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Early retirement… who did it?

When I was a kid our next door neighbour tried the hosepipe on the exhaust method. His wife came home early from work and smelt the fumes coming from the garage, opened the door and called 999. He was left brain damaged and she spent the rest of his life caring for him.

Utterly tragic ... as are all aspects of suicide and the often severe impact it can have on the lives of others.

yes , suicide can be utterly horrific as you say . i am sure we all know horror stories of friends who committed suicide . PFM makes a great contribution in keeping folks talking and i am sure has prevented a few in its time
 
yes , suicide can be utterly horrific as you say . i am sure we all know horror stories of friends who committed suicide . PFM makes a great contribution in keeping folks talking and i am sure has prevented a few in its time

We may never know, but I like to think you are 100% correct!

Have never had suicidal thoughts, thank goodness, but like most people, I go through periods of melancholy and sadness. If nothing else, PFM is always a wonderful distraction. 99% of the members here seem like good people who are generous with their time, and always willing to offer informed opinions and advice. Very different from so many corners of the ugly internet!

I remain very grateful to Tony for starting this forum up, and to all for welcoming me as a member.
 
I was made redundant at 46 after 26 years service. Firstly, I paid the mortgage off then transferred my Final Salary Pension to a SSIP - the TV factor at the time was huge. I'm 55 next year so could take some out of the SSIP but fortunately my wife is 8 years my junior and so still working and keeping me in beer and peanuts.

Whatever you do, stay with your wife!
 
8 years junior here too. She loves her job. 6 figure income nearly. No kids , no dependants. Not sure what we'll do when she finally gives it up.

Lived in the current abode for 15 years but we really miss living near the coast and having a dog (or two)

Where to next is becoming a bit of a hobby lately.
 
I’m going for semi-retirement next year. Working a four day week from January, down to just two from July. I’m 60 in May.

I have several pension pots from various employment, and really wondering about speaking to an IFA about it all. What’s a good way to find one?
 
I found my IFA through a friend. He was in a well paid / high pressure sales role but ‘semi-retired’ at 55… became a part time caddie at Gleneagles. He was very positive about his IFA and the whole experience and made an intro. I’d try get a recommendation from someone if you can. I enjoy my job but I plan to retire @ 55 next year.

One thing I would offer based on my research is you don’t need a flat level of income….so you will spend more 55-70….then spending seems to reduce. Quite a bit of evidence of this across this being the case in different regions of the world.

There are quite a few good YouTube resources that I would look at, search ‘meaningful money’ and ‘Edmund Bailey’.
 
I found my IFA through a friend. He was in a well paid / high pressure sales role but ‘semi-retired’ at 55… became a part time caddie at Gleneagles. He was very positive about his IFA and the whole experience and made an intro. I’d try get a recommendation from someone if you can. I enjoy my job but I plan to retire @ 55 next year.

One thing I would offer based on my research is you don’t need a flat level of income….so you will spend more 55-70….then spending seems to reduce. Quite a bit of evidence of this across this being the case in different regions of the world.

There are quite a few good YouTube resources that I would look at, search ‘meaningful money’ and ‘Edmund Bailey’.
In drawdown there is way to give that hump of money for when you will likely be more active..you use the tax-free element first, this also leaves a larger taxable amount invested to grow so you should be better off overall. If you instead draw both tax-tree and taxable early on you withdraw money money to offset the tax paid. All our circumstances vary…IFA advice is key.
 
Thanks @paulc those Edmund Bailey videos look useful.

I've been reading the Monevator site for years and found it invaluable. It's really good at demystifying pensions and investments and the two authors' basic philosophy really struck a chord with a tightwad like me:

The less lavish your lifestyle now, the less money you need to maintain it in retirement and the sooner you'll have a sufficient pot to quit the 9-5.

Some of the articles are getting on for 10 years old now but the general principals haven't really changed.

https://monevator.com/how-to-retirement-plan/
 
I’m going for semi-retirement next year. Working a four day week from January, down to just two from July. I’m 60 in May.

I have several pension pots from various employment, and really wondering about speaking to an IFA about it all. What’s a good way to find one?

Worth spending some time looking at your options first; IFA will only be working on what you tell them.

Main use of mine has been to keep chasing Prudential to get my funds out.
 
Thanks, yes I have a fairly clear idea of what I’m after - “What do I do now, with going to semi-retirement next year, and then fully retiring around 3 years later?” I need to provide a pension for both my wife and myself that will keep us in the comfortable bracket, and cover her in the likely circumstance that she outlives me! A well known pfm’er has recommended an IFA to me, so I can at the very least have an initial chat to see what they have to offer me in my circumstances.
 
My facebook feed seems to be trying to persuade me to retire again as it's coming up with "your memories on facebook" from the first time we retired and were on a motorhome trip round Europe. Yesterday was St Emilion, today we'd have just arrived in Biarritz. Suffice to say that I don't think I'm going to struggle to find things to do when I retire properly!
 
Surely it depends on your situation, mortgage, kids at Uni, lifestyle, whereabouts in the UK you live, & so many other factors. As well as an individual’s definition of minimum/moderate/ comfy.
But in very broad terms, maybe those figures aren’t too far out, here in the south east of England.
I must admit, my in-laws are retired on a very tight budget & it’s not a great way to live. Every penny has to be accounted for.
If nothing else, that report is a sobering thought for people in their 20’s/30’s who are starting out in retirement planning.
 
What’s scary is that circa 1 in 6 single employees is projected to have an income between moderate and comfortable. Ticking timebomb.
 
1 in 6 is probably higher than the overall situation today I would guess. So many, many pensioners make do with only the basic state pension.
 


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