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Retirement

tones said:
I used to get rung up a lot from the USA, in the apparent belief that patent attorneys have money coming out of both ears (in reality, very few of us do, and certainly none of us who work in industry). The conversation would usually go something like this:

Hi, Jaan [taking my first name from the EPO professional representatives list] , this is X from Y, ah guess you've heard of us.
Er, your guess is totally incorrect.
Well, Jaan, we're here to help you grow your staak portfolio.
I don't have a staak portfolio. I don't even have a stock portfolio. And if I had, I wouldn't let you anywhere near it!

Perhaps I've scared them all off - haven't had one for quite a while. They have been replaced by cold calls from Indian search services. They're easy - as soon as I hear the accent, I put the phone down.
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Yes, I have also been cold called a number of times. 'The Hi, this is X from Y, I guess you've heard of us' line has also been used. often they want me to have a free consultation with one of their wealth managers who will look at our investments and recommend ways to reorganise them to give them a huge chunk of commission (paraphrasing).

One time the guy got quite persistent and angry when I said that I manage my own investments and do not need to pay commission to someone to restructure our investments. He refused to believe that I could possibly know what I was doing. Strange, because at a relatively young age my wife and I have managed to grow a sufficient investment pot over the years to now be able to retire (not in CH!). Instead we are buying a house in CH and will have to work for an eternity. We both can't face leaving CH!
 
Mullardman said:
They've agreed to repair it. That'll do me.
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I once had an old and tatty, but low mileage and reliable Citreon BX that I liked. When someone reversed into the side of it and mullered the rear door, the Insurance Co wrote the car off and gave me the money, I bought the car back from them and replaced the door with another from scrap yard for next to nothing. Small profit and happy motoring for another couple of years (until the inevitable Citreon suspension failure).
 
bernardhepworth said:
I've just used the pension calculator and found it useful.

My brother who is semi retired at 57 has done it another way. He has calculated when he is probably going to die and then worked how much money he can spend per month. There is an obvious flaw in his reasoning, but he seems happy :D
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Anything that's based on life expectancy is going to be a bit of a lottery.
Annuity quotes I've been given tell me I'm expected to live to 89 but I'll be surprised if that's the case.
Check this thread in 2040 to find out ....
 
That was my point. You don't know what is going to happen, you might get knocked down by a bus or live until you are 100. One the issues that has come out of the pension reforms is that people who are drawing down lump sums could be in danger of using up their annuity during their lifetime.

This thread has been useful for me, because, it's reminded me that I'd forgotten about the pension I had with my first job in 1976. I paid into it for 4 years, so I'm hoping that there will a few grand that I can take as a cash sum...... :p
 
It depends on what type of scheme you are in, but it might be worth writing to your former employer/scheme manager and asking about a CETV - cash equivalent transfer value

Take advice - do your own checking - I am in the middle of this.

I think you get one valuation in every 12 months free then you have to pay, you have 3 months to use it or then you need a new valuation, so have a fee to pay (it would be £800 plus VAT for me to get another before the 12 months) or a 9 month wait for the next free one.

I had a job in the 80's, pretty crap pay, I thought that pot would be a pittance, turns out it's a good few thousand £, so I'm transferring it to my SIPP so I can get access to it at 55 rather than wait for it to become available much later if I left it where it is. Just watch out for fees & commission charges.

Gus
 
I've just got the details on who to write to. I don't think it will be over £10K and as I'm over 55, then I should have some flexibility in what I can do.
 
bernardhepworth said:
This thread has been useful for me, because, it's reminded me that I'd forgotten about the pension I had with my first job in 1976. I paid into it for 4 years, so I'm hoping that there will a few grand that I can take as a cash sum...... :p
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A similar work experience happened to me I worked for a company for 3.4 years in the late 60s, I then moved to another company and stayed there until I retired early in 2000 aged 56. Nine years or so later my state pension came on stream and I received a series of letters initially via the State Pension people telling me that my first employers representatives wished to contact me. I received a letter from the organisation representing the survivors of the first employer, which had been bought out / taken over and the final owning company had gone into liquidation. Anyway I was due a pension earned in the 60s - I was given two ways of receiving it, a cash sum (if my current earnings were relatively low) or a princely sum of £60 pa less tax of my income was too high.

So do not count your chickens until you get the final result back you might be on something that will buy you a taxi ride into town each year rather than an amount to buy a decent DAC outright.

I have since heard that the winding up of my first employers owner's assets have been recovered, selling of IP copyrights etc and that there might be more money to come through.
 
Derek, you maybe right, regardless of how much it is, it will be welcome. As I had forgotten about it, all my income calculations don't include it, so I'm treating it as a little bonus.
 
bernardhepworth said:
This thread has been useful for me, because, it's reminded me that I'd forgotten about the pension I had with my first job in 1976. I paid into it for 4 years, so I'm hoping that there will a few grand that I can take as a cash sum...... :p
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That happened to me - I knew a pension had been 'privatised' when my office closed down but turned out due to government regs at that time it was split in 2, so I suddenly had an extra £100 pm coming in that I hadn't expected. I hope others discover lost pensions like this too..
 
My plan is to retire in stages, working part time for a few years. I hope to drop down to 4 days a week in about 18 months time, then drop a day a week every year or so.

I can start to draw my company pension in about 5 years without facing a big actuarial reduction, so plan to be down to a day a week by then. I'm not keen on going from full time to zero in one jump - many people (including my father) who do this have a heart attack in the first year or so, as it takes a while for the system to adjust to lower levels of the stress hormones.
 
PigletsDad said:
... it takes a while for the system to adjust to lower levels of the stress hormones.
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I hope your Dad recovered, but I'm worried about what those hormones are doing to me right now!

I spent last summer turning the garage extension into a retirement home. I move in in 6
months. Can't bloody wait.

26020986038_301138a43e_c.jpg
 
ks.234 said:
I hope your Dad recovered, but I'm worried about what those hormones are doing to me right now!
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Yes, for nearly 20 years, but with declining health, a multiple heart bypass op, a stent and several lots of angioplasty. Don't go there.
 
narabdela said:
Before and after pics? o_O
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Stupidly I didn't take any before pics, but if I tell you that the up and over door had a gap of 3" all the way 'round and the roof was rotten in places, I think you'll get the picture. Paid someone to do the roof and the electrics, did everything else myself (is there a smug smilie?)

Here's the other end of the retirement home (the West Wing)

25022980527_f81e2aa15c_c.jpg
 
Went on an ecellent retirement preparation course today paid from my employer. In summary, five ongoing priorities:
  1. Review and manage money
  2. Address physical heath
  3. Address psychological well being
  4. Consider social networks, relationships, etc
  5. Enjoy
Apparently most common concern / challenge in later life is loneliness.
 
argustimewas said:
Went on an ecellent retirement preparation course today paid from my employer. In summary, five ongoing priorities:
  1. Review and manage money
  2. Address physical heath
  3. Address psychological well being
  4. Consider social networks, relationships, etc
  5. Enjoy
Apparently most common concern / challenge in later life is loneliness.
Click to expand...
Why did they leave out a spiritual dimension? The big challenge at the end end is yer existential void int’it?
 
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