The Retirement Thread
1 lurker |
176 watchers
May 2022
5:32am, 11 May 2022
13,882 posts
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Sigh
Funny story: as a kid we were driving to Snowdonia for a family holiday, and just as we hit the single lane roads we got stuck in a massive queue, trundling along at 25mph. My old man was getting more and more steamed up, swearing and cursing as the minutes slipped by. Gradually we moved up the queue as cars slowly got their chance to overtake the pitifully slow vehicle. When we got a few cars back we could finally see what was causing the slow traffic - not a tractor, or caravan but my grandad (old man’s father) who was a VERY slow driver. They were heading to the same place for the family holiday, but to hear my old man turn the air blue for 30 minutes before finding out it was his father causing the delay was very funny ‘it’s f£&king Dad!’ still makes me smile now. That's brilliant! 
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May 2022
6:13am, 11 May 2022
135,153 posts
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GregP
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May 2022
6:19am, 11 May 2022
13,884 posts
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Sigh
I love that, Greppers.
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May 2022
7:36am, 11 May 2022
1,398 posts
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arbster
I think this, and the increasingly difficult economic and geopolitical trends in the world, is a strong argument for a change to the traditional life plan. People will almost inevitably both need, and be physically and mentally able to, work later in life. Many will also want to be deliberate and intentional about taking time earlier in life to do things they previously have put off - work less, so they raise their own kids, rather than making up for it with their grandkids, take time out to travel while they're young enough to enjoy it more (and maybe take their kids), have some extended down time for the benefit of their mental health, etc. Employers will increasingly find they need and want to enable such things, and hopefully not just for their most "valuable" employees. Having a heads-up view of life goals, and a financial plan to support it, is a key part of enabling people to achieve these things, and hopefully lead to a more fulfilling life for more people, not just the fortunate few.
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May 2022
8:02am, 11 May 2022
12,499 posts
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jda
Lovely plan but then you woke up to the reality of an increasingly desperate precariat with eroded employment rights and declining real-terms pay.
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May 2022
9:43am, 11 May 2022
1,399 posts
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arbster
Lovely plan but then you woke up to the reality of an increasingly desperate precariat with eroded employment rights and declining real-terms pay. |
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May 2022
10:02am, 11 May 2022
13,888 posts
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Sigh
My twopenn'orth, FWIW.... At the start of working life, you get what you can and (certainly in private sector) move jobs regularly to improve pay. An easy target in recessions, being 'last in, first out' and also cheaper to make redundant. Now I'm approaching a time when I've got far less years to state pension age than I've already worked, the general advice to me is still 'get as much as you can, maximise your income/assets etc'; when in fact (in my case) I've already built up enough to last me well into state pension age; certainly far more than I had when starting out. When I do hand my notice in, it'll free up 'headcount' (the daft measure by which a lot of companies operate)* to allow someone else to advance in my place, and so on, down the chain. So actually, by planning to retire as soon as possible, I'm helping in part to restore the balance a little bit. *the obsession with headcount is part of the problem, because it fails to recognise that a lot of people work longer hours and do more work because there's no-one else to do it. Sometimes you have to let things fail before someone takes notice. <climbs back off soapbox> |
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May 2022
10:06am, 11 May 2022
12,501 posts
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jda
Maybe the political leaders of the future might start to consider societal not just economic priorities Oh, I agree it's a lovely thought. All I see in the UK is the politics of resentment though. Beggar-thy-neighbour and grievance politics as organising principles. People around retirement age are the lucky ones. Imagine being at school and having this to look forward to for your working life. |
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May 2022
10:08am, 11 May 2022
135,173 posts
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GregP
Nice post Sigh.
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May 2022
10:18am, 11 May 2022
18,136 posts
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3M (aka MarkyMarkMark)
Agree, Sigh! And also agree, jdawayinamanger! I look at the (working) future and think something has to "break" before it'll get fixed for the greater good. I do feel for my children and grandchildren as a result. Positive note: I got my annual personal pension statement the other day. Despite my ongoing drawdown against it to make up for the 2 days a week I don't work, it's still gaining value from the investments. And I've been talking to one of my colleagues who I've not seen for a while in the office (neither of us have been in much!) to discover he's retiring on Friday week. I'm beginning to feel like one of the old folks left in employment here! |
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