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Nov 2020
9:58pm, 2 Nov 2020
45,512 posts
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Lip Gloss
OH is looking to retire February next year and I would love to think I could take early retirement ( 57 next week ) but not sure it’s possible but I do have a review of one ok pensions in a couple of weeks time.
We aren’t married and both our finances are separate so would need to see what sort of monthly income my pension would be. This is an investment from my divorce settlement but with COVID I have no idea how is yielding. I do also have my NHS pension which I would freeze.
Realistically I am probably looking to be nearer 60 before I think it’s possible but starting to getting the ball rolling is a good start.
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Nov 2020
10:27pm, 2 Nov 2020
49,553 posts
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Velociraptor
I retired two years ago today. It hasn't worked out quite as I intended. I expect to retire again next year.
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Nov 2020
10:41pm, 2 Nov 2020
28,231 posts
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macca 53
We retired together on Oct 31, 2017
We love it and have basically been travelling and spending most of winter overseas on a budget of £700/month for accommodation. We’re very fortunate and we try never to lose sight of it.
Our strategy has changed a bit recently so we will be a little more “fixed” in terms of location for the next few years
In the run up to retirement my former employer ran several one day sessions to prepare, which were very helpful. We knew that the very first thing we needed to do was to de-train our bodies from waking at 6.15 every morning!
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Nov 2020
8:31am, 3 Nov 2020
4,468 posts
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westmoors
I plan to retire in 47 months!
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Nov 2020
8:39am, 3 Nov 2020
78 posts
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Marmite
I plan to retire at the end of March next year but keep thinking that all the things I want to do on retirement won't happen now so I should keep working for another year especially as my other half won't retire for at least another three years. I do then have another wake up call when because of the rapid change in my profession, some changes exacerbated by Covid, I remember that I really don't want to spend another year trying to keep up with the youngsters fresh out of university.
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Nov 2020
8:44am, 3 Nov 2020
174 posts
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SteveCRunner
I retired in August, 2019 at 62. The main improvement is to be able to plan and do my running better. I can take the time to plan a new trail route in strava and other tools. Technology and open maps have improved a lot over the last few years. I load it up to my watch and follow a breadcrumb trail.
Norway where I live has many old local footpaths but at the same time low population density so I can be off in the woods following a route I have never seen before even after 25 years here.
Another advantage is to be able to choose your time. I almost never have to don full rain gear (even though I run every day). Head torches stayed in the cupboard all last winter. Again, technology helps as I can watch the weather radar and pick my moment.
This year will be probably be my highest mileage, and also some highest individual months. It's a great pleasure to explore the local environment in my own time. You see different classes of people, such as pensioner runners not fast youngsters  and groups of children on orienteering practice. I still do speed work occasionally, but most of the time there's more climbing than running fast - there's no chance for pbs anyway. I nearly always take a camera and fine something worth a snap. So, in sum, retirement is recommended, so that you can run more and better!
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Nov 2020
9:07am, 3 Nov 2020
149 posts
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LouiseRuns 🌹🇬🇧 🇪🇺
OH is 13 years older than I am. He retired 4 years ago, at 60. Our original plan was for me to stop work (I'd be too young to technically retire) when he hits state pension age, but we're considering bringing it forward. I don't earn a great deal anyway so we're thinking it wouldn't make a huge difference financially to bring it forward by a year or 18 months.
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Nov 2020
9:47am, 3 Nov 2020
3,611 posts
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um
I retired 3½ years ago. Either ‘early’ as I was only 61, or late because my work pension (just on 30 years worth) was payable from age 60, with no real benefits from not taking it. My wife also retired – actually a little earlier to fit school terms.
We were fairly settled financially, ie children had all completed uni & moved out, mortgage paid off, no debts, so no dire monetary needs.
We even got a ‘pay rise’ in October – the pension from my first job (1977 – 1988) kicked in as I reached 65. Well, the FAS ‘rescue’ package for failed pension schemes, so that boosts the monthly ££ a bit, and looking forward to the state pension next year.
In 2018 I was targetted by the outsourced IT company, who tried to recruit me back for a short term (4-6 month) project. I looked at it, looked at the payment offered and decided against it. Life was too good as it was & I didn’t need daily commutes or stays away from home – well, not for the ££ on offer. So that sort of tested I was happy as was and not missing ‘work’. I did renew my professional qualifications earlier this year to the end of 2023 (‘just in case’), but I suspect that will be it.
Our decision was, ‘no commitments’. We haven’t gone for the ‘must do something every day’ approach – we’ve just been selfish and done what we want, when we want.
I’d had a fairly hectic job – commuting once or twice a month to SFO, ‘heady’ job in Silicon Valley etc etc, WW travel etc. It may sound the dream, but was living life continually jet lagged and missing all sorts of family events. Or getting there and sleeping through them. We didn’t replace pets, we didn’t volunteer into jobs or roles that needed commitment, we kept things simple so we could take off at any time and travel. We’ve had ‘big’ holidays (US and 2 trips to Oz), and a host of UK cheap last minute(ish) holidays – Lakes, SWCP ‘a week at a time’, Peak District etc. We built (well, paid for) the conservatory we’d always wanted. We had time to see family, children etc etc.
It does help living on the edge of a national park (New Forest), near the south coast and in rolling, (gentle) hilly rural countryside. Running, walking, and occasional cycling is easy and open.
No real hobbies, although I do take quite a few photos – mainly deer when I get the chance.
Mental agility? Well, Fetch, occasional mentoring & coaching to some of my work colleagues, deadly killer sudokus, Times crosswords, reading.
A more relaxed attitude to running, running for fun, rather than as a must. We can tune the time to get the best of the weather. If we miss a run, there’s always tomorrow. There’s not the same pressure as ‘must get back for a call at 2’ or whatever. We can stop and watch the deer, cows, ponies, buzzards. We can take the time to enjoy things.
Some jobs just haven’t been done, redecorating, replacing the settee, new lounge carpet … we find we can live quite happily with what we’ve got. And never got bored enough to do them.
I did find one approach that sums it up, borrowed (stolen) from Jerry Seinfield - Doing Nothing
A lot of people ask me, “Hey, Mick (or um), so what do you do now? You don’t work anymore. What do you do?”
I’ll tell you what I do. . . . Nothing. And I know you’re thinking, “Hey, that sounds pretty good. I might like to do nothing myself.”
But doing nothing is not as easy as it looks. You can get pretty busy doing nothing. Because when you’re doing nothing, you’re actually free to do anything.
Which can easily lead to doing something. Which cuts into my nothing, and forces me to have to drop everything.
I do like the bit ‘when you’re doing nothing, you’re actually free to do anything’ – very insightful. If I was one of those people who put motivational or thoughtful tag lines after my email sign off, it might be that !
Covid sort of wrecked our plans for this year – the west coast US tour was cancelled (and refunded), no return to Oz & Tasmania in early 2021, no UK walking holidays. But the local countryside is fine, the New Forest is as good as anywhere to be, we got a few weeks with the pub gardens open for post run hydration, and life is still good. Even if a little restrained. Still resisting commitments expecting life to open up again soon.
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Nov 2020
1:18pm, 3 Nov 2020
427 posts
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stilldreaming
So many different and interesting comments on this thread. Thank you!
My OH 'retired' 18 months ago from a very stressful and demanding job (he took the decision to finish before the job finished him!), but the loss of his father last year and now the fraility of his mother's health (plus Covid restrictions) has meant that things haven't quite gone to plan. Both my father and sister died in their early 60's and I think that this has subconciously played a part in my decision to retire, though they had health issues that I'm lucky enough not to have.
I really like Um's perspective on things, as I think there can be a pressure to have to do "stuff" when you pack up work and maybe making the decision to only do what you want and when you want is equally valid? I think retirement's a bit like moving house and living in that new house for a few months before deciding what needs redecorating. Maybe I should give things a while to settle down before making any rash decisions about what to do next (not that I'll have much choice with Lockdown!). In the meantime, there's a garden that needs some attention, a dog that would love a walk and some running trainers that could do with getting dirty!
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Nov 2020
1:32pm, 3 Nov 2020
49,562 posts
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Velociraptor
We're planning something like um describes. I don't feel compelled to retire TO something, I'm looking forward to lots of slack time and inexpensive short distance trips and going out and staying out as long as I want to.
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Jigs