Planning for Retirement

Associate
Joined
18 Oct 2002
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705
Location
milton keynes
Much closer for me,59 3/4, can retire at 60. I was offered severance 2 years ago but would have taken a 25% reduction in pension so kept working. Paid off the mortgage at 49, have been saving 1/3 of our income ( nearly half if you include pension contributions) since then, we will not be rich but hopefully will be able travel while we can. As others have said don't forget to enjoy life you only get one go at it.
 
Soldato
Joined
19 Feb 2010
Posts
13,249
Location
London
I totally relate to the balancing act issue between now and the future. It stresses me out quite a bit.

My mortgage will be paid off at 43 (this has taken quite a bit of sacrifice to work towards) and I have a good disposable income each month but I have real trouble justifying spending any of it. Usually I'll just add it to what I'm already paying in to pension/ISAs/savings.

I feel like anything I spend now is making my future self poorer to be honest. The other issue I have is I want to leave my job to do something less stressful soon which means I won't be able to save as much in future. :(

So yeah be careful not to go down the rabbit hole too far like me. It will drive you crazy. :)
 
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Associate
Joined
11 Jan 2011
Posts
2,235
I am 31. Only a few grand in my pension currently due to not caring about retirement until recently. Putting in the minimum via work.
 
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Soldato
Joined
18 Feb 2006
Posts
9,570
I too have given this a lot of thought and am particularly interested in the FIRE movement, initially to buy myself a few more years of retirement, but as time has gone on I have come to realise an early retirement is definitely possible with financial focus, and I find that focus has also provided greater financial enjoyment. I.e. restricting consumerism to items that truly bring value and you then value those items much more. I couldn't imagine working in my late 60s, or beyond, and certainly want to have the best chance of good health and mobility going into retirement and a earlier age going in is a good step in the right direction.
 
Associate
Joined
19 May 2010
Posts
1,159
Coming up to 20 years in the military and could (in theory) retire in 2 years with a pension for the rest of my life and lump sum to go with it. Nowhere near enough to live off but plenty of years left for another career after that while still being paid the pension - I can’t explain how lucky I feel to be in that position, as I was about 5 years into it before realising I even had a pension and what it was all about, plus how incredible the scheme is considering it’s non-contributory.

Thankyou to the firemen for taking the government to court when they tried to change the scheme for everyone unless you were within 10 years of a state pension, and thus it was ruled age discriminatory...
 
Soldato
Joined
22 Oct 2005
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2,799
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Moving...
I've always put the maximum amount the company will match into my pension (roughly 10 year's worth now). Unfortunately I've not worked anywhere with a decent scheme so it's only been 4/5% (matched).

I have been putting another 5-10% away in a s+s isa too, with the intention of that being for retirement too, but that's readily accessible if I need it before then for any emergency reasons, or we want a complete lifestyle change.
 
Associate
Joined
11 Jan 2011
Posts
2,235
I too have given this a lot of thought and am particularly interested in the FIRE movement, initially to buy myself a few more years of retirement, but as time has gone on I have come to realise an early retirement is definitely possible with financial focus, and I find that focus has also provided greater financial enjoyment. I.e. restricting consumerism to items that truly bring value and you then value those items much more. I couldn't imagine working in my late 60s, or beyond, and certainly want to have the best chance of good health and mobility going into retirement and a earlier age going in is a good step in the right direction.

This is the way to go.
 
Associate
Joined
12 Jul 2020
Posts
288
I've got an NHS pension which I've had for 3 years now. My contributions are probably limited but I've got another 30 years to continue working here...
 
Man of Honour
Joined
24 Sep 2005
Posts
35,487
I’m in my early 30s and have no savings other than my pension.

You could die at any time... or have too many commitments to properly enjoy your money when you’re old.

It’s a tough balance.
 
Soldato
Joined
25 Nov 2002
Posts
3,495
I (48) plough as much as I can into my pension, as my previous company pension swapped from a DB to a DC scheme and I got screwed to the tune of £5k for 8 years' service. Fortunately, I'm fairly well paid and the company has a great contribution matching scheme (they'll double-match up to 7%, so I put in 7%, they put in 14%).

I'll be mortgage free in 5 years time, at which point I'll start maxing out my pension contributions.

Will take 25% lump sum at 55 which will be for my kids for house deposit/whatever they want to do with it (currently they are 17, 16, 13 and 9).

Should have a pot of about £1m by the time I'm 65 (which is about 40k ish p/a via an annuity) so I can either retire or semi-retire and do something a bit more altruistic.
 
Associate
Joined
26 Oct 2007
Posts
1,266
I've worked with a number of people who saved for their retirement, only 1 has made it and lived past 70.
Stroke, cancer and heart attacks have taken away a number of friends and work colleagues before they could reach retirement but they saved their asses off.

Life needs a balance and that will be different for everyone.
 
Associate
Joined
10 Aug 2010
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1,542
Location
Midlands
My work pension is pretty naff, with the company only putting in the bare minimum 3% along with my 5%. I need to have another look at it but last time I did, I don't think I thought much of the 'product' it was invested in so I haven't increased my contributions. Instead I put about 22% of my take home pay into a S&S ISA which has done OK so far considering the state of the world recently.

Also saving more than that for a house deposit, which I sort of wish I could just invest, but owning a home is certainly important to me for when I'm of retirement age.
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Feb 2006
Posts
9,570
I've worked with a number of people who saved for their retirement, only 1 has made it and lived past 70.
Stroke, cancer and heart attacks have taken away a number of friends and work colleagues before they could reach retirement but they saved their asses off.

Life needs a balance and that will be different for everyone.


And just because you make it past 70, doesn't mean you will be up to much. My Dad retired and promptly filled up the time with regular hospital and doctors appointments and is not up to venturing much further out the house then that. This is why I have made my own plans outside of a pension and am not expecting the government to change retirement age beyond 70 (so be able to, and will, access my pension at 60).


Should have a pot of about £1m by the time I'm 65 (which is about 40k ish p/a via an annuity) so I can either retire or semi-retire and do something a bit more altruistic.


That sounds quite generous, especially if you are going to withdraw 25%... When I've looked at annuities, I have found them on the whole, disappointing.
 
Soldato
Joined
17 Jan 2005
Posts
8,543
Location
Liverpool
I'm 37 and have been paying into a pension for about 10 years now. I've got a small work pension and a private pension that I've consolidated a couple others into which holds a reasonable amount. In hindsight, I wish I'd started paying into one sooner but I didn't really know anything about pensions when I was younger! I have been lucky with houses though. When my gf moved in with me I'd built up enough equity in mine that when we wanted to move, I could split it and keep mine to rent out and she could do the same with hers when she moved in with me. We hope to be mortgage free in about 5 years as well which will be a massive load off of the monthly outgoings!

And just because you make it past 70, doesn't mean you will be up to much. My Dad retired and promptly filled up the time with regular hospital and doctors appointments and is not up to venturing much further out the house then that. This is why I have made my own plans outside of a pension and am not expecting the government to change retirement age beyond 70 (so be able to, and will, access my pension at 60).

On the other hand, my dad is nearly 76 and is still going strong, he even took up running during lock down. He did only stop working in the last year though.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
29 Mar 2003
Posts
56,791
Location
Stoke on Trent
I've got 3.5 years to go but when we sell my Mums bungalow that money will tide me over to my state pension if I want to retire early.
I already take one pension which gave me an excellent lump sum and allowed me to have one day a week off work.
I've been with my current employer for 12 years so that will give me a bit also.
I am desperate to leave now.
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
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19,325
Location
Somewhere in the middle.
I like the idea of overpaying on mortgage and putting money aside but right now I am still a bit silly with money and just spend most of it on items i want or things I want to do.

I am easily pleased and dont chase money so even when I do retire on a modest amount I think I will be quite content.

I'm not really one for travelling abroad . It doesnt excite me. So as long as I can afford some trips to Scotland and Cornwall Ill be fine.

As long as mortgage is clear I should be fine just mooching about the garden and going to local pub for a few beers!.
 
Soldato
Joined
11 Oct 2005
Posts
4,796
Location
Manchester, UK
As much as the idea of retiring at 50 sounds good, I do think I'll end up working until I'm 60-65 in some capacity as I think it has more benefits than just the financial side.

Where I work, there's quite a large number of people around retirement age and its interesting to see that a good portion of them continue to work past 60, not just for financial reasons. They work 3-4 days a week and seemingly have a very good work / life balance with plenty of holidays and meals out.

I'd much rather work part time and be able to spend my days off not worrying about overspending than retire early and have less money. Plus, lock down has made me realise that I actually miss a lot of elements of being in the office and in a city centre.
 
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