[Closed] Retirement.....and pensions. Whats your plan?

We did this recently but good whyskie and a revolver.

I’ve a gold plated pension that I’ve now got to work an extra 10 years to receive while still paying in despite maxi out about 10 years before. So, probably a reclining chair commode.

http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/retirement-plans-whos-actively-working-toward-one

I will get a limp sum

Best typo I’ve seen this week...

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45 now. Got 10 years in a final salary pension, 11 years of contributions in two more pensions. Mortgage finishes when I'm 58.....but I had kids quite late and let's say they go to uni, that will take until I'm 63.....so bang goes any idea of really early retirement.

What I'd like to do is gradually work less....so maybe 9 day fortnight/compressed working hours before too long....4 day weeks at 50...3 day weeks at 55...something like that.

No idea what I'll actually do when I'm retired as you can't read papers/drink coffee/ride the bike every single day and I'm not old enough to have taken up golf yet.

I do like the idea of taking maximum lump sums out and using that money to generate an income.

By way of balance, I'm a 41 year old solicitor with no pension at all. My retirement plan is to pay off my credit card bills over the next 5 years 🙂

My parents/grandparents have done alright compared to my £0 so inheritance ftw

retire in 775 days on my gold plated PS pension. Plan is to enjoy my new job as a pensioner.

By way of balance, I'm a 41 year old solicitor with no pension at all. My retirement plan is to pay off my credit card bills over the next 5 years

I go in 3 years at 60. Me and t'missus have bits and pieces of pension and a small flat ( her old one) we rent out. ~We will travel cheaply 6 months of the year and let our main flat for holiday lets during that time. I will work part time on the nurse bank the remaining six months. We will not be rich nor have the recommended amount of pension but who cares. I will get to retire finally properly at 67 when we get our state pensions.

I have a "great master plan" in 94 stages and am now at stage 57 😉

Since the last thread I’ve put some more thought to t. I’d be more than okay if I work till 67... but that’s a bit sucky.

Current plan, grind out another 18 years till 58, by which time youngest will be 21, then try to find some easier, zero stress job to keep me out of trouble. I read a fellow STWer recently got a job driving old people to hospital and whatnot, sounds pretty good to me, do a 5-10 stretch of that and they kick back on the recliner with the Worthers Origials and tell the Grandkid increasing exaggerated tales of my youth.

41 in a few months with two very young kids. My plan is to ensure they are well educated and hopefully they’ll look after me. That or I become the local, loveable, eccentric homeless guy.

retire in 775 days on my gold plated PS pension. Plan is to enjoy my new job as a pensioner.

I thought you were older than 38. 😉

No plans what so ever other than at about 60, I'm going to buy the fastest motorbike i can afford and let fate decide on what happens after that.......

My plan is to take notes on everyone else who has a plan and then rob them when it's time.

What's this 'retirement' thing you speak of?

(35 now and I fully expect to have to work until I die. Any form of retirement will be a bonus)

I'm 40 this year and seem to be putting a fair whack into a non-final salary scheme, but the retirement earnings don't seem to be going up at all!

Currently will be mortgaged until I'm 68 anyway. Kids still primary school age so I'll be 57ish before uni is done with, if thats the path they take.

That gives me 10 years to sort out retirement top-ups properly. Bearing in mind my own Dad expired at 51, i kind of have a mental block about the whole thing.

We will have some inheritance from both sets of parents, depending on how much is left after the current government have made them pay for current medical conditions and any potential end of life care. This will only go towards kids uni and mortgage shortening, do perhaps thats a slightly macabre glimmer of hope....

I have to say it isnt something ive 'worked' towards. Its kind of been thrust upon me with my work conditions. Im glad, because without this obligation i would be high and dry.

So if you had a tiny house with no mortgage, and were the recipient of £100k lump sum and £1200 a month what would you do for the rest of your days?

I also saw a great semi-retirement job the other day....driving all over N Yorkshire checking and calibrating ANPR cameras. You even got a van to put a bike in for lunchtime rides out!

Cant't think of many better ways of collecting £25k....

With that I would be off to see the world on bike and on foot

So if you had a tiny house with no mortgage, and were the recipient of £100k lump sum and £1200 a month what would you do for the rest of your days?

I'm 40 now and have just dropped to a 4 Day week, doing full days Monday, Wednesday, Thursday Half days Tuesday & Saturday, Friday and Sunday off fully.

Hoping to get Saturday's fully off by the summer as well.

living mortgage free due to inheriting a house so I'm hoping to get this done up, sell for £100-110 k and get a small flat for £55-60 k then keep the change 😀

I've a car loan, but once that's paid for, my bills will be £280 a month so, hopefully, enough left to spend on the house and having fun.

[quote=Drac ]

I thought you were older than 38.

don't be fooled by my boyish good looks 😉

Have you read Catch 22?

You know the bit about them getting rotated after 25 missions, then as they set off on their 25th, they raise it to 30? Then as they’re flying their 30th, they raise it to 35.....

And so on, and so forth until they’re all dead anyway?

This is the government blueprint for the state pension

And all private and final salary schemes are totally unsustainable Ponzi schemes, which will all collapse soon enough

You under 50?

You’re not retiring

Ever!

Live your life accordingly 😀

death

Thamks Binners! However on this one you are wrong!

Ah, state pension...ypu are prob right!

don't be fooled by my boyish good looks

That’s what a goodnight sleep does for you. 😆

A bank job.

Food and accommodation for life either way.

Or sell up and live like a king (illegally) in India.

Half consisting the latter. I know someone that has actually done it!

I retired at 52 a couple of years ago, with MrsKenny likely to join me later this year. Yes, we both could have worked a bit longer and made a bit more money, but as time went by we both became increasingly aware of that old truism "no-one ever lies on their death bed wishing they'd spent more time at the office". We've got enough to get by, and have both seen too many friends die at tragically young ages. What's the point of working till you're 60 then popping your clogs a fortnight after you retire?

Fair enough if you really enjoy your job, or you're doing something socially vital like fireman, nurse or pizza chef, but for the vast bulk of people (we two included), the jobs we do are ultimately of no great importance.

Quit early while you're still young enough to enjoy life. Okay you need to work to earn a certain amount, but you can retire on a lot less than you think.

I have a recently retired friend who has rented his bungalow and has moved himself and wife to Goa. Renting a house, renting a car, and ALL his bills in lots of drink and the gym is £700 pcm. V attractive 🙂

38 and not a penny in a pension having spent far too long at Uni and then worked self employed ever since.

Need to set up a pension scheme before the end of this tax year and dump as much as I can from this year into it. Have just been offered a good job with a good pension (9.5% employer and I would top it up with 11.5% myself to make it a nice round number) which will help or I have the option of a very lucrative contract somewhere else which is inside IR35 so I would dump about £40-50k into my pension over the next year which should help rectify the current lack of any pension.

Police pension at 55. My wife will be working for another five years or so after that 😀

Probably just knock about with my pals being a nuisance. Same as now but full time. And sleep lots.

breninbeener - Member
I have a recently retired friend who has rented his bungalow and has moved himself and wife to Goa. Renting a house, renting a car, and ALL his bills in lots of drink and the gym is £700 pcm. V attractive

That's sod money over there!

He'll, it is over here if you know what I mean?

I'd be doing it real, real cheap if I do.

I spent a mouth in Goa hosteling and loved it only a few years back. Never too late to start. 😀

My only concern is the medical side of things but I have a few cunning plans.

mikewsmith - Member

We did this recently but good whyskie

You started already?
Hang about a bit longer bruv! 🙂

No pension. Never will have a pension. My wife will have a pension and hopefully one day (15+ years away) my house will be paid off so will downsize and hopefully that will give me some funds for old age. I'll be a cheap retiree. Don't drink/smoke, don't need holidays etc.

I look at my pension pot and seems like a nice sum. Then I look at the illustration of what I'd get from an annuity from it adjusted for inflation and in today's money, and feel very depressed.

Private pension world is just crap and I've been chucking loads at it.

Don't assume just having a pension will sort you out.

I've been a saver for some time, with no overall purpose until I had a bit of an epiphany last year.  I'm 37.

I now have a plan that sees me claim my first pension at 60, then second & state pensions at (?) 68.  I will need to fill the partial gap from age 60-68 and then any time I want to retire earlier with savings.

I'm on-track to retire and not work again from age 50.  If I can up my savings from their current level and have a part-time / low paid job, I could achieve "pretirement" at age 46.  That's in 8-9 years time, so I'm getting excited.

I should add that I am seriously tight, but mainly through growing my expenses slower than income so far.

I'm married with 2 kids of 5 and 8, so this could all go wrong - but it's good to have something to aim for!!

Honestly I’ve been saving away into a pension for about 20 years and in the past made the best use use of the allowances when I could, thank you Gordon Brown. I’ll keep on doing much the same, despite the current government restrictions that are coming in.

As as for what I’ll be doing well it’s over 20 years away so who knows.

Mix of (5!) old company DB pensions ranging from a few hundred quid a year to maybe £7k, personal pension from when I was contracting and now paying 10% into the company DC pension (and they do the same) and overpaying mortgage. I'm 43 and want to retire as soon as I can.

So, I'm 45 and my wife 42.
I've been paying into a 'defined contributions' scheme for 10 years (which I know is pretty worthless) and she has almost 20 years in a teachers pension (which has been massively de-valued, and she now needs to work until state pension age to get it)
We've got a huge mortgage which runs until I'm 67, but we also have +60% equity in a nice house, which if needs be we could downsize from and reduce/kill off our mortgage.

We've got no prospect of inheriting anything so need to make our own way.

Ideally I'd like to both go when I'm 65ish, but in reality i'll be working in some capacity until state pension age, and hopefully my wife can retire a couple of years before hers.
Our kids are 10+7 so in 20ish years time they'll hopefully be financially independent from us.

I'm well aware how fragile life is - my brother died at 36 so I'm all about living for the moment, rather than saving for a retirement I might never see..

Having checked my bank statement, I could retire tomorrow and live like a king for the rest of my life*

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*Assuming of course that I die on Friday lunchtime 😉

I hit 41 with no pension. That's the main reason I quit the private sector and went to the civil service.

My wife is also public sector (since leaving uni though) and we are both at decent professional grades. I think I will have to work on (currently 46) but my wife has been paying into her public sector pension for 26 odd years now. She may retire early.

The plan is to get both kids through uni hopefully and mortgage paid off by mid - fifties. Increase savings for 10 years and if we are both still alive we will retire mortgage free and a combined pension income of around £45k a year if I don't get promoted (excluding any state pension if still available).

Would love to buy a small place on the continent and live out my last years there. Wife is a homebird though.

I'm banking on The Who pension plan.......

Hope I die before i get old.

It's a tough one. My Dad died at 52 and never got to enjoy his retirement. If you die before claiming your pension you (your estate) doesn't get the full return and the widow's pension is a smaller percentage again of the full claim.
I have been thinking recently that instead of paying into my work pension so heavily I could use that money to clear the mortgage off quicker on the thinking that the rate we (I) pay on the mortgage is higher than the % return my pesnion is accruing. It makes more financial sense to clear all debt before saving.
That way if I do cack it early my wife will benefit from a mortgage free property and if I don't then I can save hard in the time between when the mortgage is paid off and 65th birthday plus I will own the house quicker.
Will I be disciplined enough to save hard once the mortgage is clear? maybe not but there's always equity release where you don't make any payments while you're still alive and the debt is paid when you move into long term care or pass away.

Living on an asteroid mining uranium.

Push the mother in law down the stairs.

I retired last year, at of course 65, and now I’m just enjoying the fact that our glorious state is paying me £11,000 p.a. because it’s a lot easier than having to go out and earn it.

<span style="color: #444444; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: #eeeeee;">thinking that the rate we (I) pay on the mortgage is higher than the % return my pesnion is accruing. It makes more financial sense to clear all debt before saving.</span>

Given current interest rest rates, tax relief on pension contributions and employer contibutions to pensions I’d be amazed if that was a good idea.

6 numbers and the bonus ball is my plan.

No one mentioning crypto? Get in now, worth a 5k punt to my mind and hope it comes true.

I've been giving this a lot of thought recently. I'm in my mid 30s and no real pension to speak of, however I am now into 2 years of a corporate job which does have a pension.

However, I just can't see myself doing this for the next 30 years as I'm bored silly.

My new plan is to take on freelance consultancy work, buy a narrowboat and travel the UK canal system for the next two years.

I'm just hoping the state pension will be ok by the time I reach retirement; or that I somehow make a stash of cash in the meantime.

I was made redundent at 55 so I took the pay off & also took my pension early. The main thing is to ensure you have enough money to live on going forward, is your pension sufficient for your financial commitments or do you need to top that up with maybe part time work?

I was fortunate that my pension covers running the house & my financial commitments so I do not need to work again if I choose too. That then leaves you with an additional 40 hours of free time each week & how are you going to fill this time? Do you have any hobbies or passions other than surfing STW all day 😉

I decided to live the dream for a year & I basically spent as much time as possible riding my bikes. As I now had a 7 day weekend I could pick & choose which days to go riding, if it was going to be wet then I wouldn't stress about it and ride another day. My fitness & endurance has improved and I have never regretted the decision to retire.

yes thought that after I posted, it doesn't take into account employer contributions. Dammit I want the mortgage paid off quicker but don't want to pay for it!!
As it stands my mortgage will be paid off at 61 which gives me a bit of time mortgage free before retiring at 65.
Where we've all gone wrong is getting married and having kids + moving to a larger property. If I hadn't got married & had kids I'd be living in a 2 bed terrace and mortgage free by now. Free to go cycling every evening and travelling the UK to go cycling every weekend. Ahh well.

Whats your plan?

Save as much as possible whilst I can, as you never know what the future holds. Currently saving more than half my gross salary each month...

I was offered redundancy/early retirement 2 years ago (at age 55). It seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up. The kids have both flown the nest and are (mostly) self-sufficient. My wife has another 2 years to do then she will join me at our home in France.

On the whole life is pretty good, I think retirement suits me, I'm always busy doing up our house/garden in Limousin or riding my bike.

The "plan" is to forget retirement age as I think that will more away faster than I can move towards it.

With a bit of luck, I'll be physically able to work until I've cleared the mortgage.

Without children, I guess we'll sell the house to one of those iffy schemes that lets you keep living in it and hope that death comes before the end of the money.

I'm paying into a company DC pension but I really don't think I can rely on that.

I enjoy my work and am self employed so i hope to carry on till i get fed up.  Pensions will kick in at 67 so thats some way off, preinvestment in rental properties has helped so i could spend that income but choose to save it.

Every year those pension forecasts depress me, c 2.5k per 100k index linked.

Seeing how everyone is going to be broke, I wonder if we will start to see communal living becoming the norm in retirement. It could solve both the financial and the loneliness crisis on the horizon.

"Every year those pension forecasts depress me, c 2.5k per 100k index linked."

Does anyone buy an annuity anymore though?
I didn't fancy handing my hard earned over to a Ponce in a shiny suit so stuck it in S&S Isas instead. AS a result I was able to retire 3 years ago instead of having to work until my 55th Birthday next year.
A "plan" had nothing to do with it. All down to luck!

I’m about to hit 40 and currently work 2 days per week term time only.

I basically worked a lot in a good job until 2 years ago so was lucky to be in a good enough position to “semi retire” at 38.

I squirrelled a load away so have invested it in a few rental properties so my plan is to have a part time job I enjoy and live off the income from that and the rental houses.

It’s worked great for the past 2 years so I can’t see any reason why I can’t do this forever.  Well, until the kids hit university age at least.

I have the same plans I had in the last two threads.

Depends how you define retirement. I’ve no intention of working full time until I’m at an age where I can withdraw my pension fund. I’m 41 next month, my plan is to pay off my mortgage this year and then assess what I do for a living. Likely a reduced working week, a year off altogether, and get off the treadmill. No guarantee that you’ll live long enough to take the cash in your pot, I intend to live life - starting with not worrying about paying a mortgage.

Sod all. Never knew private pensions existed until I started teaching at 30. Never knew that they could be topped up until 40. Too late then. Pensions are too expensive to contribute to. Also I have a cynical idea that money I can't touch may be stolen. At the least it will be taxed so any spare cash in spent on house or things that can be sold for cash and the income hidden from the tax man. He can see a pension, he can't see oil paintings and sovereign's for example. No kids so I can spend the house value. A safe a bet as relying on theoretical money.

Just bought a mahoosive run down farmhouse with a stonkingly ginormous mortgage. At first glance this may not seem the best retirement plan ever however we intend to portion a chunk of as a holiday let (we're in the lakes- just) and use that to pay a fair bit of the mortgage. Meaning by the time we hit our sixties we'll have a hurt big fancy farmhouse with an established business we can sell for bazillions and move to Monte Carlo and buy an air craft carrier and drink ten thousand year old champagne from hollowed out Faberge eggs and that.

I'm going to wait till I'm 55-60 then knock over a bank

possible outcomes

I get away with it and move to spain

i still get 3 meals a day and housed free of charge by her majesty

I get offer by armed rozzers with guns

all seem viable options

Im hoping that in 30 years time, basic income will be standard and I won't have to worry about it all.

Mortgage finishes at 65. Kids will be 35 and 33 by then if they're still at home they'll be contributing, if they're not home we'll either downsize or equity release, and scrape by on my meagre local government pension and three private pensions. As soon as the kids fly, our expenses drop and we hope to pay down the mortgage earlier, because there's clearly no point in paying significant excess into private pensions.

I fully expect to be one of those wrinkled mechanics you see in LBSes when I retire from what is laughingly called my career.

Early retirement? I'm winning the lottery.

I’m lucky to be in a job with a decent DC pension scheme. I put in 6% and they contribute 12.6%(about to rise to 15.6%) as I’m a higher rate taxpayer that means every £100 that goes into my pot costs me £18 of “take home pay”

I also have a RAF pension kicking in at 60, which is when the mortgage pays off.

48 and had a pension since I was 18. Got 20 years in average salary schemes and 10 in 2 private schemes. Hopefully be retired before 60 or at least reduced hours.  My back was buggered up by a driver 2 years ago and it' no where near normal and the experts reckon t will get worse with age and I won' make normal retirement.  Mortgage is paid off in 6 months though. My wife's pension hasn't grown well so she is trying to put more in.

A mix of several options:

A stocks and shares ISA that should give me a reasonable cash free sum each month
A number of smaller pensions
10 yrs of a good final salary scheme
A reasonable SIPP which I quite actively manage and is showing good returns
A reasonable sized house which will be mortgage free in 3 yrs (when I am 56)

So downsizing is an option and although I would like more time to spend out doors before I get too old, I would probably just reduce my hours as I quite enjoy what i do.

I also have the British dream of buying in the South of Spain although that is probably never going to happen but I could see myself spending a few months there every year.

37 and really started working and paying into pension at 30 when I finished Uni.  I'm considering moving job specifically because the pension which is offered is 15% company + whatever you chose.

I figure with my own contributions over 25-30 years , I'd be looking at around £0.5-0.6m by retirement and as a family, closer to £1m.  With a completely paid for house, the interest on that would be £30-40k PA before tax.  At today's money it'd be fine, but in the future...who knows??

One piece of advice I would give is that just because you begin investing in a pension at an early age (which is always a good thing) dont assume that it is being well invested and is growing as you expect. I am not talking about losing your investment etc I mean that many funds grow barely above what you invest each year meaning even after a period of investment spanning decades you may still be disappointed by the growth, even with compound interest.
I withdrew a pension from an employer I had been with for 8 years and invested it in a SIPP. Even though the employer contributions where good (which meant it was better for me to benefit from them even with slow growth) I still made more in 2 years as a SIPP than I had made in 3 years as a pension in spite of zeoro contributions!!!
If you want a good retirement you HAVE to take responsibility and understand what you are doing.

We’ve got a huge mortgage which runs until I’m 67, but we also have +60% equity in a nice house, which if needs be we could downsize from and reduce/kill off our mortgage.

That's about it for us – although we do stand to have a decent inheritance from my wife's parents although it is all tied up in a beautiful family home which has enormous sentimental value. As my wife's two brothers live abroad it would inevitably lead to us almost to be expected to take the house (with several acres of land) on to keep it in the family. But we don't think we want to. At some point in the future there is going to be difficult discussions to be had.

"Pensions are too expensive to contribute to"

£100 of investment costs you £80, £60, or £55 depending on your marginal tax rate?
Seems cheap to me.

[i]If you want a good retirement you HAVE to take responsibility[/i]

This, very much

[i]and understand what you are doing.[/i]

or, if you don't, pay for the advice of someone who does

[i]One piece of advice I would give is that just because you begin investing in a pension at an early age (which is always a good thing) dont assume that it is being well invested and is growing as you expect. [/i]

However... this is where cheap, index-linked funds come in. Over the long term, they're often a better bet as a fire-and-forget option for the inexperienced passive investor.

But we've had this discussion before... 😉

Two pages and nobodies mentioned coke 'n hookers????????????

"<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">I’m going to wait till I’m 55-60 then knock over a bank</span>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">possible outcomes</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I get away with it and move to spain</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">i still get 3 meals a day and housed free of charge by her majesty</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I get offer by armed rozzers with guns</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">all seem viable options"</p>

Even that's a non-starter these days, thanks to an increasingly cashless society, you'd have to knock over a large hub bank in the centre of a major town or city to get anything worth the risk and then you'd be lucky to get 10k if you hit at the right time and got 4/5 clerks to open their drawers before the bandit screen came crashing down.

Sad times.