Non-financial retirement planning

This is such an interesting thread so thank you Mollie

I can retire next July and some days I wish it was next week, other days I can hardly imagine life without work! At the moment my plan is to work 3 days but obviously a lot can happen in a year. I have always had interests outside of work and hope to spend more time doing the good stuff

You are all pretty positive in your attitude and seem very happy in your retirement which is great!

Deedaa so sorry to hear of your OH's illness

Babs; that's the position that I'm in. I can actually retire in September but, like a a lot of things in life, the good things about working keep leaping out at me and I'm worried that not working will give me more time to do what I do best which is 'worrying about things' . Deedaa; it's so sad when that happens; I know of so many people that made plans for their retirement, only for ill health to scupper those plans. There's also the problem of lnning lots of holidays only for a new found medical condition to push the cost of holiday insurance through the roof. I don't have the choice to reduce my days; where I work they changed the rules..after the boss started to work part time and decided no one else would be allowed to do that in the interest of continuity .

To be honest the 43 years I have spent with the DH should have made me realise that retirement would never be what I hoped. He is far happier with technology than he is with people and we probably wouldn't have had all the nice days out in the country, pottering round the shops, that I was looking forward to. At least now he has a reason for not going anywhere and it's not just his antisocial nature.

Tegan nice to hear from some one in a similar position. At the moment my boss says I can work 3 days but ....... We will see! In my case I hope I have less to worry about as work is stressful. Maybe I will find other things to worry about - perish the thought

Deedaa your DH sounds just like mine! Tv computer iPad or phone there is always something to do or watch. You have my sympathy He does love his work though so hopefully he can carry on!

Fingers crossed we are healthy enough to make these choices.

Babs; all that's keeping me going at the moment is the thought of retiring, but the thought of retiring is making me feel a bit depressed [in a 'so that's it' sort of way and a feeling of losing part of my identity]. However, the offer of working for a couple of days [which I thought I would be able to do till it was refused] isn't appealing now either even if it were offered. I actually want something to happen at work to make me leave eg an unreasonable request of some kind.

Tegan, I was catapulted into early retirement in my 50s. It is a shock to the system but the thing to do is to look ahead and list all the things you have wanted to do but haven't had time to do and then find out how to do them so that when you do retire you hit the deck running.

I have always been overactive, over 15 years into retirement my days are packed solid. I have activities I follow at home and those I go out to do and, occasionally days when I am so tired I just collapse on the settee.

I have just returned home from a long weekend, 2 days with DS and family in Yorkshire, coming home via DD in Hertfordshire. In that time I have coped with an excited 3 year old's birthday, including party at a local museum with 13 other 3 year olds, and family party that involved impromptu kickabout in the garden, involving adults and children with 3 year old's new football and planning decoration of DGD's bedroom, to be done in 3 week's time. Coming south I had a leisurely day with DD that involved a long swim in the local lido. Today I am having a quieter day, sat in front of screen editing a magazine. It is amazing how the hours get filled.