Retirement

[nightrider]

How did those of you cope with retirement? the end of your productive working life and mostly a reduced income? I know I have bored the pants off members regarding my thoughts on retiring but the time has come to take stock and let go of the reins so to speak.

I have no probs in occupying my time during the day, its just the thought of how do you break a habit of a life time, I have got to stop working this year and re adjust my life style I am finding it hard.

[Guest peter]

I found it dead easy, I worked part time since I was 53 an jacked it in completely at 63. No problems whatsoever. My wife carried on full time until 62 and now works from home on the internet 15 hrs a week for the same company she was doing full time. We are better off financially as we don't waste money any more on frivolous purchases and don't have to keep putting a load of expensive fuel in the cars all the time to get to work.

But it's obvious that you don't want to pack up, so why not just cut your hours and see how it goes. But I suspect that you will carry on as usual.

[George Collings]

Sudden stops are dangerous. If possible taper the workload off. I finished my second career at 55. Picked up odd bits and pieces including editing Interchange for the next ten before kicking work to touch. Mind you I look after three vehicles and both our and MIL's house and garden and spent today replacing a drive shaft boot on my sons car. Hobbies apart from motorcaravanning include some very small boating and family history research. If I get bored I walk.

 

One of the odd jobs was looking after security for a few months at a large charitable and educational trust. Most workers there officially retired at 60-65 but dropped one or two days a week by arrangement. It was good for both employer and worker assisting continuity and reducing workload gradually. One labourer kept going into his eighties down to a couple of days a month, it was due to being the only person who understood the drainage system.

 

The drop in income may not be as bad as you think. No nat Ins. less income tax possibly no more pension contributions. Reduced travel expenses.

 

 

[Mel B]

I'm finding it easier than I did initially - with 'retiring' at 48 (end of last year) from a job which, most of the time, was quite stressful and demanding, it was a relief really. It took me a good few weeks to stop feeling that I should be doing something all of the time, but during that time I had found plenty to keep me occupied (building wardrobes, making curtains, cushion covers, etc) for a good month or so. I then had a bit of a break from all the 'hard/manual labour' *-) before I 'attacked' the garden for a two/three weeks, along with other things. Now I don't feel tooooo bad if I don't do a load of work each day - I still like to get jobs done that need to be, but there isn't the rush to do them all in one day as I'm not back at work the following day.

 

I don't think that letting go of work 'a bit at a time' in your case would work as I'm sure you'd just carry on as you normally do, so make as big a break from it as you can realistically do would be my advice. Line up lots of jobs that you want to get done so you have something different to get your teeth into so you're not tempted to go 'back' to work. Start making a list of them now before you stop, so that you have time to compile enough to keep you occupied whilst you get 'used' to an alternative to your normal routine, it also means that when you are at a loose end and can't think what to do next, you can look at the list and pick something from it, rather than scratching your head and then going back to your 'old' job.

[flicka]

Hi Malcolm

Just don't think in terms the end of your productive working life, but that your hobbies becoming your OCCUPATION, without the "work" commitments to meet customers' time constraints/ deadlines.

Hobbies can be existing or something you have wanted to do for a long time, but "work commitments" actually got in the way.

Also if something of interest comes up during your "occupation" period, there is no guilt complex regarding pushing it to one side for a change.

[Klyne]

I suppose it depends on what a persons feelings are about the job they are doing and everyone is different. In my case I could see the writing on the wall. They were wanting to reduce the number of managers by quite a margin and to save myself the stress of going through that I decided to retire from full time work when I was 58 but I already had a part time job lined up with the same company doing something completely different with no staff!!! The company also helped bridge the gap between early retirement and state pension age so that made it easier financially. I did the part time job for 3 years and then retired completely. Margaret on the other hand retired fully on her 60th birthday and has never looked back. I think you do need to have a plan, for want of a better word, on what you want to do. For us it was going to Europe a couple of times a year for a couple of months at a time. Personally still find the wintertime a bit depressing unless the sun is out, probably old bloke syndrome (lol) Never quite had the courage to nip off the Spain for the winter.

 

David

[Guest pelmetman]

I semi retired 8 years ago at the ripe old age of 46 :D..................Sue had retired some years earlier.......correction she started working for me (lol) (lol)

 

We have spent the last 8 years weaning ourselves off the need to spend money, if you don't spend it you don't need to earn it ;-)

 

Next year (I'll be 55) we will retire completely and go long terming in the camper, this is not dependent on the sale of the businesses, but my Pelmet business is available ;-)...........I'll probably just mothball my pouffe empire in case I want something to do in my shed :D

 

We expect to have a income of about 12k which if necessary I can supplement by doing a bit of training.......................apparently people want to learn how to make pelmets 8-)

[vindiboy]

I took redundancy  / early retirement at 55, 12 years ago now and have never looked back, best decision I ever made that was, and now the extra bonus of a state pension too, heaven.

[Basil]

Depends on your outlook I suppose. Do you work to live or live to work? I realised when my father died at work, at the age of 76, that there was no way I was working any longer than I had to and I loved the work I did before I worked myself out of a job! So I retired at 50 after being made redundant at 46 and building and selling my company giving me sufficient funds to last our lifetime.

 

We get away to France at least four times a year for as long as is practical and get away as often as possible in between for weekends, sometimes long ones! Tend to go to France rather than stop over in the UK as it is much cheaper and easier, all things considered, and much much more motorhome friendly.

 

Work is a dirty word that should only be carried out as a means to an end and despite my enjoying what I did for a living I do not miss it or ever want to do it again!! I will never be able to fathom those that think that not having a job and retiring is the end.

 

Can't wait to draw my State pension when I am 65.

 

 

Bas

[Guest peter]

Totally the right attitude Basil. I can never understand people carrying on working when they have no need to. Look at all these pathetic lottery winners who win a fortune and say they are going to carry on with some crummy soul destroying job. They need to get a life.