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Nov 2020
11:39pm, 3 Nov 2020
7,129 posts
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Fragile Do Not Bend
I’m planning to give up work (I’m not sure I can call it retiring) in March when my husband does. He will be 60 and I will be 50. I already feel guilty as 50 feels too young to ‘retire’. But I don’t think I could bear going out to work when my husband isn’t.
Financially we will have more than enough with his work and private pensions, so there is no need for me to carry on with the part time, minimum wage job that I already disliked before covid and which covid has made more stressful.
I’ve got no problem with finding things to do with my time, as I’ve worked part time for a while now I’ve developed plenty of hobbies and they’ve outgrown the spare time I have. I think my husband will find the change to retirement more difficult but he does have hobbies that he is looking forward to being able to spend some time doing.
Still, even with everything I’ve put above, I still feel guilty - I don’t really know why. 
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Nov 2020
5:23am, 4 Nov 2020
18,412 posts
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GimmeMedals
Look at it as freeing up a job for someone who is more in need of it, FDNB, 😁
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Nov 2020
7:43am, 4 Nov 2020
4,472 posts
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westmoors
Like TR I have a final salary pension (frozen) and a defined contributions pension which I'm still paying into. I plan to use the latter plus savings to fund my retirement until I reach 65 when I will claim the final salary pension. OH already retired and has small works pension + state pension. As I don't have any dependents, I will look at equity release when the funds run out!
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Nov 2020
7:54am, 4 Nov 2020
7,130 posts
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Fragile Do Not Bend
To be honest GM, I don’t think they would replace me, at least not for a year or two. Local council, so I’m predicting a cut to the service when the next financial year rolls around, as covid has hit the council’s funds hard.
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Nov 2020
8:05am, 4 Nov 2020
176 posts
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Minimag
I am 55, and dropped down to a 4 day week a couple of years ago, then a 3 day week last year. I also have a frozen Final salary pension which kicks in at 65, and a contributions pension which I am also still paying into. I suspect that I am a luxury the business will not be able to afford going forward after Covid, and expect to be made redundant early next year. (I also have refused to return to the office and insist on working from home, which might make their decision easier)
Our mortgage is small, we have savings to fund us through a few years before we then start drawing down on the pensions. I have found it a nice balance of work to leisure time on a 3 day working week and think even with my hobbies and running, I'd prefer to do a bit of work especially during the bleak winter months.
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Nov 2020
8:57am, 4 Nov 2020
3,614 posts
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um
As for finance, I admit to taking as much tax free as I could - it seems silly not to. And the relatively small unused allowance transfer from Mrs um to me (roughly £1250 allowance, I think, so £250 per year). And a pension goes a lot further (no NI, no pension contributions, no higher rate tax, no savings etc etc), eg my 'main' pension is roughly 1/4 what I was earning in gross terms, but ends up 1/2 of what my take home pay was.
Initially we topped that up from the cash investment, but given covid & no travel this year, we're living on that (+ a couple of FAS failed pension top ups) and no need to draw down. State pension kicks in next year for me, 4 years for my wife.
One piece of advice - if still working - make sure you top up with any perks while you have them, eg staff discount stuff, errm, 'office supplies' and anything available now that you'll pay more for later .... My company wanted the laptop back, but all the rest of the home kit wasn't wanted (chair, monitor, printer, mice & keyboards, headsets, jabra speaker, phone etc). Well - the phone was 'mine' in the sense the company gave a $600 allowance towards any phone to be used for business & personal use. Just a switch of contract needed there.
Oh - and in the last 6 months, ensure a clean separation of business from personal mail and apps and any mixed use sites & user names (like, in my case, Avis, BA, hotel chains, Vodafone & any professional links or other sites you want to stay linked with). I set up a new work email (initials @company.com) and colour coded any mail arriving to my old first.lastname@company.com so I could check and transfer anything I wanted to keep going forward to a personal email.
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Nov 2020
10:09am, 4 Nov 2020
31,501 posts
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LazyDaisy
Reading through these posts I can see how very fortunate we all are. We've been able to choose to stop working largely at a time to suit ourselves and with mostly, no financial concerns.
I fear we may be the last generation to be in this position, not just because of the rise in statutory pension age but because of the very many years it'll take to recover from the covid hit to the economy.
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Nov 2020
10:17am, 4 Nov 2020
4,073 posts
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ThorntonRunner
Unfortunately I think you're right LD
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Nov 2020
10:27am, 4 Nov 2020
28,238 posts
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macca 53
Yes LD we are very fortunate. We have drummed into our children the need to make pension contributions from as early as possible. Son has a civil service final salary pension (lucky boy) with 12 years service to date, and daughter lives in Germany where state provision is excellent.
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Nov 2020
10:29am, 4 Nov 2020
18,415 posts
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GimmeMedals
Personal savings are going to be the way the next generation can retire early and that is going to favour the well off. I think you are right, LD, that early retirement won’t be a given in future. For one thing, house prices are so much higher that mortgages are no longer 25 year commitments, but will take many more years to pay off; extra years of working to make the monthly payments as well and not, therefore, being able to put a monthly chunk into a savings pot so soon.
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Synge 