swap one set of inefficient management for several, so you become at the beck and call of various idiots, and bless the few who aren’t. Fortunately the few that weren’t became my best customers, but with the exception of my last customer, were also brutal in their attitude to outside contractors. Asking for a raise to meet the continual rise in materials and the cost of living were met with “Try that and there’s a queue waiting to do business with us”. You take a deep breath, and swallow the attempt. My profit margins became tighter each year.I looked a few times early on at various retirement schemes on offer, the cost of which on a monthly basis would have taken a chunk out of my profit, and I needed capital to offset the continual demands on that by late payers. So I worked from age 50 to age 82, when my final customer lost the business which I relied on, through their own inefficiency. Took me months to get final payment, but having worked 12/14 hours a day for most of the time, the house suffered from lack of repairs. So, have money - money going fast. Son unemployed for two years, he gets some unemployed benefits, but not for the full period, Guess who picks up the tab?
Thankfully, he finally found a job, so now he’s living in a high cost of living area and trying to pay me back, but it takes time. I did pay off the mortgage quite a few years ago, but the house with insurance, heating, electric, water and council rates plus repairs is eating into my reserve fund fast, so the near future looks bleak.
Another period of unemployment, during which I made an abortive attempt to go into business on my own, which again Thatcher screwed up. Finally forced to go out looking for a job - any job, anywhere I could, within reason. Saw an ad for a progress chaser at an an electrical firm in Loughborough, got an interview, and knew that I had to undersell myself or I could kiss it goodbye. (You get fed up being told you art ‘over qualified’. - I think I frightened a few possible employers out their comfort zone when I gave my past history.)
So I played dumb, and I got the job. You soon realize there are gaping holes in what you see, so you offer suggestions (Ooops! - I’m giving the game away) I finished up being put in charge of the stores, and a more active role in purchasing (which was pathetic as I saw it), So fresh responsibility - “Er- where’s the pay rise?” - “Oh, you’ll get it eventually”. - Three months later I left. Fresh Job - Electrical wholesaler. Looking after control gear, pneumatics, and industrial contractors.Dealing with suppliers myself, ordering for stock, maintaining relationships etc. Original owners sold out, to a London based firm, One of our new branches was in Kent, and the best stockist in the country. If we didn’t have an item, and the manufacture didn’t have it, they did. My aim was to become as good as them, but investment wasn’t forthcoming. Finally got mad at the sales director, who was spending a fortune at one point on fluorescent fittings he was selling at a 10% mark up, where my side of the business regularly made 25%+ I hae a row with him, pointing out if he’s put that cash into control gear we as a branch would show a substantial profit. He didn’t like it it. Consequently - that was my last job as an employee. Another redundancy, you can be too smart for you own good.
Moral - make sure you can exist in the future, and don’t get too smart if you downgrade!
Some more useful nuggets - thanks.
At 42 I know I will be working for several years yet - this post was never about retirement.
I am trying to evaluate the potential short-sightedness of halving my annual income by downgrading my job to one with less responsibility and stress - with a view to enjoying my working life again - albeit with the security of being mortgage free/owning our house.
I don’t want to be in a position where it was foolish to do so.
Eddie
I will not go into detail, it’s not for everyone but suffice to say I am very happy
Hi
I retired at 49 and hag a lovely life with my late wife,we had ten marvelous years together 24/7 we were so happy in each others company,when i was 60 and she 56 although very fit she died from cancer,we had spent the previous 12 years going on holiday at least once a month,we both liked walking and the outdoors,so glad i retired very young as we had the lovely 12 years together,now it is nearly 10 years later i try to enjoy life without her but it is so lonely on my own,she was and is the love of my life all so empty,so although 49 was to young to retire in lots of ways so glad i did it and we had that lovely time together.
You never know what is round the corner.
All the best Simon
Wow, thanks for sharing and sorry to hear that Simon, brings a lump to my throat when I think this is how my dad is probably feeling. At least you can treasure the memories of the years you spent together.
You’re absolutely right of course - never know what might happen tomorrow.
Mortgage paid off so this is real now - do I stay in the job I really don’t like or pursue something else with less stress and responsibility for less salary
If you can find gainful employment doing something you enjoy, you’ll never work another day in your life…
I’m still searching!
All the best in your search.
This plan is easier said than done, but now your mortgage is paid off, would it be possible to try and ease the stress on yourself by adopting a more laid back attitude? now you are without the pressure of finding the mortgage money every month.
You never know you may enjoy the job more.
The trick is to convince yourself that you’re partly retired, but without your boss realising…
Wow I feel so young compared to you lot I’m 47 had my first child at 45 got married for the first time in September and upgraded my job just under 2 years ago stop thinking about retirement and down grading live each day as it’s your last
Oh and I’m remortgaging next year as we want to double the footprint of our house as swmbo wants to have another child when shes qualified as a midwife
Human beings are designed to be active while awake
I am never going to retire I’m going to grow old disgracefully
And incase you think I’m not telling you the truth the wife and I have been together for 11 years and her mother is younger than me
So stop thinking about getting old and go out in your 5 and enjoy life to the max
Well said, you must keep active. It’s surprising how much money you need when you retire. Extra holidays, more to do in the house etc etc. all because you have the time.
Appreciate the thoughts - but I am not talking or thinking about RETIRING.
I still intend to work 9-5 for 5 days a week.
I want a job with less responsibility, less stress, doing something I enjoy and instead of people coming to me with their problems looking for answers they can go somewhere else. Clearly this will come with less salary - I understand that.
I am trying to decide if taking a 50% pay cut to achieve this is sensible or not. A work life balance conundrum.
Obvioulsy need to consider having sufficient money in reserve for when I do retire in 15 years time, but I also may not actually make it to retirement with my current situation.
I went part time at 38. It killed my career but I wasn’t particularly bothered. My wife had been flitting between full and part time for a few years and gave up her professional job around 2 years later. I was paying into a Civil Service pension. At 45 I was offered a chance to take voluntary severence. I had planned to stay until 50 but deals were getting worse by the day so I went. The payoff wasn’t great (enough to buy a couple of decent MX-5s - I didn’t BTW) and my pension was locked and index linked until I get to 60. I took 18 months off to recharge the batteries though I already had a job offer standing open to start. When I did, I hated it - dip***t boss - and quit after 3 months. I then got offered/applied for a few part time and casual things which kept me busy enough and paid the bills. My wife was working part time but not earning a lot. After a couple of years I got an idea of what I wanted to do and applied and was amazed to get it - and since then I have been able to work more-or-less when I like. I’m only paid for the days I work (but paid better than I have been in any other job!) but there’s no pension, holiday or sick pay! But, I like it very much working 2 or 3 days a week. It is the freedom that is great, plus there’s no real stress and I’m in control of my diary doing something intellectually challenging and working with some brilliant people. This job will end when I’m 60 and-a- bit and by then the civil service pension will have started (not a lot, but better than nowt) and we have always been savers. Now, the point of all this is this - now your mortgage is history (mine was at 47) - the ability to choose your path is, in my opinion, the key to a happy life. If you want to work part time or full time, do it. If you change your mind you can always change your path. Money is definitely not everything - so long as you have enough to pay your bills (and that is usually about 1/2 of what you get and/or think you need). If you have savings/assets to see you though a fun and reasonably healthy/lengthy retirement, I’d say that having the power to control of your life is worth a heck of a lot more than a bit of extra cash in the bank - at the end of the day, we’re all going to be dead a very long time!!!
Are you able to reduce your hours. I’m in the fortunate position of working full time hours over 3 days, but my partner reduced his hours to 30 a week and hasn’t looked back especially since he has a Friday off giving him 3days off in a row… Naturally there’s a financial hit not only with the reduced hours, but with extra contributions to his works pension. If you do downgrade will it be the same department? Who’s to say your boss/ team leader won’t be relying on your experience or knowledge the only difference will be you won’t be getting paid for it. As in my work place the more you do (outside your job description) the more they let you do.
Simple - if work is stressing you stop.
Philosophers procrastinate upon the ‘meaning of life’. Through retirement at 50 and third world travel, I recognised the trick to life is to be happy. Many people struggle to understand what it is they want from life. For many years I did to. For a long time I wrongly thought materialism was the key to happiness. For some it may be, not me.
Retiring at 50 seemed a bold step. My friends were all still buying into the 9-5 thing and associated misery that brings to many, though not all. I took the plunge. Solo travelled extensively in Africa by motorcycle. Things could never be the same again. I met people who were genuinely happy. They mY have not known where they would be sleeping that night or, when they would next eat. Nevertheless, they were happy to share what little food they had with me, a total stranger. It embarrassed me to think how these people would be received in my country.
Each of us is responsible for our own happiness. It’s wrong to blame others. If your not happy change your life. The difficult part is truly understanding what it would take for you to be happy.